Our London location

As one of the world’s most culturally rich and inspiring cities, London is a great place for students. Our Mile End campus is located one mile from the City of London (hence the word 'Mile' in the name) and a similar distance from the financial district of Canary Wharf.

Then there’s the career aspect: part-time work is plentiful and generally much better-paid than in other parts of the UK; there are lots of opportunities for work experience placements and internships. A huge proportion of graduate jobs are based in the capital; and for some careers London really is the only place to be, whether you want to go into finance, the arts and media; or Government and politics.

Our home in the east

London has been called a ‘world in one city’ and that’s not just empty rhetoric.
Lonely Planet, 2011

The hub of London’s creative and cultural community, east London represents the best of the city – rich in history, yet always looking to the future, and ethnically diverse, while retaining a uniquely British character.

At Queen Mary we’re proud of our roots in the area. In 1887, Queen Mary College began life as the People’s Palace, a philanthropic centre for the education of east Londoners. We still work closely with our local community today, for example, offering free legal advice from our Legal Advice Centre.

I love the feel of London. It's the perfect place to be a student, there's so much to do.
Jen Holton, Drama student

Olympics 2012

The Olympic Games in 2012 will have a big impact on the area around Queen Mary, which will be apparent for years to come with better transport links, improved infrastructure and first-class sporting facilities, some of which will be available for use by the public.

The Olympic Park is only a couple of miles from our Mile End campus, and one stop on the Tube. At the time of going to press, the plan is to transform it into one of the largest urban parks created in Europe for more than 150 years. For more information, see: www.london2012.com

Open spaces

London is one of the greenest cities in Europe. Our Mile End campus is next to Mile End Park and a short walk from Victoria Park, one of London's oldest parks. Known in Victorian times as the ‘People's Park’, it provided much-needed green space for the local community and became a centre for political meetings. Today, ‘Vicky Park’ hosts music festivals, open-air theatre and is a great place to relax.

See the Visit London website for more information on London's open spaces

Shopping

London is world famous for its shopping. Queen Mary's east London location means we are close to Europe's largest shopping centre, the new Westfield Stratford City (only one stop away on the Tube from Mile End). There are also a host of markets, boutiques and vintage shops to explore, where you can pick up a good bargain as well as unique items. See Time Out's guide to London markets to find out more and be sure to look up the ones in east London.

Museums and galleries

London has more art galleries and museums than any other UK city, offering free entry and student discounts. The most famous and not to be missed are: The British Museum, The National Gallery, The Science Museum, Natural History Museum, Tate Modern and Tate Britain, the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum and the Design Museum.

For more information on London's museums and galleries see:

www.visitlondon.com/attractions/culture
www.timeout.com/london/museums-attractions
www.timeout.com/london/art

Nightlife and entertainment

London is the perfect place to be experience a wide variety of entertainment, often for free. Live music, live comedy, theatre, clubs and bars abound in the city. In east London, the areas of Shoreditch and Hoxton have a reputation for having some of the trendiest pubs, bars and clubs in the capital.

The Visit London and Time Out websites have more information.

Sport

London is home to world famous sporting venues and events such as Wembley Stadium and many premiership football clubs, Twickenham Stadium for rugby, Lord's and the Oval cricket grounds, the Wimbledon tennis championship and the London Marathon to name a few. And of course , the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are taking place close to the Mile End campus, bringing a new sporting focus to the area.

In Mile End, the Mile End Climbing Wall is gaining in popularity among climbers and the campus offers lots of opportunity to practice sports.

Food and eating out

London is a food lover’s paradise, with cuisine from around the world, restaurants to suit all budgets and a variety of fresh food markets. You could probably try a different cuisine every evening for a month and still not run out of ideas.

Useful websites to look at for food venues are Time Out and OpenTable