Checking into London

London's reputation as a thriving, culturally vibrant city is well-deserved. It boasts some of Europe's most impressive old architecture and landmarks as well as some equally statuesque modern monuments. The city doesn't come cheap; but knowing your Knightsbridge from Kentish Town can help reduce the costs. London's streets are full of markets, galleries and shops that are more edgy than expensive.

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. Check out market fare, with a decadent glass of bubbly in hand. 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.

Many of the more traditional pubs will sell traditional pints of 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. Just within reach of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, the recent Tate Modern and a handful of sites by the River Thames.

Paddington is a good, central location for hiring a hotel and by many major lines of transport. The Hyde Park Paddington is an economical choice at £30 per night.

The last key to affordable London is that museums are free. London's big-time museums, the Tate Britain and Modern and the National Portrait Gallery won't cost a penny and it's a free outing worth doing. 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.

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