Luton

- London Luton Airport, City of Luton, Flight Copenhagen-Luton

Population:  217 000
Ceremonial county: Bedfordside
Region: East of England
Area: 43.35 km²
Year visited: April 2017

Luton is a midsized city, mostly known for having one of 6 major airports serving London. Luton is also known as a former industrial city, that has fallen into disrepair, with crime, unemployment and segregation as a result. The majority of the population has a foreign background. Unfortunately I didn't have time to explore the city, the bus drove only briefly through the city center. Luton is not exactly known as a tourist destination on its own, it is more of a transport hub to London, but as most other cities, it has some nice squares and buildings, like the town hall for example. It is also known for having many Middle Eastern, Pakistani and Indian restaurants.

Vauxhall Motors (the British version of Opel) has their headquarters in Luton. University of Bedfordhire is based in the town. Wardown House, Stockwood Discovery Centre and Mossman Collection are the best museums of Luton. Luton International Carnival is the largest one-day carnival in Europe.

In April 2017 I made a trip to 5 major English cities, and Luton was the cheapest airport to fly to. Even if the airport is mainly serving London and Luton, my first stop, Birmingham, was only about 2 hours away by the National Express bus.

London Luton Airport (LTN) that opened in 1938 is one of Britain's major airport with more then 14 million passengers annually. Even if the airport is 46 km North of central London, it takes only 22 minutes from central London to Luton. It is a base for lowfare airlines, such as Easyjet and Ryanair (that I flew with from Copenhagen).