WTSFest London City Guide

Author: WTS Team

Last updated: 05/12/2024

The Women in Tech SEO Festival is back in London on February 19th & 20th 2025!

This will be our sixth London edition and our biggest yet - featuring our first 2-day experience with a day of workshops prior to our classic conference day!

If you haven't gotten you ticket yet, you can grab one right here.

With lots of WTSFest attendees visiting London from all around the world to join us for our conference, we wanted to put together a guide to help you make the most out of your time in this amazing city.

Focusing on the surrounding area where we'll be hosting our conference, with local recommendations on accommodation, attractions, restaurants, cafes, and more.

Without further ado, presenting our WTSFest London City Guide!

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London is the largest city in England, as well as being the capital.

It attracts around 30 million tourists from around the world each year, who come for its world-class museums, galleries, restaurants, shops, nightlife, and other attractions.

Our venue

Location: Barbican Centre: Silk St, Barbican, London EC2Y 8DS, UK

Weather

The weather in London in February is fairly cold with highs of approx 12°C.

Rain is also quite likely, so make sure you wrap up warm and bring waterproofs and umbrellas for your journey.

There will be a cloakroom at the venue where you can safely leave your belongings.

Getting there

There are three airports that serve London:

  • Gatwick
  • Heathrow
  • London City

Each of these has access to central London either by tube or train.

The Barbican Centre is within walking distance of a bunch of London Underground and Elizabeth Line stations:

  • Barbican: 4 min walk; Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan, Circle lines
  • Moorgate: 7 min walk; Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan, Circle, Northern lines, Elizabeth Line (use the Moorgate exit for Liverpool St stop)
  • Farringdon: 8 min walk; Elizabeth line
  • St Paul's: 11 min walk; Central line

Ubers and black cabs are frequent, safe and easy to catch in London.

Accommodation

If you're traveling from outside London and looking for accommodation, here are a few recommendations that are all walking distance from the venue.

Attractions

If you have some time to explore the area, below are some of the most popular attractions near the venue.

Barbican - our venue has so much to offer!

Open 9.30am- 11pm Monday- Sunday. Free entry, but exhibitions may charge

The previous home of WTSFest in London, the Barbican is a performing arts centre and museum in an iconic estate made up of incredible Brutalist architecture. Try and get a free ticket to their conservatory- a beautiful glass roofed haven of tropical plants in the middle of London.

Leadenhall Market

Open 9am- 11pm Monday- Sunday (individual stalls and units may vary). Free entry

Cobbled walkways and glass roof make this market an attractive place to shop, eat and drink or simply to relax.

Spitalfields Market

Open 9am- 11pm Monday- Sunday (individual stalls and units may vary). Free entry

A collection of independent food stalls, shops and restaurants less than 5 mins from our venue

Museum of London

Open 10am- 5pm Monday- Sunday. Free entry, but exhibitions may charge

Located in West India Quay (accessible on the Elizabeth Line from Liverpool Street station) this museum explains the history of the River Thames

Boxpark Shoreditch

Open 11am- 11pm Monday- Sunday (individual stalls and units may vary). Free entry

Street food and pop up retail location made up of shipping containers

Brick Lane Vintage Market

Open 11am- 6pm Monday- Sunday. Free entry

Indoor market located on the iconic Brick Lane, featuring vintage boutiques selling clothes from the 20s through to the 90s

Beigel Bake

Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Famous bagel shop located on Brick Lane. There is some debate about whether this or The Beigel Shop next door is the best one, but that debate is wrong- it’s this one. We promise.

Tours

Food & Drink

Your ticket to WTSFest includes lots of catering throughout the day, with a light breakfast, hot lunch, refreshments, and snacks in our breaks.

But if you plan on spending a longer time in London, here are a few recommendations near our venue.

Food

££

The Barbican Centre itself hosts a bunch of wonderful restaurants on site:

  • The Barbican Kitchen: located on the ground floor of the Barbican, go for a fresh coffee and pastry to start your day or a quick grab and go lunch.
  • Barbican Bar & Grill: located on Level 1, enjoy a menu of burgers and plant-based dishes, light bites, salads, and / or cocktails.
  • Barbican Brasserie: located on the second floor, the menu focuses on simple and delicious dishes where seasonal ingredients take centre stage.

£££

  • Gaucho Broadgate: An upscale, Argentinian steak house, just a 10 min walk from our venue. Well worth a visit if you’re in the mood to splurge

Coffee

There are several coffee shops within a short walk of the venue.

  • The Pink Coffee Cart: a family-owned coffee cart based in Moorgate, proudly serving Monmouth Coffee, a quick 4 min walk from the venue
  • FWD: Coffee: Artisan coffee and snacks cafe, a 6 min walk from our venue

Safety

London is generally a safe city. However, like any city, there are measures you can take to ensure you keep yourself safe.

  • Ensure your personal belongings are hidden when walking around
  • Be aware of your surroundings, especially near roads- there is a lot of mobile phone theft in London by people on scooters and bikes, so ensure if you are stood at a crossing that your phone is out of sight and can’t be snatched
  • Rickshaw rides are popular with tourists in Central London, but these are a rip-off at best and unsafe at worst, so be aware
  • If you decide to purchase tickets for a show or concert, make sure this is from an official reseller and not from someone on the street
  • When using a cashpoint, be aware of your surroundings and ensure nobody can see your PIN number over your shoulder
  • Ubers are generally safe in London, or you can hail a black cab; these are all licensed
  • If you do get into any trouble during your stay, the City of London police station is located opposite our venue and is open 24 hours a day

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We hope you'll be joining us in person! You can grab a ticket right here.