Making the Most of London: Studying Abroad in England
LOCATION
London is the capital city of England and the entire United Kingdom. It’s located in the southeast of England where the River Thames—which flows through the city—meets the North Sea at the Thames Estuary. London’s 32 boroughs sprawl across 606 miles and are mainly encircled by a major ring road called the M25.
STUDYING ABROAD IN LONDON
When you study abroad in London with ASA, you’ll attend one of our three partner institutions: The University of The Arts London (UAL), London College of Fashion (LCF), or the University of Roehampton (UR).
UAL is the most influential art, design, fashion, communications, and performing arts university in Europe with about 20,000 students. It’s made up of six different colleges with buildings spread throughout the city. Note that UAL is a summer-only program.
LCF is internationally known as one of the world’s leading fashion schools. Like UAL, LCF has six campuses located throughout the city. One highlight of this program in Spring 2024 is a 5-day fashion culture trip to Paris.
UR is a combination of four local colleges and was founded in 1975. It’s set on a beautiful 54-acre parkland campus in London’s southwest near the neighborhoods of Putney and Hammersmith. It has one of the best university libraries in London, and students love its Hive Café which was built out of former shipping containers and focuses on affordable organic, ethical, and local food.
All London students live in university residence halls. As they have academic buildings across the city, UAL and LCF also have residence halls across London, so you will commute to class by bus or tube. If you attend UR, you’ll stay in residence halls on campus.
WHAT’S LONDON LIKE?
London is the place where all worlds collide. It’s an incredibly diverse city where more than 300 languages are spoken. You’ll find this mix of cultures reflected in local shops, restaurants, markets, and cultural events.
History runs through the veins of the city, in its monuments and museums, its remnants of ancient architecture, and in the attention given to preserving and sharing its heritage. Alongside this, London is a hub of technology and innovation and home to some of the world’s top universities and research institutes. London is also rich in culture with some of the world’s best museums, galleries, theatre productions, music festivals and other events. It has a strong café culture, reliable and easy-to-use public transportation, and a penchant for creativity.
Though it is a busy city, there are also many green spaces to relax in, from the vast Richmond Park with its herds of free-roaming deer, to the smaller green squares dotted throughout the city.
Yes, the rumors are true: You should bring an umbrella… but there’s a lot to do indoors, for free. Plus, London sparkles when the sun comes out, and there are plenty of those days too.
HOW CAN I SPEND MY FREE TIME?
London is a huge city and you’ll never be short of something to see or do. You could live there for decades and never even come close to knowing the city and everything in it in its entirety. Spend time making your way across London’s beaten tourist trail, but definitely explore the local and lesser-known side of the capital too. With so much to choose from, you can carve out what “your London” looks like for you.
HISTORY & ARCHITECTURE. London’s skyline has evolved over the years to include modern buildings with amusing names like the Shard, the Gherkin, and the Walkie Talkie, for example. But you’ll find that history and architecture often intertwine. The Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul’s Cathedral, The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben are a few strong examples. You’ll also want to visit some of the city’s amazing museums—like the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum, and Sir John Soane’s Museum, to name a few—if you’re interested in history.
ART. There are around 170 art galleries in London. They range from the National Gallery where you’ll find a collection of European paintings that stretch back to the 13th century to the Saatchi Gallery which often hosts more experimental and cutting-edge pieces of contemporary art. Other big ones not to miss include Tate Modern (housed inside an old Power Station across the river from St. Paul’s Cathedral), Tate Britain (focusing on British art – contemporary back to the 16th century), and the Royal Academy (with its famous summer exhibition). Also look for the smaller galleries, and the murals and street art – especially commonly spotted around East London.
WALKS. London might be a massive city, but if you take the tube or bus to a certain area you’d like to explore, its neighborhoods are very much walkable. You’re never too far from a bus or tube that will take you back home. When you walk, you have the freedom to stop somewhere interesting for a coffee, check out a market you stumbled upon, take time to watch a street performer, pop into little independent shops, and notice the quirkier details of the city (for example, the chewing gum art by Ben Wilson spotted on the sidewalks, the parakeets that flit between trees in the parks, or intricate architectural details you might otherwise miss). Walk on your own or with friends, or find a (self-guided or paid) walking tour to lead the way.
MARKETS. London is famous for its markets. They are all very different, but some of our favorites are Borough Market (for food, especially the raclette stand – yum!), nearby Maltby Street Market (a little hidden gem), Camden Market (for all things goth, punk, and vintage), Portobello Road (for quirky antiques and vintage clothes plus the Instagramable rainbow of pastel houses nearby), Spitalfields Market (think clothes, street food, art and design) and nearby Columbia Road Flower Market (for flowers of course, but also the atmosphere created by Cockney vendors shouting their wares and the little independent shops and pubs lining the street), Greenwich Market (for crafts and street food), and Covent Garden Market (for tourist tat, boutiques, and gifts).
CULTURE & EVENTS. If you love an event, London’s your city! You can go see incredible theater productions in the West End, attend film screenings, watch lively soccer or tennis matches in iconic stadiums like Wembley and Wimbledon, see concerts any night of the week, attend public talks and lectures, and experience events like Diwali, Notting Hill Carnival, and Chinese New Year in neighborhoods where celebrations are authentic.
BOOKS. If you’re a bookworm and you love to travel, don’t skip a visit to the beautiful Daunt Books on Marylebone High Street or Stanfords in Covent Garden. You’ll find a variety of literary events and talks across the capital, some excellent second-hand bookshops, outdoor book markets, and bookshops with extensive collections spread across multiple floors.
WHAT (AND WHERE) SHOULD I EAT?
In London, you can eat your way around the world without leaving the borders of the city. There are thousands of restaurants here: Indian, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Lebanese, Persian, Ethiopian, South African, Mexican, Caribbean, Thai, Greek, Spanish, Korean, Bangladeshi, Colombian, (etc.) …. all sorts of fusion eateries and of course, traditional British food too.
CAFES. London has a strong coffee culture with an estimated 3,718 coffee shops around the city. A few favorites are Monmouth in Borough Market, Blabar in Putney, Attendant in Fitzrovia (once a Victorian-era public toilet), Ozone Coffee Roasters in East London, Department of Coffee and Social Affairs in Leather Lane, Farm Girl in Notting Hill, and Artisan in Putney to name but a few. For afternoon tea, we love The Drawing Rooms at the Ampersand Hotel in South Kensington or the Zetter Townhouse in Clerkenwell (but there are many many more options!).
FOOD. To cover all of the diverse cuisines mentioned above (which we highly recommend exploring) would require a whole book, but here are a few of our more traditionally British favorites to get you started: For fish & chips, try Poppies in Shoreditch or Fishers in Fulham. Try the Spaniards Inn in Hampstead for a classic Sunday roast. E. Pellici in the East End will serve up a typical English Breakfast. Try a pie from nearby G. Kelly – one of the oldest pie and mash shops still open in London. For a real treat, brave the queue at La Creperie, a crepe stall in Hampstead, and you will be rewarded for your efforts. Borough Market’s raclette sandwiches at Kappacasein are the stuff of legends. Don’t miss the chance to taste one of Brick Lane’s famous salt beef beigels. One of the most popular dishes in London is Chicken Tikka Masala which is excellent at Punjab in Covent Garden.
MUST TRY. English breakfast, fish and chips, Sunday roast, afternoon tea, pie and mash, curry, Nando’s chicken, sausage rolls, crumpets, scones with jam and clotted cream, sticky toffee pudding, eton mess, and as many foods from around the world as you have time to pack in!
ANY OTHER TIPS?
A few other things to keep in mind to make the most of a study abroad experience in London…
SLOW DOWN. Don’t try to pack everything in or focus on ticking off a bucket list. London is huge. There’s a lot to explore. Instead of rushing from one place to the next, carve out some places that feel like “yours” and spend time in them. Savor the experience, take it all in and make memories.
EMBRACE THE DIVERSITY. Lead with curiosity and an open mind. Dive in to the melting pot of London and taste food you’ve never tried or perhaps even heard of before, experience new music, and learn about other cultures represented here through their festivals and celebrations in the city.
BE VIGILENT. London is generally very safe, but Americans can stand out as easy targets and pickpocketing does happen, so it’s worth taking some precautions. Know where you’re going and stand tall with confidence. Use the buddy system. Don’t walk alone at night. Keep your belongings with you and your phone in your bag. Backpacks are easy targets on public transportation.
DO FREE THINGS. London can be an expensive city—as expensive as you want it to be—but it also has an incredible number of free things to do. Most museums and galleries are free to enter, for example. It’s a fantastic city for walking, and sightseeing. You can visit the markets, enjoy the parks, seek out the outdoor art, watch the street entertainers, spot filming locations, see the animals at city farms, explore the cemeteries, find amazing views at Sky Garden, listen to live concerts, and so much more.