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INFO FOR CHEAP TRICK IN LONDON (AND AMSTERDAM) IN 2003 To help some of the fans planning to come to London for the March 2003 show at the Royal Albert Hall, here's some travel information and links which I hope may be useful! At the end I've also included a little information about Amsterdam.
Arriving Most visitors from overseas will fly into Heathrow or Gatwick Airports. There are a number of ways to get into central London from each, some more expensive than others... Heathrow Airport - About 15 miles west of central London, don't get a taxi unless you want to pay a lot! The cheapest way is to get the tube/underground from Heathrow Central. Cost is around UK£3.60, and takes around 45-60 minutes. There is also a fast train service to London's Paddington railway station, but more expensive at UK£13 one way (£25 return). Gatwick Airport - Some 30 miles south of central London. Best way is by train, a single (standard class) rail ticket should cost you around UK£10 one way (£20 return) The venue The Royal Albert Hall is situated on Kensington Road, south of Hyde Park. Nearest tube stations are Knightsbridge (Piccadilly Line), High Street Kensington (Circle and District Lines), Gloucester Road (District, Circle and Piccadilly Lines) or South Kensington (District, Circle and Piccadilly Lines), but it's a few minutes walk from any of those to the Hall. Show Tickets If you haven't already bought yours, they can be ordered online at agencies such as www.ticketmaster.co.uk, www.aloud.com and www.stargreen.co.uk . Ticketmaster report that there is a box office/willcall at the Royal Albert Hall where tickets can be collected on the day. Tickets from around UK£20-25, but don't forget the booking fee's on top of that. Hotels As a major capital city, London has lot's of hotel rooms... but like New York, there aren't many bargains to be had. The closest area's to stay are Knightsbridge and Kensington, though Baywater and Victoria aren't too far away. But with the tube running until midnight, most anywhere in central London is fine. The following websites look good for finding/booking hotels online:- www.londontown.com (for pricier hotels) www.placestostay.com (this looks better than the .co.uk version. Click on "London" from the list of UK area's, NOT "Greater London") Sightseeing Lots to see! Here's some info that was current at early 2001 when I compiled this list, but prices shouldn't have changed much (check at the appropriate websites for up to date prices)... National Gallery (at Trafalgar Square) - Free Getting Around Central London is easy to get around, walking or tube/underground. See www.londontransport.co.uk for maps etc. - On the tube (and buses??), a weekly travelcard that
covers central London zones 1&2 costs around £20, but you need to bring a passport
sized photo. Good value if you're in London for 6-7 days, a single ticket costs around
£1.60 a time. Or a carnet (book of 10 x zone 1 tickets) costs £11.50. AMSTERDAM Information If arriving at Amsterdam's Schipol Airport, there's a Train service to Centraal Station, which leaves every 15 minutes, takes 15-20 minutes and costs around 5.25 Euro's (roughly US$5 or UK£3). The show venue, the Paradiso (website www.paradiso.nl) is located around 2 miles south of the Centraal Station. It's on Weteringschans and I understand is pretty close to the Hard Rock Cafe. It's also only quarter of a mile north of the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. Amsterdam is well served by hotels to suit most pockets, though it seems hard to find anything very cheap. One place to look for hotels is www.placestostay.com - but watch out, some hotel prices are in Euro's, others in US$, and some require payment in advance. I hope some of this information will be helpful to those coming to London or Amsterdam. |
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