Less than 1 day in London
Jun 24th, 2005, 08:18 PM
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Less than 1 day in London
In August I'll have about a 12-hour layover at Heathrow. Any suggestions for the best use of about 5 or 6 hours in London? I was last there 40 years ago and have longed to go back, but so far haven't had the chance. Hopefully I'll get back within the next couple of years and do it right.
Jun 24th, 2005, 08:32 PM
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It entirely depends on what sorts of things you enjoy - AND the weather the day you are there.
What time frame are you on the ground? if it is from early in the morning you have a couple of issues - nothing open and dealing with commuters on the way into town.
W/ 12 hours between flights you will really have about 8 hours free time so you could actually see quite a bit.
One thing - if you mainly just want to see some of the major sites after all these years, you could take one of the hop-on-hop-off, open air, double decker sightseeing bus tours. It will take you by everything from the Tower of London to St Pauls to Trafalgar Square to Westminster Abbey/Big Ben.
or you can take a river cruise from Westminster pier - right at the foot of Big Ben and across the river from the Eye - down river to the Tower. You could tour the Tower - but that is fairly time intensive and you might not want to do that. From Tower Pier you could walk across the river and then along the south bank by the Globe, several pubs/restaurants, Tate Modern and to the EYE.
You can get into London on the fast Heathrow Express train. it only takes 15 minutes - but it goes to Paddington which is a long way from most of the sites. But you CAN catch one of the bus tours there.
There are many other things you could do - but these are juist a few suggestions to get you thinking.
What time frame are you on the ground? if it is from early in the morning you have a couple of issues - nothing open and dealing with commuters on the way into town.
W/ 12 hours between flights you will really have about 8 hours free time so you could actually see quite a bit.
One thing - if you mainly just want to see some of the major sites after all these years, you could take one of the hop-on-hop-off, open air, double decker sightseeing bus tours. It will take you by everything from the Tower of London to St Pauls to Trafalgar Square to Westminster Abbey/Big Ben.
or you can take a river cruise from Westminster pier - right at the foot of Big Ben and across the river from the Eye - down river to the Tower. You could tour the Tower - but that is fairly time intensive and you might not want to do that. From Tower Pier you could walk across the river and then along the south bank by the Globe, several pubs/restaurants, Tate Modern and to the EYE.
You can get into London on the fast Heathrow Express train. it only takes 15 minutes - but it goes to Paddington which is a long way from most of the sites. But you CAN catch one of the bus tours there.
There are many other things you could do - but these are juist a few suggestions to get you thinking.
Jun 25th, 2005, 12:44 PM
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I had thought about the hop-on/hop-off buses. That would give me a larger overview of the city. Do you have any idea about the cost of these tours and where can I pick them up, besides Paddington? That express train looks ideal until you see the price and I am stretched to my limit this trip. Although I thought I might be able to take it one-way and take the tube the other way. Roundtrip is, I think, 26 pounds. Apparently you save nothing on RT over 2 one-ways. I'd like to have this all squared away before I get there so I don't spend precious time trying to figure things out.
Jun 25th, 2005, 12:50 PM
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You can pick up the hop on-hop off buses in any of their stops in central london. I've seen different prices and right now I can't recall in which one but it goes about 15-19 pounds for all the day.
Jun 25th, 2005, 12:54 PM
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Both publish maps and itineraries on their web sites:
<b>http://www.bigbus.co.uk</b> - free walking tours, one-way river cruise
<b>http://www.theoriginaltour.com</b> - coupons, circular river cruise
You can also arrange your own bus tour with a one-day Travelcard (a 6-zone off-peak for £6 will also get you back and forth to Heathrow) and this tourist map:
<b>http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/cen_bus.pdf
</b>
If you ride the Piccadilly Line in to Piccadilly Circus, you can pick up any of 9 bus lines going in all directions.
<b>http://www.bigbus.co.uk</b> - free walking tours, one-way river cruise
<b>http://www.theoriginaltour.com</b> - coupons, circular river cruise
You can also arrange your own bus tour with a one-day Travelcard (a 6-zone off-peak for £6 will also get you back and forth to Heathrow) and this tourist map:
<b>http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/cen_bus.pdf
</b>
If you ride the Piccadilly Line in to Piccadilly Circus, you can pick up any of 9 bus lines going in all directions.
Jun 25th, 2005, 01:12 PM
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www.theoriginaltour.com
www.bigbus.co.uk
You could take the Piccadilly Line tube from Heathrow and pick up a tour at Piccadilly Circus, or change at Hammersmith to eastbound District Line (just cross the platform) and pick up a tour at Victoria or the Tower.
I think one of them comes with a free non-stop river cruise, or you could take the Westminster/St Katharine's hop-on hop-off river service, which allows you to pick up janis's excellent suggestion about the South Bank - here you would see lots of things that have changed very much for the better since you were last here.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/river/timetabl...#westminsterst
Or you could just see what takes your fancy on the bus and get off and explore there!
www.bigbus.co.uk
You could take the Piccadilly Line tube from Heathrow and pick up a tour at Piccadilly Circus, or change at Hammersmith to eastbound District Line (just cross the platform) and pick up a tour at Victoria or the Tower.
I think one of them comes with a free non-stop river cruise, or you could take the Westminster/St Katharine's hop-on hop-off river service, which allows you to pick up janis's excellent suggestion about the South Bank - here you would see lots of things that have changed very much for the better since you were last here.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/river/timetabl...#westminsterst
Or you could just see what takes your fancy on the bus and get off and explore there!
Jun 25th, 2005, 01:15 PM
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If the cost of the Express is too much (and it does cost quite a bit) - I'd take the tube from LHR to Picadilly Circus. There is no line change and one of the bus tour stops just a few yards from P. Circus on Shaftsbury Avenue.
There is another cheaper/slower train from LHR to Paddington - but in your case I think the tube is your best bet. It will save you well over £20 over the Express R-T. The trip all the way to Piccadilly Circus will take about 45 minutes but you have plenty of time with a 12 hour layover.
And to save some more money - there are very good sandwich shops all over London called Pret a Manger. The sandwiches are pre-made but VERY fresh and good quality. Pick up a sandwich/chips/drink and have a picnic in St James, Green or Hyde Park. Won't cost much and its great for people watching and soaking up atmosphere . . . .
There is another cheaper/slower train from LHR to Paddington - but in your case I think the tube is your best bet. It will save you well over £20 over the Express R-T. The trip all the way to Piccadilly Circus will take about 45 minutes but you have plenty of time with a 12 hour layover.
And to save some more money - there are very good sandwich shops all over London called Pret a Manger. The sandwiches are pre-made but VERY fresh and good quality. Pick up a sandwich/chips/drink and have a picnic in St James, Green or Hyde Park. Won't cost much and its great for people watching and soaking up atmosphere . . . .
Jun 26th, 2005, 08:35 AM
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Thanks for all the great suggestions! I'd heard about Pret a Manger and taking my lunch in a park sounds like a great idea. I'd actually hoped to do something of that nature. Let's hope the weather cooperates. I don't remember there being many bad days when I was there before and it was the same time of the year--both times, in fact.
Is the tube from London to Heathrow fairly uncomplicated? Apparently the cheaper train (from Paddingdon) doesn't clearly list Heathrow as a destination. I imagine the tube does, right? If this were on my way home, there wouldn't be so much anxiety. But I'll be on my way to Johannesburg to start my Botswana trip (hence the need to economize. The trip is quite a stretch for my limited budget!) If I miss my plane I'm sunk.
Is the tube from London to Heathrow fairly uncomplicated? Apparently the cheaper train (from Paddingdon) doesn't clearly list Heathrow as a destination. I imagine the tube does, right? If this were on my way home, there wouldn't be so much anxiety. But I'll be on my way to Johannesburg to start my Botswana trip (hence the need to economize. The trip is quite a stretch for my limited budget!) If I miss my plane I'm sunk.
Jun 26th, 2005, 08:51 AM
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Tube from and back to Heathrow is clearly labelled - there are two stops for Heathrow, depending on which terminal you're flying into and out of so make sure you know in advance.
From Heathrow to Picadilly Circus or Leicester Square stops (both very central, just one stop apart) you just hop onto the Picadilly Line and it's direct.
Nice and easy.
I adore Botswana and would love to hear more about your trip - have you been posting much on the Africa board?
From Heathrow to Picadilly Circus or Leicester Square stops (both very central, just one stop apart) you just hop onto the Picadilly Line and it's direct.
Nice and easy.
I adore Botswana and would love to hear more about your trip - have you been posting much on the Africa board?
Jun 26th, 2005, 07:04 PM
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There is a wealth of information about Transport for London (that's the name of the company) at <b>thetube.com</b>, including a routing program called the Journey Planner, and myriad maps of everything from the Underground to the bus lines to river services. See my post above for the rest of the drill.
Jun 27th, 2005, 04:00 PM
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To Kavey
I've read your postings about Africa. I haven't really been posting on the Africa board since deciding on this trip.
One more question I hadn't thought of, since I'm taking U.S. dollars to Africa: What's the most economical way to take money for England? I took travelers' checks 40 and 40+ years ago. I know the rules have changed since then.
I've read your postings about Africa. I haven't really been posting on the Africa board since deciding on this trip.
One more question I hadn't thought of, since I'm taking U.S. dollars to Africa: What's the most economical way to take money for England? I took travelers' checks 40 and 40+ years ago. I know the rules have changed since then.
