Getting There

By Car

To anyone thinking of arriving in the capital by car, our most important piece of advice would be: "Don't." Roads in and around the city are clogged with traffic, and the M25 highway that rings the city is prone to major time-eating traffic jams at any time of day -- but especially between 7:30 and 9am, or 4 and 7pm, on weekdays, and on Sundays from mid-afternoon onward. And once you're in the city, just about every technology yet imagined is deployed against you. On top of that, and despite the complaints and grumbles of Londoners, the public transportation system is pretty efficient.

That said, if you must drive, not all routes into the city have been created equal, and road maps can be deceiving. From the north, the M1 and A1 converge at London's North Circular Road (the A406), and then proceed in a fairly orderly fashion into the center, with the occasional bottleneck and inevitable jam. It's horribly clogged at peak traffic hours, but otherwise a reasonable route into the north of the city. From the west, both the M40/A40 and M4/A4 routes into the city are similarly efficient. (Remember, we're talking in relative terms here; no one averse to sitting in stationary traffic should attempt any of these routes at peak times.) From the east and northeast, take the M11 or A12 roads into the city. Approaching the city from the south is much more problematic, however. London's supposed South Circular Road (the A205) is that in name only. It's little more than a collection of linked high-streets for much of its length, and very slow going. Roads from the south into the center are similarly tortuous. From Kent and the Channel ports, the A2 usually clips along satisfactorily outside rush hour, although the bottleneck at the Blackwall Tunnel creates long queues every weekday. From the southwest, it's usually quicker to head clockwise around the M25 to enter London via the M4 or M40 , unless you're heading for a southwestern suburb such as Richmond, Kew, or Twickenham. From Brighton and the south coast, the arrow-straight M23/A23 route might look inviting, but it's incredibly slow. You're usually better advised to head anticlockwise around the M25 to pick up the A2 for the City and East London, or clockwise to the M4 for the West End -- even though that looks insane on a roadmap.

By Train

Precisely which of London's many mainline stations you arrive at depends on where you start your journey. Paddington station serves Heathrow Airport, and also destinations west of London -- including Oxford, Reading, Bath, Bristol and Wales and Cornwall -- as far as South Wales. Marylebone station is used mostly by commuters, but also serves Warwick and Stratford-upon-Avon. Euston station serves North Wales and major cities in northwest England, including Liverpool and Manchester; trains also depart from here to the Lake District and Glasgow, Scotland, via the West Coast Mainline. King's Cross station is the endpoint of the East Coast Mainline -- trains arrive here from York, Newcastle, and Edinburgh. Liverpool Street station is the City's main commuter hub, but also links London with Stansted Airport, Cambridge, and Norwich. The City's other mainline stations -- Cannon Street, Moorgate, Blackfriars, and Fenchurch Street -- are also heavily used by commuters from the neighboring counties of Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, as is Charing Cross station, close to Trafalgar Square. Waterloo station serves the southwest of England: trains from Devon, Dorset, and Hampshire terminate here, as do Salisbury services. Victoria station serves Gatwick Airport, as well as cities and towns across southern England, including Brighton. South of the River Thames, London Bridge Station is another busy commuter hub, and also serves Brighton and Gatwick Airport. Each of London's mainline train stations is connected to the city's vast bus and Underground networks , and each has phones, sandwich bars, fast-food joints, luggage storage areas, and somewhere to ask for transport information.

Missing from the above list is St. Pancras station, the London hub for high-speed Eurostar services to Paris and Brussels, as well as some domestic services to the East Midlands and South Yorkshire. Restored and reopened in 2007, it connects England with Belgium and France through the multibillion-pound Channel Tunnel. Recent upgrades to the line mean you can now reach London from Brussels in 1 hour 51 minutes, and from Paris in 2 hours and 15 minutes. It is also served by six Underground routes -- the Victoria, Northern, Piccadilly, Circle, Hammersmith & City, and Metropolitan lines -- as well as seven rail companies. In the U.K., you can make reservations for Eurostar by calling tel. 0843/2186-186; in North America, book online at www.eurostar.com, or contact Rail Europe (tel. 800/622-8600, or 800/361-7245 in Canada; www.raileurope.com). U.S. visitors arriving from Continental Europe should remember that the validity of the Eurail pass ends at the English Channel. You'll need to purchase a separate BritRail pass if you plan to tour the U.K.; visit www.britrail.com.

The plethora of train companies running services on Britain's deregulated railways can seem very confusing to visitors -- as indeed it is to locals. The best source of timetable and price information for any rail journey is National Rail Enquiries (tel. 08457/48-49-50 or 020/7278-5240; www.nationalrail.co.uk). As long as you're sure of your travel dates and times, booking tickets in advance from theTrainline.com or Quno.com can bag significant savings on long-distance travel. You can opt to collect tickets from your departure station. If you're fortunate, MegaTrain (www.megatrain.com) may have a seat on your route at a deep discount.

By Bus

Long-distance buses, or "coaches," are generally the cheapest -- but also the slowest and least comfortable -- way to reach London. Just about every sizable town in the U.K. has a coach link with the capital, most run by National Express (tel. 0871/781-8181; www.nationalexpress.com). Depending on where you are starting your journey, super-budget MegaBus (tel. 0871/266-3333; www.megabus.com) may be an option, with ticket prices starting at just a couple of pounds. The Oxford Tube (tel. 01865/772250; www.oxfordtube.com) links London with Oxford 3 or 4 times an hour.

Most buses terminate at Victoria coach station, 164 Buckingham Palace Rd. (tel. 020/7730-3466), although many offer intermediate stops in the capital too.