London, England in 8 hours or less!
March 2, 2013 4:17 AM Subscribe
What is the best way to spend an 8 hour stopover in London England for a family that has never been there before?
We have used previous stopovers in other cities for a quick sampler and/or reconnaissance mission for future visits and know from experience that they require a higher level of planning than usual to execute well. Here are a few questions:
What is the best way (fast train/tube) to get from Heathrow airport to downtown London and which station is the best one to get out at?
What are some ideas for activities? (sights, walking routes, attractions, shops, can't miss 'ems)
What would be a good choice for a unique or characteristic lunch stop?
How much time should be budgeted for egress/ingress to Heathrow for an international flight?
Any other overall offbeat suggestions and ideas to make the most of this short sojourn would be most welcome!
We have used previous stopovers in other cities for a quick sampler and/or reconnaissance mission for future visits and know from experience that they require a higher level of planning than usual to execute well. Here are a few questions:
What is the best way (fast train/tube) to get from Heathrow airport to downtown London and which station is the best one to get out at?
What are some ideas for activities? (sights, walking routes, attractions, shops, can't miss 'ems)
What would be a good choice for a unique or characteristic lunch stop?
How much time should be budgeted for egress/ingress to Heathrow for an international flight?
Any other overall offbeat suggestions and ideas to make the most of this short sojourn would be most welcome!
Eight hours from landing to departure at Heathrow international? I've seen immigration up to an hour for UK residents, so let's say an hour for immigration and general 'walking' around Heathrow to the train, then thirty minutes to Paddington, another thirty minutes to get to places like Piccadilly Circus, Embankment, etc (the touristy bit). Give yourself an hour to get back, thirty minutes windage for public transport issues, and two hours to check back in, security, etc and you get two and a half hours exploring time.
I'd be tempted to say the London Eye, you can pre-book tickets for a specific time, it's a fixed rotation speed, so you can plan around that.
posted by ewan at 4:32 AM on March 2, 2013 [3 favorites]
I'd be tempted to say the London Eye, you can pre-book tickets for a specific time, it's a fixed rotation speed, so you can plan around that.
posted by ewan at 4:32 AM on March 2, 2013 [3 favorites]
Paddington Express for sure is quickest. There is a left luggage by platform 17 at Paddington if you need it. The taxi rank at Paddington is now up an escalator also around platform 17, personally I think its quicker to go out the station exit and hail a cab on Praed Street. Given your limited time and tendency towards a recon I suggest using a city tour bus. A lot of the bus tours leave from the NE corner of Hyde Park, which is only a short taxi ride from Paddington. This company offers three tours, each of which takes 2 hours 15 minutes and passes a lot of the major attractions. There will be other companies, all offering similar deals.
posted by biffa at 4:47 AM on March 2, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by biffa at 4:47 AM on March 2, 2013 [4 favorites]
ewan's timeline sounds about right and I'd suggest you do what biffa suggests, grab a sandwich and some fruit at Paddington as snacks and wait to eat a meal until you're safely back at LHR, airside, waiting for your next flight.
posted by koahiatamadl at 4:53 AM on March 2, 2013
posted by koahiatamadl at 4:53 AM on March 2, 2013
The essence of London is the river and you can see much of the famous sights from the Thames.
There are bus tours of the main sights.
If you want to be a bit more flexible, I'd recommend taking the tube to Westminster (Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey), walking across Westminster Bridge to county hall, going round the London Eye (giant Ferris wheel) from where you get a really good view of the city, and then walking down the south bank from there, east, past Waterloo bridge (which has very good views from it if you want to walk onto the Bridge), and then down the south bank to the Tate Modern (again down the south bank), cross the Millennium Bridge from the Tate modern to see St Paul's Cathedral, and hop back across, walk down the south bank again past Shakespeare's Globe, Southwark Cathedral to London Bridge, you can see Tower bridge from there well. The Tower of London is probably a bit too much to manage from there.
If that's too much walking for your family there are riverboat tours that go from Westminster or from Charing Cross (which are both on your way).
That should keep you plenty busy for 8 hours.
posted by inbetweener at 5:37 AM on March 2, 2013
There are bus tours of the main sights.
If you want to be a bit more flexible, I'd recommend taking the tube to Westminster (Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey), walking across Westminster Bridge to county hall, going round the London Eye (giant Ferris wheel) from where you get a really good view of the city, and then walking down the south bank from there, east, past Waterloo bridge (which has very good views from it if you want to walk onto the Bridge), and then down the south bank to the Tate Modern (again down the south bank), cross the Millennium Bridge from the Tate modern to see St Paul's Cathedral, and hop back across, walk down the south bank again past Shakespeare's Globe, Southwark Cathedral to London Bridge, you can see Tower bridge from there well. The Tower of London is probably a bit too much to manage from there.
If that's too much walking for your family there are riverboat tours that go from Westminster or from Charing Cross (which are both on your way).
That should keep you plenty busy for 8 hours.
posted by inbetweener at 5:37 AM on March 2, 2013
As someone who lives in central London and flies almost every week, I disagree strongly with all of the Heathrow Express recommendations. If you want to do the quick tourist thing, take the Piccadilly Line (i.e. the London Underground) to Green Park, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square or Covent Garden and then wander around your preferred combination of Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Covent Garden and the South Bank. It takes an hour to get from Terminal 5 to Covent Garden on the tube. It will usually take longer to get to Covent Garden or nearby stations via Heathrow Express, and it costs at least £15 more per person.
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on Fleet Street is a surprisingly good and really old pub, not too far from Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square (and accessible by Routemaster bus). Smiths of Smithfield is also a good spot. The Fryer's Delight on Theobald's Road (not too far from Covent Garden) is an authentic tiny fish & chip shop that looks as though it hasn't been renovated in decades.
Feel free to MeMail me!
posted by sueinnyc at 6:26 AM on March 2, 2013 [1 favorite]
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on Fleet Street is a surprisingly good and really old pub, not too far from Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square (and accessible by Routemaster bus). Smiths of Smithfield is also a good spot. The Fryer's Delight on Theobald's Road (not too far from Covent Garden) is an authentic tiny fish & chip shop that looks as though it hasn't been renovated in decades.
Feel free to MeMail me!
posted by sueinnyc at 6:26 AM on March 2, 2013 [1 favorite]
This question (an 11 hour layover actually) has been asked before.
I gave my answer here.
Yet I also agree strongly with sueinnyc though, especially speaking as her former neighbor.
posted by vacapinta at 6:46 AM on March 2, 2013 [1 favorite]
I gave my answer here.
Yet I also agree strongly with sueinnyc though, especially speaking as her former neighbor.
posted by vacapinta at 6:46 AM on March 2, 2013 [1 favorite]
Just popping on to say that this isn't a huge amount of time to clear immigration (took me nearly 2 hours last time, simply because of the volume of non-EU flights arriving at the same time), get into London, do things, and get back to Heathrow in time for your flight check-in/boarding. Personally, I'd say that if you focus on having a nice lunch (suggestions above are great) and seeing one or two classic sights close to the Thames ("dirty old river..."), you'll have done an excellent job and likely chatted with a few nice people along the way (as the child of an ex-pat Londoner, I'm biased, but I love Londoners). If you just wanted to see as much of the city in person as possible in as nice a way as possible, I'd say a riverboat cruise - I'd say that about any major city, that the best way to see it is from the water - but focusing on one or two things sounds like a nice introduction rather than a whirlwind "I went to London and all I remember is what's on my camera" trip.
posted by pammeke at 8:13 AM on March 2, 2013
posted by pammeke at 8:13 AM on March 2, 2013
I'll just say that you have this urge to take a taxi from Heathrow. Ignore it. There isn't a freeway from the airport to downtown. It's more a series of streets and stop lights. Even getting from The City to Paddington by cab was a nightmare. I took the Tube from Paddington to Bank, and schlepped my luggage. Still saved me about an hour in transit.
Given that you don't really have 8 hours, what with clearing customs, etc, and the whole getting there, back and clearing security is a real bitch, you might want to consider resting in a hotel while at the airport.
You have two choices, Yotel and the Hilton. You can work out, shower, have a meal and board your next flight refreshed.
Also, the Heathrow/Paddington Express is like $50 per person. The Tube will be about $4.50 each way. So if you end up doing the Tube, account for a long trip out and inbound.
England is worth seeing, but with 8 hours, I doubt that your trip will be anything but rushed and stressed.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:19 AM on March 2, 2013
Given that you don't really have 8 hours, what with clearing customs, etc, and the whole getting there, back and clearing security is a real bitch, you might want to consider resting in a hotel while at the airport.
You have two choices, Yotel and the Hilton. You can work out, shower, have a meal and board your next flight refreshed.
Also, the Heathrow/Paddington Express is like $50 per person. The Tube will be about $4.50 each way. So if you end up doing the Tube, account for a long trip out and inbound.
England is worth seeing, but with 8 hours, I doubt that your trip will be anything but rushed and stressed.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:19 AM on March 2, 2013
If this were me I would take the tube, depart at covent garden or close by and go for a circular walk for an hour or two, down to the river. The tube is slower but much simpler for a quick dash. If time rich, maybe jump on a river boat westwards towards the London Eye. Or otherwise just wander back. If you stay close to the piccadilly line it shouldn't be too stressful.
posted by molloy at 8:25 AM on March 2, 2013
posted by molloy at 8:25 AM on March 2, 2013
The V&A is what I did on a 9 hour stopover. Don't plan more than just getting to town, seeing ONE must see, having snack and walk and back in time for flight, especially with kids. Heathrow is a nightmare to get in and out of.
posted by infini at 10:09 AM on March 2, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by infini at 10:09 AM on March 2, 2013 [1 favorite]
The intermediate option for travel into London is the Heathrow Connect train. It takes 27 minutes and runs half hourly and will cost £57 return for 2 adults & 2 children (age 5-16). It takes you to Paddington, on the western edge of central London.
posted by ambrosen at 10:50 AM on March 2, 2013
posted by ambrosen at 10:50 AM on March 2, 2013
A possible tirangular walk that would include several iconic tourist destinations in not too great a distance: Parliament Square (Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament/Big Ben, Wesminster Bridge/the Thames/a view of the London Eye), along Whitehall (Downing Street, Horse Guard's Parade) to Trafalgar Square (Nelson's Column/National Gallery), through Admiralty arch and up The Mall (or through St. James's Park) to Buckiningham Palace, along Birdcage Walk to Parliament Square. Total distance less than two miles, so less than 40 minutes of walking time (though obviously stopping to look a things would slow you down). There are plenty of other things to do and see near this route, but with your restricted time...
As the route is a loop it doesnt matter where you start, but Traffalgar Square is not far from Covent Garden so this is not incompatible with earlier recommendations to start there. Is this the best possible walk to get the flavour of London? Probably not, but it packs an awful lot of tourist sights into one easy walk.
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 10:53 AM on March 2, 2013 [1 favorite]
As the route is a loop it doesnt matter where you start, but Traffalgar Square is not far from Covent Garden so this is not incompatible with earlier recommendations to start there. Is this the best possible walk to get the flavour of London? Probably not, but it packs an awful lot of tourist sights into one easy walk.
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 10:53 AM on March 2, 2013 [1 favorite]
The Heathrow Express costs £102 for that size family, and runs every 15 minutes, taking 16 minutes.
The tube takes 50 minutes each way, and costs, well, a variable amount, but an adult would pay £5.50 each way, or could get a day travelcard (bus, tube & some trains) for £16.40
posted by ambrosen at 11:19 AM on March 2, 2013
The tube takes 50 minutes each way, and costs, well, a variable amount, but an adult would pay £5.50 each way, or could get a day travelcard (bus, tube & some trains) for £16.40
posted by ambrosen at 11:19 AM on March 2, 2013
I"ve taken both options and it really boils down the price and destination. NEVER take a TAXI echoing someone above. I did it once.
posted by infini at 11:54 AM on March 2, 2013
posted by infini at 11:54 AM on March 2, 2013
Response by poster: This question (an 11 hour layover actually) has been asked before.
My apologies for the duplication (I got caught out on the language: stopover vs layover) - - but my sincere thanks to all that responded, your suggestions have been most helpful!
posted by fairmettle at 5:06 AM on March 3, 2013
My apologies for the duplication (I got caught out on the language: stopover vs layover) - - but my sincere thanks to all that responded, your suggestions have been most helpful!
posted by fairmettle at 5:06 AM on March 3, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
Whatever you do, do not take the Piccadilly line back for your return flight because "it doesn't look tooo far!"
posted by misspony at 4:24 AM on March 2, 2013 [4 favorites]