london public transportation

you can buy an Oyster if you want, but if you scroll back the England Forum a few pages you will see lots of similar questions and answers.

BUt if you buy an Oyster you have spent £7 for the privilege, money you will never see again. The Oyster is nothing more than a money storage device which works with the TfL system and charges you from when you tap in until you tap out, and instantly removes the correct amount of money from the card. It also has a daily and weekly cap - once you reach that in a day it won't charge more for the rest of the day, and once you reach the weekly cap it won't charge more than the weekly cap. Cool, huh?

But - you can save that £7 to buy the Oyster by using a tap and pay card or device - a card in your wallet or an Apple or Android watch or phone which you use for purchases at home. Works exactly the same way.

When you look at recent similar questions you'll see that some prefer one, some prefer the other. Your choice.

Just always use the same method or the caps don't happen.

And if you pay cash for paper tickets prepare to be taken to the cleaners. They are much more expensive.

No. Unfortunately a London version of the Paris Navigo doesn't exist.

The easiest way to pay for London transit is with your phone or credit card. Tap in and out for the tube, tap when boarding a bus. Use the exact same form of payment all day and all week. The TFL will calculate your fares so you won't be charged more than the daily and weekly caps

If you have an iPhone, you can set up your credit card as a Transit Card in your Apple Wallet so you don't even have to open your phone. Google may have something similar for Android phones.

Jeanm is wrong. The London travel card still exists, which is the effective equivalent of the Navigo. However it is not the cheapest method if merely staying in Central London, not visiting the likes of Kew, Greenwich or Hampton Court. That is because it only now exists in the Zone 1 to 6 form. Previously it could be bought for any combination of zones.
There is no London ticket that you can buy now which covers Canterbury, Cambridge and York
If you decide to visit all three of those destinations and are travelling as a couple, or are under 31 or over 60 you can buy the relevant railcard at St Pancras on demand and save 1/3 off the train fares. As a couple the railcard would be worth it for any two of those destinations.

Sorry for misleading you. I was basing my answer on your limited time in central London. I did not find the same value with the London Travel Card.

The post above explains it better than I did.

thank you all for your replies! very helpful. i did read a thread that was mainly about the pros and cons of the oyster card. i decided to go with it because i would rather not be pulling out my credit card to tap in and out every time i take the subway. i have downloaded the app and will link the oyster and a credit card when i need to top up. regarding the day trips, i know i will need to buy regular rail tickets. while i am a solo traveler, i will certainly look into the over-60 discount as i will never be 59 again!
Regards!

i have downloaded the app and will link the oyster and a credit card when i need to top

FYI--no need to do that. You can top up the Oyster Card at any tube station. The ticket machines will also let you top up your Oyster Card.

It is a matter of personal preference, but the City Mapper App is my favorite in London.

Just in case you were not aware Indian and food from the sub continents found in the UK has been very much developed for the British palate, with a number of dishes that have been developed in Blighty like tika masala, phal and the balti. Though not developed in the UK Madras was an invention for the British palate during the colonial period of the British Raj. As such curries in the UK can be quite different that what is found further east.

@Laughing Spam Fritter. haha! i am fully aware. i am indian and tell my 'western' friends/colleagues that a lot of the restaurant items they think are authentic indian are actually british inventions. as a matter of fact, the word curry itself is british as well. at most, there are kharee leaves that are used in some south Indian and other southeast asian cuisine. i will be heading for east london and seeking out indian, bangladeshi and pakistani restaurants where i will order in bangla, hindi, and urdu!

i will be heading for east london and seeking out indian, bangladeshi and pakistani restaurants where i will order in bangla, hindi, and urdu!

Perhaps you will have time to share your findings here with a trip report covering authentic cuisine,

I don't have any particular recommendations as I'm no expert, but looking at options in Southall, Hounslow, Wembley and Tooting in addition to east London may pay dividends. Closer to town, Drummond Street in Euston has several rated Indian restaurants.

I agree with Mark. I'd be interested in what you find too.

I'd love a trip report

For Indian food our daughter's family loved Dishoom on their recent trip. There are several locations in London including Dishoom Kings Cross which would be near where you are staying. You can read about it on tripadvisor.com. It would be good to get a reservation. Wishing you a wonderful time!

I just messaged my neighbour for his recommendation. He's Guajarati. Little bit far out from central, but he suggested Saffron Kitchen in Lea Bridge Road. Mixed reviews on Google but he recommends and I remember his son talking about going there in the past too.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/fZdtmwwrZbYYkDQc9

For Indian food you could try the student ymca - open to the public. Been a while since I was there, but it was pretty good
www.indianymca.org/our-restaurant

Or, if you are in the area, try Drummond street, behind Euston. I think there has been a lot of demolition there to make way for the train line, so not sure what's left. Drummond street used to have heaps of good Indian restaurants, but not sure what the pandemic and HS2 have done to it.

EDIT. As noted above a review would be great, especially if you get to try lots of Indian restaurants - always good to get opinions on what's out there.

I was just Googling for Guajarati places and there's a ton in Harrow. The oldest Guajarati restaurant in London is seemingly Rani in Finchley - https://www.rani.uk.com/index.html

All these neighbourhoods that I mention out west are the best for an authentic experience; Indians cooking for other Indians. I think you need to do your homework before going down to Brick Lane and not be swayed too much by the barkers outside the restaurants inviting you in :) I'm sure there must still be some gems in Whitechapel and Brick Lane if you're talking east though.

The most well known South Asian restaurants in the Whitechapel area are Tayyabs and the Lahore Chop House, but I suspect that there will be many more good places in that area as well as further east.

Whitechapel has three that are quite well known- Tayyab's, which has been around the longest and is always extremely busy, and then Lahori Kebab House and Needo's which if I remember correctly were both started by former chefs at Tayyab's, so the food is very similar but much easier to get a table. None of these places serve alcohol but you can BYOB if you would like.

As mentioned above, there has been a lot of construction around Drummond Street in preparation for HS2 but there are still many places there, including Roti King, which is Indian Malaysian, and extremely popular. They have other locations, too, including Waterloo where it is much easier to get a table. Also close to Drummond Street is Greatest Nepalese which has been a longtime favourite of mine- of course it is Nepalese, not Indian.

Two new Indian restaurants that have been getting a lot of attention lately are Tamil Crown and Tamil Prince, both in Islington and run by the same people. They're both set in former pubs. I really enjoyed Tamil Crown tho was just seeing the reviews complaining of small portion sizes and I do have to concede the portions weren't very large.

Ealing Road in Wembley has a lot of good options. One that's been recommended to me (tho I haven't been yet) is Asher's Africana. The area around Wembley has a large population from Gujarat (often via east Africa) and that is reflected in the dining options. If you are looking to buy kurtas, saris, etc there are also lots of places on this street (Venison's is the big one with several different shops all with different types of dress).

For dosas, East Ham has long been known as the place to go tho it's been a while since I've been out there so can't recommend anywhere specific. For Sri Lankan food, Tooting is one of the main areas- I went somewhere really great there once tho can't remember the name.

I agree with the recommendation for Indian YMCA, I used to eat lunch there all the time. It's very much a cafeteria and I'm not sure it's even open for dinner unless you're staying there, but really really great place for lunch though no longer as inexpensive as it used to be.

wow! a floodgate of information! thank you for your responses to my comment. i'll be hard pressed to investigate all but i'll try my best.

OP merely adding a well done in choosing an Oyster card. I always use one when I’m in London as getting out the wallet to tap in n out is a PIA. Instead have the Oyster in a lovely “ carrier “ purchased ages ago at the British Library. When I arrive at Paddington or Victoria I tap up the card and off I go. Have a coat with a zipper pocket inside and that’s where it resides during my London visits.

For me easy peasy. Each to their own.

Enjoy your stay and would love to know where you ate and what you saw. A Trip Report would be lovely.

Not to dissuade anyone from getting an Oyster card, but remember that Google Wallet and Apple Pay can also easily be employed on one's phone and used to pay for London transit. A smart watch can also be set up for tap-to-pay.

Bit of an old thread by now, but I had promised to report back on my quest for authentic Indian food in London. However, before that, since I had originally posted about the Oyster Card, here's my experience. The physical card was great and easy to use, no problems. The only issue I had was that I couldn't use the app to top up because, apparently, the billing address for credit cards needs to be 'local'. Mine are issued in the US. I topped up on machines in the station instead.

Now the food report:
Since I was staying near the St. Pancras station, on my first day, went to 'Camden Tandoori' in Camden. Ordered the dal tarka and a vindaloo. very good but spicy! It's an unassuming small sit-down restaurant. I got takeout. The man at the counter was friendly and spoke Bangla. Next, I went to 'Ambala' on Drummond Street. No particular reason for going there except that my British-Indian cousin recommended it. Had their samosa. Very good but not extraordinary. Also had the gulab jamun, a dessert in sugar syrup. That was really good. Overall, I'll say 'Ambala' is styled more as a 'western' desert shop rather than a classic Indian place. Continuing my search, I explored Brick Lane a bit. It has several Indian and Bangladeshi restaurants, as well as Chinese and Lebanese. There is even a sign proclaiming 'Bangla Town' in Bengali script!, My impression, however, is that it's touristy with nicely laid out restaurants and waiters in black and white waiting at the front doors. Probably not as authentic as it once was. Saw many hipsters and even an 'influencer team' and overheard them say, 'there is so much going on here'! Fairly pricy too for hole-in-the-wall eatery standards. I sought out the least 'fancy' place called 'Amar Gaon'. A Bangladeshi joint where I spoke Bangla. No menu, you just order from what's on display. It could be a bit strong for your taste, but good. The last stop in Brick Lane was 'Madhubon'. A Bengali dessert shop. Had the sweet Bengali doi (yogurt) and another gulab jamun. very good. Made the trek to East Ham and finally felt like 'Little India/Bangladesh'. Hardly any white people around, with stores and restaurants that reminded me of Indian streets. Went there on two occasions. Had a mutton biryani at 'Hyderabadi Spice'. Excellent, very subtle. My test for a good biryani is that the rice should not have a uniform color. Because of how authentic biryani is made, there should be some grains of rice that are white, untouched by the gravy when first served. The next time, I went to a South Indian place called 'Taste of India Pure Vegetarian' to have a dosa. Enormous selection. I went for a staple, onion rava dosa. It was good, the sambar tasted perfect, but the chutneys were not what I am used to. I am not from South India, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. Though not in London, I can recommend 'Bay Leaf Kitchen' in Dublin on Thomas Street. Cheap, good, and not 'fancy' by any means. Don't be put off by the fact that they serve kebabs and pizza in addition to Indian food! Their dal tarka was so good that I got it to go more than once. Funny observation - while I spoke Bangla with one of the guys, the woman working there always responded in English until the last day when she addressed me as 'dada' - 'elder brother', used by actual family members but also as a sign of respect, like 'sir', with strangers. A nice way to end my Dublin and 2025 travels!

That's a brilliant run down alomaker! Thanks for taking the time to post.

Brick Lane: Continuing my search, I explored Brick Lane a bit. It has several Indian and Bangladeshi restaurants, as well as Chinese and Lebanese. There is even a sign proclaiming 'Bangla Town' in Bengali script!, My impression, however, is that it's touristy with nicely laid out restaurants and waiters in black and white waiting at the front doors. Probably not as authentic as it once was. Saw many hipsters and even an 'influencer team' and overheard them say, 'there is so much going on here'! Fairly pricy too for hole-in-the-wall eatery standards. I sought out the least 'fancy' place called 'Amar Gaon'. A Bangladeshi joint where I spoke Bangla. No menu, you just order from what's on display. It could be a bit strong for your taste, but good. The last stop in Brick Lane was 'Madhubon'. A Bengali dessert shop. Had the sweet Bengali doi (yogurt) and another gulab jamun. very good.

That's a really good summary of Brick Lane for visitors. Round the corner in Whitechapel Market there's a good selection of Indian food to go, as well as the produce stalls. The sweet shop I've been in on Brick Lane was Raj Mahal Sweets, some years ago. I'm no expert as to what we bought, it was just as a taster for a Romanian friend new to London.

Camden / Drummond Street: Since I was staying near the St. Pancras station, on my first day, went to 'Diwana Tandoori' in Camden. Ordered the dal tarka and a vindaloo. very good but spicy! It's an unassuming small sit-down restaurant. I got takeout. The man at the counter was friendly and spoke Bangla. Next, I went to 'Ambala' on Drummond Street.

I was trying to figure out where you mean with Diwana Tandoori. Is it this one? I also see Camden Tandoori, further up in Camden Town. Ambala is this one for anyone wishing to click a Google Maps link.

Made the trek to East Ham and finally felt like 'Little India/Bangladesh'. Hardly any white people around, with stores and restaurants that reminded me of Indian streets. Went there on two occasions. Had a mutton biryani at 'Hyderabadi Spice'. Excellent, very subtle. My test for a good biryani is that the rice should not have a uniform color. Because of how authentic biryani is made, there should be some grains of rice that are white, untouched by the gravy when first served. The next time, I went to a South Indian place called 'Taste of India Pure Vegetarian' to have a dosa. Enormous selection. I went for a staple, onion rava dosa. It was good, the sambar tasted perfect, but the chutneys were not what I am used to. I am not from South India, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Lots of Indian people and people of Indian descent right across Newham. Just as a PSA for white folks going to boroughs in London off the tourist trail; somewhere like East Ham is predominantly Indian and South Asian, but London isn't really very segregated. There's a big mix. It doesn't bother me going places where I'm one of the few white guys around. Never really thought about it in that context tbh. Never a problem in my experience.

I bet it was quite reasonably priced out in East Ham too. It must have been interesting for the folks in the restaurants if you're north American and with good language. Do you speak Bangla with an American accent? :)

I met a guy randomly out and about that I got chatting to recently. He's Persian and invited me to his shawarma place in Green Street, East Ham. I must make a point of going out there at some point.

Hi GerryM,
You are 100% correct, and thanks for catching my mistake. The restaurant in Camden is indeed 'Camden Tandoori'. I looked at photos just now to verify! Initially, I was a bit sloppy and did not record locations and names right away. You are also correct about going off the tourist trail into 'parts unknown'. While I am nowhere near as adventurous as Anthony Bourdain, I am often the only representative of my 'kind' at places. I must say, since 2021, when I started doing my yearly summer 'tours', I have never felt uncomfortable in any of the countries/cities/villages I visited. I remember Sicily, right after COVID, with great fondness. While there is an immigrant population of Asians, it is tiny. However, I was treated with friendliness I have seldom encountered elsewhere. Anyway, I am rambling, and in closing, I want to add that the 'report' is just from my incredibly narrow perspective and based on just 4 days' worth of time spent in London. As you and other 'locals' have mentioned, there are many other neighborhoods and specific places worth venturing into. Regards!

hi op,

i know this is an old thread but i came across this and would really appreciate some assistance. im indian, also coming to london for a roughly 5-day stay, with an interest in art museums and old architecture (also literature and urban design at large, but wtv.) i wanted to ask how it is that you planned this trip and looked for things that interested you beyond the usual tourist pilgrimages, and if there's also someplace you can find general fun & interesting events happening around the city? it's my first time trying to plan this sort of a trip, so im a bit lost on how to get into the process. thank u so much, ofc no need to reply if busy. thank u also for the food review, ill definitely be checking some of it out :-)

i know this is an old thread but i came across this and would really appreciate some assistance

Welcome to the forum. I hope the OP can get back to you.

Consider starting a new thread about planning your trip to London. There's lots of people here with experience of planning London visits for the first time. If you know how many days you've got, some folks are good at planning a tight itinerary if you're keen to see a lot. The only thing is most folks have experience with flights from North American airports.

I'm sure there's locals in London who could help you find things pertaining to Indian cultures in London. Lots to see if you like food or want to celebrate whatever faith you've got.

Welcome to the forum and as GerryM said it is best to start a new thread if for nothing else but a lot of people will see and respond. In the meantime here's what I did for this trip.

I used to consult books, but I have left that behind. The internet and Google are where everything is at these days, and I am not averse to asking AI either. For the London trip, my main target was the National Gallery and the two Tates, Britain and Modern. I have no interest in the British Museum (stolen colonial artifacts), Natural History (dead animals), or the V & A (endless portraits of inbred aristocrats), so I avoided those. I also avoided like the plague Buckingham Palace, Windsor, and anything to do with the current monarchy. Thankfully, I had visited St. Paul's and Westminster during cheaper times, so I stayed away from those as well. I hate jostling with selfie-seeking tourists as much as possible; therefore, Notting Hill and similar sites were not on my list either.

I could go, but the point is, it all depends on your taste and attitude. After that, it's just a matter of looking things up and planning the itinerary. I have a couple of time-tested rules that work for me. I am a lazy/slow traveller, so I plan on visiting one major site or museum a day. I like to go out early (sometimes 6:00 am or earlier) to take photos of exteriors in the morning sun and with no people to spoil my compositions. I usually come 'home' in the afternoon, have lunch, and take a nap. I usually don't visit another site in the evening, but instead shop for food and spend several hours editing the day's photos. Then to bed early. Rinse and repeat.

Lastly, I plan my day count at any location based on days not nights. Unlike many people here I don't find it useful to think of lodging needs first. Therefore for London, I allocated 4 days, which meant 5 nights of an Airbnb booking. One day each for the museums listed above, and one day trip to Cambridge to visit the Fitzwilliam.

This is my process, others will tell you differently. If you have specific questions about my agenda feel free to ask, I am glad to help, otherwise enjoy London!