US Edition
The ultimate guide to having a luxurious weekend in London on a budget
With a new report labelling London a costly, ‘anti-tourist ghost city’, we share the secrets of an affordable break in the capital
As summer approaches, there seems to be no relief to the cost of living crisis, with inflation stubbornly high and transport increasingly expensive. New analysis from the Telegraph has suggested that rising prices are turning London into an “anti-tourist ghost city”.
Figures show that post-pandemic visitor numbers have bounced back faster elsewhere in Europe. Last year, arrivals in Paris were just 13 per cent below where they were in 2019, whereas Britain was still down a quarter. Meanwhile, countries such as Italy, Spain and Portugal are on course to draw in record levels of tourism revenues this summer.
For the visitor, many of London’s delights may now seem out of reach. Research by The Telegraph of two- and three-star Michelin restaurants in London shows that, on average, a tasting menu will now set customers back £191. Hotel prices have also shot up and even getting to the capital can prove prohibitively expensive, with stubbornly high air fares, Ulez charges and train fares recently raised by 5.9 per cent.
But like all of the world’s great cities, our capital cannot be so strictly defined. Yes, it may be all gold-flecked steaks and lobster pies in Mayfair and good deals are increasingly hard to find. But they do still exist if you know where to look and are aware of a few invaluable hacks.
Here we highlight how to have a good-value break in London, while still enjoying boutique hotels, Michelin dining, priceless artworks and live theatre.
Where to stay
Hotel prices in the capital have skyrocketed, with four-figure-a night charges at five-star establishments becoming depressingly common. However, there are still reasonable rooms available thanks to a new wave of trendy hotels which prioritise practicality but do away with the likes of minibars and turndown service.
The Locke group’s clutch of aesthetically pleasing aparthotels (set in convenient locations such as Tower Bridge, Aldgate and Bermondsey) start at just £140 a night but feel far more premium. Each comes with a kitchen (useful for budget meals), corner sofa, trailing plants and Netflix-compatible televisions for a home-away-from-home feel. Other options in a similar vein include Ruby Lucy and quirky French chain Mama Shelter.
For something more intimate, book a room at stylish East London pub the Culpeper, or its close-by sibling the Buxton. More chic gastro-pub than old boozer, expect exposed brick, vintage furnishings and biodynamic wines on the menu – and rooms from £125.
Those who are willing to compromise on space, could plump for compact but cleverly designed rooms from just £99 at Yotel’s Shoreditch or Clerkenwell locations.
As the tentacles of gentrification have unfurled, a number of decent hotels have sprouted up in the suburbs, which provide better value for money but are still just a short train hop from the action. Top picks include Birch, a members’ club with rooms in the style of Soho House which has an outpost in Hertfordshire’s Cheshunt and has just opened up in Selsdon, close to Croydon. Among the latter’s selling points are an Art Deco-inspired lido, tennis courts, live music events and 200 acres of grounds to explore. Doubles at Birch Selsdon start at £128 in June, including £20 credit per guest to spend on food and drink on site. If the half-hour train journey puts you off, rates in the likes of well-connected Stratford, where glossy hotels like the Gantry and eponymous Stratford hold court, still tend to be lower than Zone 1.
Other hacks include checking rates at City hotels, which often drop their prices at the weekend when the business travellers have gone home. For cut-price five-star options try Moorgate’s sleek South Place Hotel (doubles from £200) or the Andaz London Liverpool Street (doubles from £176).
Find more brilliant budget hotels in our comprehensive guide.
Where to eat
London is now one of the world’s great food cities, with a price tag to match. However, some of the capital’s top spots offer excellent set-lunch deals. Among the best is the chefs’ favourite Noble Rot, which has outposts in Bloomsbury (near the British Museum), Mayfair and Soho. A recent menu included smoked cod’s roe followed by roast lamb and finishing in pistachio cake – yours for £26. Add on what might be the best bread basket in London (featuring focaccia, sourdough, treacly soda bread and properly salted butter) and you’ll still get away from one of the city’s most coveted restaurants for just £30. Or for a steal of a Michelin meal, book Hackney’s fish-focused Behind, which offers a six-course tasting menu on Thursday and Friday lunchtimes for £54 – half the price of its evening service.
Pre-theatre deals are also a great option if you don’t mind eating early. Parisian import Frenchie in Covent Garden serves elegant menus featuring smoked sea bream carpaccio and duck confit for £29 from 5.30pm to 6pm (plus lunchtimes). A snip compared to the £80 menu it serves later on.
Otherwise, the capital does a great line in reasonably priced but high-quality Italian restaurants. Dotted around Zone 1 are Padella, Pastaio and Bancone, all of which offer freshly made pasta – think thick ribbons of pappardelle with slow cooked beef shin – for little more than £10 a plate.
For a casual (and cheap) evening meal, try one of the lively neon-signed Vietnamese restaurants along East London’s Kingsland Road – among the best are Sông Quê and BúnBúnBún, which serves up hearty noodle salads topped with prawns, peanuts and a spring roll. Close by, are the popular Punjabi restaurants of Whitechapel, most of which allow you to bring your own drinks to enjoy alongside charred lamb chops and aubergine dahl. Tayyabs always has the longest queues but Needoo Grill and Lahore Kebab House are equally good.
Some of London’s best-value eats can also double up as cultural experiences, not least a jaunt to a food market. Borough may be a little over-subscribed these days, but it’s still an excellent spot for quality produce and a chorizo-stuffed roll. Try nearby Maltby Street Market for a little more breathing room and dishes from the likes of Ethiopia and Venezuela. Further south, both Brockley and Herne Hill markets (on Saturdays and Sundays respectively) have a more local, villagey feel.
And for the ultimate East End experience, try E Pellicci, the Anglo-Italian Bethnal Green caff which has been doling out fry-ups to an eclectic crowd since 1900. The supersize full English (£12.80) is large enough to share, but you’ll want to spring for a jar of their homemade pesto (£6) to take home.
What to do
Visits to most of the best museums and galleries won’t set you back a penny, at least if you stick to their permanent collections. This includes big-hitters such as the British Museum, British Library, Natural History Museum, National Gallery plus both the Tate Britain and Tate Modern. Smaller but equally enticing options include the Wallace Collection, a townhouse in Marylebone full of antique French furniture and masterpieces by Rembrandt and Velázquez amassed by the Hertford-Wallace family throughout the 19th century. Further east, the Museum of the Home charts the changing middle-class living room from 1600 to the present. Highlights include a recreations of a gaudy 1970s lounge and 17th-century parlour.
If you’re willing to fork out just a few pounds, other cultural delights await. Standing tickets for Shakespeare plays at the Globe Theatre cost only £5. These tend to sell out quickly, but last-minute tickets are released every Friday at 11am. Ballet fans can also snap up £5 tickets for performances at the Royal Opera House, so long as they don’t mind sitting in the gods.
Getting around
There’s no avoiding it, compared to other European capitals, London transport is ruinously expensive. However, there are a few hacks that help limit the damage. First off, avoid the rip-off airport express trains. The Elizabeth Line is typically half the price of the Heathrow Express and only 15 minutes longer to Paddington. It also has the benefit of connecting directly with more central stations. Even more bizarrely, the Gatwick Express charges a premium compared to the standard Southern Rail trains which run on the same tracks and sometimes take only a couple of minutes longer.
On the Tube, avoid buying pricey single-journey tickets and daily travel cards. The easiest and cheapest option is to simply tap-in with a contactless debit card. If you’re visiting from abroad and don’t have a card (such as Monzo) which doesn’t charge interest, purchase an Oyster card which can be topped up and charges the same fare.
Plan your days carefully and the city is also very walkable. Look up a map, or use an app, which informs you of the time on foot between tube stations, as these are often surprisingly short. For example, the stroll between Leicester Square and Covent Garden takes just five minutes, certainly not worth the £2.80 tube fare.
Finally, swerve those tourist-enticing open bus tours in favour of a standard double decker. Pick the right route, secure the front seat upstairs and you’ll be able to see the same sights for around £35 cheaper.