Information Sources
1) Guidebook: The 1-2 page summary in your guidebook usually provides the quickest overview, but may be outdated.
2) Website: More likely to contain updated information on ticket prices and warnings of possible service disruptions (see below for Peter Ronai's adverse experience).
3) Tourist Information Office: often located at the airport; the most accurate source of information – usually updated daily.
4) Intercom stands: available at a few stations (e.g. Berlin), where you can get travel information in English.
Tickets
1) Purchase:
• usually available at most subway stations (Budapest is at least one exception that I have met), but usually NOT ON BUSES in Continental Europe.
• conventional tickets, but usually not discounted tickets and passes, are often sold at tobacconists or newspaper stands in Continental Europe.
• know the local word for "ticket".
2) Discounts and Passes:
• packets of tickets (e.g. a "carnet' of 10 tickets on the Paris Metro) are usually better value.
• Day, Multiple Day, or Week Passes, which usually include bus as well as subway travel, are often sold by Zones: most tourists need a Pass for only the inner city (Zones 1 and 2 in Paris and London), not for the entire system. Some Weekly Passes (e.g. the "Carte Orange" in Paris) require a passport photo; always take 2 EXTRA PHOTOS on each overseas trip, in case you need a Pass or lose your passport!
• Travel Passes for tourists may be cheaper if bought outside Europe (e.g. for the London Underground), but you run the risk of your Pass being non-refundable, if your plans change.
3) Time Validation of your ticket is usually done as you pass through the turnstile on the subway, but you must look for the appropriate machine on buses. The fine for travelling with an unvalidated ticket (which one could use for another journey) is usually the same as for traveling without a ticket.
4) Hold onto your ticket until the end of your journey; you need it for the exit turnstile and you might need it for random inspections.
Signs
1) Language:
• Subway systems using a "foreign" alphabet (e.g. Athens, Tokyo, Shanghai, etc.) usually have signs in English, whereas many West European cities do not, in which case you need to learn a few critical words. In Paris, for example, you look for the sign "correspondance" to change lines, whereas exit is "sortie".
• Route Maps are usually easy to follow; those in Paris light up to show stations for connections.
2) Names of Stops:
• Know the name of the LAST STOP on your route, as not all trains on a given color line follow the same itinerary; this is particularly important in Paris and London.
• Know the name of the stop BEFORE the one you want, so that you are ready to dismount quickly.
Alternatives
The subway is not always your fastest or best route. Some examples include:
1) For short journeys of half a mile or so, it is usually quicker and nearly always more pleasant to take the bus or to walk.
2) Because Berlin was almost completely rebuilt after WW II, the S-Bahn (Schnell-Bahn, fast surface trains with few stops) is often faster than the U-Bahn (Underground). Don't confuse the S-Bahn with the Strassen-Bahn (relatively slow trams).
3) Rome's Metro is more useful to commuters than to tourists, because archeological sites prevent the building of tunnels to many of the places that you want to visit. The bus or walking is often faster, but watch out for pickpockets on Bus 64!**
4) Some of Lisbon's trams provide thrilling rides, especially Nos. 12 & 28 through the Alfama. No. 15 to Belém is also pleasant.
5) Many large cities outside Europe, such as Bombay, Cairo, Delhi, Johannesburg, etc., don't have subway systems.
Connecting from London's Airports
When you arrive by air in London on American, Continental, or United, you'll probably land at Heathrow. Delta, Northwest, US Air and some Continental and American flights land at Gatwick. No U.S. carriers as far as I know, land at Stansted, but you may land there if you fly on some British and European carriers. Of these three airports, only Heathrow has a direct connection to the London Underground. However, all three airports have British Rail connections with the Underground via express trains: the Hamstead Express (to Paddington Station), the Gatwick Express (to Victoria Station) and the Stansted Express (to Liverpool Station). It is a relatively simple matter to transfer at these stations to the Underground system. If you have a lot of luggage, you will probably be better off using one of the commercial companies that run buses from the airports to most of the London hotels, rather than using the Underground, particularly if you are arriving on a weekday when the underground is crowded.
If you decide to use the Heathrow Express train, you need to reserve seats in advance. You can do this on the Internet at http://www.heathrowexpress.com before you leave home. You can pick up your tickets at ticket vending machines at Heathrow a minimum of 1 hour after you make reservations. A round trip ("return") ticket is £26, but you can save a bunch by combining the Heathrow Express ticket with a London Visitor Travelcard (see below). The Express leaves every 15 minutes and takes 15 minutes to go from Heathrow to Paddington Station.
The Gatwick Express also requires advance reservations, but there are no ticket vending machines at Gatwick, and reservations must be made at least a day in advance. Reservations can be made at http://www.gatwickexpress.com. When you make your reservation, you receive a reference number, which you give to a customer service representative when you board the train. A round trip ticket is £23.50, but there is a special deal ("the 4 for 2" deal) if there are at least 4 adults in your party: 4 round trip tickets for £47. You cannot combine Gatwick Express tickets with the London Visitor Travelcard. The Gatwick Express leaves every 15 minutes and takes 30 minutes to go from Gatwick to Victoria Station.
The Stansted Express also requires advance reservations (http://www.stanstedexpress.com), but there are ticket vending machines at Stansted, where you can pick up your tickets (at least 1 hour after making reservations). Tickets cost £24.50 round trip, and there are no "deals" on Stansted Express tickets currently. The Express leaves Stansted every 15-30 minutes, and takes 45 minutes to get to Liverpool.
Traveling on "The Tube"
Once you are in London, "The Tube" is by far the best way to get around. It is relatively clean and safe, and of course, avoids the dreadful surface traffic. Traveling by automobile in London is a miserable experience, and can be expensive because of the Lord Mayor's "congestion charge," a £5 daily fee which is levied on all motor traffic into Central London. There are Tube stations all over London; pretty much anywhere you want to go is just a short walk from a Tube station. Maps of the London Underground system can be downloaded from the Internet http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/maps and are available at all Tube stations. They are also displayed inside every carriage (above the windows). Each Tube "line" is color-coded with its own color, both on the maps, and on signs at the Tube stations, so it is very easy to navigate through the system. However, it is very important to take note on the map (and on the platform indicators) the last station on the line you want to use, as you might otherwise catch a train that does not go all the way to your stop, or a train that goes in the opposite direction on the selected line (it is very easy to get turned around when you are underground). The two most important lines for travel around Central London are the Circle Line (yellow) and the Central Line (red).
One of the most important tips on using the Tube is to check the Tube web site http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/ before traveling to London, to see what service disruptions or changes are in effect. The last time my wife and I were in London we were there specifically to spend a week at the British Museum. Our hotel was close to a Central Line station, and we planned to take the Central Line each day to a station a short walk from the Museum. Little did we know that the Central Line was still closed from a derailment 4 months previously. We tried to take the bus each day, but the combined effects of the Central Line closure and the vehicular "congestion charge" (which had been newly instituted a few days before our visit) resulted in a total overload of the bus sytem. On top of that (as if that weren't enough), the bus service into central London was periodically shut down because of street demonstrations against the Iraq war! We did a lot of walking that week! Had we checked the Tube's web site before making our travel arrangements, we would have been warned and deferred our visit.
Buying Tube Tickets
You can purchase tickets at all Tube stations, either individually or as 1-day or 3-day passes. London residents can buy season passes (called "Oyster Passes") for longer periods. You can save money by buying a "London Visitor TravelCard" before you leave the USA (these cannot be purchased in London). You can buy 2-, 3-, 4-, or 7-day Travelcards for Central London (Zones 1 & 2) or for the whole of London (Zones 1-6). A 3-day pass for Zones 1-6 purchased at a Tube station costs £37, compared with a 3-day Travelcard purchased before you leave the USA, which costs the dollar equivalent of only £19.80! Various charges for the London Visitor Travelcard can be found at http://www.ticket-on-line.com. Additional savings can be had by combining Heathrow Express tickets with the Travelcard. A round trip ticket from Heathrow to Paddington Station costs £26 when purchased at Heathrow, but only £13.30 when added to a 4-day Zone 1-6 Travelcard, and only £3.90 when added to a 7-day Zone 1-6 Travelcard! Of course, you give up a certain amount of flexibility if you buy any tickets in advance, but you gain in convenience and price.
You can purchase London Visitor Travelcards directly from London at http://www.ticket-on-line.com or from Europe Express, 19805 North Creek Parkway, Suite 100, Bothell, WA 98011. Their toll-free number is 1-800-927-3876. Whether you order your tickets from London or from Europe Express, tickets are mailed to you at your home address, so you need to do this far enough in advance to receive the tickets before you leave.
Note that Tube tickets and London Visitor travelcards are good for use on both the Tube and on public (i.e. London transport) buses. (There are some private companies that run double-decker buses, and these don't accept Tube tickets or Travelcards.)
**Actually, one should watch out for pickpockets wherever one travels. As Rick Steves says, the best way to avoid theft by pickpockets is to use a moneybelt under your clothes for cash, credit cards, travelers checks, passports and any other important documents you want to carry with you. Not using a moneybelt is asking for trouble.
