A guide to London's Summer Olympics

You yawned at the royal wedding in April. You were happy to miss the riots in August. But you're determined to be a part of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

This means either making a 260-foot discus throw, pronto, or studying up fast on the ticket, transport and hotel situation. The Games are July 27 to Aug. 12. The Paralympic Games follow, Aug. 29 to Sept. 9.

LAY OF THE LAND

The hub of the action is Stratford City, about eight miles northeast of Big Ben and central London (and not to be confused with the Shakespearean tourist town of Stratford-upon-Avon). There are six major venues in the new 500-acre Olympic Park: an 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium, an aquatics center, a velodrome, a handball arena, a basketball arena and a broadcast center. The park's Athletes' Village will house about 17,000 competitors and officials.

Many of the 302 events (in 34 venues) will take place at familiar London-area landmarks: soccer at Wembley Stadium, tennis at Wimbledon and road cycling in Regent's Park (details at london2012.com).

During the games, officials expect as many as 200,000 visitors a day within Olympic Park. Between events, many will head next door to the vast Westfield Stratford City mall, which opened in the fall with 1.9 million square feet of retail space, a casino, bowling, a 17- screen cinema and two hotels. Overall, tourism officials say Britain, which had about 30 million international visitors in 2010, is likely to draw an extra 900,000 or so in 2012 because of the Olympics.

GETTING THERE

It's not just the Olympics that make this a tough airfare; it's the usual summer jump in prices. A search for NYC-London flights in late July showed starting round-trip fares hovering at around $1,300 (taxes included).

As for tickets: There are said to be 8.8 million Olympics tickets and 2 million more for the Paralympics, but many events are sold out. (Tickets went on sale in early 2011.) There is a way to get tickets, especially if your pockets are deep.

The name to know is CoSport. The U.S. Olympic Committee has given the company exclusive rights to sell tickets and ticket packages by phone and Internet in the United States; 877-457-4647, cosport.com.

Although it doesn't have many individual tickets left, CoSport is selling multiple-event packages, sometimes including hotel stays, at prices that may terrify Olympic amateurs. Such as:

A July 28-29 package of tickets to men's and women's preliminary beach volleyball and preliminary basketball. Price: $1,278 (includes access to CoSport's hospitality area but excludes lodging, meals, airfare and ground transport.)

An Aug. 3-4 package of tickets to some men's and women's swimming finals and medal ceremonies plus tennis matches for men's doubles, women's singles and mixed doubles. Price: $3,239 a person (includes a day pass to the USA House in London).

Multi-night packages that include accommodations and event tickets can creep into $10,000-plus territory. One more thing: To buy Olympics tickets, you're required to use a Visa card (Visa is a major sponsor). 

GETTING A ROOM

It's not easy to secure a room during the Olympics -- but it's not out of the question, either. For the options, and the daunting prices, start your search at visitlondon.com/accommodation-during-the-games. A check of the high-demand dates July 27- Aug. 2 yielded scores of choices, many of them starting at $400 a night -- less-expensive lodging can be found outside the city.

GETTING AROUND

The idea is that nobody should drive to these Games. Toward that end, an expansion of London's already-extensive rail transit system includes high-speed trains that race from St. Pancras Station in central London to the Stratford International Station (next to Olympic Park) in as little as seven minutes. Tickets to most events come with a Games Travelcard good for free day-of-event travel on most public trains and buses in the city. 

No tickets for Olympics? Party anyway 

No tickets for the 2012 Olympic Games? Don't despair: You don't need a ticket to enjoy the games and the party atmosphere in London this summer.

Although most sporting events take place in ticketed Olympic venues, there is plenty to see and do elsewhere in the run-up to and during the games. From live Olympic screenings in Hyde Park to world music performances by the River Thames, a huge list of free and affordable events promises that visitors -- sports fans or not -- can get a taste of Olympic excitement without spending a fortune.

FREE EVENTS

Festivities kick off in mid-May, as soon as the Olympic torch arrives in Britain from Greece. Street parties are expected across the nation to cheer the torchbearers, who will make a 70-day relay through hundreds of towns before reaching the Olympic Stadium in east London.

As for watching the games, London offers several ways to take part on the cheap. The Olympic marathons, which take place in early August, and road cycling races do not require a ticket and can be watched in the streets for free -- provided you arrive early to find a vantage point. Both begin and finish on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, a spectacular backdrop that will attract thousands of spectators.

Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park and Victoria Park are the other key spots to go -- big screens will be set up with live coverage of all medal events, and live music and other entertainment will be provided for free.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Tourism officials have planned dozens of free arts and culture events to coincide with the Olympics. The London 2012 Festival -- the official arts festival complementing the games -- has free music, plays and carnivals galore beginning June 21. Its July 21-22 "River of Music" is a weekend of free performances representing 205 participating Olympic nations at iconic landmarks along the Thames (festival.london2012.com). -- AP