I've found Underground stations in countries where I don't even speak the language easier to figure out than the NYC system. Still, it takes forever to get anywhere on the London system and you may as well not plan your route till you find out which lines are closed for "improvements".

My latest venture into London I landed at LCY and the DLR tracks were closed. I got on the "replacement bus", got off at the wrong stop (Canning Town instead of Canary Wharf), got bad info from the staff there and ended up on another bus going someplace not on my map. A kindly woman told me that it stopped at Barking Station, where I got off and navigated my way to where I wanted to be (Baker Street).

I had begun to wonder why I'd scheduled this crazy overnight expedition on the way home from a business trip. Then I ended up having a perfectly delightful day- buying whisky, dropping all my bags off at a nearby Marriott (agreed to beforehand), walking though Hyde Park eating roasted chestnuts, checking out the Harrod's windows, catching the end of a Latin Mass at the Brompton Oratory and a few hours at the V&A. I backtracked, picked up my things, walked to Paddington and took the HEX to a hotel near Heathrow for the night. I realized later that things turned around as soon as I got away form using the Underground and used my feet instead!