On a budget: Tours

Guided tours are one of the best ways to know a city, you are shown the most interesting spots along with a brief history lesson. It is not the same to simply admire the Houses of the Parliament than looking at it when receiving an architectural explanation of the building, the story behind Bonfire Night and some other information about the place.
Unfortunately, some of these tours can be quite expensive, so today we bring you a bunch of alternatives!

Free walking tours: yes, 100% free. If you enjoyed the tour, they encourage that you pay what you think it's worth, but if you don't have any money, well, no worries. You will find plenty of these just by googling "free tours London". They are usually last about 2 hours.

There are also companies where you can buy your tickets online and get a discount, but you may find them still expensive.

If you don't feel like walking, there is still an almost-free alternative to those expensive bus tours.
Take bus number 12, sit on the front row upstairs and enjoy the tour!
This bus route will take you by the London Eye, Houses of the Parliament, Westminster Square, Horse Guard Parade, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Circus.

You can also change buses at Trafalgar Square and take bus 15, which will take you to Saint Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London.

If you want to go pro, find information about these places online (Wikipedia, anyone?), print it out and take it with you.

We offer free maps at the hotel, so no need to buy one. You can also get a free map and information from the Tourist Information Centers that you'll find in central London (Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus...)

And over all, remember that London is a beautiful city and that you should try to see as much as possible, avoid the underground if you can. And for Londoners' sake, when taking the underground, stand on the right on the escalators (or someone may push you out of the way).

Is there something to do in Peckham?

Our reply, plenty.

When someone comes to you mid-afternoon and asks “what can I do in the area? Is there something to visit?”, you may feel that the answer is “not really” but you’re wrong. Peckham is not central London, but we can still offer a lot.
We've listed below some of our favorites:

·        South London Gallery

Contemporary art. A closer alternative to the Tate Modern. Free entry

Directions

Outside of the hotel to the left, 5 min walk on the other side of the road.

·         Peckham Rye Park & Common

A park with the following facilities:

1.    Café

2.    Toilets & baby changing

3.    Playground

4.    Picnic area

5.    Bowling green

6.    Outdoor gym

7.    Skate park

Directions

Bus 12 / 343 (15 min)

Or 25 min walk

·         Peckham Pelican

Yes, our neighbors. A café with a very busy schedule: from films, to silver ring workshops, poetry, political talks and exhibitions.

Check their Facebook page for weekly info.

Directions
Out of the hotel to the left, 2 min walk.

·         Rooftop Film Club

An open air cinema. I mean, it's summer! Why aren't you there already?

Tickets can be bought online.

Directions

On Rye Lane. The access is a bit hidden. After the second bridge of the train station, cross the road. Between a blue shop (Lyca mobile) and a red one (butcher’s), there is a small alley. Through there you will get to the entrance.

·         CFL Art Café

A 100% self-funded commercial humanitarian arts and entertainment company in the Bussey Building (same as the Rooftop film club).

Films, theatre, parties, concerts, exhibitions, comedy… the whole lot. 

Directions
On Rye Lane. The access is a bit hidden. After the second bridge of the train station, cross the road. Between a blue shop (Lyca mobile) and a red one (butcher’s), there is a small alley. Through there you will get to the entrance.

Arriving to/from the airport

A question that we get a lot is how to get from the airport to the hotel or the other way round.
Apart from the taxi option, which is probably the easiest but most expensive one (and it is subject to traffic jams), there are great connections by public transport.

London airports (arranged by distance):

1) Heathrow

• Cheap: EasyBus has a bus service from Heathrow terminals 1, 2, 3 to Shepherd's Bush (tickets from £1.95). From Shepherd's Bush, take the Overground to Clapham Junction, there change to the other Overground line and get off at Peckham Rye.
• Fast: take the Heathrow Express to Paddington (15min). Take the underground Bakerloo line to Elephant and Castle. From there you can take the train to Peckham Rye or take any of the following buses to "the Academy at Peckham", 12 / 136 / 171 / 343.
• Our favorite (cheap & fast): take the underground Piccadilly line to Leicester Square, change to the Northern line and get off at Oval. From there, bus 36 or 436 will take you to "the Academy at Peckham", opposite the hotel.

2) Gatwick

• Cheap: EasyBus (from £1.95) to Victoria Station. From there, train to Peckham Rye or buses 36 / 436 to "the Academy at Peckham".
• Fast: take the Gatwick Express to Victoria Station (30min). From there, train to Peckham Rye or buses 36 / 436 to "the Academy at Peckham".
• Our favorite (cheap & fast): take a regular train to Victoria Station (30min), London Bridge (30min) or Clapham Junction (25min). If you buy the tickets in advance, they're cheaper and you can check the exact timetable. From Victoria, train to Peckham Rye or buses 36 / 436 to "the Academy at Peckham". From London Bridge, train to Peckham Rye or bus 343 to "the Academy at Peckham". From Clapham Junction, Overground to Peckham Rye or bus 345 to "the Academy at Peckham".

3) London City

• Cheap: National Express bus (from £4.80) to Victoria Station. From there, train to Peckham Rye or buses 36 / 436 to "the Academy at Peckham".
• Fast: take the DLR to Canning Town. Take the underground Jubilee line to Canada Water. Change to the Overground and get off at Peckham Rye.
• Our favorite (cheap & fast): take the DLR to Shadwell, change to the Overground and get off at Peckham Rye.

4) Stansted

• Cheap: EasyBus (from £3.95) to Victoria Station. From there, train to Peckham Rye or buses 36 / 436 to "the Academy at Peckham".
• Fast: take the Stansted Express to Liverpool Street (47min). From there, walk to Moorgate and take the underground Northern line to Elephant & Castle. There, take the train to Peckham Rye or take any of the following buses to "the Academy at Peckham", 12 / 136 / 171 / 343.
• Our favorite (cheap & fast): take a regular train to Liverpool Street (47min). From there, walk to Moorgate and take the underground Northern line to Elephant & Castle. There, take the train to Peckham Rye or take any of the following buses to "the Academy at Peckham", 12 / 136 / 171 / 343.

5) Luton

• Cheap: EasyBus again (from £1.95) to Victoria Station. From there, train to Peckham Rye or buses 36 / 436 to "the Academy at Peckham".
• Fast: train to St. Pancras Station (25min) and from there, train to Peckham Rye.
• Our favorite (cheap & fast): train to St. Pancras Station (25min) or to Blackfriars (47min) and from any of those stations, train to Peckham Rye or bus 63 to Peckham Library.

Of course, there are other bus companies, shuttles, etc. but after comparing them all, we consider that these are the best options. If you still have any questions, or if you want us to arrange a pick up for you, do not hesitate to contact us at peckham@eurohotelsgroup.co.uk

Have a pleasant journey!

On a budget: Transport

London is an expensive city but if you plan your visit in advance, you can save a lot of money.
Transport is something that you won't be able to avoid and it is expensive, but a bit of research can halve its cost.
First of all, you can find all the information (maps, routes, fares, etc.) here. I will try to sum up the fare information for you, but if you want in-depth information, the TFL website is perfect for you.

Rule #1: AVOID single tickets
They are a rip off. A single underground ticket (no Oyster / contacless card) in zone 1 costs £4.80! Two single tickets add up to more than the daily Travelcard. Therefore, AVOID.

So, what can you do?

1. Oyster card: It costs £5 (deposit) + as much money as you need. Every time that you use it, the price of the ticket will be deducted until you get to a daily cap (the daily cap is the same as the daily travelcard). At the end of your stay, you can return your Oyster card in an underground station to get your £5 deposit back. It can be used in bus, train, underground, overground, DLR and River bus.
2. Travelcard: A daily transport ticket for as many journeys as you want. You can get it paper or put it in your Oyster card. The price depends on the chosen zone. It can be used in bus, train, underground, overground, DLR and (a discounted fare in) River bus.
3. Visitor Oyster card: It costs £3 (non-refundable) + postage + as much money as you choose. It is cheaper than a travelcard or Oyster card, but it has to be bought in advance. Includes discounts for some restaurants, shops, etc.
4. Bus & Tram pass: It costs £5; it's a daily ticket for as many buses & trams as you want. The hotel is far away from the tram line, but it is still a bargain even if you don't use the tram line.

Now, children:

• Under 11: Free in every transport when accompanied by an adult who has a valid ticket (excluding Group Day Travelcard). On some trains they have to pay a reduced fare.
• 11-15: They can get an Oyster card and get half of an adult rate, but this has to be done when kid and adult are together.
• 16-18: Adult fare unless they have a Zip Oyster photocard (which you have to apply for at least 4 weeks before visiting London). If they have one, they will pay half of an adult rate.

I hope that you find this information useful, since the fare system in London is quite complicated and it takes some time to understand how it works.

Welcome!

Ladies and gentlemen,

Welcome to  Best Western London Peckham Hotel's blog.

There is a lot of information about ourselves and London out there, but we feel that somehow it is not enough. We want to know you, and we want you to know us.
We love our job and our city, that have something in common: the variety of its people. And we really like that, our team is from all over the world, so are our guests. Therefore, getting to know each other will take sometime, a quick look to our website, or our TripAdvisor page won't be enough. And that is why we have created this blog! To introduce ourselves and our city and reach out to you.

Sit back, relax, we are here to make your stay in London as easy and pleasant as possible.