London Tubes

The tube is dead easy - don't worry.

Use the Transport for London website to plan journeys then all you need to do is make sure you're on the right platform but destinations are clearly listed.

The TFL journey planner is quite useful...

You are right. From Paddington, to get to Waterloo (nearest station to the Eye) it's a Bakerloo train towards Elephant & Castle. About 15 mins according to the planner

I get lost turning out of the end of our road but once you are there it is really straight forward! I think the tubs maps are frightening to look at as it confuses the hell out of you at first. You will be fine! Have a lovely weekend ?

For London Eye you want the Bakerloo line towards Elephant and Castle from Paddington.

Get off at Waterloo.

Yep, Bakerloo line all the way from Paddington to Waterloo.

I find the tube pretty straightforward, but then I work in London so use it a lot. I use a tube map app on my phone when i'm doing a journey I don't really know. You just type in the tube station that you're at, then what tube stop you want, and it works out the easiest/quickest route to go. Might be useful if your feeling apprehensive?

Everything is well signposted and there are usually plenty of staff on hand to help too. It looks far more confusing on paper/app than it is when you are doing it.

I'd recommend avoiding rush hour though. That's when you get swept along on a magical mystery tour!

Brilliant thank you everyone!

I'm sure it will be fine, just don't like going out of my comfort zone ?

The map looks confusing but everything is well signposted. Just make sure the destination is the right one before you get on the train as plenty of lines branch off. And definitely don't travel during rush hour!

You'll be fine. When you get to the station and take the signs for a specific line, you'll start seeing that the confused full map is reduced to a single linear map for the line you are travelling on. You then just need to find your target station and work out which platform you need (usually a choice of two, either north .v. southbound or east .v. westbound).

Oh, and NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER stand on the left on the escalators. NEVER.

NEVER.

So very this!

Youll be fine.

I'm (kind of) a Londoner now, so have the zone 1-2 map pretty much imprinted in my brain, but this wasn't always the case! Even when I was a kid though, I loved the Tube map, it always seemed so beautifully logical to me. The stations are deliberately signposted in a very straightforward way to minimise decision making/confusion - you follow the signs to the Underground, then the signs to your line, then the sign for the correct direction. On the Bakerloo, trains only have one destination (as opposed to e.g. the District or Northern Line which have several branches) so you can't really go wrong - if you accidentally get on the train going in the wrong direction you just get off at the next stop and change platforms.

It can get very busy and crowded, so I would avoid rush hour if possible, but the actual navigation itself is easy. SO much easier than driving in London!

Definitely don't stand on the left on the escalators though.

The Tube is very easy to navigate. I second everything that has been said, particularly not standing on the left of the escalators and avoiding rush hour. It's nigh on impossible to get lost in London as you'll eventually stumble upon a tube stop!

It's worth noting, though, that the Tube map bears very little relation to actual geography - this is a more realistic but much more confusing one: https://allquickbrightthings.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/geographical-tube-map.gif

As a big fan of city-building type games, where I arrange everything in neat squares and lines, I have to say that had I designed London, the topological map would be the real map

Totally agree with everything that has been said but just to add it may be worth checking there are no planned engineering works/closures for the weekend for the line you'll be travelling on. The website mentioned by JoJo I think will tell you.

It is usual to sit on the left of the escalator though....its a London thing? Trust me......

Peter

BTW, I would personally get off at Embankment and walk over the bridge over the Thames to get to the Eye.......Lovely view that way....

Peter

My out of London friends always tell me they hate the tube and find it stressful. It is more intuitive than it looks on paper. You want Waterloo station so just take the Bakerloo line south and you can't go wrong. You can't get lost anyway because every station has a map and plenty of staff to ask for help. Considering how many tourists London gets a year they won't mind at all being asked, at key big stations there's even people dresses in Hotel Butler style jackets and bowler hats whose only job is to direct and help lost people. Literally, I exited Victoria and looked lost for all of 2 seconds before they ran up offering help!

Only thing I'd say is don't have a big open top tote bag, have a closed zip type or something.

The first time we went on the tubes we had it sussed within the day. We had a couple of the little maps and as long as you know which direction you want to go you just go to the right platform. I love it and its so easy. We're going again in June and I wouldn't use anything other than the tubes. I love the escalators too!

Thank you everyone! I will remember to stand on the right of the escalators and will try not to worry too much now! ?

Most definitely ?

Most of central London is actually walkable. Depending on where you are going you might not need to get the tube but walk instead and sight see. It was only when I walked I discovered how close together everything really is.

I agree about getting off at Embankment and walking across the bridge too.

This with bells on. I had more than one episode of chuntering about bloody tourists doing the escalators WRONG and getting in my way.

Otherwise, the Tube is really simple once you actually get there and the staff are helpful if you're unsure.

This is me. I get cross with those people who stop at the end of the escalator to decide if they want to go north/southbound.....

Same here!