You can buy a map of London at any bookstore, but there is no single tourist information center. You can find all the useful information at VisitBritain.
It's hard to get lost here, even without your own hotel map - there are signs everywhere with street names, your location and the nearest attractions. And what will definitely come in handy is a map of the London Underground (it's worth getting down there, if only out of respect for history - the world's first, after all!).
The London Underground has 11 (!) lines, so it's not easy to figure out - try to find a map of this part of London.
There are 32 boroughs in the city, with the historic center (City) and a few other administrative units standing apart. Nevertheless, tourists don't have to worry about which borough to stay in, as they are advised to stay in the center or at least near the subway.
Do not look for accommodation in such areas as Bexley, Croydon or Hounslow (otherwise you will get to the subway 40 minutes by bus), as well as Waltham forest or Bromley (from these areas to the center of London to go an hour and a half).
London neighborhoods where it's best to live as a tourist:
- first metro zone - there are 6 in total (the higher the number, the closer to the outskirts). The first zone concentrates the main sights, and it's safe to walk around even at night;
- The second metro zone is Fullham (there are many excellent restaurants and pubs), Chelsea (beautiful but expensive - the favorite district nouveau riche), Notting Hill (with the colorful Portobello market).
London's dangerous neighborhoods include Peckham (a grim and impoverished area popular with migrants from Africa), Hackney (a dreary slum populated mostly by Turks), and Brixton (a former working-class neighborhood where drug dealing and prostitution used to flourish).
