London Underground
The Underground, commonly known as the Tube, is London’s metro system. Central London has a large concentration of stations, and many popular attractions are served by a nearby Tube station. The Underground also extends in all directions to suburban areas. All major National Rail stations are served by the Underground, as is Heathrow Airport.
You can pay for journeys on London Underground with a Travelcard, Visitor Oyster card, cash, or with single tickets. Paying with cash is much more expensive than paying with a Travelcard or Oyster card.
London Overground
The Overground is a network of suburban rail routes that mostly serve the areas just outside central London but also extend to the far north and south of London. Many stations interchange with the Underground and DLR.
You can pay for journeys on London Overground with a Travelcard or Visitor Oyster card, or with cash. Paying with cash is much more expensive than paying with a Travelcard or Oyster card.
London Buses
London has a huge bus network, with over 700 routes, serving every part of the city. London bus stops have a destination finder poster with popular areas, roads and districts listed alphabetically, along with the number of the bus to take to get there.
You can pay for journeys on London buses with a Travelcard or Visitor Oyster card. Cash is not accepted.
Tramlink
Tramlink is south London’s tram network. It connects to the Overground at West Croydon and the Underground at Wimbledon, in addition to various National Rail interchanges.
DLR
The Docklands Light Railway, usually abbreviated to DLR, is a light rail system serving the east and south-east of the city. It has interchanges with the rest of the transport network at various points, notably at Bank which has connections to five Underground lines. London City Airport is in Zone 3 on the DLR.
You can pay for journeys on the DLR with a Travelcard, Visitor Oyster card, cash, or with single tickets. Paying with cash is much more expensive than paying with a Travelcard or Oyster card.
River Boats
Transport for London manages eight piers on the River Thames, offering a variety of commuter, ferry and leisure services. Leisure services are aimed at visitors and many stops are near major attractions.
You can buy tickets for river boat journeys at London piers on the day. If you have a Travelcard or Visitor Oyster card, you can get a discount on your ticket.
National Rail
National Rail train services are not operated by Transport for London – the organisation that operates all the above services – but Oyster cards and Travelcards can be used to travel on National Rail services within the Transport for London travel zones.
London’s major National Rail stations are Paddington, Euston, Kings Cross St. Pancras, Liverpool Street, London Bridge, Charing Cross, Waterloo and Victoria; all of them are located in Zone 1.
You can pay for journeys on most National Rail services with a Travelcard or Visitor Oyster card. For a few routes you need a separate ticket, which you can buy from the departure station on the day.
Emirates Air Line
The Emirates Air Line is a cable car crossing the River Thames in east London. The cable car runs between Emirates Royal Docks on the north of the river, to Emirates Greenwich Peninsula (near the O2 Arena) on the south.
You can pay for journeys on the Emirates Air Line with cash, or buy tickets in advance from us.