The right choice depends on where you’re staying, how much luggage you have and when you land. The train from Jamaica is the fastest way to Midtown, the subway is cheap and runs around the clock, and a taxi costs a flat fare to anywhere in Manhattan. Here you’ll find the fares, where to get off and what to do at night. For the rough conversions I’ve used about £0.75 per dollar.

At a glance

• AirTrain and Long Island Rail Road: $14 (about £10.50) off-peak and $16 (about £12) at peak times, 20 minutes from Jamaica to Penn Station or Grand Central Madison, and the LIRR runs around the clock.
• AirTrain and subway: $11.75 (about £8.80), changing at Jamaica to the E or J line or at Howard Beach to the A line, and the subway runs around the clock.
• Q3 and Q10 buses: $3 (about £2.20) including the transfer to the subway. It’s the cheapest option, but it’s slow and involves several changes.
• Taxi: A flat fare of $70 (about £52) to anywhere in Manhattan plus surcharges, tolls and the tip, and around 55 minutes on average according to Uber.
• Uber, Lyft and Uber Shuttle: The app shows the price before you book, and Uber Shuttle is a shared minibus with fixed stops in Midtown and Downtown.

Finding your transport at the airport

JFK has several terminals, and the airport is in the middle of a major redevelopment, which means airlines can move to a different terminal. So check the terminal on your ticket before you fly.

The AirTrain is the airport’s own train, and you just follow the signs for the AirTrain from the arrivals hall. The ride between the terminals is free and takes less than ten minutes, and you only pay when you exit at Jamaica or Howard Beach. If you need help at the ticket machines, the airport has staff in red uniforms.

Licensed taxis wait at the official taxi rank outside each terminal. Uber and Lyft pick up at the signposted Ride App Pick-Up zones, which you’ll find by following the signs after baggage reclaim, and at some terminals the zone may have moved because of the construction work, so follow the directions in the app. In the arrivals hall of each terminal, the Port Authority has a Welcome Center where you can get official help with your onward journey. You can see it all on the airport’s transport page.

1. AirTrain and Long Island Rail Road to Penn Station and Grand Central

The fastest way by public transport is to take the AirTrain to Jamaica and change to the Long Island Rail Road, which everyone calls the LIRR. The airport itself calls it the best option, and from Jamaica the train takes around 20 minutes to Penn Station or Grand Central Madison in Manhattan. From Jamaica, the LIRR also runs to Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn.

The AirTrain runs every 5 to 15 minutes, and the screens at the stations show any changes. The LIRR runs around the clock, but the timetable varies with the time of day, so check the next departure in the TrainTime app or on the screens at Jamaica. Suitcases, pushchairs and luggage trolleys are all allowed on the AirTrain.

The train suits you if you’re staying in Midtown or Chelsea and want to get there quickly. The catch is that you pay twice: first for the AirTrain when you go out through the gates at Jamaica, and then for the train ticket, which you need before you board. The MTA describes the route in its guide to JFK.

Fares and tickets

The AirTrain costs $8.75 (about £6.60), and children under 5 ride free. For the train, you buy a CityTicket, which is valid for LIRR journeys within New York City. It costs $5.25 (about £3.90) off-peak and $7.25 (about £5.40) at peak times, so the whole journey costs $14 or $16. Peak times cover weekday trains arriving at the New York stations between 06:00 and 10:00, or leaving them between 16:00 and 20:00.

Children under 5 ride the LIRR free, and up to four children aged 5 to 17 travel for $1 (about £0.75) each with a fare-paying adult. Buy your ticket in the TrainTime app or from a machine at the station. If you wait and buy it on the train, it costs $7.75 to $8.50 (about £5.80 to £6.40) extra. A CityTicket is valid until 04:00 the night after the day you bought it. The fares are listed by the MTA under CityTicket.

You pay for the AirTrain at the gates with a contactless card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or an OMNY card. If several of you are travelling together, the AirTrain has a group fare with OMNY, where the first person pays $8.75 and each person after that pays $4.50 (about £3.40), for up to five people and a maximum of $26.75 (about £20). Everyone has to tap within five minutes. The rules are on the airport’s AirTrain page.

Where to get off the train

Penn Station: The station is at 34th Street and 7th Avenue in Midtown, right on the edge of Chelsea. Here you can change to the A, C and E subway lines at 34 St-Penn Station, and the E runs one stop south to 23 St in Chelsea and one stop north to 42 St-Port Authority Bus Terminal by Times Square.

Grand Central Madison: The LIRR’s station at Grand Central in the eastern part of Midtown. Choose it if your hotel is on the east side of Midtown, and from there you can also continue out of the city on Metro-North.

Atlantic Terminal: The LIRR’s terminus in Brooklyn. If you’re staying in Brooklyn, you can ride direct from Jamaica without going via Manhattan, which saves you a change with your suitcases.

2. AirTrain and subway to Manhattan and Brooklyn

The subway is the cheap option, and it runs around the clock. Take the AirTrain to Jamaica and change at Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av-JFK Airport station to the E or J line. The E runs express through Queens for most of the day and continues through Midtown, Chelsea and SoHo to World Trade Center, while the J runs through Brooklyn to Williamsburg, the Lower East Side and the southern part of Manhattan.

The other route goes via Howard Beach, where you change to the A line. It runs through Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan and on up Manhattan’s west side to stations including 14 St, 34 St-Penn Station and 42 St-Port Authority Bus Terminal. The MTA charges the same fare for both routes, so choose the one that suits your hotel.

The subway suits you if you’re travelling light. There are lots of stops, and at night some lines run as local trains, so the journey takes longer. Both Jamaica and Howard Beach have wheelchair-accessible connections to the subway, and if you rely on lifts, the MTA advises you to check them before you travel. Take the E towards World Trade Center, because Jamaica Center is one stop in the wrong direction. You’ll find the timetable on the MTA’s E line page.

Fares and tickets

A subway ride costs $3 (about £2.20), however far you travel, and with the AirTrain that makes $11.75 (about £8.80) in total. Up to three children under 44 inches, around 112 centimetres, ride the subway free with a fare-paying adult, and children under 5 ride the AirTrain free. Weekly passes and other unlimited tickets aren’t valid on the AirTrain, so you always pay for that part separately. The fares are listed by the MTA.

Paying by card: OMNY

You pay by holding a contactless bank card, your phone or your watch against the reader. The system is called OMNY, and you don’t need to sign up or download an app. At Jamaica, you tap first at the AirTrain gates and then again when you enter the subway. If you’d rather have a card, you can buy an OMNY card from the machines at the subway stations at Jamaica and Howard Beach and pay in cash or by card. You can no longer buy a MetroCard.

If you use the same card or the same phone every time, you pay no more than $35 (about £26) over seven days on the subway and local buses, and a transfer between the subway and a bus within two hours is free. The cap covers the subway and buses, not the AirTrain. Read more about OMNY’s fare cap.

Where to get off

Midtown and Times Square: The E stops at Lexington Av/53 St, 5 Av/53 St and 7 Av and continues to 42 St-Port Authority Bus Terminal, where there’s a passageway to Times Sq-42 St. Many of the places I’ve gathered in my guide to things to do in New York are within walking distance of here.

Chelsea: Stay on the E to 23 St. If you’re staying in the northern part of Chelsea, you can also get off at 34 St-Penn Station.

SoHo: The E stops at Spring St in the middle of SoHo, which I call the best area in my guide to where to stay in New York. You ride from Jamaica without changing, and you can see hotels in SoHo here.

Lower East Side and East Village: Take the J to Delancey St-Essex St in the middle of the Lower East Side. The East Village is further north, so with big suitcases a taxi is the easiest way to cover the last stretch.

Williamsburg: The J stops at Marcy Av in Williamsburg before it crosses the bridge into Manhattan, so you stay on the same train all the way from Jamaica. You can see hotels in Williamsburg here.

Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn via Howard Beach: The A stops at Jay St-MetroTech in Brooklyn and at Fulton St, Chambers St and Canal St in Manhattan, among other stations. Take a train towards Manhattan, and get off at the stop closest to your hotel.

3. Q3 and Q10 buses: the cheapest option

If you want to avoid the AirTrain fee, you can take an ordinary MTA bus. The AirTrain between the terminals and Lefferts Blvd station is free and takes around eight minutes, and at Lefferts Blvd you’ll find the Q10, which runs towards Kew Gardens, where the MTA shows connections to the E and F subway lines, among others. The Q3 stops at Terminal 8 and at Lefferts Blvd and runs to Jamaica, where you can change to the F line at Jamaica-179 St.

The bus costs $3, the same as the subway, and if you change to the subway within two hours using the same card, the transfer is free. That means the whole journey costs just $3 (about £2.20). According to the MTA, the Q10 runs around the clock. You pay with a contactless card, your phone or an OMNY card, or with exact change in coins, but not with notes.

On the other hand, the journey takes a long time and it’s a hassle with big suitcases, so I’d only choose the bus if you’re travelling light and want to save money. You’ll find the timetable on the MTA’s Q10 page.

4. Taxis, Uber and Lyft

A yellow taxi from JFK to Manhattan costs a flat fare of $70, wherever you’re going in Manhattan, and the fare is per car. The meter and the receipt show the flat fare. If you have several stops in Manhattan, the flat fare only covers the first one, and after that the meter starts again. The taxis wait at the official taxi rank outside the terminal.

On top of that come the surcharges listed by the TLC, the city’s taxi regulator: $0.50 (about £0.37) in state tax, a $1 (about £0.75) improvement surcharge, a $2 (about £1.50) airport fee when you’re picked up at JFK, $2.50 (about £1.85) for trips to Manhattan south of 96th Street and $0.75 (about £0.56) in congestion charge south of 60th Street. On weekdays between 16:00 and 20:00, it costs $5 (about £3.70) extra. Bridge and tunnel tolls and the tip are also extra.

So for a hotel in SoHo at 17:00 on a weekday, it comes to $81.75 (about £61), before tolls and the tip. The airport estimates $80 (about £60) to Williamsburg and $90 (about £67) to Downtown Brooklyn. The rates are listed by the TLC, and you’ll find the estimates on the airport’s taxi page.

Uber and Lyft pick up at the signposted zones, and the app shows the price before you book. Uber puts the average journey time between New York City and JFK at 55 minutes, and the airport warns that the construction work can make pick-ups by car slower. Always check that the number plate matches the one in the app.

Uber Shuttle is a shared minibus that you book in the Uber app, with fixed routes to places including Times Square, Port Authority, Grand Central, Penn Station, Chelsea and Greenwich Village. You can bring one suitcase of up to 20.5 kg and a small bag, and the price is shown in the app. The airport also mentions the shared services Airlink New York and ETS Air Shuttle. See the routes at Uber Shuttle.

Private transfer

If you’re landing late with children, or there are several of you with a lot of luggage, you can book a private transfer from JFK to Manhattan here. The driver waits for you, the price is agreed in advance, and up to 105 minutes of waiting time is included if your flight is delayed. If there are up to nine of you, you can book a larger private transfer from JFK here.

Onward travel around the New York area straight from the airport

If you’re not heading into Manhattan, you can take the LIRR from Jamaica straight out to Long Island. The LIRR has 11 branches and runs around the clock, and you’ll find the routes at Long Island Rail Road. If you’re travelling on from New York later by Amtrak train to another city on the East Coast, you can buy your train ticket in advance from Omio.

If you’re catching a flight from another airport, JFK estimates a taxi at $60 (about £45) to LaGuardia and $160 (about £120) to Newark, before surcharges and tolls. To Nassau and Westchester, the taxi runs on the meter to the city limit and at double the rate from there, and for trips to New Jersey, Connecticut and Suffolk, you agree the fare with the driver before you set off. If you’re landing at Newark or LaGuardia instead, read my guide to getting from Newark and LaGuardia to Manhattan.

Getting back to the airport

By subway, take the E towards Jamaica Center to Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av-JFK Airport or the A towards Far Rockaway to Howard Beach-JFK Airport. Be careful with the A, because trains to Lefferts Blvd don’t go to the airport. From either station, take the AirTrain on to your terminal.

By LIRR, take a train that stops at Jamaica from Penn Station, Grand Central Madison or Atlantic Terminal, and buy your ticket before you board. The MTA advises you to sit at the front of the train, so you have a shorter walk to the AirTrain at Jamaica. The subway and the LIRR run around the clock, but at night some subway lines run as local trains and the LIRR runs to a different timetable, so allow plenty of time if you’re catching a very early flight.

A yellow taxi from Manhattan to JFK also costs the flat fare of $70 plus surcharges, but the airport fee only applies when you’re picked up at the airport. Taxis and cars normally drop off in front of the terminals. When there’s construction work at the terminals, the drive can take longer, and the airport then recommends public transport, so check the airport’s traffic and construction alerts before you set off. The airport doesn’t give a fixed time for when you should arrive, so follow your airline’s advice.

Which option should you choose?

Here’s what I’d recommend, depending on where you’re staying:

SoHo: Take the AirTrain to Jamaica and the E direct to Spring St. With a lot of luggage, a flat-fare taxi is the easiest option.

Lower East Side and East Village: Take the AirTrain to Jamaica and the J to Delancey St-Essex St, and take a taxi for the last stretch to the East Village if you have big suitcases.

Chelsea: Take the AirTrain and the LIRR to Penn Station, which is on the edge of the neighbourhood, or the E direct to 23 St.

Williamsburg: Take the AirTrain to Jamaica and the J to Marcy Av with no further changes.

Midtown near Times Square and Grand Central: The AirTrain and the LIRR to Penn Station or Grand Central Madison is the fastest option. The E to 42 St-Port Authority Bus Terminal is cheaper.

If you land at night: The subway and the LIRR run around the clock, but at night some subway lines run as local trains. After a long flight, a flat-fare taxi is the easiest option.

If there are three or four of you: Four people pay $43.25 (about £32.50) for the AirTrain at the group fare plus four CityTickets. A taxi to Midtown or SoHo off-peak costs $76.75 (about £58) before tolls and the tip, so roughly twice as much, but it takes you to the door without any changes.

Practical tips for getting from JFK Airport to Manhattan

Use the same card all the way. The fare cap on the subway and buses only works if you use the same card or the same phone every time. A physical card and the same card in your phone count as two different cards.

Buy your LIRR ticket before you board. On the train, it costs $7.75 to $8.50 extra, so download the TrainTime app while you’re waiting for your luggage.

Only take a taxi from the official taxi rank. The airport asks you to ignore people in the terminal who offer you transport, because many of them drive without a licence or insurance. Use the official zones for yellow taxis, Uber and Lyft.

Check the lifts if you have heavy luggage or a pushchair. The MTA has a page showing the status of lifts and escalators and advises you to check it before you travel. Jamaica and Howard Beach both have wheelchair-accessible connections between the AirTrain and the subway.

Choose your hotel with the connection in mind. The E runs direct from Jamaica to Spring St, so you can see hotels in SoHo here. The J runs direct to Delancey St-Essex St, where you can see hotels on the Lower East Side here, and to Marcy Av, where you can see hotels in Williamsburg here.

If you’re not sure which neighbourhood suits you, read my guide to where to stay in New York, and you’ll find ideas for your trip in my guide to things to do in New York.

The post JFK Airport to Manhattan - Transport Guide appeared first on Destination Well Known.

The train is the fastest and best option if you’re staying near St Pancras, in the City or around London Bridge. The coaches run around the clock to Baker Street, Marble Arch and Victoria and can be cheaper, but they take longer. Here you’ll find all the options, with fares, journey times, where to get off and what to do if you land at night.

At a glance

• Luton Airport Express: From £10 with an Advance ticket including the DART, as little as 32 minutes from the terminal to St Pancras, every half hour, and only from midday on Sundays.
• Thameslink: £17.20 contactless off-peak including the DART, as little as 35 minutes from the terminal to St Pancras, up to 8 trains an hour and at night too.
• National Express: From £7, 60 to 90 minutes to Victoria, runs around the clock.
• Green Line 757: £15, around 90 minutes to Victoria, runs around the clock.
• Taxi: Metered black cabs from the rank at the terminal, with no fixed fare to London.
• Uber: Uber itself gives an average fare of around £78 for UberX between London and the airport.

Finding your transport at the airport

Luton has a single terminal, so every connection starts from the same place. In the arrivals hall you’ll find the Onward Travel Centre with a ticket desk, and the train ticket machines are by the exit. You can buy tickets for both the train and the DART here before you head outside. The Luton DART leaves from the station by the terminal entrance, and at the ticket gates you can pay directly with a contactless card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. There are also ticket machines at the DART station.

The coaches stop right outside the terminal’s main entrance, and all the stops are 50 to 100 metres from the entrance. National Express leaves from stands R and S, and Green Line 757 leaves from Bay L. The taxi rank is just past Bus Bay A, close to the terminal. Pre-booked cars pick up in the Pick Up Zone, which is around a five-minute walk away. You’ll find every connection on the airport’s transport page.

1. Train via the Luton DART to St Pancras and the City

The train is the fastest way into London, but the journey comes in two parts. First, you take the Luton DART from the terminal to Luton Airport Parkway. It’s a driverless electric train that covers the 2.3 kilometres in under four minutes. The DART runs around the clock, up to every 5 minutes at peak times, every 8 minutes the rest of the day and every 15 minutes between 22:00 and 04:00.

At Luton Airport Parkway you change to one of two trains to London. Thameslink leaves from platform 1 and Luton Airport Express from platform 3, so check the screens when you come up from the DART. Both trains have space for suitcases by the doors. The walk between the station and the terminal might look short, but it isn’t a real alternative, as it’s around 1.6 kilometres up a steep hill and takes about half an hour.

Luton Airport Express or Thameslink?

Luton Airport Express is East Midlands Railway’s fast train, and it’s the quickest connection to St Pancras International. From Parkway the journey takes as little as 22 minutes, and from the terminal to St Pancras it’s as little as 32 minutes including the DART. Trains run every half hour from Monday to Saturday. On weekdays the last train towards St Pancras leaves at around 23:25. On Sundays it only runs from midday, and the last one leaves before 22:00. The train has free Wi-Fi, and you can bring two large suitcases and a smaller bag. You’ll find the timetable at Luton Airport Express.

Thameslink runs more often and stops at more places in London. During the day there’s a train roughly every 10 to 15 minutes, and it carries on through the city via Farringdon, City Thameslink and London Blackfriars to London Bridge, among other stations. Thameslink also runs at night with fewer departures, and it’s often your only train on a Sunday morning. From Parkway the journey takes 24 to 45 minutes to St Pancras and around 50 minutes to London Bridge. You can see the journey times to each station on the airport’s page about trains to London.

Fares and tickets

Always buy a ticket to Luton Airport station, not to Luton Airport Parkway. That way the DART is included in the price. If your ticket only says Parkway, you’ll need to buy a DART ticket on top for £4.90. Children aged 5 to 15 pay £2.45 for the DART, and children under 5 travel free.

Luton Airport Express sells Advance tickets from £10 each way and £20 return between St Pancras and Luton Airport, with the DART included. Thameslink has Advance tickets from £6.50, but here the DART isn’t included in the price. The catch is that an Advance ticket is only valid on the train you’ve booked. If your flight’s delayed and you miss that train, you’ll have to buy a new ticket. When you land, an Off-Peak or Anytime ticket or paying contactless is therefore the safe choice, as they’re valid on any train. Off-Peak tickets are valid all weekend. You’ll find the DART fares at Luton DART.

If you’d like your train ticket ready on your phone before you land, you can buy train tickets from Omio here. Buy it to Luton Airport so the DART is included.

Children aged 5 to 15 pay half price on the train, and children under 5 travel free with an adult. Oyster cards aren’t valid, as Luton Airport Parkway and Luton Airport are outside London’s fare zones.

Paying by card: tap in and out twice

You can pay contactless with Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay or Google Pay for the whole journey, but it happens in two steps. You pay for the DART by tapping your card on the reader at the ticket gates. The train is paid for separately: at Luton Airport Parkway you tap the same card on a yellow card reader before you go onto the platform, and you tap out again at the ticket gates in London. If you forget to tap out, the journey’s recorded as incomplete and you’ll pay the maximum fare. You’ll find the rules at Thameslink.

Paying contactless, the train from Luton Airport Parkway to St Pancras or Farringdon costs £12.30 off-peak and £16.60 from Monday to Friday between 06:30 and 09:30. With the DART, that’s £17.20 and £21.50. Every child and every adult needs their own ticket or card, so if you’re travelling as a family, it’s easiest to buy tickets to Luton Airport from the machine in the arrivals hall. Read more about the journey at Thameslink.

Where to get off

St Pancras International: The last stop for Luton Airport Express and the first stop for Thameslink. From here you can walk to King’s Cross, Bloomsbury and Camden, and the station connects to six Underground lines. If you’re staying here, you can walk from the train to your hotel, and you can see hotels near King’s Cross and St Pancras here.

Farringdon: Thameslink only. Here you change to the Elizabeth line, heading west to Tottenham Court Road, Bond Street and Paddington or east to Liverpool Street and Shoreditch. Farringdon sits between the West End and the City and is a handy place to stay if you want both Thameslink and the Elizabeth line right on your doorstep.

City Thameslink: The station is in the middle of the City of London, a short walk from St Paul’s Cathedral. It’s the one for you if you’re staying in the City.

London Blackfriars: The station sits on a bridge over the Thames and has entrances on both sides of the river. The south entrance leads out to Bankside, with Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe, and Bankside is one of the areas I recommend in my guide to where to stay in London.

London Bridge: Get off here for Borough Market, The Shard and the south side of Tower Bridge. Many of the top things to do in London are within walking distance, and you can see hotels near London Bridge here.

2. National Express coach to Baker Street and Victoria

National Express runs around the clock with up to 47 departures a day, roughly three an hour during the day and every half hour at night. The coaches leave from stands R and S right outside the terminal, so you don’t need the DART. On the other hand, you’ll be sitting in London traffic, and the journey to Victoria usually takes 60 to 90 minutes. The coach is best if you’re staying near Baker Street, Marble Arch or Victoria, or if you land at night and want to save on a taxi.

There are several routes, and they stop in different places. The A1 and A31 run to Victoria Coach Station, and the A31 is the fastest, with fewer stops. The A2 runs to Paddington Station. So check the stops on your ticket before you get on, or you could end up on the wrong side of Hyde Park. Victoria Coach Station is around 300 metres from Victoria Underground station.

Fares and tickets

Tickets cost from £7 each way when you buy online. That price includes a £1.50 booking fee, which you avoid if you create a free account. The cheapest tickets sell out first, and in the holidays some departures sell out completely, so buy your ticket online as soon as you know your flight. You may be able to get tickets on the day, but National Express itself recommends booking online in advance. Fares and departures are listed at National Express.

Each passenger can bring one large suitcase or two medium-sized ones, plus one soft piece of hand luggage. If you’ve got more luggage than that, the train’s the better choice.

Buy a coach ticket between Luton and central London here, and you’ll have it ready on your phone when you land.

The stops in London

Baker Street: All three routes stop here. Get off here if you’re staying near Regent’s Park or Marylebone, or if you want to carry on by Underground.

Marble Arch: The stop for Oxford Street and Hyde Park. From here it’s a few minutes’ walk into Mayfair.

Victoria: The A1 and A31 end at Victoria Coach Station, and from here it isn’t far to Westminster, Belgravia and Pimlico.

Paddington: The A2 ends at Paddington Station, which is the easiest stop for hotels in Paddington and Bayswater.

3. Green Line 757 to Victoria around the clock

Green Line 757 is Arriva’s coach from Bay L, right outside the terminal. It runs around the clock all year via Brent Cross, Finchley Road, Baker Street and Marble Arch to Victoria. During the day there are up to three coaches an hour, at night roughly one an hour, and the journey to Victoria takes around 90 minutes. You can’t reserve a seat, so it’s first come, first served.

A single costs £15 for an adult and £10 for a child. A 2 Trip ticket for £16 covers the journey both ways and is valid for three months, and a 2 Trip family ticket costs £35. You can buy single, return and weekly tickets from the driver and pay contactless, with Apple Pay or Google Pay, or in sterling cash.

You can bring two medium-sized suitcases or one large suitcase of up to 20 kilos. The coach is most useful at night, or if you buy the 2 Trip ticket and are travelling there and back. You’ll find the timetable and rules at Green Line.

4. Taxis and Uber

The black cabs wait at the rank just past Bus Bay A, and you don’t need to book in advance. You join the queue, and a member of staff directs you to the next available taxi. The taxis are metered and there’s no fixed fare to London, so the journey gets expensive, especially if there’s traffic on the motorway. Ask the driver roughly what the fare will be before you set off. You can read more on the airport’s taxi page.

Pre-booked taxis pick up in the Pick Up Zone, and there’s a pick-up charge that the driver usually adds to the fare. If you book an Uber, the app shows you where to meet your driver. Uber’s own page gives an average fare of around £78 for UberX between London and the airport, but the price varies with traffic and demand. You can see more at Uber.

Private transfer

If you’re landing late with children, or there are several of you with lots of luggage, you can book a private transfer from Luton Airport to London here. The driver picks you up at the airport and takes you all the way to your hotel, and the price is agreed in advance. You can also book a transfer with Welcome Pickups here, and the driver will be waiting for you when you come out.

Onward travel around England straight from the airport

If you’re not heading into London, you can often travel straight on from Luton Airport Parkway. East Midlands Railway runs north to Bedford, Kettering and Corby, and some trains continue to Leicester, Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield. You can reach Sheffield in just under two hours. Thameslink runs through London and on south all the way to Brighton in around two hours, and if you’d like to see the coast, Brighton makes a good alternative to London. You can see the connections on the airport’s page about trains to the north.

National Express runs from bays N, P and Q at the bus station to Oxford, Cambridge, Birmingham and Manchester, among other places, and you’ll find the routes on the airport’s page about coaches around England. If you’re catching a flight from another airport, Thameslink runs direct to Gatwick in 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes, and for Heathrow you take Thameslink to Farringdon and change to the Elizabeth line. There are also direct coaches to Heathrow and Stansted, and you can buy a coach ticket between Luton and Heathrow here. I’ve also written guides to getting into London from Heathrow, from Gatwick and from Stansted.

Getting back to the airport

Luton Airport Express runs from St Pancras from around 05:45 on weekdays and 05:30 on Saturdays, but on Sundays not until around 12:00. The last train to the airport leaves just before midnight on weekdays and at around 22:00 at weekends. If you’re catching an early flight on a Sunday, that leaves Thameslink, National Express or Green Line 757. Thameslink runs through the night with fewer trains, and the DART runs around the clock, so you can make a morning flight too. Again, remember to buy your ticket to Luton Airport so the DART is included.

The airport doesn’t say how early you should arrive, so follow your airline’s advice and allow time for the change at Parkway and the DART ride. If you’re flying before 09:00, the airport says you can check in and drop off your bags the evening before, so ask your airline whether that applies to your flight.

If someone’s driving you, the drop-off zone close to the terminal costs £9 for the first 12 minutes, and the charge is paid online. Free drop-off is in the long-stay car park, where a free shuttle bus runs to the terminal every 20 minutes around the clock and takes around ten minutes. The rules are on the airport’s drop-off page.

Which option should you choose?

Here’s what I’d recommend, depending on where you’re staying:

Bloomsbury and King’s Cross: Take Luton Airport Express or Thameslink to St Pancras and walk the last bit.

Camden Town: Take the train to St Pancras and change to the Northern line at King’s Cross St Pancras.

Soho and Covent Garden: Take Thameslink to Farringdon and change to the Elizabeth line heading west to Tottenham Court Road.

City of London and Shoreditch: Take Thameslink to Farringdon or City Thameslink. For Shoreditch, change at Farringdon to the Elizabeth line heading east to Liverpool Street.

Bankside: Take Thameslink to London Blackfriars and use the south exit, or carry on to London Bridge.

Paddington and Bayswater: Take the National Express A2 direct to Paddington, or take Thameslink to Farringdon and the Elizabeth line west to Paddington if you’d rather avoid the traffic.

Mayfair: Take National Express or Green Line 757 to Marble Arch.

Landing at night: Thameslink runs with fewer trains, and National Express and Green Line 757 run all night. Otherwise, it’s a taxi.

Landing on a Sunday morning: Luton Airport Express doesn’t run until midday, so take Thameslink.

Three or four of you: A pre-booked transfer with a fixed price takes you all the way to your hotel, and the cost is split between you. Compare it with train tickets for the whole group before you decide.

Practical tips for getting from Luton Airport to central London

Buy your ticket to Luton Airport, not Parkway. That way the DART is included in the price, and you won’t have to queue at an extra machine.

Use the same card all the way. If you pay contactless, you need to tap in and out with the same card or the same phone. If you forget to tap out, you’ll pay the maximum fare.

Skip the Advance ticket on the way in. It’s only valid on the train you’ve booked. It’s fine for the journey home, when you choose the time yourself, but if your flight’s delayed on the way in, you’ll have to buy a new ticket.

Book the coach in good time. National Express’s cheapest tickets sell first, and in the holidays departures can sell out.

Choose your hotel with the connection in mind. If you’re staying near St Pancras, Luton Airport Express takes you right to the door, and you can see hotels near King’s Cross and St Pancras here. If you’re staying near Farringdon, you’ve got both Thameslink and the Elizabeth line right on your doorstep, and you can see hotels near Farringdon here. If you’d like to stay south of the Thames near Borough Market, you can see hotels near London Bridge here.

If you’re not sure which neighbourhood suits you best, read my guide to where to stay in London, and you’ll find ideas for your trip in my guide to things to do in London.

The post Luton Airport to Central London - Transport Guide appeared first on Destination Well Known.

The hard part is choosing between the regular Thameslink and Southern trains, the more expensive Gatwick Express, the coach and a taxi. It mostly depends on where you’re staying and when you land. Here you’ll find all the options with fares and journey times, where to get off and how to travel on straight from the airport.

At a glance

• Thameslink and Southern: £10.70 off-peak and £19.20 at peak times, 30 to 45 minutes to central London, several departures an hour.
• Gatwick Express: £24 with contactless, about 30 minutes direct to Victoria, two departures an hour.
• National Express: From £6, at least 1 hour 40 minutes to Victoria Coach Station, with departures through the night too.
• Taxi: A fixed price when you book with the airport’s official company, and allow up to 1 hour 45 minutes to King’s Cross.
• Uber: The fare is shown in the app before you book, and the car picks you up at a signposted pick-up point.

Finding your transport at the airport

The first thing you need to know is which terminal you’re landing at. The railway station is in the South Terminal, about a five-minute walk from both arrivals and departures. If you land at the North Terminal, take the free shuttle train between the terminals. It leaves from the upper level of the North Terminal, runs every few minutes around the clock, and the ride takes about two minutes. It’s signposted in both terminals.

At the station there are ticket machines and a ticket office that’s open 24 hours a day, and there’s step-free access to every platform. If you’ve bought your ticket online, you scan the barcode at the ticket gates. If you’d like an Oyster card, you can buy one at Your Service Centre in the check-in area of the South Terminal. The airport has all the train information on its train page.

The National Express coaches stop on the lower level outside International Arrivals in the North Terminal, at stops 4 and 5, and on the lower forecourt of the South Terminal, at stops 1 to 5. The ticket desks are in the arrivals halls. The taxi company Airport Cars Gatwick has booking desks in both terminals, and Uber picks up at its own signposted pick-up points. The coaches are listed on the airport’s coach and bus page.

1. Thameslink and Southern trains to central London

The regular trains are my first choice from Gatwick. Two companies run into London. Thameslink runs right through the city with direct trains to London Bridge, Blackfriars, City Thameslink, Farringdon and St Pancras International, while Southern runs to Victoria via Clapham Junction, among other stops. You pay less than half of what the Gatwick Express costs, and you can pick the station closest to your hotel.

The airport says 30 to 45 minutes into London, depending on the train and the station. To St Pancras International the journey takes 44 to 53 minutes with Thameslink. Counting all the operators, a train leaves for central London every four minutes on average, so you’ll rarely have to wait long. The trains have luggage racks, but they also carry commuters, so they can get crowded on weekday mornings.

The thing to watch is the direction. Trains south towards Brighton leave from the same platforms, so look for London Victoria, London Bridge or St Pancras on the screen before you get on. You can check the departures with Thameslink and Southern.

Fares and tickets

With contactless or Oyster the journey costs £10.70 off-peak and £19.20 at peak times, which towards London means Monday to Friday from 06:30 to 09:30. You pay the same fare to Victoria, London Bridge and St Pancras. So if you land on a weekday morning, it pays to have a coffee at the airport and take a train after 09:30. You can check the fares yourself with TfL’s fare finder.

If you’re travelling with children, the Kids for £2 offer is a good deal. Up to four children aged 5 to 15 travel for £2 each off-peak when they’re with an adult holding a valid ticket. It only applies when the adult has bought a ticket, not when the adult pays by contactless. Children under 5 travel free with a paying adult.

You can buy tickets from the machines, at the ticket office or online from the train companies. If you want your ticket ready on your phone before you land, you can buy train tickets from Omio here. Watch out for tickets marked Thameslink Only, as they aren’t valid to Victoria. If there are three to nine adults in your group, GroupSave saves you a third on off-peak tickets.

Pay by card or Oyster

Between Gatwick and London you can pay with a contactless card, your phone or Oyster. You touch your card on the yellow reader at the ticket gates when you enter the station and again when you leave the station in London. If you forget to touch out, you’re charged a maximum fare, which from Gatwick is £21.20 at peak times and £12.80 off-peak. Use the same card or the same phone for the whole journey, and keep your other cards away from the reader so it doesn’t charge the wrong one.

Many contactless cards issued outside the UK work, including Visa, Mastercard and American Express, but your bank may charge a fee for payments in pounds. Contactless only works towards London, not south towards Brighton. You’ll find the rules at Transport for London.

Where to get off

Victoria: The end of the line for Southern and the Gatwick Express. From here the Victoria line runs to Green Park by Mayfair and to Oxford Circus on the edge of Soho, and there are lots of hotels within walking distance. If you’d like to stay right by the station, you can see hotels near Victoria here.

London Bridge: The best stop for Bankside on the south side of the Thames, with Borough Market, the Shard and Tower Bridge close by. There’s also an Underground station here on the Northern line. If you’re staying in the area, you can see hotels near London Bridge here.

Blackfriars and City Thameslink: The two stops are close together in the City of London. Get off here if you’re staying in the City, near St Paul’s Cathedral or on the north side of the Thames by Fleet Street.

Farringdon: The smartest place to change. Here you switch to the Elizabeth line, which runs west to Tottenham Court Road, Bond Street and Paddington and east to Liverpool Street. That makes Farringdon the best stop if you’re heading for Soho, Mayfair, Paddington or Shoreditch.

St Pancras International: Thameslink’s last stop in central London is right next to King’s Cross. King’s Cross St. Pancras Underground station has the Victoria, Northern and Piccadilly lines, among others, so from here it’s a short ride to Bloomsbury on the Piccadilly line to Russell Square and straight to Camden Town on the Northern line.

2. Gatwick Express to Victoria

The Gatwick Express is the airport train. It runs non-stop from the South Terminal to London Victoria, leaves twice an hour and takes about 30 minutes. Most trains have free Wi-Fi and power sockets, and there’s room for luggage. It’s a comfortable ride, but to be honest you don’t save much time compared with the regular trains to Victoria, and you pay more than twice as much.

The Gatwick Express makes the most sense if you’re staying near Victoria, in Westminster or in Belgravia and want a non-stop train with plenty of room for your suitcases. If you’re going to St Pancras, Farringdon or London Bridge, Thameslink is the obvious choice, as the Gatwick Express only runs to Victoria. From Victoria you carry on by Underground.

Fares and tickets

If you pay with a contactless card or Oyster, the journey costs £24 at any time of day. It doesn’t count towards the daily contactless price cap. If you buy your ticket online from Gatwick Express, you get 10 per cent off most adult tickets between Gatwick and Victoria, and you can buy up to 12 weeks ahead.

If there are two of you, Web Duo gives 25 per cent off selected return tickets for two people travelling together. It’s only sold online. The return half of an Anytime return ticket can be used at any time within a month, so you can buy your journey back straight away. Tickets are also sold from the machines and at the ticket office at the station.

Children pay the same as on the regular trains. Up to four children aged 5 to 15 travel for £2 each off-peak with an adult who has bought a ticket, and children under 5 travel free. You’ll find the rules at Gatwick Express.

3. National Express coach to Victoria Coach Station

The coach is the cheapest way into London if you book early. Tickets start at £6, but there aren’t many at the lowest price, and the fare includes a £1.50 booking fee, which you avoid if you book while logged in on the National Express website or in the app. The coaches run to Victoria Coach Station, and some go via Hammersmith and Earl’s Court, while others go via Victoria, Marble Arch and Paddington.

The downside is that the journey takes a long time. National Express’s fastest journey to Victoria takes 1 hour 40 minutes, the airport says about 1 hour 45 minutes, and traffic and roadworks can make it longer. There are up to 21 coaches a day, including in the middle of the night, which makes the coach a real option if you land after midnight. You can bring one large suitcase or two medium ones, plus one soft piece of hand luggage. The coaches have free Wi-Fi, USB sockets and a toilet. You’ll find the timetable at National Express.

4. Taxis and Uber

Airport Cars Gatwick is the airport’s official taxi company, with desks in both terminals. You can also book in advance with Airport Cars Gatwick, and then the price is fixed, whatever the traffic and however busy it is. The cars are black Teslas, Mercedes and Ford Galaxys, and on request the driver waits in the arrivals hall with a name board.

The airport allows up to 1 hour 45 minutes to King’s Cross, and in the rush hour it can take longer. So it’s slower than the train and much more expensive, which means a taxi only makes sense if there are several of you with lots of luggage, or if you land when the trains are infrequent. Uber picks up at its own pick-up points, which are signposted in the terminals, and you’ll see the fare in the app before you book.

Private transfer

If you’re landing late with children, or there are several of you with lots of luggage, you can book a private transfer from Gatwick to your hotel here. The price is agreed in advance, and the driver helps with your luggage.

If you’re travelling alone and want to be driven to the door, a shared transfer from London’s airports to your hotel is cheaper. The driver waits in the arrivals hall, but you share the vehicle with other travellers.

You can also book a transfer with Welcome Pickups here if you’d like to compare transfer prices before you decide.

Onward travel around England straight from the airport

If you’re not heading into London, you can often travel straight on. The train to Brighton takes about 30 minutes with Southern, Thameslink or the Gatwick Express, but remember that contactless doesn’t work going south, so you’ll need to buy a ticket. The seaside town makes a good alternative to London. Great Western Railway runs direct to Reading every half hour, and the journey takes about 1 hour 30 minutes.

If you need to get to another London airport, National Express, The Airline and Flixbus run direct to Heathrow in about an hour, and The Airline carries on to Oxford. See also my guide to getting from Heathrow to central London. Thameslink runs four direct trains an hour to Luton Airport Parkway in about 75 minutes, and my guide to Luton Airport explains the rest of the way. Flixbus also runs to Cambridge, Bristol, Cardiff and Birmingham, among other places. All the connections are on the airport’s page about London and the surrounding area.

Getting back to the airport

First, check which terminal your airline uses on the airport’s list of terminals. The train always arrives at the South Terminal, so if you’re flying from the North Terminal, take the shuttle train, which runs around the clock and takes about two minutes. The airport recommends getting there at least two hours before departure.

On the way out to the airport, the peak fare of £19.20 applies both in the morning from 06:30 to 09:30 and in the afternoon from 16:00 to 19:00 on weekdays, while the Gatwick Express costs the same all day. If you’re catching a very early flight, check the first trains the evening before with Thameslink or Southern, and remember that National Express also runs through the night.

If someone’s driving you, it costs £10 for ten minutes to drop off in front of the terminal, and the charge has to be paid by midnight the following day, or you’ll get a fine. Parking is free for up to two hours in the long-stay car park, and a free bus runs from there to the terminals. The rules are on the airport’s drop-off page.

Which option should you choose?

Here’s what I’d recommend, depending on where you’re staying. The areas are the same as in my guide to where to stay in London:

Paddington and Bayswater: Take Thameslink to Farringdon and change to the Elizabeth line towards Paddington.

Soho and Covent Garden: Take Thameslink to Farringdon and change to the Elizabeth line to Tottenham Court Road. Alternatively, take the train to Victoria and the Victoria line to Oxford Circus.

Mayfair: Take Southern or the Gatwick Express to Victoria and the Victoria line to Green Park, or the Elizabeth line from Farringdon to Bond Street.

Bloomsbury: Take Thameslink to St Pancras International and walk the last bit, or take the Piccadilly line to Russell Square.

Camden Town: Take Thameslink to St Pancras International and the Northern line from King’s Cross St. Pancras to Camden Town.

City of London: Take Thameslink to Blackfriars, City Thameslink or Farringdon, depending on where in the City you’re staying.

Shoreditch: Take Thameslink to Farringdon and the Elizabeth line to Liverpool Street, and walk from there.

Bankside: Take Thameslink to London Bridge or Blackfriars, which are both by the Thames.

Arriving overnight: Check the train times before you leave the terminal, as far fewer trains run at night. National Express also has departures through the night, and otherwise it’s a taxi from Airport Cars Gatwick. If your flight is delayed and lands after midnight, a Southern ticket for that day is valid until 04:29 the next morning.

For three or four people: Buy GroupSave tickets for the regular trains off-peak. It’s still much cheaper than a taxi and usually faster.

Travelling with children: Use Kids for £2 on the regular trains or the Gatwick Express off-peak, and buy a ticket for the adult instead of paying by card.

Practical tips for getting from Gatwick Airport to London

Avoid the rush hour if you can. A journey with Thameslink or Southern costs £19.20 towards London between 06:30 and 09:30 on weekdays and only £10.70 the rest of the time.

Use the same card all the way. If you touch in with your phone and out with your card, the system can’t tell it’s one journey, and you risk paying the maximum fare. Keep your other cards away from the reader too.

Don’t buy the Gatwick Express out of habit. To Victoria the regular trains are only slightly slower, and to London Bridge, Farringdon and St Pancras, Thameslink is both cheaper and the only direct connection.

Check your terminal before you fly home. The railway station is in the South Terminal, so if you’re flying from the North Terminal, allow a few extra minutes for the shuttle train.

Choose your hotel with the connection in mind. If you stay near Victoria, both Southern and the Gatwick Express take you right to the door, and you can see hotels near Victoria here. If you stay near London Bridge, you have Thameslink direct and Bankside just around the corner, and you can see hotels near London Bridge here. At King’s Cross, Thameslink stops right underneath St Pancras, and you can see hotels near King’s Cross here.

If you’re not sure which neighbourhood suits you, read my guide to where to stay in London, and find ideas for your trip in my guide to things to do in London. If you land at another airport next time, I’ve also written a guide to getting from Stansted to central London.

The post Gatwick Airport to Central London - Transport Guide appeared first on Destination Well Known.

Which one you choose mostly depends on where you’re staying and when you land. The train is the fastest, but it doesn’t run in the middle of the night, and the coach is the cheapest, but it takes longer. Here you’ll find fares, journey times and stops, and how to get on to your hotel.

At a glance

• Stansted Express: From £9.90 if you book online well in advance, otherwise £21 off-peak with contactless, 48 minutes to Liverpool Street, runs from around 05:30 until 00:30.
• National Express: From £7 booked online, around 45 minutes to Stratford and 1 hour 15 minutes to Liverpool Street, runs around the clock.
• flibco: From £7.49, around 90 minutes to Liverpool Street, runs every half hour day and night.
• Taxi: No fixed fare, booked with the airport’s taxi company Street Cars in the arrivals hall, and the price is agreed when you book.
• Uber: Typically £85 to £90 for a standard UberX between the airport and London.

Finding your transport at the airport

Everything is close together at the terminal building. The railway station is directly below the terminal, and you’ll be there in a couple of minutes by escalator, lift or ramp. Follow the signs for trains once you’re out in the arrivals hall. Down at the station you’ll find the ticket machines and a staffed rail information desk, where you can also buy a ticket.

The coach station is opposite the terminal’s main entrance, also a couple of minutes’ walk away. There’s a waiting room, a café, a shop and toilets. National Express has desks and touchscreen ticket machines both in baggage reclaim and in the arrivals hall, and the coaches stop at bays signed with the route number. If you want a taxi, you book it at the Street Cars desk in the international arrivals hall. Uber picks up in the Short Stay car park, and the app shows you the way. You can see all the options on the airport’s page about getting to London.

1. Stansted Express to Tottenham Hale and Liverpool Street

The Stansted Express is the fastest way into London. The train runs from the station below the terminal to Tottenham Hale in north-east London in around 36 minutes and on to the end of the line at Liverpool Street in 48 minutes. Liverpool Street is in the City of London, and from here you can reach most of the city on the Underground and the Elizabeth line. I almost always take the train myself, because it’s the most comfortable way into the city.

During the day there’s a train every 15 minutes, seven days a week. The first train from the airport leaves between 05:28 and 05:55 depending on the day of the week, and the last one leaves at 00:30. So if you land after midnight, it’s the coach or a taxi. The train doesn’t go directly to Stratford: if you’re heading there, you change at Tottenham Hale, and the journey then takes around an hour. You’ll find the timetable and live departures on the Stansted Express website.

The biggest trap is the Oyster card. It isn’t valid to or from Stansted Airport, so you’ll need either a ticket or to pay contactless. If you travel without a valid ticket, you can be charged a £100 penalty fare on top of the single fare.

Fares and tickets

The cheapest option is an Advance ticket, which is only sold online and costs from £9.90. You can buy it from three days to six months before you travel, but the cheapest tickets usually mean booking around three months ahead. Returns cost from £19.80, and a return ticket is valid for a month, so you can use it for the journey back. If there are two of you, a Duo ticket costs £18.75 per person each way.

Children aged 5 to 15 travel at half price, and children under 5 travel free. If there are three or four adults, the Group Offer gives you a return ticket for £75.80 for three people or £101 for four, but you have to travel together the whole way in both directions. If you have children on a group ticket, there must be at least two paying adults. You can buy tickets from the machines and at the information desk at the station, but buying on the day is usually more expensive than online. The tickets and conditions are listed on the Stansted Express website.

Buy your Stansted Express ticket here, so it’s ready on your phone when you land.

Pay by card: touch in and touch out

You can pay contactless with your bank card, Apple Pay or Google Pay on every Stansted Express train. Many cards issued outside the UK work too, but your bank may charge a fee for paying in a foreign currency. Touch your card on the reader before you board at the airport, and touch the same card on the reader again when you get off. You need to do this even if the gate is open.

To Liverpool Street the journey costs £21 off-peak and £23 at peak times, from 06:30 to 09:30 on weekdays. To Tottenham Hale it costs £19 and £22. If you forget to touch out, you’ll be charged the highest fare. Your phone and your physical card count as two different cards, so use the same one the whole way. There are no child fares with contactless, so you’ll need to buy a ticket for children. Read more about contactless payment on the Stansted Express.

Where to get off

Tottenham Hale: Get off here if you’re carrying on by the Victoria line, which runs directly to King’s Cross St. Pancras, Euston, Warren Street, Oxford Circus, Green Park and Victoria. It’s a good route to Bloomsbury, Oxford Street and Victoria, and according to the airport you’ll reach Victoria around 1 hour 15 minutes after leaving Stansted. From Tottenham Hale you can use your card or an Oyster card just as on the rest of the Underground.

Liverpool Street: The end of the line is in the City of London, just south of Shoreditch. Both are good areas to stay in, and my guide to where to stay in London helps you choose. If you’re staying here, you can walk to your hotel, and you can see hotels near Liverpool Street here. If you’re heading further into town, take the Elizabeth line to Farringdon, Tottenham Court Road, Bond Street and Paddington, or the Central, Circle, Hammersmith & City or Metropolitan line.

2. National Express coach to Stratford, Liverpool Street and Paddington

National Express runs coaches from Stansted to London around the clock, and it’s the cheapest option, especially if you book early. On the other hand, the journey takes longer than the train, and traffic can delay the coach at rush hour. There are three routes into London:

• A9: Stratford, Bow, Mile End, Whitechapel, Liverpool Street and Bethnal Green, with some departures also via Canary Wharf. Around 45 minutes to Stratford and 1 hour 15 minutes to Liverpool Street.
• A8: Tottenham Hale, Stamford Hill, Dalston, Shoreditch, Liverpool Street, Southwark, Waterloo and Victoria. Around 50 minutes to Tottenham Hale, 1 hour 25 minutes to Liverpool Street and just over two hours to Victoria Coach Station.
• A6: Golders Green, Finchley Road, St John’s Wood, Baker Street and Paddington, with some departures continuing to Victoria. Around 1 hour 35 minutes to Baker Street and 1 hour 40 minutes to Paddington.

The A9 runs up to every 20 minutes, and the A6 and A8 up to every half hour. At night the A9 still runs around every 20 minutes, and the A6 has night departures too, so you’ll get into town even if your flight is badly delayed. The journey times are from the daytime timetables. You can bring one large suitcase of up to 20 kg in the hold and one soft piece of hand luggage on board. You’ll find the timetables and stops on the National Express website.

Fares and tickets

A single costs from £7 when you buy online, as long as there are tickets left at that price. If you buy on the website without logging in, you pay a £1.50 booking fee, which you avoid by logging in to your profile (My Account) on the website or in the app. If there are four or more of you, National Express gives you 33 per cent off single tickets. You can pay with Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay. You’ll see the child fares when you choose passengers during booking.

If you haven’t bought a ticket in advance, you can buy one at the desks and machines in baggage reclaim and in the arrivals hall. The driver only sells tickets for cash and doesn’t always have change, and you’re only guaranteed a seat if you’ve booked in advance. Be at the bay at least ten minutes before departure.

If you’d rather have a coach ticket ready on your phone, you can buy a coach ticket between Stansted and London here. Check on the ticket which coach company and which stops it’s valid for.

Where to get off

Stratford: The A9 stops at Stratford City Bus Station, just outside the Westfield shopping centre. It’s the quickest stop from the airport, and from Stratford you can carry on by Underground. Get off here if you’re staying in Stratford or near the Olympic Park.

Shoreditch: The A8 stops at Shoreditch High Street Station, in the heart of the neighbourhood known for its nightlife, street art and Brick Lane. If you’re staying in Shoreditch, it’s the easiest stop by coach.

Liverpool Street: Both the A8 and the A9 stop on Bishopsgate by Liverpool Street Station. From here you can walk to hotels in the City of London and Shoreditch, or change to the Elizabeth line and the Underground.

Southwark: The A8 stops on Southwark Street in Bankside, south of the Thames. From here it’s a short walk to Tate Modern and Borough Market, and I’ve gathered more of the city’s highlights in my guide to things to do in London.

Waterloo and Victoria: The A8 continues to Waterloo and ends at Victoria Coach Station, but it’s a long ride, and for Victoria the train to Tottenham Hale and the Victoria line is usually quicker.

Baker Street and Paddington: The A6 is the only direct connection to west London. Paddington is right next to Bayswater and Hyde Park, where there are lots of hotels in every price range. If you’re staying there, you can see hotels in Paddington here.

3. flibco to Stratford and Liverpool Street

flibco is an alternative to National Express between Stansted, Stratford and Liverpool Street, and the company also runs to Finsbury Park among other stops. The coaches run every half hour day and night, and the journey to Liverpool Street takes around 90 minutes. A single costs from £7.49 for adults, children aged 4 to 13 pay from £4.99, and children under 4 travel free. One piece of hand luggage and one suitcase are included in the price.

You buy your ticket online or in the flibco app, and on board the driver only takes cards. Compare the price with National Express before you book, because the cheapest departure changes from day to day. If you want to see several coach companies at once, you can compare coach tickets on Omio here. See the timetable on the flibco website, and see all the coach companies on the airport’s page about buses and coaches.

4. Taxis and Uber

The airport’s official taxi company is Street Cars, and its desk is in the international arrivals hall. If you land on a domestic flight, there’s a free phone in baggage reclaim that rings the desk directly. You can also book a car in advance with Street Cars or through the airport’s taxi page, where you can compare quotes from several companies. There’s no fixed fare to London, so get the price confirmed when you book. Read more on the airport’s taxi page.

Uber picks up in the Short Stay car park, and the app shows the exact spot. According to Uber, a standard UberX between London and the airport has typically cost £85 to £90, and the larger cars cost more. It’s a long journey, so a taxi or Uber only pays off if there are several of you, you have lots of luggage or you land at a time when you don’t feel like changing on the way. According to Stansted Express, the journey by car can take up to an hour.

Private transfer

If you’re landing late with children, or there are several of you with lots of luggage, you can book a private transfer from Stansted Airport here. The car takes you straight to your hotel in central London, and the price is agreed in advance. You can also book a transfer with Welcome Pickups here.

Onward travel around England straight from the airport

If you’re not heading into London, there are direct trains and coaches from Stansted to several other cities. CrossCountry runs trains from the airport station to Cambridge, Leicester and Birmingham, but you can’t pay contactless on its trains, so buy your ticket from the machine or online. National Express also runs coaches from the coach station to Cambridge in around 40 minutes, as well as to Oxford and Birmingham, among other places. You can see the trains on the airport’s page about the railway station, and you can compare train and coach fares to other cities on Omio.

If you need to get to one of London’s other airports, National Express runs directly to Heathrow around once an hour in about 1 hour 30 minutes, and to Gatwick and Luton every two hours. The details are on the airport’s page about travelling between airports. I’ve also written guides to getting from Heathrow to central London, from Gatwick to central London and from Luton to central London.

Getting back to the airport

The airport recommends that you’re through security with your boarding pass at least two hours before departure, and the train from Liverpool Street takes 48 minutes. The last Stansted Express train from Liverpool Street leaves at 23:21, and the first trains in the morning leave as early as around 03:40 to 04:40, depending on the day of the week. Check the timetable for your day before you plan. Remember that contactless fares from London on weekdays also have peak prices in the afternoon, from 16:00 to 19:00.

If you’re catching a very early flight, the coaches run all night. The A9 leaves Stratford around every 20 minutes, and there are departures from Liverpool Street through the night too, while the A6 runs from Paddington all night. The coach arrives at the coach station opposite the terminal.

If someone’s driving you, drop-off is free in the Mid Stay car park, where a free shuttle bus takes you to the terminal in a few minutes. Dropping off closer to the terminal costs a fee, which you have to pay online or by phone by midnight the following day, otherwise there’s a £100 penalty charge. Cash isn’t accepted. The rules are on the airport’s page about drop-off and pick-up.

Which option should you choose?

Here’s what I’d recommend, depending on where you’re staying:

Soho and Covent Garden: Take the Stansted Express to Liverpool Street and the Elizabeth line on to Tottenham Court Road. That puts you right in the West End.

Paddington and Bayswater: If you want to save money, the A6 coach runs directly to Paddington. If you want to get there faster, take the train to Liverpool Street and the Elizabeth line to Paddington.

Bloomsbury: Take the train to Tottenham Hale and the Victoria line to King’s Cross St. Pancras or Warren Street.

Camden Town: Take the train to Tottenham Hale and the Victoria line to Euston, then change there to the Northern line towards Camden Town.

Shoreditch and the City of London: Take the Stansted Express to Liverpool Street and walk the last bit. By coach, the A8 to Shoreditch High Street or Liverpool Street is the cheapest option.

Bankside: The A8 coach stops on Southwark Street. By train, you change at Liverpool Street.

Mayfair: Take the train to Liverpool Street and the Elizabeth line to Bond Street, or the train to Tottenham Hale and the Victoria line to Green Park.

Arriving overnight: After the last train at 00:30, it’s the A9 coach to Stratford and Liverpool Street, the A6 to Paddington or a taxi.

Three or four of you: Buy the Stansted Express Group Offer. It’s far cheaper than a taxi, and you’ll get there faster than by coach.

Practical tips for getting from Stansted Airport to central London

Book the train early. The cheapest Advance tickets for the Stansted Express are only sold online, and the price is lowest if you book around three months ahead.

Leave your Oyster card out of the airport journey. It isn’t valid to or from Stansted. Use your bank card contactless or a ticket, and touch in and out with the same card. You can read what happens if you only touch in or only touch out on the Transport for London website.

Buy tickets for the children. Contactless always charges the adult fare, while children aged 5 to 15 travel at half price with a ticket, and children under 5 travel free.

Book the coach if you’re landing late. With a ticket bought in advance, you’re guaranteed a seat, and at night the coach is the only public transport into London.

Choose your hotel with the connection in mind. If you stay near Liverpool Street, both the train and two of the coach routes take you right to the door, and you can see hotels near Liverpool Street here. If you’d like to stay in west London, the A6 runs directly to Paddington, and you can see hotels in Paddington here. If you stay in Stratford, you’re only around 45 minutes from the airport on the A9, and you can see hotels in Stratford here.

If you’re not sure which neighbourhood suits you, read my guide to where to stay in London, and find ideas for your trip in my guide to things to do in London.

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Which one suits you best depends on where you’re staying and when you land. The train runs straight to Gare du Nord, Châtelet-Les Halles and the Latin Quarter, while a taxi is the best choice late in the evening or for a family with lots of luggage. Here you’ll find fares, journey times, where to get off and what to do at night. For the rough conversions I’ve used about £0.84 and $1.13 per euro.

At a glance

• RER B: €14 (about £12/$16), 25 to 30 minutes to Gare du Nord, with trains from the airport from 04:50 to 23:50.
• Bus 9517 and metro line 14: €4.60 (about £3.90/$5.20) for the two tickets, around 45 minutes to the centre, and the bus runs from around 05:20 to 00:30.
• Buses 350 and 351: €2.05 (about £1.75/$2.30), 60 to 90 minutes to Porte de la Chapelle and Nation, running only from morning to evening.
• N140 and N143 night buses: €2.05 (about £1.75/$2.30), to Gare de l’Est via Gare du Nord, running at night when the trains stop.
• Taxi: A fixed fare of €56 (about £47.50/$63) to the Right Bank and €65 (about £55/$73) to the Left Bank, 30 to 60 minutes.
• Uber and other ride-hailing apps: No fixed fare, and the app shows you the price before you book.

Finding your transport at the airport

Charles de Gaulle has three terminals: Terminal 1, Terminal 2, which is split into 2A to 2G, and Terminal 3. The free driverless CDGVAL train runs between the terminals and the railway stations, so it’s easy to get from one to the other. Air France mainly flies from 2E, 2F and 2G.

RER B has two stations at the airport. Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 TGV is in the middle of Terminal 2, between 2C/2D and 2E/2F, and from here you can walk to every part of Terminal 2 or take the N1 and N2 shuttle buses. Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 1 serves Terminal 1 and Terminal 3, and from Terminal 1 you take CDGVAL to the station. Follow the signs for the train station. You can buy the airport ticket from the machines at the stations or in the Île-de-France Mobilités app.

The official taxis wait at the exits from baggage reclaim: at Terminal 1 by door 24 on the arrivals level, at 2E by door 10, at 2F by door 11 and at Terminal 3 by the exit from the arrivals hall. Uber and the other ride-hailing apps have their own pick-up points, and the app shows you the way. You can see all the taxi ranks on the Paris tourist office’s page about the airport.

1. RER B to Gare du Nord, Châtelet and the Latin Quarter

RER B is the airport train, and it’s both the fastest and the most predictable option. The train runs from the airport through the northern suburbs and under Paris, where it stops at Gare du Nord, Châtelet-Les Halles, Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame, Luxembourg, Port-Royal, Denfert-Rochereau and Cité Universitaire. The journey to Gare du Nord takes 25 to 30 minutes, and you should allow up to 50 minutes if you’re going further south across the Seine.

There’s a train every 6 to 20 minutes depending on the time of day, and from the airport into Paris, the first one leaves at around 04:50 and the last at around 23:50. The train avoids the motorway, so the journey time holds up in the rush hour too, when a taxi can take up to an hour. When the RoissyBus to Opéra was withdrawn, Île-de-France Mobilités itself pointed to RER B as the obvious alternative, and the train serves all three terminals.

The train suits almost everyone who’s staying near one of its stations or near a metro station. The catch is late evenings, when there are sometimes engineering works on the line and buses can replace the train for part of the journey. So check the RATP page for RER B before you set off.

Fares and tickets

To and from the airport, you need the Ticket Paris Région <> Aéroports, which costs €14 (about £12/$16) whichever station in the region you’re travelling to. Children aged 4 to 9 pay a reduced fare of €7 (about £5.90/$7.90), and children under 4 travel free. Île-de-France Mobilités lists the rules for reduced fares. A standard metro ticket for €2.55 (about £2.20/$2.90) isn’t valid for the airport, so make sure you buy the right ticket.

The ticket is valid for two hours from when you first validate it, and you can change to the metro and other RER lines on the way, as long as you don’t leave the system. There’s no return ticket, and the same ticket can’t be used in both directions, so you’ll buy a new one for the journey back. You’ll find the fares and rules at Île-de-France Mobilités.

The app, Navigo Easy and paying

Paper tickets have almost disappeared in Paris. Your ticket has to be either in the Île-de-France Mobilités app on your phone, which works on both iPhone and Android, or on a Navigo Easy card, which costs €2 (about £1.70/$2.30) and is sold at the ticket offices. You validate it at the gates with your phone or card.

One thing to watch out for: if you already have standard metro tickets on your Navigo Easy card, you can’t load the airport ticket onto the same card. That’s a good reason to buy the airport journey in the app. You can’t count on paying by tapping your bank card at the RER B gates either, so have your ticket ready before you go down to the platform.

Multi-day passes

Paris Visite covers the airport and public transport across the whole region. It costs €30.60 (about £26/$34.50) for one day, €45.40 (about £38.50/$51) for two days, €63.80 (about £54/$72) for three days and €78 (about £66/$88) for five days, and children aged 4 to 9 pay half price. It only pays off if you travel a lot, because two airport tickets cost €28 (about £23.50/$31.50) together. See the prices for Paris Visite.

If you’re staying a whole week, Navigo Semaine for €32.40 (about £27.50/$36.50) is much cheaper. It’s valid in all zones including the airport, always from Monday to Sunday, and you can load it onto your phone in the app from the Friday before. Read more about Navigo Semaine.

Where to get off

Gare du Nord: The first station in Paris and one of the city’s big railway stations, with lots of hotels in the surrounding streets and around its neighbour, Gare de l’Est. Get off here if you’re staying in the area, or if you’re heading on to Montmartre, which is only a short metro or taxi ride away.

Châtelet-Les Halles: The big interchange station in the middle of the city, where you can change to RER A and the metro. From here you can walk into the Marais, and you can see hotels in the Marais here. I’ve also put together the best hotels in Le Marais. If you’re going to Opéra or the Champs-Élysées, change here to RER A towards Auber and Charles de Gaulle-Étoile.

Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame: The station is by the Seine, right opposite Notre-Dame in the middle of the Latin Quarter, and it’s the best stop if you’re staying here or in Saint-Germain. You can see hotels in the Latin Quarter here.

Luxembourg and Port-Royal: The stops by the Jardin du Luxembourg in the southern part of the Latin Quarter. They’re the ones to use if your hotel is by the park or around Boulevard Saint-Michel.

Denfert-Rochereau: The stop for the southern part of the city and the Montparnasse area, and it’s also where you’ll find the entrance to the Catacombs.

If you’d like to choose your neighbourhood based on the connection, have a look at my guide to where to stay in Paris, where I go through the five best areas and their hotels.

2. Bus 9517 and metro line 14 via Saint-Denis Pleyel

The cheapest way into the centre is the 9517 express bus from the airport to Saint-Denis Pleyel, where you change to metro line 14. The bus runs direct in around 30 minutes, and from there metro line 14 takes you into the centre, including Châtelet and Gare de Lyon, in around 10 minutes. Allow around 45 minutes in total with the change. At the airport, the bus stops at RoissyPôle, a short walk from the terminals.

The bus runs every day from around 05:20 to 00:30. On weekdays, there’s a bus every 15 minutes in the rush hour and every 30 minutes the rest of the time, and at weekends it runs every 20 minutes during the day and every 30 minutes in the evening. Saint-Denis Pleyel is also served by metro line 13 and RER D. You’ll find the timetable at RATP.

Fares and tickets

The bus needs a Ticket Bus-Tram for €2.05 (about £1.75/$2.30), and the metro needs a Ticket Métro-Train-RER for €2.55 (about £2.20/$2.90), so the journey costs €4.60 (about £3.90/$5.20) in total. That’s less than a third of the train fare. The tickets can’t be combined, because the metro ticket isn’t valid on the bus and the bus ticket isn’t valid on the metro. You can buy both in the app. Find out more about the Ticket Bus-Tram.

This route suits you if you’re travelling light and staying near line 14. With big suitcases, the change at Saint-Denis Pleyel is more of a hassle than taking RER B all the way.

3. Buses 350 and 351 to Porte de la Chapelle and Nation

Bus 350 runs from the airport to Porte de la Chapelle on the northern edge of Paris, and bus 351 runs to Nation in the east of the city. The journey takes 60 to 80 minutes on the 350 and 70 to 90 minutes on the 351, depending on where you get off, because the buses wind through the suburbs in ordinary traffic. They cost a standard Ticket Bus-Tram for €2.05 (about £1.75/$2.30).

The buses only run from morning to evening, and the 351 stops running earliest. They’re mainly a good choice if you’re staying near the end of the line and want to save money, because for the rest of the city RER B is both faster and easier. The departure times are on the same RATP page.

4. N140 and N143 night buses

When RER B stops for the night, the Noctilien night buses take over. The N140 and N143 run between the airport and Gare de l’Est via Gare du Nord. The N143 is the fastest, taking 55 to 65 minutes with a departure around every half hour, while the N140 runs around once an hour and takes 80 to 90 minutes.

At the airport, they stop at Terminal 1 (door 8), between 2B and 2D on the departures level and at the Roissypole bus station by Terminal 3. The night buses need a Ticket Bus-Tram for €2.05 (about £1.75/$2.30). It’s a cheap but long journey after a late flight, and if there are two or more of you, a taxi is often worth paying for. You’ll find the stops at Visit Paris Region.

5. Taxis and Uber

Paris taxis charge a fixed fare between Charles de Gaulle and the city: €56 (about £47.50/$63) to the Right Bank, north of the Seine, which includes the Marais, Montmartre, Opéra and the Champs-Élysées, and €65 (about £55/$73) to the Left Bank, south of the Seine, with the Latin Quarter, Saint-Germain and the area around the Eiffel Tower. The fare applies in both directions, and luggage is included.

If you book your taxi by phone or in an app, there can be a supplement of €4 (about £3.40/$4.50) for an immediate booking and €7 (about £5.90/$7.90) for an advance booking. From the fifth passenger, it costs €5.50 (about £4.60/$6.20) extra per person. The rates are on the French government’s official public service website. According to the French Ministry of the Economy, taxis have to accept card payment whatever the amount.

The journey takes 30 to 60 minutes depending on the traffic. Only take a taxi from the official ranks at the exits from baggage reclaim, and say no thanks to drivers who approach you inside the terminal. For two people the train is much cheaper, but if there are four of you, four train tickets cost €56, exactly the same as a taxi to the Right Bank.

Uber, Bolt and the other ride-hailing apps have their own pick-up points at the airport. They don’t charge a fixed fare, so the price depends on the time and demand, and the app shows it to you before you book. Compare it with the taxi’s fixed fare before you tap to book.

Private transfer

If you’re landing late with children, or you’d like your transport sorted before you land, you can book a private transfer from Charles de Gaulle here. The price is agreed in advance.

For groups of up to seven, a private minibus from Charles de Gaulle to Paris is the easiest option, because taxis add a supplement from the fifth passenger.

You can also book a pick-up with Welcome Pickups here, where the price is also agreed before you land.

Onward travel around France straight from the airport

If you’re not heading into Paris, you can often travel on straight from the airport. Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 TGV station is in the middle of Terminal 2, and TGV trains run from here to places such as Lyon, Lille, Strasbourg and Bordeaux. The connections are described by Visit Paris Region, and you can find and compare tickets on Omio.

If you’re going to Disneyland, there are also TGV trains from the airport to Marne-la-Vallée Chessy right by the park, so you can skip the journey through Paris. Read more in my guide to Disneyland Paris.

Paris also has two other airports, Orly and Beauvais, and this guide only covers the journey from Charles de Gaulle, so check which airport your flight actually lands at.

Getting back to the airport

Towards the airport, RER B runs from Gare du Nord from 04:53 to 00:15, from Châtelet-Les Halles from 05:26 to 00:11 and from Denfert-Rochereau from 05:18 to 00:03. Check which terminal you’re flying from: Terminal 2 has its own station, while Terminals 1 and 3 use Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 1. Buy a new airport ticket for the journey back, because the one from your arrival can’t be used again.

If you’re catching a very early flight, the fixed-fare taxi is the safe option, and the N140 and N143 night buses also run through the night from Gare de l’Est. Bus 9517 runs from Saint-Denis Pleyel from around 05:20. How early you need to be at the airport depends on the airline, so check what they recommend. If someone’s dropping you off, the first 10 minutes in the drop-off zone are free.

Which option should you choose?

Here’s what I’d recommend, depending on where you’re staying:

Marais: Take RER B to Châtelet-Les Halles and walk the last bit into the Marais. With lots of luggage, a taxi at the fixed Right Bank fare is the easiest option.

Montmartre: Take RER B to Gare du Nord, and from there the metro or a taxi for the short hop up to Montmartre.

Latin Quarter: Take RER B straight to Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame or Luxembourg. It’s the easiest neighbourhood to reach from the airport.

Opéra: Take RER B to Châtelet-Les Halles and change to RER A for one stop to Auber by the Opéra. The airport ticket covers the change.

Champs-Élysées: Take RER B to Châtelet-Les Halles and RER A on to Charles de Gaulle-Étoile by the Arc de Triomphe, or take a taxi at the fixed fare.

Gare du Nord and Gare de l’Est: Take RER B, which stops at Gare du Nord as its first station in Paris.

If you land at night: After the last train at around 23:50, it’s a taxi or the N143 night bus to Gare du Nord and Gare de l’Est.

If there are three or four of you: Take a taxi. The fixed fare is for the whole car, so it doesn’t cost much more than the train tickets, and it takes you to the door.

If you’re going to Disneyland: Take a TGV from the station in Terminal 2 straight to Marne-la-Vallée Chessy.

Practical tips for getting from Charles de Gaulle Airport to central Paris

Download the Île-de-France Mobilités app before you land. That way you can buy the airport ticket and have it ready on your phone when you reach the gates, and you won’t need to find a ticket machine.

Buy a weekly pass if you’re staying from Monday to Sunday. Navigo Semaine covers the airport in both directions and the metro, RER and buses across the whole region for €32.40 (about £27.50/$36.50).

Don’t use Navigo Jour for the airport. The day pass for €12.30 (about £10.50/$14) doesn’t cover RER B to and from Charles de Gaulle, according to Île-de-France Mobilités.

Only take official taxis. Find the taxi rank at the exit from baggage reclaim, and turn down drivers who approach you inside the terminal.

Choose your hotel with the connection in mind. If you’re staying by Gare du Nord, RER B gets you there in half an hour, and you can see hotels near Gare du Nord here. In the Latin Quarter, the train runs right to Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame, and you can see hotels in the Latin Quarter here. If you’d like to stay in the Marais, get off at Châtelet-Les Halles, and you can see hotels in the Marais here.

If you’re not sure which neighbourhood suits you, read my guide to where to stay in Paris, and find ideas for your trip in my guide to things to do in Paris.

The post Charles de Gaulle Airport to Central Paris - Transport Guide appeared first on Destination Well Known.

Here are my picks for the 18 best things to see and do in Munich, with prices, opening hours and tips on what to book before you go. Prices are in euros. Several of the art museums only cost €1 on Sundays, and quite a few museums are closed on Mondays, so read the sections before you plan your days. The last three sections are about day trips out of the city.

1. Marienplatz and Neues Rathaus

Marienplatz is Munich’s central square and the natural place to start. The whole north side is taken up by the neo-Gothic town hall, Neues Rathaus, which was built in three stages from 1867 to 1905. Its tower holds the city’s famous Glockenspiel, which plays every day at 11am and noon and, from March to October, at 5pm as well. At the top, you’ll see a knights’ tournament from Duke Wilhelm V’s wedding in 1568, which the Bavarian knight naturally wins, and below it the coopers dance the old Schäfflertanz.

You can take a lift up the 85-metre tower. Tickets cost from €7, and the tower is open every day from 10am to 8pm, with the last trip up at 7.40pm. Visits are split into 20-minute time slots, and you buy your ticket online or at the tourist information office in the town hall. The tower is closed on a number of public holidays.

The square is packed at 11am and noon. My tip is to watch the Glockenspiel at 5pm in the summer half of the year and then take the lift up. Marienplatz has its own U-Bahn and S-Bahn station. You can read how to get here from the airport in my guide to getting from Munich Airport to the city centre.

Book a guided walking tour of Munich’s Old Town.

2. Frauenkirche

The Frauenkirche, with its two towers and green onion domes, is Munich’s landmark. The foundation stone was laid in 1468, and the brick church itself was finished after just 20 years, while the domes were added around 1525. The towers are just under 99 metres high, and no building in the Old Town is taller.

In the entrance hall, you can see the Teufelstritt, a footprint in the floor. According to legend, the devil made a bet with the master builder that the church had no visible windows. From that exact spot, the pillars hide all the windows, so the devil stamped on the floor in triumph. When he took one more step, he saw the windows and realised he’d been tricked.

The church is open every day from 8am to 8pm, and entry is free, but you can’t walk around during services. The south tower is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm and on Sundays and public holidays from 11.30am to 5pm, with the last ascent at 4.30pm. It costs €7.50 for adults and €5.50 for children aged 7 to 16. First you climb about 90 steps up a spiral staircase, and then you take the lift to the viewing platform. The church is a two-minute walk from Marienplatz.

3. Residenz

The Residenz was the palace of the Bavarian dukes and kings, and the complex takes up a whole block between Marienplatz and Odeonsplatz. In the Residenzmuseum, you walk through room after room, including King Ludwig I’s apartments and the Herkulessaal, which is still used for concerts. The treasury, the Schatzkammer, holds the crown and regalia of the Bavarian kings, and the small red and gold rococo theatre, the Cuvilliés-Theater, is still in use.

The Residenzmuseum and the treasury each cost €10, and a combined ticket for both costs €15. With the Cuvilliés-Theater added, it costs €20. Under-18s get in for free. The museum and the treasury are open every day from 9am to 6pm from late March to late October and from 10am to 5pm the rest of the year, and last entry is an hour before closing. The Residenz is closed on 1 January, Shrove Tuesday and 24, 25 and 31 December.

The main entrance is on Max-Joseph-Platz. Behind the palace lies the palace garden, the Hofgarten, with the round Diana Temple, and it’s free. My tip is to get the combined ticket and save the garden for afterwards.

Book a guided tour of the Residenz and the Hofgarten.

4. Englischer Garten and the Eisbach Wave

The Englischer Garten was laid out from 1789 as a park for the people of the city. It covers 375 hectares, which is bigger than Central Park in New York, and it stretches five and a half kilometres north from the edge of the Old Town.

On the southern edge of the park on Prinzregentenstraße, right by the Haus der Kunst, you’ll find the Eisbach wave. It’s a standing wave in a small river, where surfers ride their boards on the same spot almost all year round, and you can watch from the bridge. According to the city’s website, surfing is only allowed with a special safety leash and not after 10pm, and swimming in the Eisbach is forbidden.

Further into the park stands the Chinese Tower (Chinesischer Turm), with a beer garden of around 7,000 seats, one of the largest in Bavaria. On a small hill sits the Greek-style temple Monopteros, which was built in 1836 and 1837, and from there you can see the Frauenkirche, the Theatinerkirche and the town hall. Barbecues, fires and swimming aren’t allowed in the park. You can reach the southern end on bus 100 to Nationalmuseum/Haus der Kunst or on the U3 and U6 to Universität. My tip is to start at the Eisbach, walk up to the Monopteros and finish in the beer garden at the Chinese Tower. If you’d like to stay close to the park, you can see hotels in Schwabing here.

5. Viktualienmarkt

Viktualienmarkt has been in its current spot since 1807 and is Munich’s big food market, just a few steps from Marienplatz. There are more than 100 traders spread over just over 18,500 square metres, selling fruit, vegetables, cheese, sausages, fish and flowers, and there are stalls with food you can eat on the spot. In the middle of the market stands the blue and white maypole, and between the stalls you’ll find the market’s own beer garden.

The market is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm and on Saturdays from 8am to 3pm, but each stall sets its own opening hours, and many close earlier. There’s no market on Sundays. If you’d like to stay in the Old Town (Altstadt) close to the market and Marienplatz, Altstadt-Lehel is the first area in my guide to where to stay in Munich, and you can see hotels in Altstadt here.

Come for lunch on a weekday, buy a few different things from the stalls and find a seat in the beer garden. I think it’s one of the best places in the centre for a cheap lunch, and you can easily do it on your own. If you’d like to taste your way around with a local guide who tells you about the Bavarian specialities along the way, there are guided food tours of the market.

Book a guided food tour of Viktualienmarkt.

6. Hofbräuhaus am Platzl

The Hofbräuhaus is probably Munich’s best-known beer hall. The brewery was founded in 1589 by Duke Wilhelm V, King Ludwig I opened the Hofbräuhaus to the public in 1828, and the beer hall you sit in today is the result of a major rebuild from 1896 to 1897.

Inside the large vaulted hall, you sit at long wooden tables, the beer comes in big mugs, and the kitchen serves Bavarian food. There’s also a beer garden in the courtyard. The Hofbräuhaus is at Platzl 9 and is open every day from 11am to midnight. The kitchen closes at 10pm, and last orders at the bar are at 11.30pm. If there are fewer than four of you, you don’t need to book. You just sit down wherever there’s a free seat, and it’s completely normal to share a table with strangers.

I’ll be honest. The Hofbräuhaus is touristy, noisy and not the cheapest place to eat in Munich, but I still think it’s part of a first visit. Come early in the afternoon if you want to be sure of a table, and move on to one of the other beer halls afterwards.

Book a guided tour of Munich’s beer halls and breweries.

7. Schloss Nymphenburg

Work on Nymphenburg began in 1664 as a summer residence for Elector Ferdinand Maria after the birth of the heir to the throne, Max Emanuel, and the palace and park were later extended to the size they are today. King Ludwig II, who built Neuschwanstein, was born in the palace in 1845.

Besides the palace itself, you can see the Marstallmuseum with the royal carriages and Nymphenburg porcelain, as well as the small park palaces of Amalienburg, Badenburg, Pagodenburg and Magdalenenklause out in the park. The palace costs €10, and the Marstallmuseum costs €8. The combined ticket for everything costs €20 from 1 April to 15 October and €16 in winter, when the park palaces are closed. Under-18s go free.

The palace and the Marstallmuseum are open every day from 9am to 6pm from April to mid-October and from 10am to 4pm the rest of the year. The park opens at 6am and closes between 6pm and 9.30pm, depending on the season. Take the U-Bahn to Rotkreuzplatz and the tram from there to the Schloss Nymphenburg stop. My tip is to come in the summer half of the year, so you can see the park palaces too.

8. Deutsches Museum

The Deutsches Museum stands on an island in the River Isar and is a huge museum of science and technology. The exhibitions cover around 20,000 square metres spread over 19 permanent exhibitions, and the building itself stands on more than 1,500 piles in the riverbed.

The museum is being renovated in stages, so some sections may be closed when you visit. It’s open every day from 9am to 5pm, with last entry at 4.30pm, and it’s closed on 1 January, Good Friday, 1 May, 1 November and 24, 25 and 31 December. A ticket costs €16 for adults and €9 for children aged 6 to 17 and students. The family ticket for two adults and their children costs €33, and children up to the age of five go free.

Take the S-Bahn or tram 16 to Isartor, and it’s a short walk to the museum. My tip is to choose two or three sections in advance, because you won’t manage everything in one day, and it’s a particularly good choice on a rainy day.

9. Alte Pinakothek and Kunstareal

In the Maxvorstadt district lies the Kunstareal, where several of Munich’s big art museums stand side by side. For most people, the most important one is the Alte Pinakothek, with European paintings by the Old Masters. Among the works on display are Dürer’s self-portrait from 1500, Rubens’ Great Last Judgement, Raphael’s Canigiani Holy Family, Leonardo da Vinci’s Madonna of the Carnation and a self-portrait by Rembrandt from 1629.

The Alte Pinakothek is open from 10am to 6pm, until 8pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and it’s closed on Mondays. A ticket costs €9, but only €1 on Sundays. The Pinakothek der Moderne, with art and design from the 20th and 21st centuries, costs €10 and Museum Brandhorst €7, and they also cost €1 on Sundays. A day ticket for €12 is valid at the Alte Pinakothek, the Pinakothek der Moderne, Museum Brandhorst and the Sammlung Schack. The Neue Pinakothek is closed for a long renovation, so check the museums’ website before you count on seeing it.

Trams 27 and 28 run to the Pinakotheken stop, and so does bus 100. My tip is to plan your visit for a Sunday. Maxvorstadt is also a good area to stay in, and you can see hotels in Maxvorstadt here.

10. BMW Welt and BMW Museum

North of the centre, by the Olympiapark, is BMW’s headquarters, and here you can see both BMW Welt and the BMW Museum. BMW Welt is the car brand’s large showroom building with the latest models, and entry is free. It’s open Monday to Saturday from 7.30am to midnight and on Sundays and public holidays from 9am to midnight, but it’s closed on a few days a year, including around Christmas and New Year.

Opposite BMW Welt is the BMW Museum, where you’ll see cars and motorbikes from the brand’s entire history. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm, with last entry at 5.30pm, and it’s closed on Mondays. A ticket costs €17, or €9 reduced, and a family ticket for two adults and up to three children under 18 costs €38.

Take the U3 to Olympiazentrum. My tip is to start at BMW Welt, which is free, and only pay for the museum if you really love cars. Afterwards, walk over to the Olympiapark, and you’ll have a good half day in the northern part of the city.

11. Olympiapark

The Olympiapark was built for the 1972 Summer Olympics, and the large tent-like roof over the stadium and the halls is still one of Munich’s best-known sights. The roof covers more than 75,000 square metres and is held up by 58 steel masts. Around the lake, the Olympiasee, there are paths and green lawns where you can wander in peace and quiet.

You get the best view from the Olympiaberg, a hill built from the rubble of the buildings in Munich that were destroyed during the Second World War. It’s about 56 metres high, and from the top you can see out over the city’s rooftops and the stadium and, on clear days, all the way to the Alps.

Be aware that both the Olympiaturm and the Olympiastadion are closed for a long renovation, so check the park’s own website before you count on going up the tower or into the stadium. If you still want to get up high, the park’s Skylift tour takes you round with a guide and 70 metres up in the air. It costs €28 and lasts 90 to 120 minutes. Take the U3 or U8 to Olympiazentrum, and walk up the Olympiaberg at sunset.

12. Allianz Arena and FC Bayern Museum

The Allianz Arena in the north of Munich is the home ground of FC Bayern Munich. Even if you don’t have a ticket for a match, you can see the stadium on an Arena Tour and visit the FC Bayern Museum, which tells the story of the club.

The museum alone costs €12, and the museum with the Arena Tour costs €25 for adults and €11 for children aged 6 to 13. A family ticket costs €59. On non-match days, it’s open every day from 10am to 6pm, with last entry at 5.15pm, and the tour with the museum takes about two and a half hours. Only a ticket bought online in advance guarantees you a place on the Arena Tour, because on many days you can’t buy one at the entrance. Special opening hours apply on match days.

Take the U6 towards Garching-Forschungszentrum to Fröttmaning. The journey from Marienplatz takes about 16 minutes, and from there it’s a 15 to 20-minute walk to the stadium. Check the fixture list before you book.

Book a ticket for the FC Bayern Museum and Arena View with an audio guide.

13. Alter Peter

St Peter’s Church is Munich’s oldest parish church, and its history goes back to the 12th century. Locals call its tower Alter Peter, or Old Peter. During the Second World War, the church was almost completely destroyed, and only a stump of the tower was left standing, so the rebuilding went on right up until 2000.

You climb around 300 steps up to the viewing platform at a height of 56 metres. The tower costs €5 for adults and €2 for schoolchildren aged 6 to 18, and the church itself is free. From April to October, it’s open every day from 9am to 7.30pm, with last entry at 7pm. From November to March, the tower closes at 6.30pm on weekdays. It’s closed on Good Friday, Shrove Tuesday, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

The church is right by Marienplatz. I think the view from here is better than from the town hall tower, because you can see both the town hall and the Frauenkirche’s two towers. Come early in the day or late in the afternoon, when the queue at the ticket office is shorter.

14. Asamkirche

The Asamkirche, officially called St. Johann Nepomuk, is a small baroque church squeezed in between the houses on Sendlinger Straße, and it’s easy to walk past. The brothers Cosmas Damian and Egid Quirin Asam built it from 1733 to 1746 as their private church next to their own house, but neither of them lived to see it finished.

The interior is only 22 by 8 metres, but it’s decorated from floor to ceiling. The high altar has four twisted columns, a nod to Bernini’s baldachin in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and the crucifix hangs lower than usual, directly opposite the pulpit.

The church is open from April to October every day from 9am to 7pm, though not until 1pm on Fridays. From November to March, it closes an hour earlier. Entry is free, but the church welcomes a donation towards its upkeep. You can’t walk around during Mass, and it’s a place where people speak quietly. The church is at Sendlinger Straße 32, a short walk from Marienplatz. My tip is to look in on your way between Marienplatz and Sendlinger Tor, because a visit only takes about a quarter of an hour.

15. Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site

The Nazis opened the concentration camp in Dachau, north-west of Munich, on 22 March 1933 on the site of a former gunpowder and munitions factory. More than 200,000 prisoners from over 40 countries were held in Dachau and the camp’s subcamps, and at least 41,500 people died here before American soldiers liberated the camp on 29 April 1945. The memorial site, with a documentary exhibition, opened in 1965.

It’s a harrowing experience, but it’s also one of the most important places to visit if you want to understand the history. The exhibitions and grounds are open every day from 9am to 5pm, the area around the former crematorium closes at 4.30pm, and the site is only closed on 24 December. Entry is free, and you don’t need to book.

Take the S2 towards Dachau/Petershausen to Dachau station, which takes around 25 minutes from Hauptbahnhof, and from there bus 726 towards Saubachsiedlung to the KZ-Gedenkstätte stop. The memorial site recommends a day ticket that covers both the train and the bus. Set aside at least half a day, and consider going with a guide who can put the place in context.

Book a guided tour of the Dachau Memorial Site from Munich.

16. Day Trip to Neuschwanstein

Neuschwanstein is the fairy-tale castle that King Ludwig II started building in 1868 in the mountains near Füssen, and it was never completely finished. Together with Linderhof, the king’s house on the Schachen and Herrenchiemsee, it was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2025.

You can only see the castle on a guided tour of about 30 minutes at a fixed time, and if you’re late, you can’t join it. A ticket costs €21, plus a €2.50 booking fee if you buy online. Under-18s go free but also need a ticket. The ticket centre in Hohenschwangau only sells tickets for the same day, and they often sell out early, so book online well in advance. The castle is open every day from 9am to 6pm from late March to mid-October and from 10am to 4pm the rest of the year, and it’s closed on 1 January and 24, 25 and 31 December. Backpacks and pushchairs aren’t allowed inside.

The journey by train and bus from Munich takes about two hours each way, so it’s a long day. An organised day trip with a ticket for the castle is the easiest option, and the most popular one combines Neuschwanstein with Linderhof.

Book a day trip to Neuschwanstein and Linderhof from Munich.

17. Day Trip to the Zugspitze

The Zugspitze is Germany’s highest mountain and sits on the border with Austria near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, south-west of Munich. From the summit, you can see out over the Alps in every direction, and there are restaurants and viewing platforms at the top.

You can go up on the cogwheel railway from Grainau and the glacier cable car, or on the Seilbahn Zugspitze cable car, and the classic round trip combines them, so you go up one way and down another. The round trip costs €78 for adults, €62.50 for young people aged 16 to 18 and €39 for children aged 6 to 15, and children under 6 travel free with a parent. In the winter season, the ticket is cheaper if you buy it online.

It’s an expensive excursion, and it only makes sense in good weather, because in the clouds you won’t see anything from the top. My tip is to keep an eye on the weather forecast and only decide on the day once you’re in Munich. Even in summer, it’s cold up there, so bring an extra jumper. If you don’t want to drive yourself, you can go on an organised tour with transport from Munich and a stop in Garmisch.

Book a day trip to the Zugspitze and Garmisch from Munich.

18. Day Trip to Salzburg

Salzburg lies just across the border in Austria and is the obvious day trip if you’d also like to see another city. For several hundred years, Salzburg was an ecclesiastical state ruled by prince-archbishops, and Italian architects gave the city its baroque character. The historic centre has been on UNESCO’s World Heritage List since 1996, and the city is also known as Mozart’s birthplace.

The big sights are the Hohensalzburg Fortress high above the city, Mozart’s birthplace on Getreidegasse and the Mirabell Gardens. Everything is so close together that you can see it all in a day, and the city’s tourist office has a good overview of the ten most popular places.

The train from Munich Hauptbahnhof takes about an hour and a half each way. Austria also uses the euro, but remember your passport or ID card when you cross the border. A guided day trip by train is an easy option if you’d like the city’s history without having to plan the route yourself. If you’d like to see more of Austria, I’ve also written about the best things to do in Vienna.

Book a guided day trip by train to Salzburg from Munich.

Practical Travel Tips for Munich

You can easily explore the Old Town on foot, and for the rest of the city you use the U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams and buses on the same tickets. A single ticket in zone M costs €4.20, and a day ticket for zone M costs just over €10, so the day ticket already pays for itself on your third journey.

From the airport, the S1 and S8 S-Bahn trains run to the centre, and between them there’s a train every ten minutes. The journey to Hauptbahnhof takes about 40 minutes.

Plan the museums around the days of the week. The Pinakothek museums and the BMW Museum are closed on Mondays, while the Deutsches Museum, the Residenz and Nymphenburg are open every day of the week. On Sundays, the Alte Pinakothek, the Pinakothek der Moderne and Museum Brandhorst only cost €1, but on the other hand there’s no market at Viktualienmarkt. Neuschwanstein and the Arena Tour at the Allianz Arena should be booked online well in advance.

If you’d like to see the full range, you can see all hotels in Munich on Booking.com. If Berlin is also on your list, take a look at my picks of the best things to do in Berlin.

The post 18 Best Things to Do in Munich: Sights, Prices & Tips appeared first on Destination Well Known.

Here are my picks for the 19 best things to see and do in Malta, with prices, opening hours and tips on what to book before you go. Malta uses the euro, so all prices are in euros. Most of the museums and ancient sites are run by Heritage Malta, which has different opening hours in summer and winter. The one place you really need to book well in advance is the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum burial chamber.

1. Valletta and Upper Barrakka Gardens

The Knights of St John founded Valletta in 1566 on a hilly peninsula between two of the Mediterranean’s finest natural harbours. The city is small, but according to UNESCO, it has 320 monuments within an area of 55 hectares, and most of the first sights in this guide are within walking distance of each other. Spend a morning just wandering the streets before you start on the museums. If you’d like to stay right in the middle of it all, Valletta is the first area in my guide to where to stay in Malta, and you can see hotels in Valletta here.

The best view is from Upper Barrakka Gardens. The gardens were laid out in 1661 as the private garden of the Italian knights and opened to everyone in 1824. They’re free and open from 7am to 10pm, and from the terrace, you look out over the Grand Harbour to Birgu, Senglea and Cospicua on the other side. Just below the gardens is the Saluting Battery, where the cannons are fired at 12 noon and 4pm from Monday to Saturday. Arrive 15 minutes early to get a good spot.

From the gardens, the Barrakka Lift runs 58 metres down to the waterfront, where the ferry to The Three Cities departs. The lift costs €1 for a return trip on the same day.

Book a guided walking tour of Valletta with a visit to St. John’s Co-Cathedral.

2. St. John’s Co-Cathedral

St. John’s Co-Cathedral was the church of the Knights of St John, and for me, it’s the highlight of any trip to Malta. Inside, the walls and ceilings are covered in gilded carvings and paintings, and the entire floor is made up of tombstones of inlaid coloured marble marking the graves of some of the order’s most distinguished knights. The most important work hangs in the oratory: Caravaggio’s The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist from around 1608, which measures 520 by 360 centimetres. It was in front of this very painting that Caravaggio was expelled from the order in December 1608. The same room also holds his Saint Jerome Writing from around 1607.

A ticket costs €15, and seniors and students pay €12. Children under 12 get in free with an adult. It’s open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 4.45pm, with last entry at 4pm, and the church is closed on Sundays and public holidays. An audio guide is included in the price. Bring a shawl to cover your shoulders, and leave your stilettos at home, because they aren’t allowed. Parts of the church’s museum may be closed, so check the church’s website before you go.

The church limits visitor numbers, so buy your ticket online before you go. It recommends allowing an hour and three quarters for the visit.

Book Valletta Resounds, with music and storytelling in front of Caravaggio’s painting in the oratory.

3. The Grandmaster’s Palace

The Grandmaster’s Palace stands on St George’s Square in Valletta and was the palace of the Grand Masters of the Knights of St John. After a major restoration, you now have access to more than 85 per cent of the building’s floor plan. In the State Rooms hangs Matteo Perez d’Aleccio’s series on the siege of 1565, the most complete pictorial account of the siege, under ceilings with paintings from the late 18th century. You also pass through the long corridors on the first floor and the Uccelliera aviary, which has been rediscovered.

The Armoury is in the former Parliament Chamber, and I think it’s the best part of the visit. Here you’ll see the armour of the Grand Masters Alof de Wignacourt and Jean de Valette alongside Ottoman armour, weapons and cannons. Some rooms, including the Throne Room, may be closed, so check Heritage Malta’s website before you go.

A ticket costs €12, young people and seniors pay €10, and children aged 6 to 11 pay €8. The State Rooms close on certain days, either all day or until 1.30pm, and the palace can also close for state events. On those days, only the Armoury is open, so check the website before you go. The nearest bus stop is a five-minute walk from the palace.

4. Fort St. Elmo and the National War Museum

Fort St. Elmo stands at the very tip of the Valletta peninsula, facing the sea. During the Great Siege by the Ottomans in 1565, the fort fell on 23 June. Today, it houses Malta’s National War Museum, and you walk among thick walls and bastions with views out over the harbours.

The museum tells the story of the wars that have hit Malta, and the Second World War takes up the most space. Here you’ll see the George Cross medal and the Gloster Sea Gladiator fighter plane named Faith. Parts of the museum, including the exhibition on the First World War, may be closed, so check Heritage Malta’s website before you go.

A ticket costs €10, and young people, seniors and students pay €7.50. On the Sundays when the fort holds the In Guardia parade from 11am to 12 noon, you can’t get in without a show ticket until 12 noon. If you also want to see the palace and the archaeology museum, Heritage Malta’s Valletta Combo can be worth it. It costs up to €30 for an adult and is valid for 30 days.

5. National Museum of Archaeology

The National Museum of Archaeology is in the Auberge de Provence on Republic Street, a Baroque building from 1571. The museum is small, but it has some of the best-known figures from Malta’s Stone Age, and I think you should see it before you head out to the temples.

The ground floor is devoted to the Stone Age. Here you’ll find the small Sleeping Lady figure, the Venus of Malta and the lower part of the colossal statue from the temples at Ħal Tarxien. On the first floor is the Gran Salon, a large hall with painted decorations from the early 19th century, which is worth going up to see, even if you’ve mainly come for the antiquities.

The museum is one of the cheapest in Valletta. A ticket costs €5, young people, seniors and students pay €3.50, and children aged 6 to 11 pay €2.50. It’s also one of the places where you can buy the last tickets for the Hypogeum the day before, if there are any left. The museum is included in the Valletta Combo, so if you’ve bought that, your entry is already paid for.

6. Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum

The Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum is an underground burial chamber in Paola, carved out on three levels and in use from around 4000 to 1500 BC. The deepest room lies 10.6 metres below the street. A stonemason found the site by chance in 1902 while laying foundations for new houses, and it was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1981.

To protect the air and humidity inside, only ten people are allowed in the burial chamber at a time, and you can’t take photos. A ticket costs €35, young people and seniors pay €20, and children aged 6 to 11 pay €15. Children under 6 aren’t allowed down. Each person can buy a maximum of four tickets.

Heritage Malta strongly recommends booking early, so do it as soon as you know your dates. If they’re sold out, Heritage Malta sells a small number of last-minute tickets for €50 the day before, on a first-come, first-served basis. In the morning, they’re sold at Fort St. Elmo and on Gozo, and after 12 noon at places including the archaeology museum.

Head on to the temples at Ħal Tarxien afterwards. Entry is €6, but you get half price if you show your Hypogeum ticket at the ticket office.

7. The Three Cities and Fort St. Angelo

On the other side of the Grand Harbour lie The Three Cities, Birgu, Senglea and Cospicua. The Knights of St John lived here before Valletta was built, and after 1530, they made Fort St. Angelo at the tip of Birgu their headquarters. The fort played a major role during the siege of 1565, and today, there’s an exhibition centre, cannons and views over the whole harbour and the fortified towns.

The fort costs €10, and young people, seniors and students pay €6. I think Birgu is the best place to spend half a day once you’ve seen the capital, because there are far fewer people in the streets than in Valletta.

The most fun way to get there is the ferry from Valletta, which sails to Cospicua every half hour and takes about 15 minutes. If you take the ferry back, a ticket for the lift up to Upper Barrakka Gardens is included. Water taxis also cross the harbour when the weather allows. If you’d like to see more than the fort, a combined ticket covers Fort St. Angelo, the Inquisitor’s Palace and the temples at Ħal Tarxien.

Buy the combined ticket for Fort St. Angelo, the Inquisitor’s Palace and Ħal Tarxien.

8. Mdina

Mdina is Malta’s former capital and stands on a hill surrounded by walls. When power moved to Valletta in the 16th century, the population fell, and the city earned the nickname the Silent City. You enter through Mdina Gate, which Game of Thrones fans will recognise as one of the gates of King’s Landing in the first season. If you’re a fan of the series, Dubrovnik is one of the best-known filming locations, and I’ve also written about where to stay in Dubrovnik.

Walk out to Bastion Square, where you look out over the countryside and down towards the coast. Right next to it is Fontanella Tea Garden, known for its chocolate cake and its terrace on the bastions. The city is at its most beautiful early in the morning, when the pale limestone walls contrast with the flowering bougainvillea.

The cathedral and the cathedral museum share a ticket costing €15, and seniors and students pay €10. Children under 12 get in free with an adult, and the ticket is valid for 30 days. It’s open Monday to Saturday from 9.30am to 4.30pm, but tickets are only sold until 4.15pm. It’s closed on Sundays and public holidays, and the cathedral can also close early because of weddings.

Book a guided walking tour of Mdina and Rabat with the catacombs.

9. St. Paul’s Catacombs in Rabat

Just outside Mdina’s walls lies Rabat, and this is where you’ll find St. Paul’s Catacombs. The area was a burial ground in Punic, Roman and Byzantine times, from at least the 4th century BC to the 7th and possibly the 8th century AD. The main complex covers more than 2,000 square metres, and there are more than 30 other underground tombs in the surrounding area.

The catacombs are a network of underground tombs from several periods, and part of the site was reused around the 13th century. Look out for the two round tables carved into a low platform. They were probably used for memorial meals when families celebrated the feast of the dead once a year. It’s a good place to visit if you’ve already been to the Hypogeum and want to know how the Maltese buried their dead after the temples were abandoned.

A ticket costs €6, young people, seniors and students pay €4.50, and children aged 6 to 11 pay €3.50. The nearest bus stop is a five-minute walk away. The catacombs fit nicely into the same day as Mdina, and several guided tours of Mdina include the catacombs too.

10. Comino and the Blue Lagoon

Comino is the small island between Malta and Gozo, and it’s best known for the Blue Lagoon, a bay with clear, turquoise water. The bay is so popular that on the busiest summer days, there have been up to 12,000 people there at once. That’s why everyone who goes ashore at the Blue Lagoon needs a free QR code from the booking system. This also applies if you arrive on a boat trip.

You choose between three time slots: morning from 8am to 1pm, afternoon from 1.30pm to 5.30pm and evening from 6pm to 10pm, and you can book up to two months ahead. A maximum of 4,000 people are allowed there at the same time. Children under 5 don’t need their own ticket when they’re with a parent, and you pay for the boat trip separately.

Boats leave from several harbours in Malta and on Gozo, and most trips also stop at the Crystal Lagoon and the sea caves along the coast. I’d recommend the morning, and remember to bring water and sun cream.

Book a boat trip to the Blue Lagoon, the Crystal Lagoon and the sea caves.

11. The Blue Grotto

The Blue Grotto is a series of sea caves in the cliffs on Malta’s south coast, west of the small harbour of Wied iż-Żurrieq. Off the coast lies the uninhabited island of Filfla. You see the caves best from one of the small boats that sail from the harbour in Wied iż-Żurrieq into the caves.

It’s the play of colours in the water inside the caves that makes the trip, and it’s best seen from sunrise until around 1pm, so come in the morning. The boats only sail when the sea is calm, and in winter, they stop earlier in the day than in summer.

The boat trip costs around €10 and takes around 20 minutes. If it’s windy, it’s better to go another day. The Blue Grotto is close to Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra, so the two are easy to combine on the same day.

Book a guided tour to the Blue Grotto and Marsaxlokk.

12. Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra

The Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra temples stand on a hill above the sea near Qrendi and are more than 5,000 years old. They were added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1992 as part of the Megalithic Temples of Malta. Since 2008, both temples have stood under large shelters that protect the stones from the weather.

You start at the visitor centre, where one of the original reliefs is on display, and then walk to Ħaġar Qim. From here, a path leads 500 metres down the hill to Mnajdra. The south temple at Mnajdra is built so that at the spring and autumn equinoxes, the sun rises directly in line with the entrance, and at the solstices, the sun lights up a decorated stone in the first chamber. Heritage Malta estimates that a visit takes between one and a half and three hours.

A ticket for both temples costs €10, young people, seniors and students pay €7.50, and children aged 6 to 11 pay €5.50. The nearest bus stop is a three-minute walk away. In summer, I’d come early, before the midday heat.

Book a full-day tour to Ħaġar Qim and the south coast with transport and lunch.

13. Marsaxlokk

Marsaxlokk is the islands’ most important fishing harbour. The harbour is full of colourful fishing boats, called luzzu, with the mythical eye painted on the bow, and for me, it’s one of the most photogenic scenes in Malta.

On Sundays, the town holds a fish market, which gives you a good insight into local life and a traditional trade. The town has lots of good fish restaurants, and this is where I’d have lunch if I were on the south coast. Order the catch of the day rather than the expensive set menus.

If you’ve brought your swimwear, walk out onto the Delimara Point peninsula to the left of the bay. Here you’ll find Peter’s Pool, one of two rocky coves where you can swim in clear water. There’s no sandy beach, so you jump in from the rocks. Read more about the town at Visit Malta. Marsaxlokk goes well with the Blue Grotto, and if you’d like a quieter base than Valletta, you can see hotels in Marsaxlokk here.

14. Mosta Rotunda

The Rotunda in Mosta, in the middle of Malta, is a round church with a huge dome, and it’s known for a story from the Second World War. In 1942, a bomb pierced the dome and landed on the church floor, but it didn’t explode. A replica of the bomb is on display in the church today.

There are two tickets. The short one for €5 gives access to the church, the wartime shelter and an audio guide in an app. The full experience for €8 also gives access to the crypt, the church museum and a walk around the outside of the dome and out onto the balcony inside the dome. The more expensive ticket is worth the money for the view.

The church is open to visitors Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 6pm, Saturday from 9.30am to 4.30pm and Sunday from 12 noon to 5pm. Last entry is half an hour before closing. The church is still used for services, so check the Mass times on the church’s website, and if you can, visit on the same day as Mdina.

15. Dingli Cliffs

Dingli Cliffs are on Malta’s west coast, where the island is at its highest, and the cliffs rise around 200 metres above the sea. Entry is free, and from Panoramic Road, you can walk along the edge with views out over the Mediterranean. Off the coast lies the small island of Filfla, which is now a nature reserve. The British military once used it for target practice, and it has shrunk considerably as a result.

Come in the late afternoon, when the light is soft and warm, and stay for the sunset if you can. In the evening, it’s also a popular place for stargazing. The cliffs are steep, so keep well back from the edge, especially with children.

The easiest way to see the cliffs, Mdina and the catacombs on the same day is by hire car or on an organised tour, but you can also get there by bus. You’ll find the fares at Malta Public Transport.

Book a tour to Mdina, Dingli Cliffs and the San Anton Gardens.

16. Ċittadella in Victoria on Gozo

All roads on Gozo lead to the island’s main town, which is called both Victoria and Rabat. Above the town stands the Ċittadella, a fortress on a hill where people have lived since the Stone Age. For several hundred years, it was the islanders’ refuge from pirates, and after the siege of 1565, the knights rebuilt it. Until 1637, Gozitans were required by law to sleep within the walls.

With the Ċittadella combined ticket, you can explore the fortress and visit the visitor centre, the historic Gran Castello house and the old prison, and it costs between €2.50 and €5, depending on age. The ticket is valid for 30 days.

If you also want to see Ġgantija, the Discover Gozo ticket is the best deal. It costs €13 for adults, €9 for seniors and students and €7 for children, and it covers the Ċittadella, Ġgantija, the Ta’ Kola windmill and the prison. Down in the town is It-Tokk square, the heart of Victoria, and it’s a good place to sit down with a coffee after the walk up to the fortress. If you’d like to stay on Gozo for a few nights, the island has its own section in my guide to where to stay in Malta and Gozo, and you can see hotels on Gozo here.

17. Ġgantija

Ġgantija, in the village of Xagħra on Gozo, is a temple complex that, according to Heritage Malta, was built in the late Stone Age between 3800 and 2000 BC. Together with the Hypogeum, it was among the first places in Malta to be added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

You enter through an exhibition centre that tells the story of life on Gozo in the Stone Age and displays some of the most important finds. From there, a path leads out to the temples. Allow about an hour.

The ticket also covers the Ta’ Kola windmill in Xagħra and costs €10. Young people, seniors and students pay €8, and children aged 6 to 11 pay €6. The nearest bus stop is a two-minute walk away, and there’s parking nearby. If you only have one day on Gozo, an organised tour from Malta is the easiest way to see Ġgantija, the Ċittadella and Dwejra.

Book a day trip from Malta to Gozo with Ġgantija, the Ċittadella and lunch.

18. Dwejra and the Inland Sea

For me, Dwejra on Gozo is the most beautiful stretch of coast on the islands. This is where the famous Azure Window rock arch stood until it collapsed into the sea in 2017. Today, its remains are a dive site, and the area is still worth the drive for the other rock formations. Look out for the fossils in the rocks, which look like a mosaic of thousands of sea creatures.

The Inland Sea is a lagoon behind the cliffs, connected to the open sea by a 100-metre-long tunnel. Local fishermen take visitors through the tunnel and out along the coast, and I think it’s the best way to see the cliffs. In the bay stands Fungus Rock, a small rocky islet that was once guarded because of a valuable medicinal plant.

In the same area is the Blue Hole, which Jacques Cousteau counted among his ten best dive sites in the world. You can read more about the area at Visit Gozo. Keep well back from the edge of the cliffs when it’s windy.

Book a jeep tour of Gozo with Dwejra, lunch and a boat trip.

19. Popeye Village

Popeye Village at Anchor Bay in Malta is the original set of the 1980 musical film Popeye. The crooked wooden houses still stand down by the water, and today the site is a family theme park with shows, mini golf, old-fashioned games, a film about the making of the movie and silversmithing demonstrations.

The price depends on the season. From 1 June to 30 September, a ticket costs €25 for adults and young people and €16 for children aged 3 to 12, and it’s open from 9.30am to 6pm. In May and from 1 October to 5 November, it costs €18 for adults and €14 for children, and it’s open from 9.30am to 5.30pm. The rest of the year, it costs €15 for adults and €12.50 for children, and it’s open from 9.30am to 5pm.

If you don’t have children with you, I think it’s enough to see the village for free from the viewpoint on the other side of the bay. With children, it’s a good half day out, especially if you combine it with a swim in Mellieħa.

Buy a ticket for Popeye Village.

Practical Travel Tips for Malta

Buses in Malta and on Gozo are run by Malta Public Transport. A single ticket costs €2.50 in summer and €2 in winter and is valid for two hours with free transfers. If you’ll be taking the bus a lot, an Explore card with unlimited travel for seven days costs €25, and children under 4 travel free. The ferries from Valletta to Sliema and to Cospicua run every half hour, and a single ticket between Valletta and Sliema costs €3.

Gozo Channel runs the ferries between Ċirkewwa in Malta and Mġarr on Gozo. Tickets are only checked in Mġarr, when you sail back to Malta, and if you’re taking a car, the ticket can only be bought online or at the ticket offices in Mġarr.

Heritage Malta’s museums and ancient sites are closed on 1 January, Good Friday and 24, 25 and 31 December, and last entry is always half an hour before closing. Opening hours change several times a year, so check the current overview before you plan your days.

If you want to browse the full range, you can see all hotels in Malta on Booking.com. If you’d like to combine your trip with Sicily, Virtu Ferries sails between Malta and Pozzallo, and I’ve also written about where to stay in Sicily.

The post 19 Best Things to Do in Malta: Sights, Prices & Tips appeared first on Destination Well Known.

Here are my picks for the 18 best things to see and do in Dublin, with prices, opening hours and tips on what to book before you go. Prices are in euros. Several of the big sights sell tickets for fixed time slots, and you can only get into Kilmainham Gaol with a ticket bought in advance, so read the sections before you make your plan. On the other hand, several of the city’s best museums are free.

1. Trinity College and the Book of Kells

Trinity College is right in the middle of the city, and it’s where Ireland’s most famous book is kept. The Book of Kells is a gospel manuscript from the ninth century with colourful illustrations, and only one double page is on display at a time. Afterwards, you go up to the Long Room, the library hall of just under 65 metres built between 1712 and 1732, which normally holds 200,000 of the library’s oldest books.

The library is being renovated in stages, and many of the books may have been taken down from the shelves, so the hall can look different from the famous photos. The standard ticket to the Book of Kells Experience costs from €25, takes about 90 minutes and also includes the Red Pavilion, with three digital exhibitions, and a free audio guide. If you only want to see the book and the Long Room, it costs from €19.

It’s open Monday to Thursday from 8.30am to 6.30pm, Friday and Saturday until 7pm and Sunday from 9am to 6.30pm. Tickets are for a fixed time and can’t be refunded, so buy them in advance, and don’t bring your suitcase, because there’s no left luggage.

Book a guided tour of historic Dublin with a ticket to the Book of Kells.

2. Guinness Storehouse

The Guinness Storehouse is on the brewery site at St. James’s Gate, west of the centre. It’s a museum about everything from the ingredients and the brewing to the famous adverts, and the visit ends in the Gravity Bar, where you get a pint of Guinness or Guinness 0.0 with views out over the city. It’s expensive, but it’s also the experience most first-time visitors look forward to the most.

The self-guided ticket costs from €24 on the brewery’s own website and takes about 90 minutes. With the Guinness Academy, from €36, you learn to pour the perfect pint and get a certificate, and with STOUTie, from €32, you get an extra pint with your own photo in the foam.

It’s open every day from 9.30am. Last entry is at 5pm Monday to Thursday and on Sundays, and at 6pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and the building closes two hours later. Under-18s must be with an adult and get a soft drink or water instead of beer. The hop-on hop-off buses stop at the entrance on Market Street. The ticket on GetYourGuide costs more than the brewery’s own, but it can be cancelled free of charge.

Book a ticket to the Guinness Storehouse with a pint in the Gravity Bar.

3. Kilmainham Gaol

Kilmainham Gaol opened in 1796 as Dublin’s new prison and closed in 1924. Many of those who rebelled against British rule were held here, among them Robert Emmet, Anne Devlin and Charles Stewart Parnell, and several of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising were imprisoned here and some of them executed. I think it’s the most important museum in the city if you want to understand Irish history.

You can only get in on a guided tour, which lasts an hour, and afterwards you have access to the museum, so allow an hour and a half in total. A ticket costs €8, €6 for seniors and €4 for students, and a family ticket costs €20. Children under 12 go free but still need a ticket, and the prison isn’t recommended for children under six.

All tickets have to be bought in advance on the prison’s own website, and tickets from other sellers are turned away at the door. Some of the tours are released 28 days ahead at midnight Irish time, and cancellations go on sale the same day from 9.15am, so check the site in the morning if everything is sold out. The prison is 3.5 kilometres from the centre. Take bus 60 from Wellington Quay or Heuston Station, or take the Luas Red Line to Suir Road.

4. St. Patrick’s Cathedral

St. Patrick’s Cathedral is the largest cathedral in Ireland. According to tradition, Saint Patrick baptised people at a well on the site 1,500 years ago, and the present church was built from 1220 to 1259. Jonathan Swift, who wrote Gulliver’s Travels, was dean here and is buried in the church, and the cathedral’s choir school has been singing services since 1432.

A ticket costs €11.50, €10 for students and seniors, and a family ticket for two adults and up to three children costs €31. If you’d also like to see Marsh’s Library next door, a joint ticket costs €17. Monday to Saturday at 10.30am and 2.30pm, there are free guided tours for ticket holders.

The church opens to visitors at 9.30am on weekdays, with last entry at 5pm, and at 9am on Saturdays, with last entry at 6pm. On Sundays, the cathedral holds services, so tourists can only get in during three time slots starting at 9am, 1pm and 4.30pm, and there are no guided tours. The cathedral is a short walk south of Christ Church Cathedral, so the two are easy to see in the same morning.

Book a ticket to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in advance.

5. Christ Church Cathedral and Dublinia

Christ Church Cathedral began as a Viking church and has welcomed visitors for almost 1,000 years. Beneath the church is the crypt, the oldest building in Dublin that’s still in use. Strongbow is buried in the church, and then there are the cathedral’s best-known residents, a mummified cat and a mummified rat.

A self-guided visit with an audio guide takes about an hour and costs €12 at the door and €11.50 on the cathedral’s ticket page. It’s open Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 9.30am to 6pm, Tuesday and Thursday until 5.30pm and Sunday from 12.30pm to 3pm and again from 4.30pm to 6pm. Last entry is 45 minutes before closing. Ask at the welcome desk about the guided tours, which take you up into the bell tower, where you get to ring the bells.

Next to the cathedral is Dublinia, a museum about Viking and medieval Dublin that’s good for families. A combined ticket to the cathedral and Dublinia costs €25, takes about two and a half hours and is sold at the cathedral’s welcome desk or at Dublinia’s ticket office.

Book a ticket to Christ Church Cathedral with a self-guided tour.

6. Temple Bar and the Ha’penny Bridge

Temple Bar is the district of cobbled streets, pubs with live music and restaurants where most tourists go out in the evening. I think it’s fun to walk through, but drink most of your pints a few streets away, where there are fewer tourists and it’s quieter for a chat. If you want to stay right in the middle of it all, Temple Bar and the city centre is the first area in my guide to where to stay in Dublin, and you can see hotels in Temple Bar here.

On Saturdays, there are markets in the district. The food market on Meeting House Square is open from 9.30am to 3.30pm, and the book market on Bernardo Square from 10am to 5pm. On Thursdays, there’s a market on Temple Bar Square from noon to 6pm.

From Temple Bar, you cross the Ha’penny Bridge to the north side of the river. The cast-iron bridge was built in 1816 and is the oldest footbridge over the Liffey. The name comes from the halfpenny it cost to cross, right up until 1919. Come early in the morning if you want to photograph the bridge without people, or at sunset, when the light falls across the river. If you’d like to hear traditional Irish music in pubs you wouldn’t find on your own, go with a local guide.

Book a guided tour of four traditional pubs away from the tourist area.

7. Dublin Castle and Chester Beatty

Dublin Castle is in the middle of the city and is still used by the Irish state for official events. On a visit, you’ll see the State Apartments, the Chapel Royal, the medieval tower, the Viking excavation and the castle gardens. A self-guided tour costs €8 and a guided tour €12, and it’s normally open every day from 9.45am to 5.45pm, with last entry at 5.15pm.

The castle grounds can sometimes be closed to the public altogether when the castle is used for state visits and official events, so check the castle’s website before you go.

In the castle gardens is the Chester Beatty, a free museum whose collection includes a statue of the Chinese god of war Guandi and a metal binding for the four Gospels from 17th-century Constantinople. The museum can sometimes be closed altogether, so check the Chester Beatty’s website before you go. It’s normally open Monday to Saturday from 9.45am to 5.30pm, on Wednesdays until 8pm and on Sundays from noon to 5.30pm. From November to February, it’s closed on Mondays. The museum asks for a voluntary donation of €5.

8. EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum

EPIC is about the Irish who left for other parts of the world and the mark they made on their new countries. The museum is in the CHQ Building on Custom House Quay, an eight-minute walk from O’Connell Street, and has 20 interactive galleries. It’s a good choice on a rainy day, and it also works for teenagers who quickly get bored in traditional museums.

A ticket costs from €22, and you should allow about an hour and a half. Every day at 1pm, there’s a guided tour for €25, and a combined ticket with the ship Jeanie Johnston costs €34. It’s open every day of the week from 10am to 6.45pm, with last entry at 5pm.

If you have Irish roots, stop by the Irish Family History Centre in the same building, where genealogists can help you trace your family’s history.

Book a ticket to EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum.

9. National Museum of Ireland, Archaeology

The National Museum’s archaeology branch on Kildare Street is free, and it’s one of the best places to understand Ireland from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages. The most famous room is Kingship and Sacrifice, with Iron Age bog bodies. Among them is Old Croghan Man, who was found in 2003, and his well-preserved hands make a strong impression. Younger children may find it creepy.

In the Ór exhibition, you’ll see Ireland’s gold, and The Treasury holds the Ardagh Chalice, among other things. There are also permanent exhibitions on Viking Ireland, on the Middle Ages from 1150 to 1550 and on ancient Egypt, as well as an exhibition about the monastery at Glendalough, which is good to have seen if you’re taking a day trip there.

The museum is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm and on Sundays and Mondays from 1pm to 5pm, so don’t come in the morning at the start of the week. It’s close to the National Gallery, which is also free, so you can easily combine the two in one day.

10. National Gallery of Ireland and Merrion Square

Ireland’s national gallery is on Merrion Square West, and the permanent collection is free to see. Some of the temporary exhibitions charge admission. The gallery also has an archive with collections on the painter Jack B. Yeats and his family, and it’s a good place to relax for an afternoon with art and a cup of coffee in the café.

The gallery is open on Mondays and Sundays from 11am to 5.30pm, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9.15am to 5.30pm, Thursdays from 9.15am to 8.30pm and Fridays and Saturdays from 9.15am to 5.30pm. The entrance closes a quarter of an hour earlier. That makes Thursday evening a good time if your days are full.

Afterwards, take a walk in Merrion Square Park, in the middle of one of Dublin’s most beautiful Georgian squares. The houses around the park were built from 1762 over roughly the next 30 years, and Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats and Daniel O’Connell all lived here. In the park, there’s a memorial to Oscar Wilde from 1997. The park opens at 10am every day, and closing time changes with the seasons, from 5pm in winter to 10pm in June and July.

11. Grafton Street and St. Stephen’s Green

Grafton Street is Dublin’s best-known pedestrian street. It’s been closed to traffic since 1979 and runs from St. Stephen’s Green down towards College Green and the entrance to Trinity College. It’s lined with shops and department stores, and buskers play all day, so even if you don’t buy anything, it’s a good street for a stroll. Bewley’s Oriental Café, at numbers 97 to 98, is the city’s best-known café and a good place for a coffee along the way.

At the end of the street, you walk through Fusiliers’ Arch into St. Stephen’s Green, the city’s most central park, with a lake, flower beds and plenty of benches. The park is free. It opens at 7.30am Monday to Saturday and at 9.30am on Sundays and public holidays, and closing time changes with the seasons, from 4pm in late November to 9pm in summer.

Bring a sandwich and eat your lunch by the lake on a dry day, as many locals do. The Little Museum of Dublin is just across the road along the park. If you’d like to stay in the quiet streets around the park, you can see hotels near St. Stephen’s Green here.

12. Little Museum of Dublin

The Little Museum of Dublin is in a beautiful old building at 15 St. Stephen’s Green and tells the city’s story through objects donated by people from all over Ireland. You can only get in with a guide, and the tours are known for being entertaining, so this is the place if you’d rather have Dublin’s history told by a guide than read it on information boards.

After a major renovation, the museum has more exhibition space, a lift and a small terrace. Tours run every 40 minutes.

A ticket costs €18, seniors and students pay €16, and a family ticket for two adults and up to three children costs €45. It’s open every day from 9.30am to 5pm, with last entry at 4.30pm. The tours fill up quickly, so book a time in advance, especially at weekends.

13. GPO Witness History and O’Connell Street

The General Post Office on O’Connell Street is one of the most important buildings in Irish history. During the 1916 Easter Rising, the rebels occupied the building, and Patrick Pearse read out the Proclamation of the Republic from the portico at the front. Inside the building is GPO Witness History, an interactive exhibition about the Rising and Ireland’s more recent history.

A ticket costs €17, and students and seniors over 65 pay €15. Tickets for children over five start at €8.50. The exhibition is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm, with last entry at 4pm, and is closed on public holidays.

See Kilmainham Gaol and the GPO on the same day or on two days in a row, and you’ll get the whole story of 1916, from the Rising on O’Connell Street to the executions at the prison. From the Ha’penny Bridge, it’s a short walk over to O’Connell Street on the north side of the river, and EPIC is within walking distance from there too. The Aircoach buses from the airport also stop on O’Connell Street.

14. Jameson Distillery Bow St.

If you prefer whiskey to stout, head to Jameson Distillery Bow St. in the Smithfield district north of the river. The classic tour is called the Bow St. Experience. It takes 45 minutes, ends with a comparative tasting of three Jameson whiskeys and a cocktail, and costs from €26. Smithfield is also a good area to stay in, and you can see hotels in Smithfield here.

There are tours every day of the week. Children under 12 go free, and if you don’t drink alcohol, there’s an alcohol-free ticket for €15. If you want more than the standard tour, the distillery also runs cocktail and blending classes and a secret tasting in JJ’s Office.

It’s a shorter and more intimate experience than the Guinness Storehouse, and the two are on opposite sides of the river, so you can easily fit both into one day. The ticket is cheapest on the distillery’s own website, while the ticket on GetYourGuide costs a little more but can be cancelled free of charge.

Book a guided tour of Jameson Distillery with a whiskey tasting.

15. Phoenix Park and Dublin Zoo

Phoenix Park is one of the largest enclosed parks in any European capital, and it’s free and open around the clock. It’s home to a large herd of wild fallow deer, and you mustn’t feed them or go close to them. In the park stands the Wellington Testimonial, which at just over 62 metres is the tallest obelisk in Europe, and the Papal Cross, which was put up for Pope John Paul II’s visit in 1979. On Saturdays, there are free tours of the President’s residence, Áras an Uachtaráin, and tickets are handed out at the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre from 9.30am on a first-come, first-served basis.

Dublin Zoo is also in the park. An adult ticket costs €22.50 online and €26.50 at the gate, and children aged 3 to 15 pay €17 online. The zoo is open every day from 9.30am to 5.30pm, with last entry at 4.30pm, so it pays to buy your ticket in advance.

Bus 99 runs from Parkgate Street to the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre and stops at the zoo. From Heuston Station, it’s about a 20-minute walk to the zoo.

16. Glasnevin Cemetery

Glasnevin is Dublin’s large historic cemetery north of the centre, and it’s run by a committee that Daniel O’Connell set up in 1828. Many of the people you hear about at Kilmainham Gaol and the GPO are buried here, among them Michael Collins, Daniel O’Connell and Countess Markievicz, and the guided history tour also goes down into O’Connell’s crypt.

The history tour takes 1 to 1.5 hours and costs about €14.50, and you can go up O’Connell Tower for about €9. The museum and cemetery are normally open every day from 10am to 5pm. I haven’t been able to confirm the current prices with the cemetery itself, so check them on the museum’s own website before you go.

Book the tower in advance in particular. The cemetery is one of the places in Dublin where a guide really makes a difference, because without the stories, it’s mostly gravestones. It’s a peaceful place to end a day of Irish history.

17. Howth

Howth is a fishing village on a peninsula north of Dublin, and it’s the easiest trip into nature from the city. You take the DART train to the end of the line at Howth, and the Cliff Path Loop starts at the station. The route is 7.8 kilometres long, takes about two hours and follows the cliffs with views out to sea until the Baily Lighthouse comes into view.

The route is graded moderate, and the path can be uneven, so wear proper shoes. The walk is free, and afterwards you can head down to the harbour for lunch. The DART is part of the city’s regular public transport, so a Leap Visitor Card is also valid for the trip out there.

Check the weather forecast before you set off, because it’s much windier on the cliffs than in the city, and the path is no fun in rain and fog. If you’d rather have a guide and skip the planning, there are half-day tours from Dublin.

Book a guided walk on the Howth cliff path from Dublin.

18. Day Trip to Glendalough

Glendalough, in the Wicklow Mountains south of Dublin, is one of the most famous monastic sites in Ireland. Saint Kevin founded the monastery in the sixth century, and today the ruins and the tall round tower stand in a valley between the mountains.

The visitor centre costs €5, and a family ticket costs €13. If you pay for parking at the centre, you get one free ticket included. From mid-March to 14 October, the visitor centre is open every day from 9.30am to 6pm, and the rest of the year from 9.30am to 5pm. Last entry is 45 minutes before closing.

Without a car, the easiest option is an organised day trip from Dublin. Many of the tours cross the Wicklow Gap and combine Glendalough with the medieval town of Kilkenny, so you see a lot of the Irish countryside in one day. There are also buses to Laragh and Glendalough, but that takes more planning.

Book a day trip to the Wicklow Mountains, Glendalough and Kilkenny.

Practical Travel Tips for Dublin

The centre is small, and you can walk between most of the sights. For Kilmainham Gaol, Phoenix Park, Glasnevin and Howth, you’ll need a bus, the Luas or the DART. With a Leap Visitor Card, you can travel as much as you like on Dublin Bus, the Luas and the DART for one, three or seven days, but the card isn’t valid on the hop-on hop-off buses or Bus Éireann.

Book the big three first: the Book of Kells, the Guinness Storehouse and Kilmainham Gaol have tickets for fixed time slots, and the prison only sells tickets in advance. Then fill the rest of your days with the free museums. The National Museum and the National Gallery cost nothing, but remember that the National Museum doesn’t open until 1pm on Sundays and Mondays.

If you want to get your bearings on your first day, a guided walking tour is a good start, because then you’ll know what you’d like to see more of.

Book a guided walking tour of Dublin’s highlights.

If you’d like to see the full range, you can browse all hotels in Dublin on Booking.com. If you’re heading on to Scotland, I’ve also written about the best things to do in Edinburgh.

The post 18 Best Things to Do in Dublin: Sights, Prices & Tips appeared first on Destination Well Known.

Here are my picks for the 19 best things to see and do in Los Angeles, with prices, opening hours and tips on what to book before you go. Several of the best places are free, including Griffith Observatory, the Getty Center and The Broad, but some of them need a free reservation for a set time, so read the sections before you plan your days.

1. Hollywood Walk of Fame and TCL Chinese Theatre

Hollywood Boulevard is where most people start. The Walk of Fame stretches for 18 blocks through Hollywood, and more than 2,500 brass stars are set into the pavement. New ones are added all the time, and on the official Walk of Fame website you can look up where your favourite star is, so you don’t have to search blindly. It’s all free.

Halfway along stands the TCL Chinese Theatre, which opened as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in 1927. In the forecourt, there are almost 200 handprints, footprints and autographs of film stars set in concrete. The cinema has the world’s largest IMAX auditorium, and there’s a 30-minute guided tour every day, except when there are special events. Next door, in the Ovation Hollywood complex, is the Dolby Theatre, where the Oscars are held, and the tourist board has put together the story of the cinema here.

Take the Metro B Line to Hollywood/Highland station, which is right below Ovation Hollywood. From the complex, you can also see the Hollywood Sign up in the hills. My tip is to come early in the morning, before the pavements fill up, if you want photos of the prints without other tourists. If you’d like to stay close to Hollywood, West Hollywood is one of the areas in my guide to where to stay in Los Angeles.

Book a guided walking tour of the Walk of Fame with views of the Hollywood Sign.

2. The Hollywood Sign

The Hollywood Sign was put up in 1923 as an advert for the Hollywoodland housing development, and today it stands in the hills above the city. You can’t walk right up to the letters. The sign is fenced off and monitored by cameras, an LAPD officer keeps an eye on the area, and it’s illegal to enter the restricted area, so stay on the approved trails.

The easiest views are from Ovation Hollywood, on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, and from Griffith Observatory. If you want to get closer, the sign’s official website recommends three hiking trails. Mt. Hollywood Trail is 5.3 miles (about 8.5 km) and is considered easy, Brush Canyon Trail is 6 miles (about 9.7 km) and also easy, while Cahuenga Peak Trail is 3 miles (about 4.8 km) and hard.

Bring water and sun cream, and check the current conditions in Griffith Park with the city’s parks department before you go, because conditions in the park can change. If you’d rather have a guide and save your legs, there are e-bike tours from Hollywood up to the sign.

Book a guided e-bike tour to the Hollywood Sign.

3. Griffith Observatory

Griffith Observatory sits high up in Griffith Park and is, in my opinion, the best free viewpoint in Los Angeles. From the terraces, you look out over the city and across to the Hollywood Sign, and in the evening, the lights are spread out below you. The building itself, with its exhibitions, is free to enter.

The Samuel Oschin Planetarium puts on shows, and tickets cost $12 for adults, $10 for seniors aged 55 and over and $8 for children aged 5 to 12. Tickets can only be bought on site and only for the same day’s shows, so buy them as soon as you arrive.

The observatory is open Tuesday to Friday from 12pm to 10pm and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 10pm. It’s closed on Mondays, but the grounds outside follow the park’s opening hours, from 5am to 10.30pm. There’s paid parking nearby, and the machines only take credit cards. Without a car, take the B Line to Vermont/Sunset, where the DASH Observatory/Los Feliz bus runs up every 20 to 25 minutes from 10am to 10pm. The ride costs 50 cents, or 35 cents with a TAP card, and the driver can’t give change.

Book an insider tour of Griffith Observatory with a planetarium show.

4. Getty Center

The Getty Center sits on a hill in Brentwood and is one of the best places in the city if you want to combine art, architecture, gardens and views in one go. The collection spans the Middle Ages to the present day, and the terraces and gardens have sweeping views over Los Angeles. You park at the foot of the hill, and a small tram takes you up to the top.

Entry is free, but you need to reserve a timed ticket in advance on the Getty’s website or by phone. The museum is open Tuesday to Friday and on Sundays from 10am to 6.30pm and on Saturdays from 10am to 9pm. It’s closed on Mondays, as well as on New Year’s Day, 4 July, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

Parking costs $25 per car, $15 after 3pm and $10 after 6pm, and on Saturdays after 6pm it’s free. Payment is cashless. Without a car, take Metro bus 761, which stops at the entrance on Sepulveda Boulevard. Some pavilions and galleries may be closed for renovation, so check the website before you go, and try to come on a Saturday afternoon, when you get both long opening hours and cheaper parking.

5. Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Pier is LA’s best-known pier and, in my opinion, the best place to watch the sun set over the Pacific. The pier is the symbolic end of Route 66, and the End of the Trail sign is a popular photo spot for people on a road trip. The official end of the road, however, is at the junction of Lincoln and Olympic Boulevard. If you complete the whole route, you can pick up a free certificate at the visitor centre, which is open from 9am to 5pm but closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Santa Monica’s tourist board tells you more about Route 66 here.

On the pier is the Pacific Park amusement park, which is free to enter. You pay per ride, and the Pacific Wheel, the first solar-powered Ferris wheel, costs $14 online and $20 at the ticket booth. A wristband with unlimited rides costs $40 online for everyone aged 8 and over and $20 for children up to 7. Opening hours change from day to day, so check the calendar on the park’s website.

The Metro E Line ends in Santa Monica, so you can take the train all the way from Downtown. Buy tickets for the rides online, because it saves you $6 per ride on the big attractions.

6. Venice Beach and the Venice Canals

From Santa Monica, you can cycle or walk along the beach to Venice Beach. The Ocean Front Walk promenade is lined with T-shirt stalls and tattoo parlours and buzzes with street life, and by the recreation centre, you’ll find the skate park, the basketball courts and the outdoor gym Muscle Beach. Muscle Beach is open from 8am to 5pm from October to April and from 8am to 6pm from May to September. You can check the opening hours with the Los Angeles parks department.

The canals are, in my opinion, the quietest corner of Venice. Abbot Kinney opened the seaside resort Venice of America on 4 July 1905, with seven canals modelled on Venice in Italy. In 1929, the original canals were filled in, but six later canals south of his area still exist, and PBS SoCal tells the whole story. Walk along the paths by the water between the houses and over the small arched bridges.

Watch out when you cross the cycle path on the beach, especially on weekend afternoons, when there are lots of cyclists. If you’d like to see it all in one go, a guided bike tour from Santa Monica to Venice is a good option. If you’d like to stay close to the beach, you can see hotels in Venice Beach here.

Book a guided bike tour from Santa Monica to Venice Beach and the canals.

7. Universal Studios Hollywood

Universal Studios Hollywood is both a theme park and a real film studio, and a tour of the studio lot is included in the ticket. The park’s areas include The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Super Nintendo World, and you should allow a whole day if you want to fit in the big rides.

Prices change by date, and a one-day ticket costs from about $100. For Super Nintendo World, the park sells a special ticket with early access to the area, but it isn’t valid as an admission ticket, so you’ll also need a regular ticket for the same day. Opening hours change from day to day, so check them in the calendar on the park’s website.

It’s easy to get there on the Metro B Line to Universal City/Studio City station. From there, cross Lankershim Boulevard to Universal Hollywood Drive, where you can take a shuttle bus or walk the roughly 800 metres. My tip is to be there at opening time and do the most popular rides first, before the queues build up.

Book tickets for Universal Studios Hollywood.

8. Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood

Warner Bros. is a working film studio in Burbank, and the Studio Tour takes you around a 110-acre lot. The visit starts with a one-hour guided tour of the studio. Along the way, you’ll see Midwest Street, the studio’s largest set, which has appeared in almost 400 films and TV series. Afterwards, you have two hours to explore on your own.

In Stage 48, you can see the Central Perk set from Friends and eat at the café of the same name, and another area has real props and costumes from Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts. At the end, you’ll see costumes from Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman, among others. The tourist board has a good rundown of the tour.

Tickets cost from $79, tours run from 8.30am to 3.30pm, and the whole visit takes about three hours. Children under 5 aren’t allowed, and young people aged 5 to 17 must be accompanied by an adult. The address is 3400 Warner Boulevard in Burbank, and you can see the day’s tours on the studio’s own website. Book well ahead, especially during the school holidays. If Harry Potter is your main interest, I’ve also written about the Harry Potter Studios in London.

Book the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood.

9. Disneyland Resort in Anaheim

Disneyland Resort is in Anaheim and has two theme parks. Disneyland Park is the original park, while Disney California Adventure was built as a tribute to California and was rebuilt in 2012, when Cars Land was added. Between the parks and the hotels is Downtown Disney, with shops and restaurants, and it’s free to enter.

Tickets are priced by date, and a one-day ticket to one park costs from about $104 to about $224 for an adult. With a Park Hopper ticket, you can switch between the two parks on the same day, but it costs more. See the exact prices for your date in Disneyland’s ticket calendar.

It’s a full-day trip, so I’d recommend staying overnight in Anaheim if you want more than one day in the parks, and you can see hotels in Anaheim here. Anaheim’s tourist board has a good guide to your first visit. Use the Disneyland app to see when and where you can meet the characters, and book a table at the popular restaurants up to 60 days in advance. If you’d rather have Disney closer to home in Europe, I’ve also written about Disneyland Paris.

10. LACMA and La Brea Tar Pits

LACMA is LA’s big art museum and stands on Wilshire Boulevard. Many people know it from Chris Burden’s Urban Light from 2008, which is made up of 202 restored cast-iron street lamps. The museum’s large exhibition building, the David Geffen Galleries, was designed by the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor.

Tickets cost $30 for adults who don’t live in Los Angeles County and $15 for children and young people aged 3 to 17. Entry is free for everyone on the second Tuesday of every month. The museum is open on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11am to 6pm, on Fridays from 11am to 8pm and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 7pm. It’s closed on Wednesdays. You can buy timed tickets in advance on LACMA’s website.

Right next door is La Brea Tar Pits, where natural asphalt seeps have preserved fossils from the Ice Age, including sabre-toothed cats, mammoths and wolves. The museum building itself may be closed for redevelopment, but many of the outdoor areas in Hancock Park are usually open. Check the status on the Tar Pits’ own website. Take the D Line to Wilshire/Fairfax, which is a few steps from LACMA, the Tar Pits, the Academy Museum and the Petersen.

11. Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

The Academy Museum is run by the Academy behind the Oscars and is the largest museum in the USA devoted to film and filmmaking. It’s at 6067 Wilshire Boulevard in the old May Company department store, and the architect behind the museum is Renzo Piano. The round Sphere Building has a glass dome on top.

The museum covers the art, the technology and the people behind the films, and the Academy’s own collection includes Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz. For an extra charge, you can try The Oscars Experience, a simulation of what it’s like to win an Oscar.

Tickets cost $25, and the museum recommends booking in advance. It’s open Wednesday to Monday from 10am to 6pm and closed on Tuesdays. Film screenings, the shop and the restaurant Fanny’s don’t require a museum ticket. Combine your visit with LACMA and the Petersen, which are on the same stretch of Wilshire Boulevard.

12. The Broad and Walt Disney Concert Hall

The Broad is Downtown’s free museum of contemporary art. It opened in 2015 and holds more than 2,000 works by almost 200 artists, including Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Yayoi Kusama. The building was designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro together with Gensler, and the façade is an airy, honeycomb-like structure that wraps around the whole building. The museum calls it the veil.

Entry is free, and you can turn up without a reservation, but a timed ticket booked in advance is recommended. Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room always requires an advance reservation. The Broad is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11am to 5pm, on Thursdays from 11am to 8pm and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 6pm. It’s closed on Mondays. The nearest station is Grand Av Arts/Bunker Hill on the A and E Lines.

On the same street, Grand Avenue, stands Walt Disney Concert Hall, which was designed by Frank Gehry and opened in 2003. The façade is made up of more than 6,000 stainless steel panels, and the hall is home to the LA Phil. You can take a free self-guided tour with an audio guide on your phone every day from 10am to 3pm, but the schedule can change when there are concerts.

13. Natural History Museum and California Science Center

Exposition Park is home to two of the best museums for families. The Natural History Museum opened in 1913 and is best known for its dinosaur hall, which opened in 2011, and for the gardens outside. Tickets cost $18 for adults, and the 3D film about T. rex and Dinosaur Encounters cost $10 extra each.

The museum is open every day from 9.30am to 5pm, but it’s closed on the first Tuesday of the month, except from June to August, and on major public holidays.

Next door is the California Science Center, where the permanent exhibitions are free and don’t require a reservation. Only the IMAX cinema and special exhibitions need a ticket. The centre is open every day from 10am to 5pm. The Space Shuttle Endeavour is getting its permanent home in the centre’s Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center and isn’t always on display, so check the centre’s website before you go if you want to see it. Take the E Line to Expo Park/USC, which is right by the park.

14. Petersen Automotive Museum

The Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard is an obvious stop for anyone interested in cars, especially if you’re at LACMA and the Academy Museum anyway. Beneath the museum is The Vault, where the museum shows more than 300 of the rarest cars ever gathered in one place.

An adult ticket costs $52 and also includes The Vault, and for young people aged 12 to 17 it costs $42. The museum is open every day of the week from 10am to 6pm. Check-in closes at 5.30pm, and last entry to The Vault is at 5pm.

The address is 6060 Wilshire Boulevard, and the D Line’s Wilshire/Fairfax station is a few steps away. My tip is to arrive by early afternoon at the latest, so you don’t have to rush through The Vault, which I think is the best part of the museum. Remember that last entry there is an hour before closing.

15. El Pueblo and Olvera Street

El Pueblo de Los Angeles is where the city was founded in 1781, and it calls itself the city’s historic heart and birthplace. Here stands the Avila Adobe from 1818, the oldest surviving house in Los Angeles, which is now a museum. Olvera Street opened on Easter Sunday 1930 as a Mexican market street and is still full of stalls and restaurants.

The area has several free museums, and El Pueblo offers free one-hour guided tours from Thursday to Saturday, starting at 10am, 11am and 12pm. The tours must be booked at least two weeks in advance. The shops on Olvera Street each have their own opening hours.

El Pueblo is right across from Union Station, the city’s big transport hub, with Metro, Amtrak, Metrolink and the LAX FlyAway buses to the airport. That makes it an obvious first or last stop on a day in Downtown, and I’d recommend having lunch at one of the Mexican restaurants on the street.

16. Grand Central Market and Angels Flight

Grand Central Market has been a Downtown landmark since 1917 and today is a food hall with lots of different stalls. The market is open every day from 8am to 9pm, but each stall has its own hours. The address is 317 South Broadway, and it’s a good place for lunch if you’re in Downtown.

Close by runs Angels Flight, which calls itself the world’s shortest railway. It opened in 1901 and runs between Hill Street and Olive Street, and the ride down ends close to the market. A ride costs $1.50 each way, or $0.75 with a TAP card, and the funicular runs every day from 6.45am to 10pm.

My tip is to combine the market and Angels Flight with The Broad and Walt Disney Concert Hall on Grand Avenue and El Pueblo by Union Station. That way, you’ll see most of Downtown in a day. If you’d like to stay in Downtown, you can see hotels in Downtown Los Angeles here.

17. Getty Villa

The Getty Villa is the Getty’s second museum and stands by the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades. Its collection is Greek and Roman art from antiquity, and the architecture, the peaceful gardens and the sea breeze are a big part of the experience.

As at the Getty Center, entry is free, but you need to reserve a timed ticket in advance on the Getty’s website. The villa is open every day from 10am to 5pm, except on Tuesdays, and it’s closed on New Year’s Day, 4 July, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Parking costs $25 per car and $15 after 3pm.

The address is 17985 Pacific Coast Highway. In my opinion, the Getty Villa is one of the city’s most overlooked sights, and it fits well into a day on the coast together with Santa Monica. Remember that your reservation is for a specific time, so allow plenty of time for the drive. My tip is to take the earliest reservation and spend the afternoon on the beach. If you’re driving on up the coast towards San Francisco, I’ve also written about where to stay in San Francisco.

18. Aquarium of the Pacific

The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach is a good choice if you have children with you. The aquarium shows life in the Pacific Ocean, and it’s easy to spend half a day here.

Tickets cost $49.95 for adults, $34.95 for children aged 3 to 11 and $46.95 for seniors aged 62 and over. The aquarium is open every day from 9am to 6pm and is only closed on Christmas Day. At weekends and on public holidays, entry requires an advance reservation, so buy your ticket online before you go.

The address is 100 Aquarium Way in Long Beach, and the Metro A Line ends in Long Beach. If you have a car, you can combine the aquarium with Battleship IOWA in San Pedro on the same day.

Book a ticket for the Aquarium of the Pacific.

19. Battleship IOWA

The battleship USS Iowa is a museum ship on the LA Waterfront in San Pedro. The ship was launched in 1942, is 887 feet (about 270 metres) long and served in the Second World War, the Korean War and the Cold War. In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sailed on it for the first leg of his journey to the Tehran Conference.

With a standard ticket, you explore several decks on your own and see the crew’s quarters, the guns, the bridge and the galleys. If you’d like to see areas that aren’t included in the standard ticket, there are guided tours for an extra charge. The museum is open Thursday to Monday from 10am to 5pm, and last entry is at 4pm. It’s closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Tickets cost about $30.

The address is 250 South Harbor Boulevard in San Pedro, at the southern end of the 110 freeway. It’s one of the lesser-known places in this guide, but for anyone interested in history, it’s a good half-day out.

Book a ticket for Battleship IOWA.

Practical Travel Tips for Los Angeles

The distances between the sights in Los Angeles are long, but the Metro gets you to a lot of them. A ride costs $1.75, and when you pay with a TAP card, a contactless bank card or your phone, you never pay more than $5 a day or $18 a week. See Metro’s fares here. The B Line covers Hollywood and Universal, the D Line the museums on Wilshire Boulevard and the E Line Exposition Park and Santa Monica.

Many of the best places are free: Griffith Observatory, the Getty Center, the Getty Villa, The Broad, the California Science Center, the Walk of Fame and the beach. The two Getty museums do need a free timed ticket, though, and you pay for parking. Plan around the closing days, because Griffith Observatory and the Getty Center are closed on Mondays, LACMA on Wednesdays and the Academy Museum and the Getty Villa on Tuesdays.

If you want to see as much as possible in a short time without driving yourself, a minibus city tour is a good start to your first day.

Book a small-group city tour of Hollywood and Beverly Hills.

If you’d like the full selection, you can see all hotels in Los Angeles on Booking.com. If you’re heading on to Las Vegas, I’ve also written about where to stay in Las Vegas.

The post 19 Best Things to Do in Los Angeles: Sights, Prices & Tips appeared first on Destination Well Known.

Even so, the neighbourhoods give you very different stays. Hotels in Oslo are expensive, so it matters a lot whether your money buys you harbour views, café life or quiet streets. Here are my five recommendations for where to stay in Oslo, with hotels in three price ranges in each area.

The Best Areas in Oslo

• Sentrum - best area for first-time visitors
• Bjørvika - best area for culture and views over the fjord
• Aker Brygge & Tjuvholmen - best area for waterfront luxury
• Grünerløkka - best area for cafés, vintage shops and nightlife
• Frogner & Majorstuen - best area for quiet streets and shopping

Below, I’ll take you through the five areas one by one, each with three hotels sorted by price range. Getting around is easy from all of them. According to Ruter, a single ticket for one zone is valid for 60 minutes, and you can use it on the city’s buses, trams, T-bane and boats and on Vy’s trains in Oslo and Akershus.

1. Sentrum - best area for first-time visitors

• Distance from the centre: You’ll be staying right in the centre. From Karl Johans gate, it’s around 700 metres to Oslo S.
• Transport: The T-bane from Stortinget and Jernbanetorget, trains from Oslo S and Nationaltheatret, and trams and buses in every direction.
• Time from the airport: 19 minutes on the Flytoget airport express train to the centre. The train stops at both Oslo S and Nationaltheatret.
• Price range: High, but this is where you’ll find the biggest choice in every price range, from simple budget hotels to five-star classics.
• Safety: Safe. Keep a close eye on your bag and phone in the crowds around Oslo S and on Karl Johans gate.

Sentrum is my first choice for a first trip to Oslo. You’ll be staying between Oslo S and the Royal Palace, with Karl Johans gate as the main street, and most of what a first-time visitor wants to see is within walking distance. Oslo City Hall and the harbour are just to the south, and from Oslo S, it’s around 400 metres to the Opera House in Bjørvika.

South of the main street is Kvadraturen. VisitOslo says the district between Akershus Fortress and Karl Johans gate takes its name from its square grid of streets. This is where you’ll find many of the city’s hotels, and it’s a short walk to both the fortress and the water.

See hotels in Sentrum here.

The biggest advantage is the arrival. The Flytoget airport express train runs every 10 minutes from the airport and takes 19 minutes to the centre, and an adult ticket to Oslo S or Nationaltheatret costs 276 Norwegian kroner according to Flytoget’s fare list. If you’d like to save money, Vy’s regional trains take 23 minutes and usually cost about half as much.

The downside is that Sentrum is busy. Around Oslo S and on Karl Johans gate, there are people about from morning until late in the evening, and many of the rooms in the older hotels are small. If you’re a light sleeper, I’d ask for a room away from the street.

Within Sentrum, the streets differ too. The hotels by Oslo S are practical if you’re arriving with heavy luggage or travelling on by train. If you’d rather stay close to the Royal Palace, City Hall and the harbour, look for a hotel at the western end by Nationaltheatret, where Flytoget also stops. Kvadraturen is a good compromise, with a short walk to the fortress, Aker Brygge and Bjørvika.

Places to Stay in Sentrum

Hotel Continental - five-star classic by Nationaltheatret

Hotel Continental is my pick if you want to stay somewhere classic and central. The hotel is on Stortingsgata, around 200 metres from Nationaltheatret station, so the Royal Palace, City Hall and Karl Johans gate are all just a few minutes’ walk away.

The standard rooms measure 21 square metres and come with a minibar and a coffee machine, and the suites go up to 53 square metres. There’s a 24-hour gym, restaurants, a bar, a concierge and room service. The bar and lounge are open to everyone, not just hotel guests, and a few guests mention noise from the street and from the lounge area.

One guest writes on Booking.com: “The breakfast was fantastic, the room was very nice and the location was superb.”

See photos and book Hotel Continental here.

Hotell Bondeheimen - mid-range hotel with breakfast right by Stortinget

Bondeheimen is on Kristian IVs gate, around 150 metres from Stortinget station and a short walk from Karl Johans gate. The breakfast buffet is included, and the hotel has a restaurant, a bar and a gym.

I’d choose it if you want to stay right in the centre without paying for a five-star hotel. On the other hand, the standard double room is only 12 square metres, and one guest complains about noise with the window open. If you need space, look at the larger room categories.

Here’s what one guest highlights on Booking.com: “The breakfast was really good, and so was the location. Right in the centre.”

See photos and book Hotell Bondeheimen here.

Comfort Hotel Xpress Central Station - simple budget hotel close to Oslo S

Comfort Hotel Xpress Central Station is on Fred Olsens gate, around 250 metres from Oslo S, so you can wheel your suitcase straight from Flytoget to reception. The hotel has a 24-hour reception, a bar with snacks and soundproofed rooms.

The rooms are small, from 11 square metres in the compact double, and the hotel doesn’t serve breakfast. That’s why it suits you best if you want to stay cheaply and centrally and don’t mind having breakfast out.

One guest sums it up on Booking.com: “The location right by the train station is ideal.”

See photos and book Comfort Hotel Xpress Central Station here.

2. Bjørvika - best area for culture and views over the fjord

• Distance from the centre: The Opera House is around 400 metres from Oslo S and just under 1 km from Stortinget.
• Transport: Oslo S, with trains, the T-bane, trams and buses, is a few minutes’ walk from the Opera House.
• Time from the airport: 19 minutes on Flytoget to the centre, then around 400 metres on foot from Oslo S to the Opera House.
• Price range: Mid-range to high. There are more modern hotels and apartments here than cheap rooms.
• Safety: A safe, open area with lots of people along the harbour promenade.

Bjørvika is Oslo’s new district on the fjord, just south of Oslo S. The Opera House and MUNCH stand right by the water, and behind them the slim high-rises of Barcode rise up like the lines of a barcode. It’s a new part of the city built in glass and concrete, so don’t come here looking for old wooden houses.

The Opera House is the reason many people choose the area. According to the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet, the architects wanted to make the roof a platform everyone has access to, and you can walk up the marble and look out over the fjord. It’s one of the best places in the city for an evening stroll.

See hotels in Bjørvika here.

Bjørvika is also a good place if you’d like to get in the water. VisitOslo mentions the shallow sandy pool at Sørenga and the sauna village at Sukkerbiten, and the waterfront is open to everyone. That makes the area an obvious choice if you’re travelling in summer or want to try a fjord sauna.

MUNCH is a couple of minutes’ walk from the Opera House. The museum is dedicated to Edvard Munch, and if you want to spend half a day on his work, it makes sense to stay here. Check the opening hours and tickets on the museum’s own website before you go. In the evening, I’d walk up onto the Opera House roof and then along the quay out towards Sørenga.

Oslo S is close by, so arriving from the airport is almost as easy as in Sentrum. The downside is that there aren’t many hotels, and the few there are sit in the same price bracket. That’s why my cheapest suggestion is a set of apartments, which give you more space than an ordinary hotel room.

Places to Stay in Bjørvika

Clarion Hotel Oslo - hotel with breakfast between the Opera House and MUNCH

Clarion Hotel Oslo is on Dronning Eufemias gate, around 200 metres from both the Opera House and MUNCH and around 400 metres from Oslo S. It’s the most expensive of my three suggestions in Bjørvika, and you get a restaurant, a bar, a gym and room service.

The rooms range from 16 square metres in the smallest to 40 square metres in the suites, and breakfast is included in the price. A few guests write that the cleaning wasn’t always up to scratch, but most praise the staff and the breakfast.

Here’s how one guest puts it on Booking.com: “It was the staff and the breakfast that made my stay.”

See photos and book Clarion Hotel Oslo here.

Comfort Hotel Grand Central - mid-range hotel right by Oslo S

Comfort Hotel Grand Central is on Jernbanetorget right by Oslo S and around 400 metres from the Opera House. In other words, you’ll be staying on the edge of Bjørvika, with Flytoget, the T-bane and the trams right outside.

The hotel has a restaurant, a bar and a gym that’s open around the clock. Breakfast costs extra, and the rooms range from 12 to 32 square metres. The complaint that comes up again and again is precisely that the rooms are small, so choose a larger category if there are two of you with big suitcases.

One guest writes about the hotel on Booking.com: “The breakfast was excellent. The location is perfect.”

See photos and book Comfort Hotel Grand Central here.

Bjørvika Apartments - apartments with a kitchen close to the Opera House

Bjørvika Apartments are spread across several addresses around Dronning Eufemias gate, around 250 metres from the Opera House. The apartments range from 38 square metres with one bedroom up to 75 square metres with three, and they all have a kitchen.

They suit families, friends travelling together and anyone who wants to cook some of their own meals in an expensive city. There’s a washing machine and a roof terrace with a view. Check-in is from 3 pm, and you’ll be told how to collect the keys before you arrive. A few guests weren’t happy with the pillows.

One guest highlights on Booking.com: “Everything is well maintained and as good as new, and there’s all the kitchen equipment you need.”

See photos and book Bjørvika Apartments here.

3. Aker Brygge & Tjuvholmen - best area for waterfront luxury

• Distance from the centre: Around 600 metres from Nationaltheatret and around 1 km from Stortinget.
• Transport: Trains and the T-bane from Nationaltheatret, plus trams and buses in the streets behind the harbour.
• Time from the airport: Flytoget to Nationaltheatret, then around 600 metres on foot. Allow about half an hour in total.
• Price range: Usually the most expensive area in the city, especially if you want to stay right by the water.
• Safety: Safe and well kept, with lots of people on the promenade. Take the usual precautions late in the evening.

Aker Brygge and Tjuvholmen are Oslo’s most stylish waterfront address. Aker Brygge is a long harbour promenade with restaurants and bars west of City Hall, and out at the tip is Tjuvholmen, with modern architecture, small canals and apartments right down to the fjord. In the two marinas, the pleasure boats lie side by side, and this is where you stay if you want to look out at the fjord over your morning coffee and walk to dinner along the water.

VisitOslo calls the Astrup Fearnley Museum one of the leading museums of international contemporary art in the Nordic region. The museum stands at the very end of Tjuvholmen, with a large sculpture park and a beach right outside the door.

See hotels near Aker Brygge here.

You’ll be close to most things. City Hall is at the end of the promenade, Akershus Fortress is on the other side of the harbour, and it’s less than a kilometre to the Royal Palace and Karl Johans gate. Nationaltheatret is the nearest station, with both Flytoget and the T-bane.

The price is the big downside. The waterfront hotels are among the most expensive in Oslo. If you want to stay here without paying for a five-star hotel, I’d choose one of the hotels in the streets just behind the harbour, where you’re still only a couple of minutes from the water. Thon Hotel Vika Atrium and Hotel Filip below are exactly that type of hotel.

The promenade is at its best in the evening. From here, you can walk along the water past City Hall and Akershus Fortress all the way to the Opera House in Bjørvika, a walk of a couple of kilometres. VisitOslo also singles out the restaurants on Tjuvholmen for their high standard and beautiful setting, so this is a good place to eat if your trip is a celebration.

Places to Stay in Aker Brygge & Tjuvholmen

The Thief - design hotel with a spa out on Tjuvholmen

The Thief is on Tjuvholmen right next to the Astrup Fearnley Museum, and it’s Oslo’s most obvious choice for a romantic break with the fjord outside the window. The standard double room measures 24 square metres, and the junior suites are 40.

The hotel has a spa with a hammam, a sauna and an indoor pool, plus a gym, a restaurant, a bar and 24-hour room service. Breakfast is only included in some of the rates, so check when you book. A few guests complain that the air conditioning didn’t work properly.

One guest writes on Booking.com: “Super location, super staff, very comfortable room, really good breakfast and good facilities.”

See photos and book The Thief here.

Thon Hotel Vika Atrium - four-star hotel just behind Aker Brygge

Thon Hotel Vika Atrium is on Munkedamsveien, around 150 metres from Aker Brygge and around 500 metres from Nationaltheatret. The breakfast buffet is included in the price, and the hotel has a gym and a 24-hour reception.

The rooms range from 13 square metres up to 34.5 square metres in the business category. It’s a good choice if you want to stay close to the harbour without paying five-star prices. Some rooms have windows that don’t open and face an inner courtyard, so ask for a street view if that matters to you.

One guest says on Booking.com: “The location is lovely, close to the trams, the waterfront and restaurants.”

See photos and book Thon Hotel Vika Atrium here.

Hotel Filip - self-catering hotel with large rooms

Hotel Filip is on Munkedamsveien, around 200 metres from Aker Brygge, and it’s my budget suggestion in the area. The hotel is set up for self-catering, so breakfast isn’t included. On the other hand, the largest category, an executive studio of 31 square metres, has its own kitchen.

The standard rooms start at 13 square metres, and there’s a gym, a garden and a shared laundry. A few guests miss having a fridge in the room and have complained about the cleaning, but many praise the space and the location for the price.

Here’s how one guest describes the hotel on Booking.com: “The location is excellent. The rooms are much bigger than in a typical city hotel.”

See photos and book Hotel Filip here.

4. Grünerløkka - best area for cafés, vintage shops and nightlife

• Distance from the centre: Olaf Ryes plass, in the middle of the district, is just under 1.5 km from Stortinget.
• Transport: Trams through the district and the T-bane from Carl Berners plass at the eastern end.
• Time from the airport: Flytoget to Oslo S, then a tram or a walk of just under 1.5 km. Allow a good half hour in total.
• Price range: Mid-range. There are few hotels but more apartments, and prices are often a little lower than in Sentrum.
• Safety: Safe, but there’s nightlife at weekends, so choose a room away from the street if you’re a light sleeper.

Grünerløkka, or just Løkka, is the district for cafés, vintage shops and bars. It lies north of the centre on the east side of the Akerselva river, and the streets are full of old apartment buildings, small parks and places to eat where the locals sit.

VisitOslo explains that Grünerløkka was a working-class district in the 19th century and that the Akerselva forms its western boundary. The path along the river leads past Mathallen and old factory buildings, and on Sundays there’s a flea market in the small park of Birkelunden.

The parks are a big part of life here. Birkelunden has lawns around a pavilion from 1926, and according to VisitOslo, Sofienbergparken is a popular spot for picnics and table tennis in summer. The shops are a mix of vintage and independent stores, so you’ll find something different from the big chains here.

See hotels in Grünerløkka here.

I’d choose Grünerløkka if you’ve been to Oslo before or would rather stay where the city’s own residents go out than by the big sights. Trams run through the district, and it’s a 15 to 20-minute walk to Oslo S and Karl Johans gate. In the evening, the bars are lively, especially at weekends.

You should know that the district has few hotels and no real luxury hotels. The price difference between my three suggestions is therefore smaller than in the other areas, and the two hotels are often close to each other in price. Many people choose an apartment instead, and that’s also my cheapest suggestion here. Pay attention to where in the district your hotel is: Scandic Vulkan is by the river in the west, Anker Hotel on the southern edge and the apartments at the eastern end.

Places to Stay in Grünerløkka

Scandic Vulkan - hotel right by Mathallen and the Akerselva

Scandic Vulkan is right next to Mathallen by the Akerselva and around 500 metres from Olaf Ryes plass. It’s the most complete hotel in the district, with a restaurant, a bar, a gym and bike rental, and the rooms range from 15 to 35 square metres.

It suits you if you want the food hall and the riverside path right outside the door. Breakfast is a buffet, and it gets plenty of praise. On the other hand, some guests mention worn walls and floors and small windows in some of the rooms.

One guest writes on Booking.com: “The breakfast is excellent, and the staff are wonderful.”

See photos and book Scandic Vulkan here.

Anker Hotel - hotel between Grünerløkka and Oslo S

Anker Hotel is on Storgata on the southern edge of Grünerløkka, around 600 metres from Olaf Ryes plass and around 750 metres from Oslo S. That puts both the cafés and the train station within walking distance.

The rooms measure 18 to 20 square metres, and the hotel has a lobby bar, a garden and parking. Breakfast is only included in some of the rates. The complaint that comes up again and again is the limited space for luggage when there are several of you in the room.

Here’s what one guest singles out on Booking.com: “Fantastic breakfast, clean room, polite staff and a perfect location for the hotel.”

See photos and book Anker Hotel here.

MAYA Apartments Carl Berner - apartments with a kitchen at the eastern end

MAYA Apartments is on Trondheimsveien, around 300 metres from Carl Berners plass T-bane station and around 800 metres from Olaf Ryes plass. The apartments range from 23 to 58 square metres, and they all have a fully equipped kitchen, a washing machine and a dishwasher.

There’s no reception, just self check-in, so it suits you best if you want space and like to make your own breakfast. Guests miss basics such as salt and oil, so pick them up at the supermarket.

One guest sums up their stay on Booking.com: “Good location, very clean, good beds, spacious, well equipped and easy check-in.”

See photos and book MAYA Apartments Carl Berner here.

5. Frogner & Majorstuen - best area for quiet streets and shopping

• Distance from the centre: From Solli plass, it’s around 1.4 km to Stortinget, and from Majorstuen station, it’s just under 2.5 km.
• Transport: The T-bane and trams from Majorstuen, plus trams through Frogner to the centre.
• Time from the airport: Flytoget to Nationaltheatret, then the T-bane or a tram onwards. Allow 30 to 40 minutes in total.
• Price range: Mid-range to very high, and apartments are the cheapest alternative.
• Safety: One of the quietest areas in central Oslo.

Frogner and Majorstuen make up Oslo’s west side, where the city is at its most elegant and peaceful. The area stretches from Solli plass behind the Royal Palace up to Majorstuen, and the streets are full of ornate apartment buildings, galleries and small cafés.

VisitOslo describes these neighbourhoods with their decorated houses, art galleries and antique dealers, and Bogstadveien and Hegdehaugsveien are the two shopping streets leading up to Majorstuen. Here, you’ll shop where the locals shop too, not just in souvenir shops.

The area is large, so think about which end you want to stay in. Around Solli plass, you’ll be closer to the Royal Palace and Aker Brygge, while Majorstuen is best if you want the T-bane and Frognerparken close by. My three suggestions are spread from Solli plass up towards Majorstuen, so you can choose based on what matters most to you.

See hotels in Frogner and Majorstuen here.

The big attraction is Frognerparken with Vigelandsparken. According to the City of Oslo, the park is open around the clock with free admission and is home to more than 200 of Gustav Vigeland’s sculptures. From Majorstuen station, it’s just under 900 metres to Vigelandsparken, so you can walk over early in the morning before the crowds arrive. It’s the largest park in central Oslo, so there’s also room for a run or a picnic.

I’d choose this area if you want peace and quiet in the evening and don’t mind taking the T-bane or a tram into the centre. The downside is precisely the distance: from Majorstuen station, it’s just under 2.5 km to Stortinget, and the evenings are quieter than in Sentrum and Grünerløkka.

Places to Stay in Frogner & Majorstuen

Sommerro - five-star hotel with a rooftop pool

Sommerro is around 200 metres from Solli plass and around 400 metres from the Royal Palace. If you want a pool, it’s my luxury choice in Oslo: there’s a rooftop pool, a sauna, a gym, a restaurant, a bar and a terrace.

The rooms range from 20 to 80 square metres, and breakfast is served as a buffet or à la carte. A few guests feel the smallest rooms are small for the price, so I’d choose a category above the cheapest.

One guest writes on Booking.com: “Aesthetic design, excellent location and a comfortable room.”

See photos and book Sommerro here.

Saga Hotel Oslo - small four-star hotel on a quiet side street

Saga Hotel Oslo is on Eilert Sundts gate between Majorstuen and the palace park, Slottsparken, around 750 metres from the Royal Palace and just under 900 metres from Majorstuen station. Breakfast is included, and there’s a bar and a 24-hour reception.

The rooms range from 15 to 28 square metres, and it’s a good choice for a couple who want a quiet stay and a good breakfast. Several guests say the bathrooms are small, so check the room description if that matters to you.

One guest writes about the breakfast on Booking.com: “Wonderful breakfast, probably the best hotel breakfast we’ve had.”

See photos and book Saga Hotel Oslo here.

The Sweet - apartments with a kitchen near Slottsparken

The Sweet is part of The Apartments Company and is on Josefines gate, around 600 metres from the Royal Palace. You can choose between studios of 15 to 25 square metres and one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments of 38 and 55 square metres, and they all have a kitchen or a kitchenette.

There’s no reception, so you check yourself in and need to let them know when you’re arriving. A few guests mention dust and a lift that was out of order, but the price is usually the lowest of my three suggestions in the area.

One guest describes the place on Booking.com: “Lovely place with history, close to the centre. Everything you could wish for.”

See photos and book The Sweet here.

Where should you avoid staying in Oslo?

I wouldn’t stay by the airport unless you have a very early flight. Flytoget makes the journey into the city quick, but a return trip every day costs both time and money, and you won’t get much of the city in the evening.

Watch out for the cheap hotels on the outskirts of the city too. They often look tempting on price, but they’re a long way from the sights, so you end up spending time on transport every day. Always check the distance to the nearest T-bane or train station before you book. And check whether breakfast is included in the price, because in Oslo it makes a big difference to the bill.

If I had to choose one area for a first trip, it’d be Sentrum for the location and the easy arrival from the airport. Bjørvika is the choice if you want to stay by the Opera House and MUNCH with the fjord right outside your door, and Aker Brygge and Tjuvholmen are the place if you have a big budget.

Grünerløkka suits you if you’d rather sit in a café than queue at the sights, and Frogner and Majorstuen give you the quietest streets and Vigelandsparken within walking distance.

Once you’ve found your hotel, you can use my guide to the best things to do in Oslo to plan your days. If your trip continues to another Nordic capital, I’ve also written about where to stay in Stockholm and the best areas in Reykjavik. And if you like cities where the water is part of everyday life, take a look at my guide to the best things to do in Amsterdam.

The post Where to Stay in Oslo? The 5 Best Areas & Places to Stay appeared first on Destination Well Known.