Fordham University London Centre DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NEW YORK AND LONDON While many of you will be coming to us from other universities in the United States, most of you will be coming from Fordham in New York City. But whether you’re used to New York, California, or the Midwest, London is a whole other world! GREEN SPACE Central Park is lovely, but London has a lot more green space than New York City. Richmond Park, located in southwest London, is approximately 3 times larger than Central Park, and is home to around 600 free-roaming deer. In central London, you also have Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, St James’ Park, Green Park, and Greenwich Park, just to name the largest ones! THE LAY OF THE LAND While New York is divided into 5 boroughs, and is bordered by the East and Hudson Rivers, London is divided into North and South by the River Thames. The London Centre and most of London’s central attractions are on the north side of the river. However, the London Eye, Tate Modern, and Borough Market are all on the South Bank. London is divided into 32 royal boroughs, but you will more commonly simply refer to the neighbourhoods of London, such as Notthing Hill, Hammersmirth, Kensington, Shoreditch, and Bloomsbury-to name a few. THE SUBWAY / THE TUBE The main benefits of the subway over the tube is that it is cheaper and runs 24 hours. While you’re in London, keep in mind that the “The Night Tube” only runs on Fridays and Saturdays on the Victoria, Jubilee, and most of the Central, Northern and Piccadilly lines. Otherwise trains normally run from about 5:00am until about midnight. However, the Tube is cleaner and easier to navigate - but make sure you stand on the right! Especially during rush hour, it is very important that you leave the left side of the escalator clear for people to walk up or down. Most people use the Citymapper app to plan their journeys, but the many lines and their routes are clearly marked in every station and on every train. The nearest station to the London Centre is Farringdon Station (5 minute walk), and it is served by the District, Circle, and Metropolitan lines. Also nearby is Chancery Lane (Central line) and Holborn (Piccadilly and Central). THE FOOD SCENE Long gone is London and the UK’s reputation for bland food. We could spend hours debating which city has the better food scene, but instead we will just say this: If you leave London thinking the only food the UK has to offer is soggy fish and chips with mushy peas, you will have done yourself a disservice! You can enjoy fantastic food from all over the world for less than £10 at any of London’s street food markets (Borough Market, Camden Global Food Market, Portobello, Broadway, Brick Lane, and Spitalfields just to name a few!). PACE OF LIFE The pace is slightly slower here in London. Of course, compared to the rest of the UK and Europe, London is known as a bustling metropolis, but we find that students from New York City tend to notice that things are a bit more relaxed compared to the Big Apple. Similarly, there are a lot fewer places in London that are open 24 hours. Shops on Oxford Street tend to close by 9PM, sometimes at 6PM outside Zones 1 and 2. Some supermarkets sometimes close as early as 5PM on Sundays, and pubs normally close at 11PM. If New York is “the city that never sleeps”, think of London as “the place that quite likes to be in bed by midnight”. TRANSPORT IN LONDON While on the London Underground, you will commonly hear about two main methods of payment: Oyster and contactless. The London Centre encourages all students to get an Oyster card for their semester in London. While it is also possible to buy single paper tickets, we strongly advise against this as the rate is much more expensive than if you were to use an Oyster Card for your journey. Always remember to tap your Oyster card when entering and exiting the station, even if the barriers are open. If you don’t, the system won’t be able to charge you the correct amount for your journey, and you will automatically be charged the maximum fare (£7.80). If your credit/debit card is set up for contactless payment, you can also use that to tap in and out for your public transport journeys. ZONES London is divided into 6 main zones which are served by the London Underground. These zones start at 1 in the centre of London, and then move out of the centre in a circle (though not a perfect circle!), with Zone 6 being the furthest from central London. The London Centre and most of the places you will want to visit are within Zones 1 and 2. Below are some attractions you may be familiar with in zones outside of central London: Zone 3: London City Airport, Olympic Park at Stratford, Horniman Museum Zone 4: Kew Gardens, Wembley Stadium Zone 6: Heathrow Airport BUSES Buses are a good, less expensive alternative to the Tube. For students who use a pay- as- you go Oyster, a single journey between Zones 1 and 2 will cost £2.90 during peak hours (peak hours are 6:30-9:30 AM and 4:00 - 7:00 PM). However, a bus journey is £1.50 no matter what time of day or how far you travel. If you need to use two buses for your journey, as long as you board the second bus and tap your Oyster within one hour of starting your journey, the second bus journey is free. You only need to tap your Oyster when boarding the bus - not when you get off. FEEDING YOURSELF AND DINING OUT SUPERMARKETS The main supermarkets you will find in London and the rest of the UK are listed below, starting with the least expensive, and ending with the most expensive. Generally speaking, the smaller, convenience versions of these shops will be slightly more expensive than their larger counterparts. If you can find a large shop you will save more money by shopping there. 1. Aldi 2. Lidl 3. Asda 4. Morrison’s 5. Tesco 6. Co-op 7. Sainsbury’s 8. Waitrose 9. Marks and Spencer (M&S) 10. Whole Foods ON THE GO There are several fast food and coffee out- lets around our London Centre that you may not be familiar with. LEON: Fast, healthy, and delicious - Leon is a staff and student favourite that can easily cater to a wide variety of dietary requirements. PIEMINSTER: Right on Leather Lane, selling classic British meat (and vegetarian) pies in pastry, with mash on the side! ITSU: London Japanese food chain selling sushi, noodles, and soups. COSTA COFFEE: The largest coffee chain in the UK, selling packaged breakfast and lunch items. LEATHER LANE: Not a restaurant in itself, but the street that intersects Clerkenwell Road right in front of the London Centre is renowned for its dozens of street food vendors who sell cuisine from all over the world at lunchtime on weekdays. A HELPFUL RESTAURANT GUIDE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE CUISINES Mexican: Wahaca Pizza/Italian: Franco Manca, Pizza Pilgrims, ASK Italian Indian: Dishoom Cheeky: Nando’s Coffee: Caffè Nero, Pret A Manger, Costa, Starbucks, Gail’s Asian: Wagamama, Itsu Burgers: Byron, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Honest Burger, Bleecker Street LET’S GET CULTURAL MUSEUMS All national museums in London and the UK are free to enter, but a donation is requested. Some museums may have special exhibitions that require a fee. South Kensington is home to a number of famous museums, with the Natural History Museum a personal favourite. Who wouldn’t want to see a roaring T-rex robot? You also have the Natural Science and Victoria & Albert museums all within a five minute walking radius. And they are all free! In the North of London, near Euston Station is the Welcome Collection. Marketed as the “free destination for the incurably curious,” the Welcome Collection often has exhibitions related to biology. The British Museum is a quick walk from here, and is home to the Rosetta Stone among other worldly treasures. For art, you can head to the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square to see paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900, including Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers”. The Tate Modern, along London’s South Bank has one of the largest collections of modern and contemporary art in the world, and holds the national collection of British art from 1900 to present day. At the top of the Tate Modern is a recently opened viewing platform which provides free 360° views of London, and is a great alternative to the London Eye. CINEMA British people don’t go to the movie theatre - they go to the cinema! Going to the cinema in London is notoriously more expensive than in the rest of the country, but if you’re a film lover, there are a couple of ways around paying full price for a ticket. Firstly, as students, you will be entitled to a concession ticket, which is normally a couple of pounds cheaper than a standard ticket. Another option is called “Meerkat Movies”, and it is a scheme run through the insurance company Compare the Market. If you purchase insurance through Compare the Market, you can enroll in “Meerkat Movies” to receive 2 for 1 cinema tickets once a week on Tuesdays or Wednesdays for a full year.