I have found this great London travel app, listing free and cheap things to do, places to see, restaurants and nightlife in London. It provides lots of ideas and has some interesting choices - it's well worth downloading as really feels like it has the inside scoop.

www.sutromedia.com/free-and-budget-london/

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They are a great holiday apartment rentals company. We had a good time staying in their Docklands warehouse studio apartment. Great value and great service.

www.apartime.com/apartments/apartments-in-london.html

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Palmers Lodge is amazing. First of all, it's an old mansion that has been converted into a hostel. They have private rooms available, but I only stayed in the dorm room and it was unlike any dorm room I've been in. The beds were SOLID wood (no creaky metal), and had curtains which was great for privacy. FREE wifi! FREE breakfast! There's a bar and restaurant downstairs and the staff are pretty helpful. By chance I booked into Palmers Lodge on my first trip to London (they were the top rated hostel in my searches), and I've been back six times now in the last two years. I wouldn't want to stay anywhere else in London and I can easily recommend it to anyone looking for a place.

40 College Crescent
Swiss Cottage, NW3 5LB
ph: 02074838470
www.palmerslodge.co.uk
Nearest Tube: Swiss Cottage/ Finchley Road

Google map: tinyurl.com/y9ro9py

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This one of the best fish and chip, places in London. It has a restaurant as well, cheap and large portions.

Always full in the take-way and the restaurant is a lovely bistro style place, staff a good laugh. The Asian guy who owns it is very funny...

high street
fulham
02086109808
www.fishersfishandchips.com

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With so many hostels available in London, it is such a daunting task trying to pick one when you stay. St Christophers Inn’s Orient Espresso is one of the best hostels the capital has to offer, and is extremely popular with female travellers in particular. The St Christopher’s chain has a few hostels in the area, but Espresso’s situated above a coffee shop and smack bang in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city. It is one of its best offererings with clean, comfortable, relaxing rooms and a great atmosphere.

It has a special Oasis female only sanctuary with an 8 bed girls dorm which is really good for feeling safer and more comfortable in an unknown city. Even if you want to stay in for a while after you arrive there is free internet, chess sets, travel library and chill out room so there’s little chance of getting bored whatever your mood is.

From the hostel you can easily walk to Southbank, and take a stroll along the Thames which is one of the best way to see the city’s historic landmarks such as the London Eye and Big Ben. Most of the main galleries are also within easy reach of the river so you can soak up all the culture you want, if you only want to see a few of the galleries then definately drop in at the Tate Modern and make sure you keep an eye out for some of the amazing graffitti which is scattered about.

www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/england/london/3785/

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Thai restaurant. Very cheap, with very authentic food in Chiswick.

Bedlington Cafe. 24 Fauconberg Rd W4 3JY 020 8994 1965

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Clink in King’s Cross is one of the most interesting hostels I’ve stayed at and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who wants to stay somewhere different. It’s a very cool building, as it has been converted from a courthouse, and they have even kept some of the courtrooms intact, which is pretty cool.

It’s really centrally located in London and the staff were helpful and friendly. Breakfast was included in the price and fares much better than other places I’ve stayed at! All in all, a great stay and modestly priced too for a hostel in London.

www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/england/london/

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Prancing around London in the middle of the night with a bunch of old men in fancy dress. No, this is not some kind of post-modern theatre, but an ancient ritual which has taken place pretty much every night for the past 700 years in this great old city. The Ceremony of the Keys involves an ornate and complex set of rituals to ensure that the Tower of London is locked up good and proper. At exactly seven minutes to 10 o'clock each and every night the Chief Warder in his regal red coat and somewhat bonkers Tudor bonnet, carrying the Queen's Key and a giant lantern, marches around the perimeter of the Tower of London locking up the gates, accompanied by Foot Guards, sentries and various other characters straight out of the history books.

Complete with archaic greetings, a bugler and the best costumes you're ever likely to see. Having lived in London all my life, I can honestly say that I've never spent such a magical and unforgettable 10 minutes in London and urge everyone to accompany the procession at least once. It's free, but to go along you need to go through the hassle of writing a letter (no emails of course!) -

Tower of London
For more information visit their website here: www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/WhatsOn/ceremonyofthekeys.aspx.

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It's a delightful surprise behind the hustle and bustle of The Strand with a beautiful courtyard for fountains or movies, a museum of Russian artifacts from St Petersburg (The Hermitage Rooms) and a wonderful collection of paintings and other pieces of artwork at the Courtauld Gallery. There is a basement cafe at the Gallery, or a terrace restaurant overlooking the Thames, or The Admiralty for finer dining.

Somerset House
The Strand
London
W1

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The 11 route takes commuters through the tourist heartland every 10 minutes or so. The route takes in Ludgate Hill, St Pauls, Bank of England, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Victoria Street, the Strand and much more. The cost is 90 pence (with an Oystercard) so is far better value than the tour companies.

The 11 route runs between Liverpool street Street and Victoria Station. You can get hop on from the Strand, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Parliament Square and Ludgate Hill.

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If you travel on a budget, like I do, finding a place to eat in London can be a nightmare. That's why I recommend you take the tube to the nearest Ikea and dine in its restaurant.

Meals start at an amazing price of 1 pound and the prices almost never rise above 5 pounds! Breakfast starts at 95p (Sausage, bacon, scrambled egg, hash brown, beans, and tomato). Swedish meat balls start at 3.25 pounds, you can refill your drinks and coffee for free, they have special meals for kids etc.

One might forget about an option like this but Ikea restaurants are always a good place to eat when travelling on a budget.

www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/IkeaNearYouView?storeId=7&catalogId=11001&langId=-20&StoreName=localfood

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Easy Hotels are my favorite way of staying in London - cheap but spotless. You can choose between a variety of rooms (small with no window, small with window, large with no window and large with a window), all of which have a private bathroom. Rooms start at 25 pounds per room per night and the hotels are centrally located, near underground stations.

www.easyhotel.com

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If you like your meals healthy and are on a tight budget, Greens and Beans is the place for you. This small but friendly place offers fresh organic vegetarian meals at great prices!

www.druworldwide.com/cafe/greens_and_beans

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Set in the former Sierra Leone embassy (think shabby chic, imagine the history of this august building), every week tangueros turn up to roll back the rugs, exposing the wooden floors, and dance the night away.

There's a 1.5-2 hour beginners' class at 6:30pm, followed by a social dancing milonga until 11:30pm. The whole lot costs just £10 and there are snacks and drinks.

Great for a romantic evening, learning a new skill, meeting a diverse set of people with something in common, and exploring a new part of London. Who could ask for more?!

33 Portland Place; nearest Tube Great Portland Street or Warren Street.

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Lorelei is the most charming little pizza place in Soho - (great) pizzas for £6, BYO booze, a waving naked mermaid mural and only two people who work there to get to know, the chef and his wife - it must be one of the only places like this that is surviving in such a central location and every time I go I breathe a sign of relief that it still hasn't been turned into a boring white-walled minimalist overpriced hangout for people with more money than sense.

21 Bateman Street, W1D

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This fabulous Japanese restaurant is tucked down an unlikely alley at the back of the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton. Benches are crammed into the diminutive space like edamame beans in a pod, and customers sharpen their elbows while wielding their chopsticks in anticipation.

Tempura prawns are fluffy-light and crispy, and the yasai soba is almost enough to transport you to Tokyo. Other, bigger Japanese restaurants may lead the field in terms of popularity and market share, but Fujiyama wins hands down on quality, tastiness and value for money.

5 Vining Street, Brixton, London SW9 8QA
Nearest tube: Brixton
www.newfujiyama.com

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Four-nights-a-week topical comedy show. Very close to the bone and possibly libellous humour! The Canal Cafe Theatre is in a great location above the Bridge House pub in Little Venice, which is a gorgeous, off the tourist rat-run part of London.

www.newsrevue.com
www.canalcafetheatre.com
Delamere Terrace, Little Venice, London W2 6ND 020 7289 6056
Warwick Ave tube (Bakerloo)

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This hotel is located perfectly close to Hyde Park. This makes it a great place to stay if you want to be very central, which we did. Everything that we wanted to see was close by.

It is in the heart of Paddington close to the train station.

Although the Rose Court was not the Ritz, it was good value for money. It cost us very little and all we really wanted was somewhere close to Hyde Park to crash out. It was perfect for that.

I would also recommend it for business travellers. If you are trying to make money in London and not spend it you won't find better value and location.

1 - 3 Talbot Square, Paddington, London
www.hotels-london-hotel.com/brochure-pages/rose-court-hotel-104342.html

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Book trains a few weeks in advance and it's much cheaper - also, you often find that first class is actually cheaper than normal carriages.

National rail is a good site for this: www.nationalrail.co.uk/

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A number of the hotels surrounding Heathrow Airport offer good deals on car parking. This means that should you want to park your car at Heathrow - it can be a similar cost to get a night in the hotel and parking as just parking on its own! Contact the hotels directly for further deals and details.

Hotels surrounding Heathrow airport (and other airports around the country)

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