London

Universities in London

With London’s status as one of the largest and most important cities in the whole world it is no surprise that there are a whole host of top universities in the city. Students arrive from all parts of the UK, and indeed from all over the world, and that is why we wanted to deliver high-quality London student accommodation that matches the standard of education being taught.

It would be too hard for us to list every single university in London, so we’ve chosen a few to give you a flavour of what to expect when studying in this fine city.

1. Imperial College London – Ranked within the top 10 of the World University Rankings in the Times in 2019, Imperial is focused on delivering excellence in the fields of science, technology, business, and medicine, with a whole host of other specialities available. There are 17,000 students across nine campuses, with the main campus located in Kensington. The principles behind Imperial are practical skills and student innovation.
2. Goldsmith’s – Goldsmith’s has been delivering academic excellence since 1891. It is known for a rich tapestry of creative disciplines and the arts, with social sciences and humanities other specialities. Students are asked to look at the world in a different way than they would at other universities, always searching for creative and innovative ways to solve real-world problems. Socially the university offers over 100 clubs and societies, meaning there is loads to get involved with as a student here.
3. LSE – The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a specialist in social sciences, with courses and topics that range from economic history to social psychology and everything in between. The university teaches its students to think independently and look closely at the interwoven fabric of human society. The structure of the courses and its delivery allows students to look in-depth into the topics that interest them. Global speakers of international repute are regular visitors to the university, providing clear insight into how international events and politics help to shape the world.
4. University of Westminster – Dating back 180 years, the University of Westminster provides a stunning City of London location to study, for its 19,000 students. It is a modern university, with courses aimed at providing students with fresh ideas and a focus and dedication towards specific careers. The four extensive libraries are perfect to explore specialist literature and the university also offers amazing job placement opportunities with leaders of industry. The Architectural studios and Bloomberg Financial Markets Suites are just two examples of the incredible specialist facilities at the University.
5. Regents – The only not-for-profit university in London, Regents is located in a secluded, 11-acres of land which is an oasis of calm learning in the most bustling of cities. With only 5,000 students in total there is a more intimate feeling and approach to study here, and the focus is definitely on expertise, guidance, and education, helping students become future entrepreneurs and leaders of business and politics.

Food in London

It would be impossible for us to break down the best places to eat in London in one short section here. London might just be the best place in the world to eat out, with cuisine from pretty much every other country on the planet available should you wish to seek it out.

Around every corner you’ll experience the smells, sights, and tastes of the world, from cheap street food to high-end Michelin-starred restaurants and everything else you can ever imagine in between. If you love food, you’ll love living at our luxury London student accommodation.

Here, we’ve mentioned some of our personal favourite places to eat out when living in London, but we realise there are countless more, and it is a really great city to explore and to bring your tastebuds alive!

1. Andu Café (Dalston) – Healthy, vegan food, designed to be heart-warming and soul-nourishing. That’s what Andu Café delivers, and this Ethiopian café in Dalston is well worth the visit if you like a simple setting to taste some truly delicious food. The focus of the menu is simple too, with each customer asked whether they would like a spongy, savoury pancake called an injera, or rice, with six sample dishes served up alongside your choice. You’ll be served up tasty stews, plenty of fresh greens and a spice and taste sensation. This is also a BYOB establishment too, lowering the cost.
2. Arancini Brothers Factory Café (Kentish Town) – A retro café stacked full of produce boxes it is definitely a place that focuses on delivering extremely tasty dishes to its customers. The food is 100% vegan. With the deep-fried arancini serving up risotto balls that are stuffed with different flavours, as well as hearty butternut squash stews, burgers. And salad boxes. It is another place that has a BYOB policy.
3. Borough Market – No food review of London would be complete without mentioning Borough Market. It has become a beacon of great street food and food markets generally the world over. It is open 7-day a week, but the main market is open Thursday to Sunday every week, and it is on those days that you get to experience the full on hit of sound, flavour, smells, and cosmopolitan London! Head there for tasty street food and speciality ingredients that you just can’t get anywhere else!
4. Brick Lane – Even though you’ll find that most food markets in the big smoke are closing down on a Sunday after a long and busy weekend, Brick Lane continues to serve up tasty dishes to the masses. The market can be traced back to the 17th century, located with the Old Truman Brewery at its heart. The Rib Man is one specialist that should be sought out, but the area generally is well known as one of the best places to eat curry anywhere in the world.
5. Joe Public (Clapham) – A proper slice of pizza is just what the doctor ordered sometimes, and at just £4 for a giant slice of pizza, Joe Public knows exactly what the public wants. They’ve taken an old derelict public toilet and turned it into a small, stools-only, pizza joint, where you can buy slices of pizza cut from a 20” pizza! Expect traditional US-style pizza toppings and wash it down with the Joe Public IPA!

London Nightlife

We could say this about every section in this luxury student accommodation in London guide, but how do you even begin to pick out just a few places for a great night out in London. We’ve picked a few different ideas, from big club nights to cheap nights on the ale.

1. Sam Smith’s Pubs – We all know that a pint in London can be really expensive if you find yourself in the wrong pub. That’s why we thought it best to highlight a place where you can still get proper ale and beers at a really decent price. There are a few chains of pubs that provide cheaper drinks than you might find in most parts of London, but Sam Smith’s pubs have some sort of charm that you don’t find anywhere else, without any big name brands in any of what they sell, alcoholic or otherwise. The buildings themselves are usually old fashioned an ornate, and a pleasant place to sit with a pint for a few hours with friends.
2. Fabric (Farringdon) – One of the most well-respected and popular nightclubs in the whole world, Fabric is the place to go for a big night out if you are into hip hop, DnB, Techno, House, Grime, and Dubstep. Expect to see big names from all of those genres and more, and even better, as a student you can get a discounted entry fee (as long as you show your student ID upon entry).
3. Ministry of Sound (Gaunt Street) – Another iconic name on the clubbing scene, Ministry of Sound has been wowing the crowds for many years now, and it is something on the bucket list of many people living at our luxury London student accommodation. Every Friday and Saturday students can gain entry at a discounted price with their student ID, and there is a regular student-specific club night on a Tuesday to keep your eyes out for.
4. The Lexington (Islington) – Down on Pentonville Road you’ll find The Lexington, a haven for lovers of indie music for years and years. Every weekend you can get into the latest indie bands with The Friday Indie Club, with DJs playing electro music and alternative-pop in the upstairs room. Saturday is always a late-night party, with events running until 4am at this iconic London alternative venue.
5. Koko (Camden) – Another impressive and iconic venue for lovers of indie music, Koko is a baroque style theatre that now hosts live gigs and amazing indie rock club nights, such as Club NME. Every Friday you can expect to hear cult classics, the latest alternative tunes, and indie dancefloor fillers until 3am.

London Sport

f you are moving to London for the first time as a student, you’ll want to know exactly what is out there for you in terms of sport. In such a massive city such as London it is no surprise that whatever sporting activity you want to take part in, you’ll find it.

Within many of the universities too there are elite performance centres, sports clubs and societies, and sports facilities and gyms to take advantage of. You can make new friends, have fun, or search for sole sporting activities to keep fit. Your base at our luxury student accommodation in London means you’ll have a comfortable base to recharge after hitting it hard playing sport or at the gym.

1. Football in the Capital – London is the best place to be in the world if you are a fan of football. There are so many clubs to choose from, in every single part of the city. In the Premier League are the likes of perennial big hitters Chelsea, Arsenal, and Tottenham Hotspur, as well as West Ham United, all playing in massive modern stadiums. Craven Cottage is a dream of a football stadium, nestled along the banks of the Thames, with a cottage in one corner of the ground and a feel of a throw-back to a bygone era, as you watch Fulham play. Above it all is the iconic Wembley Stadium, rightly hailed as the home of football the world over, playing host to domestic cup finals and internationals of both men and women’s football.
2. Rugby Union – Rugby Union is also a massive part of sporting life in the nation’s capital. Twickenham Stadium is the largest rugby-specific stadium in the UK, having been significantly redeveloped in recent years. It is the home of English Rugby, and you can see big matches in the 6 Nations Championship here every single year, as well as massive test matches against the big Southern Hemisphere sides every Autumn. Close by is the home of Harlequins, with Saracens another of the bug Rugby Union clubs to be found playing in and around London.
3. The Home of Cricket – Is there anything more English than cricket? Lords and The Oval are magnificent examples of English cricket stadium that are revered the world over. Middlesex and Surrey County Cricket Club’s play at each respective ground, but they also regularly play host to big international test matches for the England cricket team, as well as big One Day Internationals, T20 cup tournaments, and were used as part of the latest Cricket World Cup stadium roster.

London & Shopping

A mecca of design and shopping for many decades, living at your new luxury student accommodation in London you’ll want to get the lowdown on where is best to shop as quickly as possible. Luckily, if you are a shopaholic there are so many different areas to explore, including high-end fashion establishments, independent boutiques, and flagship high street stores.

1. Camden for Boutiques – Camden is a proper treasure trove of good taste, with hidden boutiques and wonderful independent stores at every turn. It can be daunting at first when you first step into the colourful mayhem of Camden, but it is well worth persevering with, as you discover vintage and retro stores and independent stores selling all kinds.
2. Flagship High Street Stores – Oxford Street and Regent Street are both widely known as centres of shopping, and with good reason. If you are looking for the biggest brand names that you know and love, you’ll discover that some of the original stores and flagship locations can be found on these two high streets. Beside a massive H&M and Primark for instance, you will also discover some of the tastiest high-end fashion designers.
3. Westfield Shopping Centre – An expansive shopping centre in the style of an American shopping mall, Westfield is home to over 300 luxury retailers and high street brands. With food, drink, a cinema, and all of these shops under one big roof, it is easy to see how many people make a full day of it at Westfield. With The Village a little oasis of its own inside, complete with champagne bar and designer fashion labels, there is something for everyone.
4. Carnaby Street – You might immediately associate Carnaby Street with the ‘Swinging Sixties’ and you’d be right. It was, after all, the birthplace of the Mod movement and the centre of the universe for a short while as the world’s eyes zoomed in on this part of London to find out what the next fashion trend would be. It is still home to many a cutting-edge designer shop or independent boutique, and it is also a nice area of London to relax and have a drink or a bite to eat after a long day of shopping.
5. Covent Garden – Covent Garden does everything well. There isn’t one style of fashion or shopping here that you’ll find, instead there is a wide variety in the best possible way. If you are looking for menswear or female fashion, you’ll find plenty of exciting retailers. Best of all, there are three markets in Covent Garden – Jubilee Market, East Colonnade Market, and Apple Market, each with a different focus. It is a wonderful area to explore on foot and get lost in the different flavours of shops and markets.

Planning a day out in London? Read our article on the How to use the London Underground: The Complete Guide.

Events in London

London is a magnificent city to live in, with events and attractions that would take you years to explore and to fully appreciate. It’s hard to choose which of these events and attractions you should aim to visit when first moving into your London student accommodation, but we would advise you to start with the big touristy spots (they are always worth visiting) before finding what you love and have an interest in and digging further. There are so many interesting layers to London, so enjoy your exploration.

1. Tower of London – It is always worth seeking out one of the iconic tourist attractions in a new city, and when you first move to your luxury London student accommodation there are a few choices you can make. The Tower of London is iconic, as a place of torture in the past, with a building that is soaked in history and tradition, including the Crown Jewels. Walk along with a Beefeater for a tour of the premises, hear the stories of those who have literally lost their heads in the Tower of London, and pick up a sword and armour for a photo opportunity!
2. Tate Modern – If you are into art (or just looking for a way to appreciate art) there is no other place like Tate Modern. It is the national museum of modern and contemporary art, located on the banks of the Thames in the old Bankside Power Station. The Turbine Hall has to be seen to be believed, and the collection of modern art is breath-taking, including original work by artists such as Pollock, Warhol, Picasso, Matisse, to name just a few.
3. Natural History Museum – An impressive building, The Natural History Museum is well known for its dynamic exhibitions that run throughout the year, as well as specimens such as the UKs most complete dinosaur, and a rock that is dated as old as the solar system. There are 80 million specimens in total, and you can really lose yourself in history for an entire day, with awe-inspiring exhibits such as the popular dinosaur exhibition. Events such as the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition also takes place here, so keep an eye out for events that interest you.
4. Notting Hill Carnival – During the August Bank Holiday weekend the Notting Hill Carnival brightens up the streets of London. It has been an annual celebration of the culture, history, and traditions of the Caribbean since 1966 and continues to welcome huge crowds to celebrate. Expect bright colours, great music and dancing, tasty food, and an atmosphere that is really difficult to beat.
5. London Film Festival – In the second half of October every year The London Film Festival comes to the BFI Southbank, and delivers and exploration and celebration of film. It has become an integral part of the culture of Britain, having first opened in 1953. Over 300 films and documentaries are screened during the festival, from over 50-countries, as well as a series of lectures and Q&A sessions with some of the biggest names in film.