Essentials Guide to London -

Practicalities

Essential things to know

before coming to the UK
National Holidays Currency - Money Languages
Weather / Climate Manners / Etiquette Telephone / Post
Shop Opening Hours Emergency Services Electricity
Tipping Getting to London Clothing Sizes
Best time to visit Time Public Conveniences
Toilets
Weight / Measurements

National Holidays:
January 1 - New Year's Day
Mar/Apr - Good Friday
Mar/Apr - Easter Monday
First Monday in May - May Day Bank Holiday
Last Monday in May - Spring Bank Holiday
Last Monday in August - Summer Bank Holiday
Dec 25 - Christmas Day
Dec 26 - Boxing Day

Almost all attractions close on Christmas Day. On other holidays

some attractions open, often with reduced hours.

National Holidays are called Bank Holidays. Find out the dates for
this year

Find out about our National Days

Festivals and other Special Days

Currency:
Pounds Sterling Find out more

The United Kingdom has not yet joined the

Euro but some stores do accept it, and there is
a large number of banks and bureau de change
outlets in London where you can cash
travellers cheques and change currency.

Cash points (ATMs) are widely available

You can ask for 'Cashback' when making purchases with a debit
card at supermarkets. Visa and Access (Mastercard) widely
accepted, other cards often accepted.

Banking hours officially 09:30-15:30, but most banks open

usually till about 17:00.

Changing Money

Most banks and major post offices will be able to change money
for you. And in the larger cities you will find bureau de change
offices, usually in places like train stations or travel agencies.

For cash withdrawals on a visa card, you will need to produce

your passport.

Cheques accepted everywhere - though a valid cheque card must

be produced.

Tourist cheques can be paid into British banks, but will be subject
to a fee.

Commission rates and fees vary from one bureau de change to

another. In major cities like London charges can often be
extortionate. Check the rates and fees before you change your
money, and remember that it may be worthwhile to shop around.
Languages: English
English is spoken everywhere.
American English often differs from British English. Our list of
often confused words is here.

Find out about our different accents

Why is American English different from British English?

Glossary of British words

Weather:
England's weather remains the most frequent topic of
conversation. Although England does have a reputation for wet
weather all year round, it doesn't rain every day all year around.
However it is impossible to guarantee good or bad weather in any
given month - so be prepared for anything.
Find out more about our weather here.

Best time to visit :

The summer months are when mosts Brits take their holidays,
with schools breaking up for the whole of August. The summer
months have the best weather but crowds at tourist attractions
tend to peak around June-September.

 From March until May spring will have arrived, there is a

good chance of fine weather. Some tourist attraction don't
open until Easter weekend.
 June through to September is the peak summer period.
Gardens will be in full bloom, the evenings long and the
warm days just right for wandering around.
 October and November are the months when autumn sets
in. The leaves on the trees change to all shades of brown
and orange.
 December through to February is the winter period.
Manners:
The British are said to be reserved in manners, dress and speech.
We are famous for our politeness, self-discipline and especially
for our sense of humour.
Find out more here

Communications :
The traditional red phone boxes are now rare;
instead kiosks come in a wide variety of designs
and colours. Coin-operated phones take Most
payphones accept 10p, 20p, 50p & £1 coins, but
card-operated phones are often more
convenient. British Telecom phone cards are
available in most newsagents or grocers. Calls
from hotels are expensive.

Dialling codes: The UK international dialling code

is +44 and the area code for London is (0)20.

We now have Internet as well as normal telephone boxes in

London. The photo above shows a blue internet phone box with a
red 'normal' phone box behind.

How much does a phone call cost?

The minimum fee is 40p (forty pence).

Local and National calls are charged at
40p for the first 20 minutes, then 10p
for each subsequent 10 minutes or
portion thereof.

Credit and Debit cards

To make a call using a Credit/Debit

Card, swipe the card through the card
reader on the phone and follow the
instructions.

Call prices - 20p per minute. Minimum fee £1.20 (includes £1

connection charge) for Local and National calls.

International Calls and calls to phone mobiles

The minimum fee is £1.20 (includes £1 connection charge.

International Phone Cards

Pre-paid phone cards can be bought from selected newsagents,

off licenses and convenience stores or internet cafes. They are
sold in denominations of £5, £10, £15 and £20. The card will be
pre-charged to the value shown on the card face.

Posting a Letter
Post offices are open Mon-Fri 9-
5:30, Sat 9-1. A first class letter
posted by 18:00, should arrive the
next morning within the UK - check
the 'last posting times' on the red
postboxes.

Stamps can be bought individually

at post offices or in books of four or
ten at newsagents, off-licences and
groceries.

Meal times
Find out more here

Opening Hours:
General opening hours for shops are 09:00 - 05.30 (9am -
5:30pm) Monday-Saturday. However, in the larger towns you will
probably find shops open late some evenings (usually Thursday
or Friday).

On Sunday shops open from about 11:00-17:00 in the major

shopping areas.
Find out more about Shops

Supermarkets tend to be open 7 days a week with longer opening

hours - usually until 8pm or 10pm most evenings, with reduced
hours of 10am - 4pm on a Sunday. Some in larger towns now
open 24 hours, but it is worth checking first.

Offices run 09:30 to 17:30

Pubs open traditionally 11:00 to 15:00 and 17:00 to 23:00

Find out more about pubs

Emergency services:
To contact the police, fire brigade or ambulance service in an
emergency, you can dial 999 free of charge from any public or
private phone. In case of accident, most major hospitals have 24
hour accident and emergency departments.

Electricity:
The power supply in Britain is 230/240 volts. Sockets accept only
three-(square)-pin plugs, so an adapter is needed for continental
European and US appliances. A transformer is also needed for
appliances operating on 110-120 volts.

Tipping
The following is intended only as a guide to customary practice:
Hotels

Most hotel bills include a service charge, usually 10-12%. Where

a service charge is not included in a hotel restaurant, it is
customary to give 10-15% of the restaurant bill and for rooms an
optional amount to room staff.

Restaurants

Some restaurant bills include a service charge; where a service

charge is not included it is customary to leave a tip of 10-15% of
the bill. Some restaurants now include a suggested tip in the bill
total.

Porterage

75p - £1 per suitcase.

Taxis

10-15% of the fare.

Hairdressers

10-15%

Getting to London
London has good transport links to all major UK cities and is
served by Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and London City
airports.

By Air: If you are travelling to London from Heathrow, Gatwick or

Stansted Airports, you can find detailed information about
transport links and airport facilities from the BAA website .
Information about London City Airport is on a separate website.

By Rail: The National Rail website allows you to plan your journey
and will keep you up to date on service alterations. This site will
also enable you to check prices and purchase your train tickets
online.

By Road: The RAC website will show you the most direct route to
London from any UK and some European destinations. This site
contains up to date traffic news.

Time:
Greenwich, in London, is where you will find the Prime Meridian -
the line that divides the Earth into East and West and from which
the world's time is set. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the term
used for the current time on this line, and clocks and watches all
the world over are set in relation to this.

Britain and Ireland in theory follow GMT, but in the summer

months everything is confused by what is called Daylight-saving
time. From late March to late October, Britain and Ireland are
actually one hour ahead of GMT.
What time is it in England now?
When do the clocks change?

Public Conveniences - toilets:

In the UK public conveniences are referred to by a number of
names. The most common names heard in the street are 'toilet;
and 'ladies and gents'. We don't use the word bathroom for toilet.
The word bathroom to us means a room with a bath. Nor do we
use the word restroom. If you do ask for a restroom people will
just look confused.

Public conveniences can be found in most rail stations and larger

bus terminals. You can also find them in town centres,
department stores, shopping arcades, supermarkets, and at all
major tourist attractions. Most towns will have a map in the
central area with public conveniences marked on them.

Public toilets should be provided in all pubs, restaurants and cafes

so make use of these facilities if you are stopping for a bite to
eat. But please note - it is considered bad manners to use a pub
or restaurants' facilities if you are not a customer.

The vast majority of public toilets are free, although in major

tourist areas such as London you will probably have to pay about
20 pence.

Clothing

Ladies’ Clothing

UK 10 12 14 16 18 20 22

USA 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

EUROPE 38 40 42 44 47 50 52

Men's shirt collars

UK 14 14 15 15 16 16 17 17
½ ½ ½ ½

USA 14 14 15 15 16 16 17 17
½ ½ ½ ½

EUROPE 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43

Shoe Sizes

UK CONTINENTAL UK CONTINENTAL
Children
1 32/33
1 16/17
2 34
2 17/18
3 35
3 18/19
4 36/37
4 20
 5 21/22 5 37/38

6 22/23 6 39

7 24 7 40

8 25/26 8 41/42

9 26/27 9 42/43

10 27/28 10 44

11 28/29 11 45

12 30 12 46/47

13 31/32

Weights and measures:

The UK currently uses a mix of metric and non-metric units for
different purposes. Distance on roads are measured in miles and
yards, drinks are poured in pints, but generally the metric system
is used elsewhere.

When you go to the supermarket, you will probably find all

weights, volumes, etc. in metric units, e.g. can of beans with 400
g on the side, bag of pasta with 500 g on the packet, bag of
frozen chips with 1.8 kg on the packet, bottle of water labelled as
2 litres.

Petrol and diesel fuel has been sold in litres for many years.

Weather forecasting the UK is typically done using the metric

units of temperature, degrees Celsius.