If you’re not a native to London, negotiating the vast tube system can seem to be a daunting prospect. Your first glance at the tube network map can be a bit like staring at a circuit board, especially if you’re trying to get a connecting tube!! It’s worth using our London Tube planner, just click here.

But the amazing thing is that once you’ve used the map just a couple of times, it becomes incredibly easy to use, so brush up on some basic tips and rules which will help you get your head around one of the world’s oldest and most iconic transport systems:

Interactive Tube Map

Tube Lines

Firstly, familiarise yourself with the names of the ‘lines’ and the respective colours that are used to denote them.

Next, make sure you know what time the Tube starts and ends each day – Sunday’s have later opening and earlier station closing times. Trains operate from Monday to Sunday but stop at around 12.30 at night, so if you end up missing the last train then be prepared to tackle London’s night bus schedule, or to stump up the cash for a taxi – if you can find one!

You can plan your trip online using our London Journey Planner where you can choose routes with the fewest changes and routes with the least walking between stops. It’s worth noting that the Official Tube Map is a graphic representation and NOT to scale. In fact, the distances between some stations on the Official Tube Map bears little relation to the actual distances involved. For instance, the distance between Charing Cross and Embankment stations. On the map it seems a decent journey – equivalent in distance, it seems, as between Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Circus. However most Londoners will know that it’s actually a very short stroll. Click Here for more on this subject)

Once you’ve found your station, you can purchase tube tickets in the entrances of most stations. The ticket machines are simple to use, with on-screen instructions available in other languages and most take both cash and cards. Most tubes stations have very good signage and point you in the direction of your train but be careful, the tube line itself is usually split in two – one for each direction – so make sure you go to the correct side. Check the front of the incoming train for the final destination to ensure you are heading in the right direction.

Right, you’ve planned your journey, you made it to the station, got your tickets, picked the correct platform, spent a blissful time on the tube and now you’re exiting the station… so two final tips… you’ll need your ticket to get out of the station! and… don’t stand on the left side of the escalators!!! This side is designated for ‘walkers’. Audible ‘tut tuts’ will ring out if you inadvertently make this mistake!