WTSFest London City Guide

The Women in Tech SEO Festival is back in London on March 8th 2024, International Women's Day!

This will be our fifth London edition and our biggest yet.

A full day conference - 10 brilliant talks by 10 brilliant speakers

You can grab a ticket right here.

With lots of WTSFest attendees visiting London from all around the world to join us for our conference, we wanted to put together a guide to help you make the most out of your time with us. Focusing on the surrounding area where we'll be hosting our conference, with local recommendations on accommodation, attractions, restaurants, cafes, and more.

Without further ado, presenting our WTSFest London City Guide!

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London is the largest city in England, as well as being the capital. It attracts around 30 million tourists from around the world each year, who come for its world-class museums, galleries, restaurants, shops, nightlife, and other attractions.

Our WTSFest London venue is located at 155 Bishopsgate, in the Spitalfields area of London.

Spitalfields is in East London, perfectly situated between the corporate area of Bank and trendy Shoreditch. It takes its name from the hospital and priory St Mary’s Spittel, founded in 1197, and started life as a field next to the priory before the now-famous Spitalfields market started in the 13th century.

Multicultural and diverse, Spitalfield is home to a wide range of shops, restaurants and bars, as well as various tech companies and start-ups.

Our venue

Location: Etc.venues, 155 Bishopsgate, EC2M 2YD

155 Bishopsgate is a short 2-min walk from Liverpool Street station, with WTSFest taking place on the 2nd floor of the building.

The weather in London in March is fairly cold with highs of approx 12°C. Rain is also quite likely, so make sure you wrap up warm and bring waterproofs and umbrellas for your journey. There will be a cloakroom at the venue where you can safely leave your belongings.

Getting there

Liverpool Street is a 2-minute walk from the venue and is served by several tube lines and mainline train services. You can get the Elizabeth Line here directly from Heathrow airport, or by train from Stansted airport.

There are three other airports that serve London: Gatwick, Luton and London City. Each of these has access to central London either by tube or train.

Ubers and black cabs are frequent, safe and easy to catch in London.

Accommodation

If you're traveling from outside London and looking for accommodation, here are a few recommendations that are all walking distance from the venue.

££

• Point A: 5 min walk from venue
• Travelodge London City: 10 mins walk from venue
• Club Quarters: 10 mins walk from venue
• Citizen M: 10 mins walk from venue
• Premier Inn Hub: 10 min walk from venue

£££

• Pan Pacific: 2 mins walk from venue
• Andaz: 2 mins walk from venue
• South Place Hotel: 5 mins walk from venue

Attractions

If you have some time to explore the area, below are some of the most popular attractions near the venue.

Barbican

Open 9.30am- 11pm Monday- Sunday. Free entry, but exhibitions may charge

The previous home of WTSFest in London, the Barbican is a performing arts centre and museum in an iconic estate made up of incredible Brutalist architecture. Try and get a free ticket to their conservatory- a beautiful glass roofed haven of tropical plants in the middle of London.

Spitalfields Market

Open 9am- 11pm Monday- Sunday (individual stalls and units may vary). Free entry

A collection of independent food stalls, shops and restaurants less than 5 mins from our venue

Museum of London

Open 10am- 5pm Monday- Sunday. Free entry, but exhibitions may charge

Located in West India Quay (accessible on the Elizabeth Line from Liverpool Street station) this museum explains the history of the River Thames

Boxpark Shoreditch

Open 11am- 11pm Monday- Sunday (individual stalls and units may vary). Free entry

Street food and pop up retail location made up of shipping containers

Brick Lane Vintage Market

Open 11am- 6pm Monday- Sunday. Free entry

Indoor market located on the iconic Brick Lane, featuring vintage boutiques selling clothes from the 20s through to the 90s

Beigel Bake

Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Famous bagel shop located on Brick Lane. There is some debate about whether this or The Beigel Shop next door is the best one, but that debate is wrong- it’s this one. We promise.

Tours

WTS will be organising an optional walking tour for delegates the day before our conference, but if you’d rather explore one on your own, we have listed some local tours.

• Lady’s Guide to a Walk in Spitalfields: Self-guided tour of the area
• Gentle Authors Tour: Learn about the rich and diverse history of the area
• Alternative London Street Art Tour: Tour of Shoreditch’s graffiti and street art

Food & Drink

Your ticket to WTSFest includes lots of catering throughout the day, with a light breakfast, hot lunch, refreshments, and snacks in our breaks. But if you plan on spending a longer time in London, here are a few recommendations near our venue.

Food

Spitalfields is a real foodie hub; below are some of our recommendations.

££

• The Breakfast Club: A fab brunch spot, that serves up diner style breakfasts all day long. Located a 2 min walk from the venue
• Eatly: Enormous Italian hangout featuring multiple bars, restaurants and retail units. Next to our venue!
• Cafe Luca: Reasonably priced mediterranean restaurant less than 5 mins from the venue
• Unity Diner: Vegan junk food restaurant a 5-10 min walk from the venue. Try the 3D printed steak (really)

£££

• SUSHISAMBA: A destination restaurant located on the 28th and 29th floor of Heron Tower, just 5 mins from our venue. Well worth a visit if you’re in the mood to splurge
• Duck and Waffle: On the 40th floor of Bishopsgate Towers, just 5 mins from our venue, with wide-reaching views across London

Drink

There are several bars and coffee shops within 2 mins of the venue, but here are a couple of our faves in the area:

• Queen Of Hoxton: A must visit for anyone in East London, a 10 min walk from the venue. Check out the rooftop!
• Humble Grape: Stunning wine bar, practically opposite the venue
• Black Sheep Coffee: Located in the ground floor of our venue
• Store Street Espresso: Independent coffee shop located opposite our venue

Safety

London is generally a safe city, assuming you are in a busy and built-up area like Spitalfields. However, like any city, there are measures you can take to ensure you keep yourself safe.

• Ensure your personal belongings are hidden when walking around
• Be aware of your surroundings, especially near roads- there is a lot of mobile phone theft in London by people on scooters and bikes, so ensure if you are stood at a crossing that your phone is out of sight and can’t be snatched
• Rickshaw rides are popular with tourists in Central London, but these are a rip-off at best and unsafe at worst, so be aware
• If you decide to purchase tickets for a show or concert, make sure this is from an official reseller and not from someone on the street
• When using a cashpoint, be aware of your surroundings and ensure nobody can see your PIN number over your shoulder
• Ubers are generally safe in London, or you can hail a black cab; these are all licensed
• If you do get into any trouble during your stay, the City of London police station is located opposite our venue and is open 24 hours a day

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We hope you'll be joining us in person! You can grab a ticket right here.

A massive thank you to Cass Briscoe, who brilliantly put together this guide. You can learn more about Cass (and hire her!) through her website.