London Underground System Explained

I’m sure I’m not the only one that was thinking “what is this” the first time I saw the underground map for London, also known as “the Tube”. I did find it a bit confusing with all the different colours and as much as 270 different stations that I have never heard of before. Arriving in London and getting around with the tube felt a bit scary as the network actually serves 5 million riders each day, but now that I’m familiar with it - it is super easy! London’s tube map is split into “zones”. Central London is known as zone 1, and around zone 1 we find zone 2, and around zone 2 we find zone 3 etc. It almost like zone 1 is the core with layers around it. The tube covers the nearest 6 zones to Central London, meaning zone 6 is as far as you get out of the city with the underground. It works like this: the further away you travel, the more expensive. This also means the shorter you travel, the less you pay. If you have an Oystercard or visa card, you do not need to worry about which zones you are traveling in, as it is pay as you go meaning that you tap in at the station you are travelling from and tap out at the station you are travelling to. Travelcard is another payment options. These cards can be specified for specific zones meaning, if you are travelling from zone 3 to zone 1 every day and nowhere else, this would be the perfect option for you. The zones are for the underground only, and not relevant if you are taking the bus. It can often be easier and more enjoyable to even walk between destinations as the tube takes roughly two minutes to arrive at the next station. We highly recommend apps such as City Mapper to help get around as quick and easy as possible. Safe travels!