London is the largest city in Europe and the capital city of the UK. It is by far the most popular tourist destination in Britain, although visitor numbers in recent years have suffered as a result of exchange rate movement making London one of the most expensive places to visit on the planet (more expensive than Tokyo, according to a recent survey).

Many hotels in London focus largely on the business market - the city is home to a selection of the world's mega-multinationals and this brings a large number of corporate visitors with their all-important expense accounts to the city.

Many central London hotels, in particular, are very expensive with basic singles coming in at over £100 a night.

While this is enough to deter tourists from parts of the world with weaker economies, investment banks, insurance companies and oil firms have no difficulty paying this kind of money.

This leaves the majority of tourists looking for discount London hotels, which can be found on the internet.

A number of websites offer access to cheap hotels in London, although it is always worth shopping around as different websites use different systems for booking the rooms.

Some charge a booking fee, while other sites are more direct in their pricing and pass any savings on to the consumer. The cheapest way to stay in London, much like any other city, is to share a room in a hostel, although this is not practical with a family.