London

Immersed in history and one of the world’s most visited cities, London is a vibrant and truly multicultural megalopolis that has something for everyone – from history to culture, art to architecture. It is a city of ideas and imagination.

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The spectacular success of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, hailed as the best ever Olympics, not only transformed the image of London, it also delivered massive improvements to its meetings, conferences and events infrastructure, along with its accommodation inventory and transportation systems. With all the refurbishment, London dazzled a global audience and for the first time since the end of the empire, it truly felt like London is the capital of the world and re-confirmed as one of the world’s greatest business and events destinations.

London is the capital and largest city of both the United Kingdom and of England; it is also the largest city in Western Europe.  Considered one of two of the world’s leading “global cities”, London remains an international capital of culture, music, education, fashion, politics, finance and trade.

“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”
- Samuel Johnson

Getting There & Around
Due to London’s huge global city status it is the most served destination in the world when it comes to flights.  London is served by a total of six airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, City, Stansted, Luton, Southend) and travelling between the city and the airports is made relatively easy by the large number of public transport links that have been put in place over recent years.

London Heathrow (airport code: LHR) is London’s largest airport and the world’s busiest airport in terms of international passenger movement, with services available from most major airports world-wide. It located approximately 15miles from the centre of London and offers a number of transport options to and from the airport such as the Heathrow Express rail with a journey time of only 15 minutes, bus, taxi or the London Underground (Piccadilly line) which departs every few minutes with a journey time of approximately 1 hour, depending on your destination.

London Gatwick (airport code: LGW) is London’s second largest airport and the world’s busiest single runway airport.  It located approximately 27miles south of the city centre.  There are various rail options (Gatwick Express, Southern Railway, First Capital Connect) to get to the city centre along with two bus options (easyBus, National Express).

London Standsted (airport code: STN) is London’s third largest airport and is dominated by the two low-cost airlines EasyJet and Ryanair as well as other holiday charter airlines.  Stansted is located approximately 38 miles from the city centre.  Transport options into central London include: Stansted Express rail, National Express, Terravision, EasyBus coaches or taxi.

London Luton (airport code: LTN) although a much smaller airport than Stansted, it is still a major hub for many Low Cost airlines.  London Luton is located approximately 33 miles from the city centre with rail, coach and car links into central.

London City Airport (airport code: LCY) is the closest airport to Central London approximately 6 miles and only 3 miles from the City’s financial district of Canary Wharf.  The airport can be accessed by taxi, bus or Underground/ Docklands Light Railway (DLR).

London Southend (airport code: SEN) recently became London’s sixth airport.  There has been an ongoing programme to further develop the airport, which is located 36 miles from the centre of London. A regular rail service connects Southend Airport to London Liverpool Street Station in central London.

Trains:  London is the hub of the British rail network – every major city in mainland Britain offers a frequent train service to the capital. Major National Rail stations in London include: London Paddington, London Marylebone, London Euston, St Pancras International, London King’s Cross, London Moorgate, London Liverpool Street, London Fenchurch Street, London Bridge, London Cannon Street, London Waterloo East, London Charing Cross, London Blackfriars, London Waterloo and London Victoria.

London has one of the most comprehensive public transport systems in the world and it is often the best option for getting anywhere in the capital.

Meetings & Events
London offers an extensive range of more than 1000 venues suitable for meetings and events with something to suit all tastes, from traditional and modern to luxury and affordable budget venues.

Hosting an event in London ensures your delegates will be located in a business and global hub, which offers great value for money.

Cultural venues such as the prestigious Tate Modern accommodating up to 350pax or the Royal Academy of Arts accommodating up to 800 pax are also sure to give guests the feeling of a unique London experience.

London boasts several large and impressive conference and exhibition venues such as the 90,000 m² ExCeL Exhibition Centre and the 6,000 m² The Business Design Centre.  Whilst the Mermaid Conference & Events Centre offers a stunning backdrop overlooking the Thames, Tate Modern, the Globe Theatre and can accommodate up to 600 guests.  Alexandra Palace, which overlooks London, offers 9 different sized spaces accommodating from 2 to 7,000 guests.

Hotels
There’s certainly isn’t a shortage of choice when it comes to accommodation in London.

The capital is home to some of the grandest and most famous hotels in the worlds in the world such as The Savoy, The Ritz and The Dorchester along with stylish and sophisticated boutique hotels, luxury 5 star and mid market hotels.  There is something to suit all budgets and taste and boasts more than 125,000 hotel rooms.

Dining
No longer the laughing stock of the culinary world, London is now regarded as one of the world’s best undisputed dining destinations.

The capital is home to an ever-increasing selection of many of the world’s most innovative and impressive restaurants that cater to all tastes and budgets.

With plenty of fine dining Michelin-starred restaurants to affordable quality mid market restaurants.  London is a virtual A to Z of world cuisine from Afghan to Vietnamese.

The sheer diversity on offer is what make London’s dining scene truly extraordinary.

London’s glittering nightlife and dining scene lends itself to private events that will tempt your guests to break out of the boardroom for a memorable event experience.

Shopping
For nearly two thousand years since being founded as a trading post by the Romans, London has been honing its retailing skills.

Today, from luxury shops such as Harrods, bargain fashions at London’s markets, large shopping centres such as Westfield, makes London a shopper’s paradise and a mecca for fashionistas.

The West End is the heart of London’s shopping world, particularly Covent Garden, with its mix of trendy chains and unique boutiques, Oxford Street, with its procession of world-famous department stores, and Bond Street, with its designer boutiques; whilst Knightsbridge and Kensington have upmarket shops aimed at more affluent locals and tourists and Shoreditch and Spitalfields offers specialist outlets for cutting-edge fashion.

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