Croydon

Croydon is a self-contained, hive of entertainment activity, just 9.5 miles from central London.  It is located in the borough of South London, belonging to the county of surrey and is situated in zone 5 of the London commuter belt which is easily accessible from central London. Visitors can choose one of the many tube or overground transportation links to reach any part of London or the south of England, including Brighton beach, Wimbledon and the trendy Shoreditch in East London.  Croydon is also one of the few remaining areas where visitors can still enjoy a tram ride.

Many visitors to London choose hotels situated in Croydon, for its convenience to both Gatwick airport and central London.  Hotels in Croydon are usually much more reasonably priced than central London and trains run every 10-15 minutes into London Bridge and Victoria, taking between 15 and 25 minutes.

Croydon is renowned for its shopping and for its varied nightlife which includes comedy nights, music gigs, restaurants, bars, clubs and pubs. The Whitgift Centre is a famous indoor precinct containing over 140 designer and high-street shops.  It is home to one of the UK’s12 Ikea branches and also hosts cinemas, bowling alleys, American diners, amusement arcades, theatres and water parks.

Many well-known acts have played in Croydon’s densely populated town. With a population of over 14,000 in central Croydon and 140,000 in the borough, Croydon not only attracts visitors from neighbouring boroughs and central London but also from international destinations around Europe and the USA.

Comedians such as Roy Chubby Brown, Dara O’ Briain, Lenny Henry, Jimmy Carr, and Julian Clary have all held comedy nights in Croydon.

Status Quo, The Demon Barbers, Katie Melua, The Jam, JLS, Level 42 and Mott the Hoople are amongst the famous musicians who have played in Croydon’s well-known music venue, Fairfield Halls.

Big Apple Records in Croydon was involved in the early development of the now world-famous, Dubstep music genre and many popular Dubstep nights are held in the numerous clubs in Croydon.

A recent addition to the Croydon music scene is the Rockaholic Croydon phenomenon which aims to launch new rock acts in Croydon. Lucky visitors can attend free gigs before the musicians become international.  Imagine seeing the Beatles in a 100 capacity venue before they were launched to the rest of the world!

This in Croydon, this is current, get it while it’s hot.