London Olympic Stadium under construction
London Olympic Stadium under construction

The excitement for next year’s summer Olympics is in full swing in London, even though many of the venues are still being finished.

The Olympic Park is in the East End of London in Stratford where most of the venues will be held. As mentioned, many aren’t completed yet and you can’t access the on foot. But there are several ways to see the stadiums being built.

The only way to get inside the Olympic Park is to take a free tour on a bus. This takes you for a guided sneak peek at the Olympic site as construction carries on. The tour lasts an hour, but there’s no opportunity to get off the bus, but it moves slowly to allow for plenty of photo opportunities. Reservations are required and can be arranged for through the London Olympic 2012 site.

If you can’t snag a reservation for the bus tour, seeing work progress on the site is still possible. The View Tube has been much more popular than expected. Built from recycled shipping containers, the View Tube gives great views from above the Olympic Park with detailed maps and information about the site. It’s open every day from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m.

You can also take a walking tour of the exterior of the site with professional Blue Badge Tourist Guides. There are a number of different walks you can take. Every day at 11 a.m. there’s a two-hour guided walk that will give you a good view of the Olympic Park, Olympic Stadium, Athletes’ Village, and Aquatics Centre with guides to explain what’s happening at the site. One of the most unique ways to see the Olympic site is with the Walk For Gold which takes you to the past two sites of the 1908 and 1948 Olympics as well as the 2012 site. London is the only city to host the Olympics three times and this tour takes you through all of the history in London.

If you don’t want to miss a single bit of the 2012 Olympics, consider renting an apartment in the revitalized East End by the Olympic site with New York Habitat. And just in case you wouldn’t find any rental, don’t forget we have vacation rentals throughout London. Here are some great options to get you started:

Just quick trip off the Docklands Light Rail from the Olympic site, this two bedroom vacation rental in Canary Wharf, London (LN-379) is in the heart of the new East London. A short walk from Canary Warf and its glass skyscrapers but still with great access to the Tube and West London, this apartment let’s you experience a different London than most people think of.

This one bedroom vacation rental in Shoreditch, Hackney, London (LN-1190) portrays an authentic decor with a modern British twist. This unique apartment is situated in what used to be a framery factory in a 1920’s warehouse building! The area is home to numerous restaurants, bars, and nightspots and is becoming a home to artists in London.