London's Cultural Landscape

London's Cultural Landscape

London is one of the landmark cities of the world:rich in its Dickensian setting of market squares, cobbled lanes and culturally diverse landscape.

Among its strengths are the open markets, ethnic food, fabulous theatre and the best art museums anywhere.

Although London gets a bit pricey - especially if you are coming from outside the UK - there are ways to get around on a budget.

The best food that will not break the bank is found at open markets like the well-known Borough Market, and the smaller Exmouth market. Borough market has vendors from all over Europe and the UK selling cheeses, fresh meat, seafood, wine, pasties and pesto.

The food is great to pick up and take to sit in the park, or take home and cook. You can peruse the market with a glass of prosecco before deciding on what to eat. The prepared foods there are excellent, but the lines are quite long on the weekends.

Instead, getting some of the excellent cheese and some fresh bread might make for an easier meal. Exmouth market at Rosebury Avenue and Farringdon Road, has prepared foods, which should set you back approximately £5 for a generous plate. If you can avoid the local office crowd by getting there at noon or so, you'll happily avoid the long lines.

Drinks in pubs are also quite cheap in most areas, and for anyone coming from the states it is also a treat to not have to tip. The beers are also notably better than domestic macro-brews that Americans may be accustomed to.

There are a number of old-fashioned style pubs dotted around London selling equally old-fashioned ale. However, many of these pubs have now had cosmopolitan makeovers, with menus to rival some restaurants, so expect a gastro-pub mix-up of old and new influences. Accommodations are so often the rub when trying to travel cheaply.

There are deals to be had in London; however they just have to be sought out. The Crestfield Hotel in the King's Cross area, can be £20 per person per night and puts you in an interesting and newly resurgent area. King's Cross station is a hub for transit, making all of London easily accessible by tube and greater Europe as well, by Eurostar. If sightseeing and convenience are of utmost importance to you on your journey, the Holiday Inn Southwark is probably the most bang-for-your-buck. It is close to the Globe, the Tate Modern, and many other important sites in the south bank region.

If you are looking for accommodations in Hyde Park, try the Hyde Park Paddington, where rooms can run as low as 30 quid per person per night.

The last key to affordable London is that museums are free. The Tate Modern, the Tate Britain, the British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery are all free to enter and you are welcome to visit as often as you'd like. Specific exhibitions have to be paid for, but if you want to take in some art from the Italian Renaissance; it doesn't cost a penny. The museums can become a daytime refuge from pricey food and sometime aggressive shopping.

To stay in London on the cheap,. try having a look at Last Minute.com's website, for cheap hotels in London.