Unusual venues in London offer event organisers something different for meetings and conferences, something a little more original and inspirational. With everything from historic rooms to private bowling lanes to wildlife sanctuaries, the UK capital has hundreds of unique venues just waiting to be explored.
London is a global leader in conferencing innovation, one of the most visited cities in the world and filled with hidden gems. The city is easily accessible and has transport links to a number of national and international destinations, with major airports, extensive road networks and the famous Underground tube system.
Unusual venues are an imaginative way to host your guests and delegates. The right choice can indicate an event planner with a clear and decisive vision. Meetings don’t need to be held in a stuffy office suite when you can seat your delegates, boardroom style, in Winston Churchill’s old war cabinet. Rather than a run-of-the-mill conference centre, why not hold your management training course in a zoo? These venues are an experience in themselves, making them the unrivalled choice for events with an emphasis on networking and team building.
Whether your goal is to entertain or educate, booking an unusual venue will be seen as the mark of a creative event organiser.
City Information
The world’s most visited city by international arrivals, London is a vast nerve centre of business, culture and history. A hub for conferencing innovation, the city generates approximately 30% of the UK’s GDP and vies with New York City as the most important location for international finance.
Conference organisers have an unparalleled range of choice when it comes to finding a venue in the capital. London has thousands of venues to suit every style, budget and requirement, from an intimate roof garden for an evening function to huge world-class exhibition centres.
London’s largest industry is finance, with more than half the FTSE 100 and over a fifth of Europe’s 500 largest companies based in the capital. It’s also home to leading media organisations like the BBC, major newspapers and 43 universities and colleges, making it the best city in Europe for building business connections and sourcing inspirational speakers.
With transport links to just about anywhere on the globe for international delegates, most venues are easily accessible by intercity road or rail. As a global leader in tourism, London has more than 125,000 hotel rooms from luxury hotels to university dorms. Over 300 languages are spoken in the capital, representing a remarkable diversity with cultures from around the world. In 2012, London became the first city to host the Olympics three times, an event that provided a significant boost to the hospitality industry.
Facts and Figures
London & Partners
Bureau Details:
| Name: |
London & Partners |
| Address: |
Event Solutions, 6th Floor
2 More London Riverside
London, SE1 2RR
England
|
| Tel: |
020 7234 5833 |
| Fax: |
020 7234 5752 |
| Email: |
Email London Partners |
| Largest venue: |
Excel London
100,000m² / 30,000 seated |
| Largest stadium: |
Wembley Stadium - 90,000 seated |
| Largest hotel: |
Royal National Hotel - 1,630 bedrooms |
| Largest banquesting venue: |
30,000 |
| Largest conference venue: |
30,000 |
| Largest exhibition venue: |
100,000² |
Transport links
Air
London is home to several of the world’s busiest international airports: Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton Airport,
London City Airport, London Southend Airport and Stansted, which is the main hub for budget
line Ryanair.
Rail
Commuters in the capital get around the city by using the London Underground, colloquially known
as the Tube. Oyster card users get cheaper travel rates, used by swiping at the barriers. There’s also
the London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and Tramlink.
National rail links include 18 major stations providing commuter, intercity, airport and international services:
- Euston for: the West Midlands, North Wales, North West England and Scotland including
- Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow.
- King's Cross for: the East Midlands, Yorkshire, North East England and Scotland including
- Peterborough, Cambridge, Leeds, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh.
- Liverpool Street for: East Anglia including Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich.
- Charing Cross and London Bridge for: South East England and the South Coast, including the Medway towns, Canterbury and Dover.
- Paddington for: South West England and South Wales including Oxford, Bristol, Plymouth and Cardiff.
- Victoria for: South East England and the South Coast, including Brighton, Canterbury and Dover.
- Waterloo for: South West England and the South Coast, including Southampton, Portsmouth, Bournemouth and Weymouth.
- Marylebone for: Chiltern Mainline, including Aylesbury, High Wycombe and Birmingham Snow Hill
- St Pancras International provides links to Paris Gare du Nord and Brussels Midi via the Eurostar.
Road
London is a major hub for many of the UK’s biggest and most important road networks. There are
three main ring road systems linking most of these routes:
- The Inner Ring Road, circumnavigating the congestion charge zone
- The North Circular (A406) and South Circular (A205) covering many suburban areas
- The M25 providing access to most of London, including Heathrow Airport
The congestion charge zone requires motor vehicle users in the city centre to pay a £10 fee between
07:00 and 18:00 Monday to Friday. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, introduced the Barclays Cycle
Hire scheme (popularly known as Boris Bikes) as a way of offsetting the congestion charge. Users can
hire public bikes for a small fee from one of various locations around London.