Having traveled extensively on both the NYC and the London underground it is my opinion that NYC has a LOT to learn.

In London if one is looking for Tower Hill, there it is on the map. St. Paul?s? Look for St. Paul?s station on the map. Same with Leicester Sq., Russell Square, Covent Garden, etc.

If a traveler in New York is looking for a particular landmark, let?s say the Empire State Building as an example, good luck! Now, is that the A train or the E train? The 143 and is that going north or south or in just what direction.

NYC should invest in some cheap decals to affix to their subway maps and signs indicating what landmark is near which stop. This is one more way that NYC is not as user friendly to the traveler as are London, Paris, Tokyo, and even Washington D.C.

BTW on the London Underground, what station is Trafalger Square? Or what about Buckingham Palace?

But this whole thing is really taking a direction that I never meant in an innocent reply about air conditioning. It has nothing to do with American traditions vs. European traditions or the virtues of the NYC subway vs. the London Underground other than the statement that I don't accept TFL's answer that it is impossible to put A/C onto the London tubes. Now if you want to argue that given the climate it might not be cost effective, that is a defensible position.

Well, that is more or less TFL's position: technically feasible only at the cost of enormous rebuilding all round, to the point where it might as well be technically impossible (Where would the hot air vent to? Much of the underground is much deeper underground than in New York). They floated some news stories about research on using ground water to build cooling systems for the stations, but there's going to be enough trouble just catching up on the backlog of general updating (there's a serious debate about whether it would be better to close some sections for a year or more to get major work done in one fell swoop), not to mention working out the ramifications of the new public/private financial structure. To build the Jubilee Line extension with half a dozen new stations cost the best part of US$2000 million. I could certainly think of a dozen or more central London stations that, ideally, need updating to similar standards with massively enlarged public concourse areas and so on, and that's without the need to replace the signalling system entirely (long overdue) and a new generation of trains on the immediately sub-surface lines (not immediately urgent, but getting there).

The tube runs to about midnight thirty. Also, your two zone London travel card at four pounds lets you use night busses, from Canada House on Trafalgar Square in all directions, all night to 6.30 am. From then to 9.30, Monday to Friday, the card does not work, but it works at any time on Saturday and Sunday. There is now a more expensive any-time day card, and the week card at about 20 pounds (and a photo) always did run any time, and include night busses.

Before anybody asks, the stops on Trafalgar Square always have people by them, and elsewhere in London you can walk at any hour, except in areas of social housing in point blocks, where you may be robbed. Your hotel is not in such an area.

Welcome to London

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Just one small correction...

The 7 day zone 1 or zone 1 & 2 travelcards purchased in London no longer require a photo as of 18/05

Paris remains the standard by which all metros should be measured (No where is the system more comprehensive or efficient - even if you don't speak a word of french it's still the easiest to use). Madrid comes in second.
The Underground also is pretty extensive, my only gripe is that some of the lines (district, circle especially) break down a lot.
The NYC subway is fine if you're on the west side of Manhattan, but not so great elsewhere. And getting from east to west or vice versa is a challenge if you're anywhere but 42nd street.

But all this probably gets away from your original question. Don't let the tube hours determine how long you'll stay out - taxis, nite buses and so on are plentiful.
And if you're staying near the West End, the prime night spots are within walking distance.