Victoria Station is a bustling region nestled in the heart of London that you will definitely want to explore on your vacation, but finding a place to park your rental while you enjoy the sites and sounds of the city can be something of a search in and of itself. To ease your pain in finding the perfect garage, you should have some idea of the parking facilities that will be available to you while you explore, and the limits imposed on these spaces so that you can best utilize your time away from the car.

There are numerous parking garages in and around the area, all with their own prices and features. However, you should have in mind how long you will be needing to park so you can estimate what you will need to pay for parking services. Typically, spaces in the Victoria Station area will start at £5.00 for an hour and escalate from there, with the price becoming cheaper the longer you need to park. It will cost you £22.00 to park for an entire day, while Saturday and Sundays are usually offered at half that price. Most parking garages offer CCTV and disabled spaces, so you do not have to worry about your car or vehicle while you are gone.

For accurate prices on car park and how much you will have to pay per hour or per day, contact the garage you plan on using ahead of time to see if they have tonnage limits. Larger vehicles typically cost more, so keep this in mind if you are doing a car hire in addition to car park.

Let’s face it; people who are working and living in London are generally very busy. What’s more, they see the influx of tourists into the city as a bit of a hindrance; clogging up the pavements by taking photographs of seemingly meaningless features and walking in massive groups, stopping to point out to most trivial of facts about the city. There is no love lost between Londoners and tourists which is why, when you visit the capital, you will notice that nobody seems to talk to each other! In other parts of Britain, you walk with your head held high, occasionally saying hello to somebody that catches your eye but in the capital it is completely different; this dislike of tourism has made many walk whilst staring at the ground, trudging along silently or with a phone clasped against their ear. The look of disgust that you get when you ask for directions is enough to make you think that it is illegal to speak to people on the streets!

Yet, it is this look that you will be given if you decide not to hire a car from the station! You will not have a clue where to go if you decide to walk because all the streets look the same, and in any case the whole situation is rather mindboggling! By hiring a car you have the benefit of satellite navigation, or at least being able to read the road signs clearly; not having to crane your neck to be able to read the writing on the signs!

There are many different ways that people choose to travel to a station. Everyone knows that in London, there is a network of underground trains that can take you to almost any destination. Indeed, all the stations are connected to the underground system which makes it very easy to get to and from your home to the station. However, there is a problem with this. By resorting to using the train system to get there you are essentially in the mercy of the British transport system which, let’s be honest, isn’t the best thing to do. The train won’t wait for you and all it takes is a delay of some description to completely throw your journey up in the air. Then think about coming back again. It is unlikely that you will be coming back during the day so will be relatively tired when you arrive back at the station. The last thing you want to be doing is standing around for a tube, then trying to navigate your way back home; it’s just unnecessary hassle that could possibly even ruin your day!

Instead, if you were to drive to the station then you have very little difficulty in getting to and from the station. You are in control of your own journey and can get to and from your house much more directly than was ever possible on a train. You can drive yourself to the door and head straight up to bed. The car park is well equipped so you will not be searching for a space for long and it is also very cheap!

Victoria Station, serving the southern commuter belt, Kent and the south coast, is one of London’s largest and busiest stations. Victorian was originally two separate stations. In 1858 the Victoria Station and Pimlico Railway extended its lines from South London, across the Thames to a terminus in central London. The new building was just a short walk from Buckingham Palace. The Italianate architecture was designed to blend in with the grandeur of the surrounding district. The station was used by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, with the Great Western Railway also operating some services into the station. The Grosvenor Hotel, bordering Buckingham Palace Road, was built beside the station in 1860 – 01, designed by James T Knowles, one of the earliest railway hotels.

In 1862 the London, Chatham and Dover Railway built its terminus next door. The original entrance was round the side to the east of the buildings. Although standing side by side, the two stations operated completely independently. In 1898 the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway demolished its old station and built a Renaissance-style building. Not to be outdone, in 1906 – 08 the South Eastern and Chatham Railway commissioned Alfred Blomfield to design and build a Baroque-style terminus in Portland stone. When the stations merged in 1924 a small access was made between the two buildings and was the only connection until Victoria’s redevelopment in the 1980′s. Victoria Station has always retained its two distinct internal areas which allows it to maintain a grasp on its heritage.

Victoria Station in Manchester is one of the two main stations in Manchester, with the other being Piccadilly Station (because of these names it is common locally to discuss the stations as ‘pic’ and ‘vic’). Manchester Victoria serves routes that are to the north or east of Manchester, and a few routes to Liverpool. The station presently contains a traditional barber’s shop, a WHSmith Newsagents as well as coffee bars and buffets. Unfortunately Manchester Victoria has a bad name for its shopping experience, so don’t plan on buying too much here! Funds are currently being heavily invested into the shopping experience at the station however. If you are going shopping in Manchester, it is more likely you will require Piccadilly Station, but either will suffice as both have relatively central locations.

Trains from Victoria Station terminate at Wigan Wallgate (via Bolton), Kirkby, Southport, Blackpool North, Clitheroe, Rochdale, Liverpool Lime Street, Stalybridge, Huddersfield, Leeds and Dewsbury. All these trains run at least once per hour. The station is in a good location for access to the MEN Arena – a large arena in the north of England where big names perform on a regular basis. If you are travelling here for the MEN Arena, you need to travel to this station. Car rental is widely available at the station with a host of companies offering different deals on different car hires – setting foot outside the station you will see adverts to car hire companies, and if you get stuck simply ask the friendly Manchester Victoria station staff who will be able to direct you to the closest rental site.

When you are living a busy life it is very difficult to fit in time to relax. Your job can take over your life and can mean that you never really get a chance to sit back and put your feet up. The health problems associated with this hectic lifestyle and with the stress that inevitably comes with it are numerous and well known and they are something that are best avoided at all costs. The only real time that you have to sit and do nothing is when you are travelling on the train to your place to work, but often this time isn’t taken advantage of. People will often sit on the train doing work or just sitting there with thoughts running through their head; meaning that you are still working when you think you aren’t!

This is a fantastic time to detach yourself from your work and have a bit of a rest from your busy life. In the 2 hours you spend travelling from Victoria Station you could have a proper relaxation session reading a paper or a magazine and not have to think about your work. It is well worth visiting the shops at Victoria Station as they will offer you a range of things to occupy your time; newsagents that sell papers and magazines, shops that sell books and cafes selling food; a whole cornucopia of things to distract you from the job that you are going to do for the rest of the day!

When you arrive in London on the train you are likely to be quite tired. The last thing that you want to be doing is trying to negotiate around London when you’re tired because all that will happen is you will end up getting lost and not be able to find your hotel. Similarly, even if you arrive in the morning it is better to go back home the next day because then it’s a big rush in the evening to catch the train and get home – something that’s going to be on your mind all day and prevent you from fully enjoying London. You would be much better off if you catch a train the next morning instead.

In both of these cases, you will need a place to sleep that is close to the station (in order to avoid any unnecessary travelling to or from the station) as this will result in a much more relaxing sleep and a more enjoyable stay in London. The Victoria Station Hotel is well equipped to meet any needs you may have. Food is within a short walking distance from your room and is of a very good quality. You can spend the night in an en suite room in a comfortable bed, safe in the knowledge that you will not miss your train. You can have a bit of a lie in, walk out of the hotel and straight to the station where you can catch your train without any hassle (and you can get to the hotel in the evening without getting tired!).

There are a number of restaurants in and around Victoria Station. In fact, there are upwards of 67 within 1km of the station. With such a wide choice of restaurants on offer there is no way that anyone would be unable to find a meal to suit their culinary needs. In fact, if anything then you are likely to have more of a problem due to being spoilt for choice! There is all sorts on offer, with smaller cafes able to provide a well-nourishing and healthy snack before your journey; the old adage of the cafes only serving fatty foods are a thing of the past (although, of course, if you so desire then they still have such treats as cakes and fry-ups so that you don’t go without).

The worst thing in the world when you are travelling is to be hungry for the duration of your trip. You have nothing to focus on apart from your stomach grumbling away at you. This isn’t so bad if you aren’t that hungry but if you are in need of a large meal then its torture. It is, therefore, incredibly fortunate that there are a number of restaurants around Victoria station. With many offering set menus at competitive prices, if you’re strapped for time and money then you are still able to catch a satisfying meal. The food served is always to the upmost quality and is a full three course meal can be sampled for very low prices; just the right way to set you on your journey!

I have never really considered what it might be like shopping at a train station but I found myself at Victoria Station the other day, waiting for my hire car to be sorted out and I was wandering around the shops. I was picking up my hire car and the one that I had ordered had been returned late and they were just cleaning it. I was happy to wait as I love that car and I was not in a rush to go anywhere and so I found myself wandering around the shops.

I had a nice coffee first and then browsed around, interested to see what sort of shops there were in this area and it was very interesting. There were more than I expected and they were pretty busy as well. I was just interested to see what sorts of things they sold, whether there would be anything useful and whether they were popular. I ended up buying a few things which surprised me, a few greetings cards that I needed and even a gift which was good. It was great to have that bit of time to myself, which is something I never normally have and to be able to get a few jobs done at the same time too. I was very happy, it was just the break that I needed, I had never found shopping so relaxing before, I guess because I normally have an agenda and am in a hurry with other things to do.