London is sliced into nine concentric rings called zones. Zone 1 is the shiny, touristy centre (Big Ben, Oxford Street). Zone 9 is basically the countryside. Seriously—it has actual fields and deer.
A Travelcard for Zones 1-4 costs more (around £19.20 for a day). But if you’re only sightseeing in central London, Zones 1-2 is your sweet spot. Pro tip: Most tourist attractions live in Zones 1-2. You don’t need a bigger card unless you’re hunting for a bargain at IKEA in Zone 6.
The weekly bargain (and a weird catch)
A 7-day Travelcard for Zones 1-2 is about £40.70. That’s roughly three days of single-day cards for a whole week. Boom. But here’s the kicker: you can only buy a weekly card if you have a National Rail season ticket (like from your home town) or a blue Oyster card. No, not the pearl kind—the plastic kind.
Tourists? You’ll usually buy a paper Travelcard or load it onto an Oyster card at a machine. Watch out—the paper ones are flimsy and hate getting wet. One rain shower, and your ticket looks like a sad origami experiment.
