Tourist offices
Great Britain Tourist Office
Responsible for Germany, Austria, Switzerland
VisitBritain – British National Tourist Board
Dorotheenstr. 54
10117 Berlin
Tel: 0049 – (0) 30 – 315 7190
Web: www.visitbritain.org
Visit Britain
1 Palace Street
London, SW1E 5HE
Tel: 0044 – (0) 207 – 578 1000
Web: www.visitbritain.org
Northern Ireland Tourism Board
St. Anne’s Court
59 North Street
Belfast BT1 1NB
Tel: 0044 – (0) 28 – 9023122
Scotland`s National Tourism Board
PO Box 121
Livingston, EH54 8AF
Tel: 0044 – (0) 1506 – 832121
Wales Tourist Board
Brunel House
First and 10th Floor
2 Fitzalan Road
Cardiff CF24 0UY
Tel: 0044 – (0) 2920 – 499909
Infectious Diseases
Infectious diseases are not to be expected in England that do not also occur in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. However, as in other countries, caution is advised:
- AIDS, HIV
- Amoebic dysentery
- Bacterial agitation
- Schistosomiasis
- Lyme disease, as a result of tick bites
- Cholera, an infection risk only exists for travelers who come into contact with polluted water or contaminated food
- Intestinal infections from contaminated food or water, including amoeba, lamblia, salmonella, shigella and worm infestation, as well as all kinds of viruses and bacteria
- Early summer meningo encephalitis, mainly as a result of tick bites
- Hepatitis A and B, an infection with hepatitis B, is only possible in people who can come into contact with blood or those who seek sexual contact
- Polio, polio
- tetanus
- rabies
- Typhoid fever, an infection risk only exists for travelers who come into contact with polluted water or contaminated food
Vaccination recommendations When traveling to England, the same vaccinations are recommended as in Germany, Austria and Switzerland:
- Cholera, but only among travelers who can come into contact with polluted water or contaminated food
- Diphtheria, a vaccination against diphtheria should always exist, also in the home country
- Hepatitis A and B, vaccination against hepatitis B, is only required for people who may come into contact with blood or who are looking for sexual contact.
- Polio, polio, a vaccination against polio should always exist, also in the home country
- Meningococcal meningitis
- Tetanus, a vaccination against tetanus, should always exist, also in the home country
- Typhoid, but only in travelers who may come into contact with polluted water or contaminated food
Compulsory vaccination
There are no vaccination requirements when entering and staying in England or Great Britain.
Currency, shopping and exchange rate
Currency
England, as part of Great Britain, does not belong to the euro zone.
The national currency of Great Britain, and thus also of England, is:
Pound Sterling (British Pound), or GBP
1 GBP = 100 cents
Inexpensive or country-specific goods, souvenirs
Some country-specific foods are popular souvenirs from trips to England, as they are difficult to find in Germany or are very expensive. You can buy particularly fine British groceries in London at Fortnum & Mason on Piccadilly, as well as in the excellently equipped grocery departments of Harrod’s or Selfridges department stores.
- Shortbread
- jam
- Tea (Earl Gray/Darjeeling/Assam)
- Chutney
- lemon curd
- Mince pies
- Marmite
Shop opening times
The shop opening times in Great Britain and thus in England are not required by law and therefore vary greatly with regard to the different regions and businesses. In the larger cities, the shopping centers and shops on the High Streets are usually open from 9:30 am to 7:00 pm or 8:00 pm on weekdays and until around 5:00 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. In smaller districts or towns, however, the shops are often completely closed on Sundays. Groceries can usually be bought around the clock. Most supermarkets are open Monday through Saturday until 8:00 p.m. or even 10:00 p.m., on Sundays mostly until 4:00 p.m.
There are also very large supermarkets outside of the cities such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s or ASDA, which are open 24 hours a day. The typical corner shops, whose opening times are very individual, are also popular: in large cities they are often open around the clock, while in more rural areas they are sometimes closed on Sundays. Since the repeal of various laws governing the serving of alcohol, you can often buy alcohol late into the night with so-called off licenses. However, it is advisable to inquire about this beforehand, as many shops still have a curfew to sell alcohol.
Units of measurement
Because of their island location, the residents and a number of other countries have retained numerous non-metric units, which can be quite useful when shopping, driving or filling up:
1 mile = 1,609.344 m
1 foot = 12 inches = 0.3048 m
1 yard = 3 feet = 36 inches = 0.914 m
1 inch = 25.4 mm
1 inch = 25.4 mm
1 gallon) = 8 pints = 4.546 liters
1 gallon (US) = 8 pints = 3.785 liters
