Holborn Underground: Point A to Everywhere

When using the London Underground, find the station nearest to your hotel. It is possible there may be even two stations that are convenient. This will be your home base when traveling on the Underground to all sights in London near and far.

The London Underground is very easy to use. Click here for my previous posts about finding your way on the Underground. This time my base station was Holborn on the corner of High Holborn and Kingsway less than a five-minute walk from the Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel.

The station first opened in 1906 and has undergone various configurations and mondernizations. Today it serves the Picadilly Line and Central Line and as a transfer point between these two. The station's set of four escalators (pictured below) down to the central concourse is among the longest in the Underground network. An additional set of escalators go down to the platforms of the Piccadilly Line.

This station is quite busy on the weekdays serving office workers heading to buildings on the edge of the business district and those working in or visiting Covent Garden. On weekend mornings the station is much quieter as on this Sunday. Due to Holborn Station's close proximity to the British Museum, the platforms includes images of museum artifacts.

One point of advice. Use this station or the Leicester Square Station when visiting Covent Garden. The Covent Garden Station is probably the most congested station in the network. Access to the tube platforms is via a set of four elevators. There are no escalators but there is a spiral stairway made up of 193 steps. On most evenings, crowds are stuck waiting in line outside just to enter the station. Holborn and Leicester Square Stations are only a few minutes walk to Covent Garden and will save you from a bout of claustrophobia.