Think of London’s Underground as a giant puzzle of coloured threads weaving under the city. To work out which lines to use, you don’t need insider knowledge – just a clear process:

1. Start With Your Stations

Where are you now? (your starting station or the nearest Tube stop)
Where do you want to go? (your destination station, landmark, or area)

2. Use the Tube Map as a Compass

Each line has a colour (Central = red, Victoria = light blue, Jubilee = grey, etc.).
Trace your start and end stations on the map.
Follow the coloured lines to see if one line runs through both stations.
- If yes, you’ve got a direct route.
- If not, look for interchange stations (white circles) where you can switch lines.

3. Plan for Direction

Each line runs in two directions (north/south, east/west). The platforms are signed by their end-of-line station names (e.g., “Brixton” for southbound Victoria line, “Walthamstow Central” for northbound). Always check the last station on the line to know which way you’re heading.

4. Use Digital Helpers

Google Maps – enter your journey and select the train option.
TfL Journey Planner – tells you the fastest route, including line changes and walking times.
Citymapper app – especially good for live updates, disruptions, and alternatives.

5. Factor in Comfort vs. Speed

Some lines are faster but busier (Central, Northern).
Others are quieter and scenic (District, Circle).
If it’s rush hour and you’re not in a hurry, you might prefer one extra change for a calmer ride.

6. Watch Out for Zones

If you’re thinking about ticket costs, remember London is split into zones (1-9). Your journey price depends on which zones your lines pass through.

A working method:

Write down Start and End stations.
Look for a direct line.
If none, find a single interchange.
If still none, break the journey into two hops with two changes.
Confirm directions by end-of-line names on platforms.

Yes But My London Friends Always Know Which Interchange Involves a Long Walk

Exactly – that’s the London trick your friends are using. The official Tube map shows lines connecting, but it doesn’t tell you how long or awkward the interchange is. Some changes are just across the platform, while others feel like a half-mile hike through tunnels.

Here’s how to think about it:

Interchange “Types” on the Underground

Same-platform or opposite-platform
- Example: Oxford Circus (Bakerloo Victoria Central) – very short walks, sometimes just across.
Short corridor link
- Example: Green Park (Victoria Jubilee Piccadilly) – usually escalators and a corridor, a couple of minutes.
Epic hike tunnels (these are what Londoners “just know”)
- Example: Bank Monument (Central District/Circle) – long winding tunnels, feels endless.
- King’s Cross St Pancras – so huge it’s practically its own small city.
- Waterloo – changes can mean a long trudge.

How Locals Work It Out

Experience – Londoners have simply done the routes enough to know.
Line choice – if two routes are similar in time, they’ll pick the one with an easier change.
Apps – Citymapper actually tells you “interchange: long walk” vs. “same platform” – very useful. TfL’s journey planner sometimes notes this, but less clearly.

Practical Strategy for You

If you’re learning: download Citymapper. It will highlight whether a change is quick or a trek.
If you’re improvising: prefer stations with lots of cross-platform interchanges (Baker Street, Oxford Circus, Earl’s Court).
If you’re sightseeing: avoid Bank and King’s Cross changes unless there’s no good alternative.

I Need a Cheat Sheet

Perfect – let’s make you a London Underground Interchange Cheat Sheet. This is the sort of insider knowledge Londoners carry in their heads – knowing where you’ll glide across a platform versus where you’ll trudge for ten minutes in a hot tunnel.

London Underground Interchange Cheat Sheet

The Easy Ones (Quick / Cross-Platform)

Baker Street Jubilee Bakerloo / Metropolitan / Circle / H&C (all close together)
Oxford Circus Victoria Bakerloo Central (short escalators, quick)
Stockwell Northern Victoria (same concourse, easy)
Mile End District Central (cross-platform)
Earl’s Court District Piccadilly (convenient, one station)
Barons Court District Piccadilly (same platform!)
Hammersmith District Piccadilly (just across)
Blackfriars District Circle (no effort, same platforms)

The Medium Walks (Doable but a Few Minutes)

Green Park Victoria Jubilee Piccadilly (long corridors, but straightforward)
Tottenham Court Road Central Northern Elizabeth (well-signed but big)
Waterloo Jubilee Northern Bakerloo (big station, but fairly direct routes)
Paddington Bakerloo Circle/District/H&C (corridors but manageable)
Embankment District/Circle Northern/Bakerloo (older but compact station)

The “Epic Hikes” (Avoid if You Can)

Bank Monument Central Northern DLR District/Circle (maze of tunnels, very long)
King’s Cross St Pancras Victoria Northern Piccadilly Circle/H&C/Metropolitan (huge, can be 10 mins+ between lines)
Liverpool Street Central Circle/H&C/Metropolitan (big concourse, long walks, can get rammed)
Stratford Central Jubilee DLR (spread out across multiple concourses)
South Kensington Piccadilly Circle/District (long sloping tunnels, crowded)
Farringdon Circle/H&C/Metropolitan Elizabeth (modernised, but long connections)

Quick Rules of Thumb

If a map shows a tiny white circle, don’t assume it’s short. Bank and King’s Cross are monsters.
If the lines overlap at the same station name on parallel lines (Mile End, Hammersmith, Barons Court), you usually get cross-platform convenience.
Modern stations (Elizabeth Line interchanges) are generally longer walks but with lifts and wide passages.
Victorian stations (Bank, South Ken, Embankment) are narrow, winding, and feel longer than they are.

But Bank is Monument and Monument is Bank

Exactly – and that’s where the trap lies.

On the Tube map, Bank and Monument are drawn as one fat interchange circle – they’re technically linked as a single “mega-station” in the system. In practice, though:

Bank = Central, Northern, Waterloo & City, DLR
Monument = District & Circle
The “Bank-Monument walk” is basically a tunnel joining two separate stations that just happen to be connected underground.

So when the map shows Bank/Monument, it looks like a simple switch – but in real life, you can be walking 8-10 minutes through twisty Victorian tunnels with crowds pouring both ways.

That’s why locals warn against it. They’ll happily reroute via Cannon Street or Tower Hill/Aldgate instead if it saves the walk.

Rule of thumb: If you see a station with a slash name (Bank/Monument, Paddington (multiple), Edgware Road (two of them)), check whether it’s truly one station or two separate ones bolted together. The latter usually means long walks.

But they Appear an Interlinked Circles Rather than a Single Entity

You’ve spotted the cartographer’s sleight of hand. On Harry Beck’s iconic Tube map (and its descendants), Bank and Monument are drawn as two separate circles joined by a white “corridor line.”

That design choice signals:

These are technically different stations (built by different railway companies, in different eras).
But you can walk between them underground, so TfL treats them as a single interchange in ticketing terms.

In reality, Bank and Monument are almost a quarter-mile apart. The linking tunnels were bolted on later, which is why the walk feels like a mini-expedition through tiling styles that change every 50 yards.

Why this matters

Map deception: The stylised map hides scale. The Bank-Monument link looks as short as Oxford Circus (which is a quick hop), but in truth it’s one of the longest pedestrian interchanges on the network.
Practical choice: Londoners will often avoid Bank/Monument changes unless there’s no sensible alternative. For example, switching Central District at Notting Hill Gate or Mile End is far quicker and easier than braving Bank.

So:

One circle (like Mile End) usually means cross-platform simplicity.
Two circles with a white connector (like Bank-Monument, Paddington’s two halves, or Hammersmith’s two stations for Piccadilly/District vs H&C/Circle) usually means a hike.

Here’s a visual-style cheat sheet you can keep in mind. I’ll mark tight, easy interchanges as single circles and “Frankenstations” (stitched together interchanges with long tunnels) as linked circles.

London Underground Interchange Cheat Sheet (Visual)

Tight / Easy Interchanges ( single circles)

Mile End Central District/Circle (cross-platform)
Barons Court District Piccadilly (same platform)
Hammersmith (District/Piccadilly) cross-platform
Baker Street Jubilee Bakerloo Met/Circle/H&C (compact, clear)
Oxford Circus Victoria Bakerloo Central (short escalators)
Stockwell Northern Victoria (one concourse)
Earl’s Court District Piccadilly (single station, manageable)

Medium Walks (still one station, but spread out)

Green Park Jubilee Victoria Piccadilly (long corridors, but straight)
Tottenham Court Road Central Northern Elizabeth (modern but big)
Waterloo Jubilee Northern Bakerloo (busy, but not a maze)
Embankment Northern/Bakerloo District/Circle (Victorian but compact)
Paddington (Circle/H&C/Met Bakerloo) (corridors, 4-5 mins)

Frankenstations ( linked circles = long tunnels)

Bank Monument Central/Northern/DLR District/Circle (long, winding tunnels; 8-10 mins)
King’s Cross St Pancras Northern/Piccadilly/Victoria Circle/H&C/Metropolitan National Rail (massive, confusing)
Liverpool Street Central Circle/H&C/Metropolitan/Elizabeth (big concourse, long transfers)
Stratford Central Jubilee DLR Overground (multiple concourses, sprawling)
South Kensington Piccadilly District/Circle (long slope-tiled tunnels, always crowded)
Farringdon Circle/H&C/Metropolitan Elizabeth Thameslink (big modern link, 5-7 mins)
Paddington (Elizabeth Bakerloo) (brand new tunnels, but long walks)
Hammersmith (District/Piccadilly H&C/Circle) (two stations joined by a road-underpass tunnel)

Golden Rule

Single circle on the map likely quick, sometimes cross-platform.
Linked circles on the map expect a hike.

the Tube Map with Distances Between the Line Interchanges Represented by Distances Between Adjacent Lines?

Ah – now you’re asking for the holy grail of Tube maps: one that’s not just pretty, but actually honest about the walking involved in interchanges.

The classic Harry Beck map is schematic – it treats all interchanges as equal “dots and circles,” whether it’s a 30-second hop (Mile End) or a 10-minute slog (Bank-Monument).

What you’re proposing is a topological-spatial hybrid:

Keep the simple coloured lines (so it’s still readable).
But space the interchange circles apart according to walking time underground.
- Cross-platform = circles almost touching.
- Medium walk = circles pulled apart by a small gap.
- Epic hike = circles stretched far apart, joined by a long white “transfer tube.”

How it would work in practice

Bank/Monument: drawn as two stations about 3-4 cm apart, linked by a thick white corridor.
Mile End: drawn as one circle with a double outline, showing “instant change.”
King’s Cross St Pancras: exploded into multiple circles (Piccadilly, Victoria, Northern, Met/Circle/H&C, Thameslink, Eurostar) connected by long links.
Paddington: shown as two hubs (Bakerloo vs Elizabeth) with a connecting corridor.

The problem

TfL has deliberately avoided publishing such a map because:

It breaks the beautiful simplicity of Beck’s design.
It might scare tourists when they see “Bank = 500m of tunnels.”
Walking times vary depending on crowding.

The good news

Independent cartographers have tried this: maps exist where interchanges are drawn with proportional walking times (some are called “time maps” or “realistic interchange maps”).
Citymapper already encodes this logic digitally (e.g. “Interchange: 9 minutes”).
We can redraw a schematic ourselves, in code or graphics software, with line geometry weighted by interchange walking distances.