Can someone help me find what tube I need to take?

[trullis]

I will be going into London for the first time on my own and I will need to take the tube from Kensington Palace Gardens into the city centre. I've never done this and looking at the map is extremely confusing!! Can anyone help please?

[trullis]

And I'm assuming that it will be the same tube for getting back to Kensington palace gardens?

[PrincessMaryaBolkonskaya]

Where in the centre do you need to go? Oxford street?

[RandomMess]

Download transport for London app.

It will tell you the best option which could be via bus or tube

[Gizlotsmum]

Tfl have a route planner if you know your start and end station

[Frazzled2207]

what do you mean by city centre? There isn't really one as such in London.
If you mean shops etc then probably Oxford Circus.
For tube that means High Street Kensington (piccadilly line) to Green park then change to Victoria line to get to Oxford circus.

But Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus are very central so you could get off there without changing.

[Frazzled2207]

ps the TFL app will tell you the best way but for relatively short journeys bus can be quicker and cheaper and obviously you get a better view too. Buses are somewhat easier to navigate these days.

[GoGoGone]

Your nearest tubes are Queensway or Notting Hill Gate on the central line. That will take you straight to Oxford Circus for Shops or Tottenham Court Road for theatres etc.

It's also walkable through Hyde Park and up oxford street but it's a couple of miles. About 1.5 to the start of the shops.

The easiest thing to do is to use google maps and plug in your destination. It will give you the best tubes/buses to use

[trullis]

I need to get to the city centre we here I can walk around and do some touristy stuff, ie London Eye, London Tower and Buckingham places, etc... as I've mentioned I've never been to London on my own as there was always people with me so I'm completely clueless. I'm not sure which stations I need to go from/to. All I know is that I will be in Kensington palace gardens as that is where my appointment is in the morning. I will be driving there, will park in a car park for the day and hop on the tube and do some sightseeing. Thanks for the recommendation on the app, I'll download that now!

[GreyGardens88]

Well you could get the Central line from Queensway in the North West corner of Kensington Gardens to Marble Arch, Oxford Circus, St Pauls. Where exactly do you need to go?

[Apolloanddaphne]

I use Citymapper when I am in London. It is great for working out routes.

[GreyGardens88]

It's an easy walk through the park and down by the side of Green Park to Buckingham Palace. I would just do that

[TryAnotherNickname]

There are excellent bus routes close by (9 / 14) that will get you to Piccadilly / Covent Garden / British museum etc etc and the 52 will get you to Buckingham palace. Much nicer, great view on all and less Covid-y I think.

[FizzyPink]

Yes Citymapper will be much better than the TFL app. A lot of places are very close and it’s often quicker to walk. I’d also recommend buses so you can see things as you travel.

[Frazzled2207]

you mention London Eye, London Tower and Buckingham places they're all quite far apart.

You could walk to Buckingham Palace quite easily from Kensington. Then down towards the London Eye which is by the river.
But if you mean the tower of London that is quite some distance away, Tower Hill tube. London is pretty big.

[TryAnotherNickname]

Just seen your car park plan. Use the Westfield car park and then hop the 49 bus to Kensington high street- you’ll save a fortune on parking

[GreyGardens88]

If you have a normal level of fitness it's not far, you walk to Buckingham Palace, from there to Westminster, cross the bridge for the London Eye, then up the Southbank to Tower Bridge and Tower of London. From there you can get the tube back.

I walked from Holland Park to Canary Wharf the other day

[Frazzled2207]

ps although bus is good the best place to get a view of London is actually from the river. You can get one from Embankment (opposite London Eye) to Tower Bridge for the tower of London.

[Frazzled2207]

get a riverboat I mean

[eurochick]

Will you be driving in the congestion charge zone? If so, don't forget that.

[premiumshoes]

Check out the buses, your journey isn't particularly long. I would walk from Kensington to buck pal.

[Mumblechum0]

I second the riverboat option or if the weather isn't good, the bus, it's so much nicer than the tube.

[trullis]

Ahhh, I'm so glad I posted on here! I'm so clueless I think the bus or riverboat sound great, depending on the weather obviously. Thanks all!! In terms of the congestion charge, I'm also a bit clueless on that but from the maps I've seen, it looks like I will have to pay for it if I'm driving to Kensington Palace Gardens, right?

[Inching]

The three places you've mentioned are not close together at all, though. Do you have a car park that you know you can leave your car in near Kensington Palace Gardens? Are you aware of whether you need to pre-book the Tower, Eye etc?

Your closest tube stations to KPG are Queensway or Notting Hill Gate, but depending on your itinerary, I would probably just walk through the parks to Buckingham Palace to start with.

[Frazzled2207]

@Inching makes a good point both the Tower and London Eye have to be prebooked and cost a LOT! however the riverboat is cheap and if you're lucky you can get off at tower hill and watch tower bridge open and close.

[TryAnotherNickname]

KPG is outside the congestion charge zone but depending on your route you may drive through it to get there. It is in the ultra low emission zone so check if your car needs to pay that too (but seriously- Westfield is about £8 for 24 hours which will get you 2 hours near KPG)