oasisboston

So my mom and I are staying a night at the Hilton at Heathrow before departing (home) to Boston the following morning. We are arriving in Heathrow at 3:20pm. I'd like to take my mom into London shortly after we put our stuff down. I've been to London once, 7 years ago, but I don't know the city at all. I would like for us to check out Buckingham Palace, maybe have a nice dinner, then retreat back to the Heathrow Hilton.

So my questions:

How much would a taxi cost us to go to and from Hilton Heathrow to London? And how long does it take?

Does Buckingham Palace offer any sort of tours? Is this something we would have to book in advance? Where should I have our taxi driver drop us off to see the Palace?

Should we use another form of transportation to get to London city? Metro? Bus?

Maybe we could do a city bus tour? Any recommendations? Probably something simple, like an hour ride that touches all the main attractions.

Lastly, any potential restaurant recommendations? I don't want to break the bank, so something good, not too pricey, and not exotic cuisine (I have food allergies).

Thanks in advance for your words and suggestions!!!

thursdaysd

You won't make it into London in time for the palace: - opening hours
29 July - 29 September 2008,
09:45 - 18:00 (last admission 15:45). You couldn't make Windsor Castle, which is closer, either

In fact, allowing time to clear immigration and customs you're unlikely to make it into town in time for anything other than dinner and theater, unless it's a day when one of the museums is open late.

Without luggage I'd take the tube in from Heathrow - taxis are wicked expensive. Or the Heathrow Express, but then you'd still need the tube or a taxi to get somewhere from Paddington Station.

yk

Assuming you're staying at the Hilton at Terminal 4, it'll still be a while between your plane landing to when you're all checked-in and ready to head out.

If your flight into LHR is any terminal other than T4, it will take even longer.

I think your best bet (in terms of sightseeing) would be go on the London Eye. It's open until 9pm and you really get a nice view of the city, weather-permitting of course.

The "cheap" way to get into London and back is the tube. From LHR T4, you can take the piccadilly line to Hammersmith station, then change for the District line and get off at Westminster. From there, you walk across the bridge to the London Eye. The tube will take about 1 hour.

Taxi is usually a bad idea as it's expensive and you can be stuck in traffic.

zeppole

Everything in London is frightfully expensive, but if Mom is game, here's what I'd shoot for:

Heathrow Xpress to Paddington.

Taxi to Victoria.

Pick up sandwiches in the station or eat in a local pub.

Night tourbus

http://www.london-by-night.net/timetable.htm

Go back to hotel.

Even that modest agenda will probably set you back $120 per person.

zeppole

Actually, I now see you can catch the night tour bus right at Paddington Station, where there are also food courts.

http://www.london-by-night.net/tour.htm

So I would take the Heathrow Xpress to Paddington, grab a bite in the Food Court (think "Brief Encounter&quot and take the Night Tour, and go back.

zeppole

If you want to grab a bit in the vicinity of the Heathrow Xpress, a well regarded place to do it is right inside Paddington, up the escalator:

Paddington: The Mad Bishop and Bear
The most unusually named of London's station pubs, the MB&B sources its nominative moieties from a local clergyman who once owned this land, and a certain ursine immigrant connected with the station. It's not a bad place this - tucked away from all the platforms and noise in the glass food area. Pot plants and wickerwork give the feel of a colonial bar. After the jazz of St Pancras and shopping mall emptiness of Euston, we've never been so relieved to hear Robbie Williams. And is that the Traveling Willberries? A hardworking team keep the pub running from 7am to midnight each day. This being a Fullers pub, the beer selection is excellent, with several real ales on tap. The toilets are decent and support a diverting collection of portraits of London, Tube roundels and mysterious doors marked 'Private'. And look, look, there's a pigeon in the bar!

janisj

The very LAST thing I'd do is take the Heathrow Express train to Paddington. It is 1) expensive, and 2) only gets you to Paddington Station which is far from any of the main tourist sites.

Just take the tube as yk describes. It will take approx 50 minutes and you will come out of the station looking directly up at Big Ben. The Eye is directly across the river. So I'd see Big Ben/Parliament, walk across to the Eye and ride it. Then walk back across the river on the Hungerford foot bridge. This will get you to Trafalgar Square and then you will be a short walk to Covent Garden. After exploring/eating, jump on the tube at either Covent Garden or Leicester Sq. It will take you back to LHR w/o any changes.

W/ a 3:20 PM arrival you will be lucky to be in central London before about 6:30 or 7PM. So plan on the Eye/walking around/dinner - no other tourist attractions will be open.

zeppole

Janis,

If someone wants to take the night bus tour of London, they can get on at Paddington station.

The LAST thing I'd in London is take the London Eye -- not because I'm afraid of heights, but because it's expensive and it wouldn't interest me.

I've never taken the night tour bus, so I don't know how it is, but I'd sooner take my mother on it than walk her around for a long time in Central London, pay restaurant costs for an indifferent meal or take her up on the Eye.

isplumm

Hi,

Funnily enough I enjoyed the London Eye & didn't think it was that expensive.

BUT - if you only have 1 night, then the London night tour seems a good option, will enable you to get overview of London in a quick time.

Mark

Sarvowinner

I didn't find the London Eye expensive, and it was a really enjoyable 30 minutes. As London has very few highrises you can pick out all the landmarks.

When are you going? If it's few months out you could apply for tickets for the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London which would be special and fun.

Josser

Just recently, there has been a spate of "X is very expensive" in London.
One was the tour of Parliament which was an exorbitant twelve quid.
I'd have thought that rather good value for money.

I know that the dollar buys less than it did, but what is the median US salary now? Are Americans really all that hard up?

Carrybean

I didn't think the Eye was pricey, just not that big a deal.

Definitely the tour of Parliament isn't overpriced.

afterall

Hi there,

Well if you want cheap I'd ignore any advice to take a taxi. The words cheap and taxi don't usually go together! And as someone has already said you will be arriving too late to check out Buck Pal.

$120 for a night away from Heathrow is ridiculous unless you are going to the theate (now, there's an idea!!) But that aside, how about something totally un-organised, more flexible and much cheaper?

First, as you will be travelling after 9.30am, buy a one day zones 1-6 off peak travel card. Next, hop on the tube to Piccadilly Circus and if it's a Wednesday head down to Trafalgar Square (not far) and visit the National Gallery as it's open till 9.00pm on that night only (it's wonderful, and it's free). Then amble East past St Martins-in-the-Fields church (floodlit after dark) towards Covent Garden. You should be able to find somewhere reasonably cheap to eat (just take pot luck) or there is a Tesco supermarket thereabouts where you could buy sandwiches (if it's warm enough to eat outside).

Get back on the tube at Covent Garden and go one stop to Holborn. Then change to the Central Line and get off at Bank. Catch a No 11 bus from there heading in the direction of Fulham. This will take you past St Paul's Cathedral, down Fleet Street, past Bush House, through Trafalgar Square and down Whitehall (Cenotaph, House of Parliament). It then goes down Victoria Street (Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral) and past Victoria Stn.

Get off at Sloane Square (easier to negotiate than Victoria) and get back on the tube, westbound. Go three stops to Earls Court and change to the Piccadilly Line.

And, bingo, you are back at Heathrow for the sum of 7 quid, not including cost of sandwiches or meal.

If it's a warm night it's fun to join the crowds and have a bit of a walk (and the shops'll be open too around Covent Garden) and then use a bog standard London bus to drive past some of the major sights of the city. You can check out the routes and download free maps from the London Transport site.

www.tfl.gov.uk

Have fun.

thursdaysd

"Definitely the tour of Parliament isn't overpriced." Depends on your standard of comparison.

I suppose it doesn't look so bad compared to, say, the Tower of London, which is now 16.50 GBP. However, I have a '97 guidebook, and the price back then for the Tower was 8.50 GBP (it says you couldn't tour Parliament then). The Imperial War Museum has gone from 4.50 to 12.00. Unfortunately, not only has the value of the dollar dropped sine '97, but salaries, at least in the US, have certainly not doubled! In fact, I think they've barely budged for most people.

A more direct comparison would be with the Capitol in Washington, but that's free. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is $20, which at current exchange rates would be 10 GBP, and I do think that's a bit pricey.

yk

<< The Imperial War Museum has gone from 4.50 to 12.00. >>

I think you meant to write it's the Cabinet War Rooms/Churchill Museum that is now £12. The Imperial War Museum is free admission.

I don't think admission price in London is outrageously expensive. When you consider that many museums in London are free to enter, it evens out the ones that charge admission.

Last week I was in Newport RI and visited The Breakers. Admission was $16.50pp which is about £8.25. A somewhat fair comparison would be the Spencer House in London, and admission there is £9.

yk

I also forgot to mention that in London, visitors can easily take advantage of the 2-for-1 entry offers. I believe Tower of London is one of them.

W9London

oasisboston,

I'm with janis in recommending tube instead of Heathrow Express, especially without luggage and travelling with sightseeing/dinner in mind. More importantly, Heathrow Hilton is connected to Terminal 4, while Heathrow Expess does not stop there so you have to take a free shuttle to T1/2/3.

If your plane is scheduled to land at 3:20pm, chances are it won't actually land till close to 4pm (LHR is always prone to circling above London because of chronic congestion). Then adding 1 hr to go through immigration/ picking up luggage/checking in at the hotel, you won't be leaving Heathrow till close to 5pm.

Another question, what time of the year will you/your mom be travelling? During summer, it doesn't get dark until close to 10pm so you can do more sightseeing, whereas it will be dark by the time you get to London if you're travelling during winter.

London Eye--quite a good option, IF the weather is cooperative.

Night Bus--it's not a bad option if you've never seen the city, though you can visit sites easily on tube (and probably faster and cheaper).

If the weather is good, you can take river boat from Embankment Pier to Tower Bridge.

As for restaurant, what are your budgets? You can do casual dining (eg italian chain restaurants like Zizi) for £20 per person. If you you want a quick bite (more of a fast food), there are cornish pasties (think steak and potato baked empanadas) stands in covent garden as well as in main train terminals.

thursdaysd

"I think you meant to write it's the Cabinet War Rooms/Churchill Museum that is now £12. The Imperial War Museum is free admission." You're right - I just clicked on Visitor Information for the Imperial War Museum and didn't realize it had taken me to the Cabinet War Rooms - which were 4.20 in '96.

Two-for-one admissions do me absolutely no good - I travel solo.

yk

thursdaysd - I tend to travel solo mostly as well. On my last 2 visits, I actually went up to strangers and asked if they mind entering the attractions with me so that we could both benefit from the 2-for-1 offer. No one has refused my offers so far.

Cathinjoetown

A further comment on London prices and are "Americans THAT hard up". London is either the #1 most costly city in the world or second only to Moscow. Coupled with the dollar tanking against both the GBP and the Euro, middle class Americans have to plan their European or for that matter any vacation spending carefully or end up paying $250 roundtrip taxi, London-Heathrow for example. That's why I find this forum so helpful for both infrequent travellers and for seasoned travellers who are still on the lookout for helpful tips.