Battle of the Capitals: London vs Paris

London mayor Boris Johnson’s recent claims that London ‘is without doubt the greatest city on the planet’ did not go down well with the deputy mayor of Paris who in response described London as ‘a "suburb" of Paris, that is less safe, and less attractive for families.’ London may have just overtaken Paris in terms of visitor numbers but which is better?

Attractions

From a sight-seeing point of view, both cities are home to some of the world’s best-known tourist attractions. Paris boasts the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and the Sacre Coeur whilst London has Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s and the Tower of London. It’s a tough call.

Museums and Galleries

Paris is without a doubt a great place for museums and galleries - you’ve got the Louvre, the Centre Pompidou and the Musée d'Orsay. However when it comes to free entry, London has it covered with a wide range of attractions including the British Museum, the V&A, the Natural History Museum, the National Gallery, the Science Museum, the Tate, all of which you can visit without parting with any cash! And what’s more, it saves all that pesky queuing too.

Day Trips

The vast chateaux of Versailles and Fontainebleau await visitors to Paris looking for a decent day trip. By contrast, Windsor Castle doesn't quite match up. And for children, Disneyland beats Thorpe Park every time. Paris takes it.

Hotels

When it comes to a place to lay your weary head after a hard day’s sightseeing, there is not much in it in terms of prices and variety. The average hotel in London will set you back £116 as opposed to £128 in Paris and both have an extensive range to choose from.

Restaurants

There is no doubt that London’s selection of eateries is more varied, however at the top end, Paris is unrivalled with 11 restaurants boasting 3 michelin stars in contrast to London’s two. It also has many more independent coffee shops, whereas London is dominated by chains like Starbucks, Costa and Caffè Nero.

Transport

Londoners might moan about delays on the Tube, and the fact that it closes shortly after midnight, but London’s metro system covers a far greater area, is cleaner, and has far fewer irritating buskers. When it comes to taxis however, London’s are the most expensive in the world  On the other hand though they are supposed to be more reliable. And, thanks to the Congestion Charge, the city centre is far less traffic clogged. 

Weather

This is a bit of a no-brainer with Paris lying further south although both cities are equally prone to showers. On average, Paris is a few degrees warmer in both the Easter and Summer holidays and Parisiens enjoy more hours of sunlight too.

Nightlife

Paris may be the home of cabaret and has a decent number of trendy bars but London has everything you could possibly want from a night out, from historic pubs to super clubs. Its music scene is also top notch.

In conclusion, if you’re looking for a leisurely weekend of sightseeing with a better chance of decent weather and haute cuisine, Paris is the city for you. But if you’re short of cash and still keen for the culture, London is where it’s at. And if neither of those float your boat, why not come to Oxford instead which has masses to offer when it comes to culture and less of the mahem!

Source: Telegraph Travel

Exciting new plans for the London Skycycle

There are many glorious things about Oxford, from the beautiful architecture to the university parks and colleges, and all the history that comes with it. What also makes Oxford particularly attractive to residents, students and tourists alike is its proximity to London. You can quite easily pop to London for the day, and then escape the constant noise, traffic and rush.

One of the drawbacks of visiting London is that it's so expensive. Well, getting there isn't too bad (around £14 return by coach), but when you're there, it all starts adding up. London buses and the underground are extortionate, and travelling by car can take forever with all of the traffic, even for the London residents! For this reason Londoners are turning to bikes, which now make up a colossal 25% of London's traffic.

It's not all doom, despair and disaster, however, as there are some interesting developments in the pipeline. One idea is to 'build elevated tracks around the city as corridors for pedal powered transportation. The network, still early in the conceptual phase, would be made of steel and glass. It would not be enclosed, despite the renderings. Like a conventional highway, it would have entrances and exits at regular intervals, and riders would pay a toll of around £1 to enter.'

Providing you have a bike (which most people living in Oxford do!), this would be a fantastic development, and a lot safer than cycling on the London roads. Click on the image below to read more:

 

Source: www.businessinsider.com/

Celebrate good times, come on!

The London Underground is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a range of events and activities throughout this year.  Today, it was the Queen's chance to celebrate.  The Queen, joined by the Duke of Edinburgh and the Duchess of Cambridge, visited Baker Street Underground station.

The royals saw a restored 1892 carriage at Baker Street, which was part of the first stretch of the network which opened in January 1863.  Today was the Queen's sixth visit to the London Underground.  The Queen's first Tube journey was in May 1939 as a 13-year-old princess, accompanied by her sister Princess Margaret and governess, Marion Crawford.

It was on 9 January 1863 that the world’s first underground train pulled out of Paddington station to make the first passenger journey - 3½-miles under the streets of London from Paddington to Farringdon and this making it into the record books.

The original Underground line was built and financed by the Metropolitan Railway.  Travelling on the new railway was a novelty that thousands of Londoners were eager to experience and on the first day of public service – long queues formed at every station. The line was a huge success with 26,000 passengers using the railway each day in the first six months.  Today, long queues are still a feature of the London Underground!

If you fancy celebrating this world famous subterranean railway line, check out the Transport for London website here.

And don't forget to 'mind the gap'!

150 Years of Tube Action

Bakerloo, Central , Picadilly, Northern and District Line. If you've been to London, you are sure to have traveled on a train that passes through these iconic London Underground stations. This year marked the London Underground's incredible 150 year anniversary!

"Huge influence abroad"

Not only was the tube a great success in Great Britain, but it also influenced how many other underground train networks were constructed and operated around the world.

'The first subway system was proposed for London by Charles Pearson, a city solicitor, as part of a city-improvement plan shortly after the opening of the Thames Tunnel in 1843.'

'Many other cities followed London’s lead. In Budapest, a 2.5-mile (4-kilometre) electric subway was opened in 1896, using single cars with trolley poles. [...] 'In Paris, the Métro (Chemin de Fer Métropolitain de Paris) was started in 1898, and the first 6.25 miles (10 km) were opened in 1900. [...] 'In the United States the first practical subway line was constructed in Boston between 1895 and 1897. It was 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long and at first used trolley streetcars, or tramcars. Later, Boston acquired conventional subway trains. New York City opened the first section of what was to become the largest system in the world on Oct. 27, 1904. In Philadelphia, a subway system was opened in 1907, and Chicago’s system opened in 1943. Moscow constructed its original system in the 1930s. In Canada, Toronto opened a subway in 1954; a second system was constructed in Montreal during the 1960s using Paris-type rubber-tired cars.'

So, next time you are on the London underground, take a minute or two to breath in its historical significance, and, please enjoy the ride!

Source: www.britannica.com