London on the cheap

Go to Evensong at Westminster Abbey one evening. It's a beautiful service, even if you're not religious, and it's free - the best money you won't spend while you're in town.

Check the schedule to be sure you'll be there for a sung Evensong, rather than a spoken one. You'll be in for a reflective half-hour of beautiful choral music, sung by the men and boys of the Abbey's choir.

Quick Tips:

If you want to save money, eat ethnic. London has a wide range of resturants serving every imaginable cuisine - the Indian is especially cheap and good.

Pubs are also a good budget choice for meals, though, alas, it doesn't take long to max out on various varieties of pot pie, no matter how tasty they are.

The Stockpot chain is another source of unpretentious cheap eats. The food's OK, if a touch on the bland side, but the price is right -- about 3 pounds for a filling plate of spaghetti (so what if it brings back memories of Chef Boyardee?). Just remember to bring cash, since the Stockpot doesn't take credit cards.

Best Way To Get Around:

Buy a Travelcard for the Underground. They're sold in vending machines at each Underground stop. If you purchase after rush hour, it's only about , and it's good for one day's unlimited travel on the famous double-decker buses, as well as London's clean and easy-to-use subway system.

If you live outside of the UK, you can purchase a Visitor Travelcard in advance of your trip. They come in several durations, and can also include a round-trip ticket on the Heathrow Express. Check out London Transport's webwsite for Travelcard info and online booking, at www.ticket-on-line.com. Shipping for Travelcards purchased online here is free.

When you're purchasing your Travelcard, be sure to look for booklets that provide vouchers for half-price admission to various sites if you present your Travelcard -- these saved about 5 pounds per person per attraction when visiting the Tower of London and Kensington Palace.

If you're looking for a cheap, clean, and quiet place to sleep in the center of London, this is it.

The City of London hostel is run by YHA, and is right around the corner from St. Paul's Cathedral - so close that the sound of the bells wakes you in the morning.

The hostel is housed in St. Paul's former choir school, an impressive Victorian building on the exterior, but once you get inside, most of the Victorian detail has been replaced by more functional fixtures.

The reception, complete with helpful staff, is open 24 hours.

Rooms are moderate sized, with high ceilings and large windows (if you get a street-facing one). Rooms have a sink, toilets, and small but clean shower rooms are down the hall.

Sheets and pillows are provided, and there are lockers at the foot of the bunk beds in each room, though you must provide your own padlock.

The nightly rate includes English breakfast - eggs, bacon, sausages, tomatoes, toast, cereal, juice, coffee, cocoa, et al. It's filling and tasty.

The hostel is a short distance from the St. Paul's underground stop - just head for the exit and follow the hostel signs.

Note that if you're looking for easy access to nightlife, you won't like it here - St. Paul's is in the midst of the financial district, so staying here is kind of like staying on Wall Street - it's TOTALLY dead after five. The up side of this is that you'll almost certainly get a long, quiet night's sleep.

The Bayswater Inn is located in a quiet square in the Bayswater neighborhood of London. It's popular with folks on cheap packages--like us--Europeans visiting London, and school groups, so how quiet it is depends on how many school kids are there when you are.

The Bayswater neighborhood isn't upscale, but it's safe, cheap ethnic food is abundant on Queensway (the main road through Bayswater), and the hotel is an easy walk from the Queensway and Bayswater tube stops.

The lobby is modern, done in peach wallpaper and black marble, with deep chairs to sit in.

There is a secure luggage room where you can store your bags if you arrive before the 3 PM check in. Even though the luggage room stays locked and the hotel is safe, it's a smart idea to take your valuables, like cameras, with you when you go out prior to check in.

The hotel has an elevator (with Smurf-blue carpet that's seen better days). The stairs, however, are quicker and more reliable.

Rooms are fair sized but not gigantic. They're clean and the beds are comfortable, though the peach walls and the carpet are shabby.

This acually generated some affection towards our room in my sister and me. Since the room was always spotless when we returned, with toilet paper carfully folded into neat triangles inserted in the bathroom cups, it was clear that the staff cared about the place. It was kind of like a scruffy puppy--eager to please, but not quite sure how.

The shabbiness may longer be the case, as the hotel was being renovated floor by floor when were there a year ago--they just hadn't gotten to our floor yet.

Each room has a bathroom with a tub (the water was hot on all but one night), a TV, a phone, a wardrobe, small desk, and a hot pot, tea, coffee, and cream in case you want caffine in the morning. The rooms in the back are kind of dark, so see if you can get a front room. They have large windows and overlook the pleasant private park in the center of the square.

Our package (with internet travel agent Go Today) included Continental Breakfast, which was served in the (you guessed it) peach 80's vintage breakfast room. The meal was self-service and consisted of coffee, tea, or hot cocoa (from a mix), slightly stale hard rolls, and butter and jam. Not gourmet, but good enough to get you going in the morning.

Standard rates, listed on their website www.bayswaterinn.co.uk are crazy--around 150 pounds a night. Our package, however, was $399 per person, and included airfare and six nights hotel, making staying here cheaper (and more comfortable) than staying in a hostel, if you're travelling with a companion.

Bottom line: If you can get a cheap package or a discount rate, Bayswater Inn provides a clean, safe, comfortable place to stay that's convenient to transportation and cheap eats.

The Blakemore Hotel is located at 30 Leinster Gardens in Bayswater, a few blocks from Hyde Park and Kensington Palace and within walking distance of both the Queensway and Bayswater tube stops. It seems to be marketed to a combination of buisnessmen and tourists, so the decor is neat, trim, and dentist's-office bland. All that's missing are the potted ficus trees....

The lobby and common areas are pleasant, recently remodeled, wood paneled, and have comfy couches to sit in.

The standard twin room is tiny but serviceable. People who aren't used to European hotel rooms, which are often much smaller than ones in the U.S., may find them a bit too small. There is a teeny bathroom with a toilet and shower. Soap and shampoo are found in dispensers on the shower wall. The sink is located in the bedroom (which actually turned out to be convenient for face-washing and tooth-brushing while somebody was in the shower).

The rooms have recently been renovated in shades of peachy pink and green. Each room has a TV, phone, built-in wardrobe, desk, as well as a hair dryer and hot pot for making coffee or tea.

Continental breakfast is complimentary and is served in the basement restaurant. It's not half bad, consisting of orange or grapefruit juice, coffee or tea, cereal, fruit salad, cheese, croissants, rolls, and butter or jam. Everything provided is fresh, and the staff is very attentive when it comes to replacing depleted rolls, coffee, and the like.

If you want to write home, there's a 24-hour Internet cafe located a short distance towards Hyde Park, down Leinster Gardens, where you can email home for 1 pound per 20 minutes.

The Bayswater area is full of reasonably priced restaurants for lunch and dinner, especially on its main street, Queensway.

Rack rates for the Blakemore are 110 pounds per night for a twin room, but we stayed there on a package, which included round-trip airfare and three nights' hotel for $289 per person. This makes the Blakemore an inexpensive and comfortable base for a visit to London.

The Blakesmore's website is www.blakemorehotel.activehotels.com/GOF.

Belgo Centraal is a Belgian (yes, Belgian) beer hall. It's located in Covent Garden, a short walk from the Covent Garden underground stop.

The "beat the clock" deal is the reason to come here. This is how it works: if you order one of three set meals (roast chicken, grilled sausages, or steamed mussles and fries, all including a glass of beer, wine, or soda) early in the evening (call Belgo for the exact hours) you pay the time - so if you order at 5:30, you pay five pounds, 30 p for your dinner.

The food is actually quite tasty (I can vouch for the mussles), and the place itself is an experience - the waiters wear brown monk's robes, and the decor is techno-warehouse.

Once you're done touring Kensington Palace, stop and have a snack at the Orangerie next door.

The Orangerie was built by Queen Mary's sister and successor, Queen Anne, in 1703. The classically-designed brick building was created for entertaining in the summer and for sheltering fruit trees in the winter.

Now, you can stop there and have morning coffee, a light lunch, or afternoon tea in the bright and airy space. The contrast in decor is especially striking when compared with the rich, dark paneling that swaths the walls of the Palace--the Orangerie (not surprisingly, as it's a greenhouse) has floor-to-ceiling windows, providing a view of the palace and its lawn. Walls and ceilings are decorated with restrained neoclassical plasterwork, while statues of nymphs peer from alcoves. The centerpiece of all this, however, isn't architectural at all--it's the table in the center of the long room, covered in white linen, that holds the day's cakes, tarts, and other delights.

The Orangerie Cake is especially good--dense yellow cake with a delicious orange butter cream icing (it's made with real butter, so leave your diet at the door).

Also good, but less decadent, are the light lunch selections of sandwiches and soups. Soup and a cheese scone costs about £6, a pot of tea costs about £2, and assorted cakes and scones are between £1 and £3.50. The soups that the Orangarie serves change on a daily basis. The last time I visited, I had a warming cup of broccoli-cheese soup.

Have a pot of tea and a slice of Orangerie Cake for me.

In high-priced London, the Stockpot chain is a standby for generous portions of basic food at bargain prices.

The hand-written menu lists appetizers, salads, entrees, and desserts at startlingly low prices. The food is simple and homey, including pasta, omlettes, a number of daily specials, and a set meal. Two people can easily have three courses each for around £20, tip included. For example, my meal of crispy fried mushrooms, spaghetti bolognese (tasty, but a little bland, a'la Chef Boyardee), apple crumble with the ubiquitous Bird's custard, and a Fanta was about £8. Wine and beer are available at reasonable prices for those who don't want soft drinks.

The Stockpot on Old Compton Street is small and somewhat cramped (leave big bags at home -- there's hardly room for customers, much less their gear), with a cheerful decor that includes posters for plays that once ran in the West End (not surprising, since Old Compton street is in the middle of that theater district). The prices and the food keep the place busy all the time, and they don't take reservations, so arrive early if this is a pre-theater meal. They also don't take credit cards, so make sure you have cash on hand.

To get there, take the tube to the Leicester Square stop and walk away from the square on Charing Cross Road. Old Compton Street will be on the left, one block after a large theater.

The Cafe in the Crypt is loacated in the crypt of the Church of St. Martin in the Fields, right in the heart of Trafalgar Square. This makes it a relaxing stop when heading to or from the National Portrait Gallery or the National Museum, both located across the street. It's also a convenient place to grab lunch before one of the 1pm classical concerts at St. Martin in the Fields.

The vaulting of the crypt is impressive, the classical music playing in the background relaxing. And where else can you eat lunch with Nell Gwyn (who is buried somewhere beneath the floor)?

Food is served cafeteria style, and includes soup, sandwiches, and several à la carte hot entrées and sides. The best value is the soup-bread-and-dessert special for £5.

The food isn't gourmet, but the soup of the day is homemade, and the apple crumble with ubiquitous custard is comforting and delicious. You can also get tea, a scone, and jam for £3. In short, it's all tasty, filling, and (by London standards) downright cheap.

To get there, take the Underground to the Leicester Square stop and follow Charing Cross Road to Trafalgar Square. St. Martin in the Fields is the imposing gray stone church that greets you as you enter the square; the entrance to the cafe is on the far side of the church, closest to Whitehall.

Westminster Abbey, located behind the Houses of Parliament, is a stunning sight. Founded prior to the Norman Conquest, the white limestone building that you see today was begun in the 13th century. The nave and Henry VII's chapel are in the perpendicular style--England's version of late Gothic architecture--and was largely complete by the reign of Henry VIII.

Once inside the building, you realize why they called English Gothic "perpendicular"--the ceiling soars above you in great vaults held aloft by giant stone pillars. Almost as striking are the crystal chandeliers which line the nave and light the building.

The gilded painting standing to the right of the Abbey's main entrance is a portrait of Richard II--Chaucer's patron and the main character in Shakespeare's historical play of the same name. He is seated on the coronation throne (somewhat oddly, since he was crowned at age 10, and he sure doesn't look 10 in the picture). You can see the throne itself as you continue through the Abbey.

The focal point of the Abbey is the shrine of St. Edward the Confessor, located where the transept meets the nave.

It's made of various types of exotic stone like purple porphyry, but isn't particularly splendid now, since it was demolished when Henry VIII broke with Rome, and inexpertly reconstructed.

More striking (but usually covered so that it's protected) is the original medieval floor that the shrine stands on. The floor is displayed on occasion, so you may be lucky enough to see it when you're there.

Everybody visits Poet's Corner, found near the shrine in the right arm of the transept. It contains monuments to famous authors like Chaucer and Shakespeare. Some of the authors commemorated are actually buried here--like Chaucer, whose tomb is the nucleus of Poet's Corner. One--Shakespeare's contemporary Ben Jonson--has a monument in the corner, but is actually buried to the left of the main doors. See if you can find his real headstone, set into the wall at floor level.

Before you strike off to hunt for Ben, though, check out the 13th century murals on the transept wall. The color is striking, and helps you imagine what the medieval abbey (which would have been entirely covered with such murals) must have been like.

If you'll be in London for several days, be sure to go to the Abbey's Evensong.

Evensong is an Anglican service where the worshippers reflect upon the past day. It can be either sung or spoken. Try to go to a sung service, with the music provided by the men and boys of Westminster's choir. It's a peaceful way to stop and take stock after a busy day.

Admission to the Abbey is $9 for adults, $4.50 for students. Full price admission is expensive, but the proceeds go toward the cost of maintaining the Abbey.

As Evensong is a church service, it's free.

The Abbey is easy to get to; take the tube to the Westminster stop.

If you''ve ever sat thorugh somebody else''s pictures of their vacation in Britain, you''ve doubtless seen pictures of The Tower of London (or, more correctly, Her Majesty''s Royal Palace and Fortress, The Tower of London, as one of the Yeoman Warders who guide you through the Tower will inform you). It seems to be a required visit for anyone who sets foot in the UK.

Unsurprisingly, it''s usually busy with tourists. Surprisingly, it''s actually worth braving them to see what''s inside.

Your admission fee entitles you to a tour with one of the Yeoman Warders (a.k.a. Beefeaters), who were probably featured in those vacation pictures. They give an amusing and informative tour of the Tower that lasts about 45 minutes. The Warders both take you to some of the Tower''s more notable areas --the spot where Anne Boleyn was executed, for instance -- and will point out others, like the famous Bloody Tower, that you can explore on your own.

You''ll learn all sorts of cocktail party trivia with which to amaze your friends, like the strange story of the Duke of Monmouth''s portrait. (Sorry, you''ll just have to go and take the tour to hear it.)

Once the tour is over, check out the Crown Jewels, housed in the aptly named Jewel Tower. Ride by on the conveyor belt (no, I''m not kidding) and hear the same comments that have doubtless echoed through the Tower since the Jewels first went on display -- "Are those real?" "No, they can''t be. They''ve gotta be fake . . ."

The Bloody Tower is also interesing -- it contains both a suite of rooms that Sir Walter Raleigh stayed in during his imprisonment (not too shabby) and a copy of the book he began while in the Tower (but never completed), his History of the World.

Before you leave the Tower, be sure to follow the stairs to the right of Traitor''s Gate. They lead to the Medieval Palace exhibit, which both documents how archaeologists found evidence of the Tower''s medieval palace rooms and decoration, and contains several rooms that show what the Tower may have been like in the 13th century.

As a bonus, when you leave the Medieval Palace rooms, there''s a great view of Tower Bridge -- be sure to snap a picture.

The best time of day to go is the morning. It''s less crowded, and if you go, as I always do, first thing after you get off your overnight flight, it has the merit of being outside. This helps keep your jetlagged body awake until you can get into your hotel room or hostel in the afternoon.

Admission isn''t cheap at £12 per adult, but if you search the web you can often find deals (especially in the off-season), which provide 2-for-1 admission. (Check out the London Underground, which ran such a promotion in 2002/2003.)

There are also discounted student tickets available if you have an ISIC card -- you may be able to get in on a regular US college ID, as my friend did, but I wouldn''t bank on it.

Though most famous today as the former residence of Princess Diana, Kensington Palace has been a royal residence for more than three centuries.

Kensington Palace was purchased in 1689 by William and Mary as a country retreat from the smog and dirt of central London. It was renovated and expanded by Sir Christopher Wren, and remained the center of court life until the mid-18th centrury.

After the death of George II, the last reigning monarch to live at Kensington, the palace sank into obscurity as the home of minor royals. Here Princess Victoria -- later Queen Victoria -- was born in 1819 and spent her youth.

The state rooms at Kensington are decorated to represent either the Palace in the time of William and Mary or the youth of Queen Victoria. The difference between the two periods is striking, not so much for the differences in decor, but because the rooms in the earlier period were clearly meant to display England''s power and wealth to the world, while Victoria''s rooms were very domestic -- not unlike those in our houses today.

While you are in William and Mary''s section of the Palace, be sure to check out the grand stairway leading up to the King''s apartments. It''s decorated with a trompe l''oiel classical background that''s populated by portraits of William''s courtiers, who peer down upon those seeking an audience with the Monarch, and guarded by eternally watchful faux-sentinels.

In addition to the State Apartments, the Palace also contains a collection of Queen Elizabeth II''s outfits, Princess Diana''s evening gowns, and costumes representing court dress through the ages. The audioguide you get with admission provides facts about each dress, as well as information on the labrynthine protocol for court dress and behavior.

One of the nicest things about Kensington Palace is its situation at the far end of Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park. In the springtime, when I visited, the gardens were awash in daffodils, banks of which surrounded the house--very pretty, especially when viewed from the pond in front of the Palace on the Kensington Gardens side.

The most senic way to get to the Palace (if the weather is good) is to get off the Tube at the Queensway stop, cross the Bayswater Road, and walk into Kensington Gardens on the path called Broad Walk. This leads right up to the Palace.

Admission to the Palace is £10.20 for adults, £7.70 for students, but if you look, you can find discount admission offers. In the 2002-2003 season, for instance, the Underground was offering 2-for-1 admission with the display of a Travelcard.

You just can't miss Apsley House when you clamber up out of the Tube at Hyde Park Corner--such an imposing building must be a fancy hotel, a library, a gallery, or perhaps a bank, but cannot have been, you think, a private residence. But Apsley House, standing resplendant in Hyde Park, was in fact just that--the London residence of Arthur Wellsley, Duke of Wellington.

Nicknamed "Number One London" for its prominant situation as the first house a traveller encountered after passing through the Knightsbridge toll gates, the sobriquet became even more appropriate when Wellington took up residence in 1817 and embarked on a campaign of domestic politics that he hoped would match the success of his campaign against Napoleon.

Wellington soon enlarged the mansion, originally designed by Robert Adam for Baron Apsley in the 1770's. The renovations, however, were calculated to make the home a splendid showcase of Wellington's wealth, power, and good taste, rather than to make it a comfortable family home--his wife and children preferred to stay at their country estate.

Once you pay the admission fee (£4.50 for adults, £3 for students, free for youths and seniors or with a ticket to the V&A Museum), you're given an acoustiguide and sent off to follow the numbered guide stations around the house. The stairwell, which is the first real station, is dominated by Canova's 11 foot-high statue of Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker--though you've got to wonder if the decoration is there solely out of respect to Wellington's vanquished but worthy opponant, or if the Duke had more of a sense of humor than his portraits indicate. There's something cheeky about having a giant statue of your enemy--especially one known for his small stature--clad only in a figleaf standing in your front entryway.

As the acoustiguide leads you through the home's various rooms and you take in the silks and brocades, the paintings and scuplture, the china and silver, and the rich furnishings (all the more spectacular since a recent and painstaking renovation of the most famous rooms), it all starts to blend together. To prevent going into decor shock, keep your eyes peeled for sketches and contemporary cartoons of Wellington--they inject some levity and humanity in a series of salons that are oppresively impressive.

Even after all that's gone before, however, the gallery, two stories high, running the length of the house, and covered in red damask, is stunning. It contains some of the Duke's greatest treasures (he was an avid art collector), including paintings by Velazquez, Correggio, Brueghel, Lawrence, and Goya. Many of the paintings are even arranged as Wellington had them--thanks to the survival of contemporary watercolor drawings of the gallery.

A visit to Apsley House is a must for war and history buffs, as well as those with a passion for decorative arts and Regency furnishings--and despite its prime location, it's not much frequented by tourists, so you have the luxury to explore the house at your leisure.