Travelling Cheap

London is not a cheap place to visit, truth be told, even though the increase in the value of the euro should make people feel a bit more comfortable visiting at the moment. In general, however, most of the visitors I have had in London tend to go over budget, and rather quickly at that. It’s all the shopping and eating out that does it I tell you. And it’s a shame because London has so many things on offer for free yet most of my guests tend to spend their last two days at home complaining about the weather. So I would like to take a moment and speak about the King of London freebies, the British Museum. It has a roof, so the weather should pose no threat.

The British Museum has been stuck in my mind ever since my parents took me to it as a child, on my first visit to England. The magnificent artefacts made my imagination go wild even though I eventually got tired of walking around. Nonetheless, as an adult, with a bit more understanding I like to think, the British Museum is a wonderful treat.

Currently there are several free exhibitions on at the British Museum: Fascination With Nature explores the importance of birds and flowers in Chinese art, Reflecting On Modern Japan has three photobooks on show, all dealing with themes from everyday Japanese life in the post war and modern era, the American Scene houses prints of great American artists such as George Bellows, Edward Hopper, Grant Wood, Josef Albers, Alexander Calder, Louise Bourgeois and Jackson Pollock. Icons of Revolution is a collection of Maoist badges from the cultural revolution in China in the 60s and 70s and finally the Chinese theme is concluded with a partnership between the British Museum and the Botanical Gardens at Kew, which has placed elements traditional Chinese gardens in the forecourt of the Museum.

Apart from the exhibitions that are on, the British Museum houses thousands of objects in collections from around the world and from thousands of years ago. Ancient Egypt, Rome and Greece, as well as objects from Asia are all on display. You can also see historical artefacts from the UK itself. Overall it is an unbeatable visit as far as value for money is concerned.

There are hotels and hostels near the British museum which will cut down on the cost of those pesky travel cards. If you stick to the city centre you can probably get away with getting a day bus pass that will only set you back £3,50.

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