London: Travel guide, prices and free housing · 2026

АБАлександр Борисовtdr241 · Dec 7, 2019Read

I want to go to London! I'm sure you've heard somewhere that if you fly to America via England, you'll be allowed to walk around London for 24-48 hours. Yes, I heard that too back in the day. I didn't think long or reflect seriously, I just bought the tickets. I bought these tickets: St. Petersburg - Riga - London - Reykjavik - San Francisco. The first mistake: I didn't buy transit tickets from London to San Francisco to save money. We arrive in London, there's this huge waiting area where everyone is standing with their UK visas, waiting for the customs officer to let them through. My passport is empty. I approach the counter, explain the situation, and immediately hear: "No, I am sorry, you should be waiting for your plane only here." I approach different staff members, hear the same thing, and out of the corner of my eye, I'm already looking for a soft spot to spend 48 hours. A coincidence saves me. An elderly border guard walks by, I tell him everything again, and he promises to help. My saviors: two American visas and a booked hotel room that would be lost if I wasn't let in. He "takes me by the hand" and goes to the chief customs officer, saying he vouches for me and that I won't stay in England illegally without transit tickets and a visa. He takes my passport and stamps it. That's it, I'm in England. Then I visited Reykjavik (Iceland), but it's easier there. It's Schengen. Thus, I would like to note that getting into England without a visa is a rather risky and not very easy task, contrary to what is written in various public groups.

АБАлександр Борисовtdr241 · Dec 10, 2018Read

Hello, dear reader! I want to thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts, which I jotted down in my notebook during the difficult and fun moments of Summer 2018. I want to say right away that these are excerpts of my memories, divided into chapters, so you can read them during your subway commute or on a coffee break at university. So, let's begin! Story 1 - I want to go to London! I'm sure you've heard somewhere that if you fly to America via England, you'll be given the right to walk around London for 24-48 hours. Yes, I heard that too back in the day. I didn't think long or reflect seriously, I just bought the tickets. I bought these tickets: St. Petersburg - Riga - London - Reykjavik - San Francisco. The first mistake: I didn't buy transit tickets from London to San Francisco in order to save money. We arrive in London, there's a huge waiting hall where everyone is standing with their English visas, waiting for the customs officer to let them through. My passport is empty. I approach the counter, explain the situation, and immediately hear: "No, I am sorry, you should be waiting for your plane only here." I approach different employees, hear the same thing, and with my peripheral vision, I'm already looking for a soft spot where I'll spend 48 hours. A coincidence saves me. An elderly border guard walks by, I tell him everything again, and he promises to help. My saviors: two American visas and a booked hotel room that would be lost if I wasn't let in. He "takes me by the hand" and goes to the chief customs officer, saying he vouches for me and that I won't stay in England illegally without transit tickets or a visa. He takes my passport and stamps it. That's it, I'm in England. Next, I visited Reykjavik (Iceland), but it's easier there. It's Schengen. Video from London https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6pjbfM2z0Y&t=4s

SYSandugash Yelyubayevainfoguuu · Aug 14, 2015Read

The picture shown above was taken in Cambridge town near well-known Cambridge university press. As the UK is very popular with such historical places as Cambridge University. I understood only one thing, this is that London is actually tremendous city which needs more than a week in order to visit all three parts of London , precisely city, west, and east parts. The best days of my life I spent with keenly nice and helpful people in the academy. I enjoyed my studying whilst I was in the UK. It was extremely catching to share your experience and knowledge with the students from different countries and nationalities. In my group I was lucky to make friends from Wales, Canada, Arabic emirates, Iran, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Italy, Spain, France, Lithuania, Thailand, chili, and Mexico.

SRSviatlana RahalevichLuchia104 · May 16, 2015Read

So, we are in London. No, not the grey, foggy, and rainy one. You might ask: "How can that be?" And I will answer: "I guess I just got lucky!". But generally, try going there in early April, like I did. Maybe that's the secret to good weather. Almost the entire time I spent there, it was sunny and warm. On the other hand, what is London without rain?! As cliché as it may sound, rain in London isn't as depressing as in other cities. It's somehow not as mean)) London rain ends just as unexpectedly as it begins. And just imagine how beautiful London looks through the wet window of a deftly maneuvering double-decker bus, with headlights reflecting on the wet asphalt, black cabs, and a blurred Big Ben.

ASAnna Sapushevaany9377 · Sep 2, 2015Read

Upon returning to London on May 25th, I caught the national holiday - Bank Holiday. Despite this, many museums were open, we visited several of them, walked through Hyde Park, and explored paths in the city center we hadn't covered yet. Classes resumed on Tuesday, which I continued to attend with great pleasure. Sometimes David substituted for Sarah, and his classes were just as engaging - David has a great sense of humor and an unconventional teaching style. My days in London were fleetingly coming to an end, and I still hadn't managed to visit all the places in the city that interested me. On Friday, my last day of school, there was a test, the results of which pleased both me and Sarah; she noted that if I were staying longer, I would definitely have been moved to the next level group. Every Friday, the teacher spoke personally with each student, analyzing the learning process and helping them figure out which areas to focus on. I was also given a certificate for completing the courses, a document I am now very proud of! :) It was incredibly sad to leave England; it really is like a completely different world, unusual and attractive, and I am glad that I decided to go one day, I haven't regretted it for a second. And in conclusion, I want to say that the fact that I will spend my next vacation (which starts in just ten days) in London says a lot! :)

ASAnna Sapushevaany9377 · Sep 1, 2015Read

Upon arriving at Gatwick Airport, I must admit I was surprised by the beautiful weather, especially after the torrential rains in Moscow :) Getting to the city center was easy; National Express buses run from the airport to Victoria station every hour, and I took one of them, arriving in about an hour to an hour and a half. The place where I stayed is near the Stepney Green tube station, which is easily accessible via the District line. A single tube ride is quite expensive—nearly 5 pounds—but if you buy an Oyster card to pay for your trips, it works out cheaper; a single ride within the first and second zones is approximately 2.5 pounds. Costs depend on the time of travel and distance; exact fares can be checked on the Transport for London website. I arrived on Saturday evening, while classes at the school didn't start until Monday, so I had some time to settle in and visit a number of places I was interested in. The next morning, I headed to the very heart of the city, where a large number of exciting and historically significant places are concentrated: Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Oxford Street, St. Paul's Cathedral, and many other memorable and very beautiful spots. This trip is my second visit to London, so it was especially pleasant to wander through familiar places that haven't changed at all over the years. Not far from Big Ben, I met a young man from Moscow who, like me, was walking through the old streets of the city, inspired by the warm Sunday evening. We decided to walk together to Tower Bridge and the City; these are stunning places that I hadn't managed to reach during my previous trip. We finished our walk with a late, hearty dinner at a cafe near St. Paul's Cathedral. It is worth noting that there are 24-hour buses running in London, so you don't have to worry about the exorbitant prices of cabs when trying to get somewhere after the tube closes.

ASAnna Sapushevaany9377 · Sep 1, 2015Read

My decision to participate in the program was quite sudden - in November 2014, the IEC center was offering special promotional terms for several programs to celebrate its anniversary. The cost of the courses was only $100, and without hesitation, I decided to go to London to improve my language skills, while of course not missing the opportunity to see the city and its surroundings. I chose the period from May 16th to 31st, which is quite favorable - the city is not yet overcrowded with tourists, and the weather is already almost summer-like. I had enough time to prepare for the trip, so after studying nearby tourist destinations, I decided to fly to Dublin for the weekend during my stay in London. So, tickets are purchased, accommodation is booked, and I am ready for an unforgettable vacation :)

SYSandugash Yelyubayevainfoguuu · Aug 18, 2015Read

Our lesson followed a strict plan every day, and composed listening, reading, speaking and writing parts. We had a huge amount of home task which was terribly useful for us. Our professor checked the work of every student and after it checked attentively, showed us our mistakes, and explained why it was wrong or appropriate. As the phrase goes, learning from past mistakes is the best tool of teaching. We had two breaks between the lessons, whereby we had an opportunity to communicate with each other, to get acquainted with different cultures, to ask about the current situation in their own states, and just to talk in order to improve our speaking skills. My lessons started at 9.00 a.m. till 13.00 p.m. every day. I lived in East end of London , and my Academy was located in the West end. It took me an hour and a half to get to school. Regardless of the fact that my route seemed too complicated, I felt no difficult ties in it. Every morning I took bus number 105 up to Greenford station, and then changed it for a tube. I liked to use subway, because in my home town we do not have it. It was so interesting to observe people sitting in the tube, some of them were reading books or morning newspapers, “times”, “morning news”, name but a few, or listening to music, talking to each other, sometimes you can even be an evident of a performance of some talented musicians playing in the tube thus boosting your spirit. I liked two aspects in London . the first one is that Londoners are polite and well-bred, they are always ready to lend their hand and show which direction you should better to go if you are lost in the streets, and they are never tired or are lazy to ask you in polite form respectively if they notice that something is wrong with you. The second thing that I fell in love with is that they are able to follow the rules with ease, to listen to and obey. I think that thanks to that quality the Londoners solve the problem connected with traffic in the streets, and hustle and bustle in the tube, thus avoiding every day nerve-wracking which is easily appears in all huge cities. The picture shown above was taken in Cambridge town near well-known Cambridge university press. As the UK is very popular with such historical places as Cambridge University, Oxford castle and royal kew gardens, I could not stand visiting these places. My two weeks in London passed so fast and without being noticed. Every morning when I got up I made a plan where I should go and which places I should visit. I understood only one thing, this is that London is actually tremendous city which needs more than a week in order to visit all three parts of London , precisely city, west, and east parts. The architecture of London is worth to be mentioned also. All buildings have their own history, style and shape. For that reason London attracts tourists intensively from all over the world. Though I went to study to London alone from Kazakhstan for that moment I was not scared to go to the nearest cities of England. I was lucky to visit oxford and Cambridge. I met new friends from turkey and Kazakhstan in oxford who travelled and also have been studying there for more than two years. I was impressed Especially by Cambridge town, may be because it is the students’ town. The streets, people and even Cambridge library seemed to me so warm and close. May be it sounds lackluster; however I entered to Cambridge library and asked librarian to register me in their place as a constant reader. I was interminably happy to give my exclusive attention to it, to dedicate some of my time just to seat in that library, to look through the books which I am interested in, and then finally I bought two books for reading as a keepsake. For the first time before I had come to London I thought that for me it would be sometimes hard to understand Londoner’s accent, Because I heard several times that English of Londoners and their speech are ghastly difficult to understand. But my doubts fell