Long layover in London
 

I will have nearly 3 1/2 hours between flights at London Heathrow in mid April. Will I find shops to browse while I'm there? I don't want to leave the airport because it's such a hassle getting out and then going through security a second time. What good shops will I find? Any specific items I should consider buying??

Thanks!
Carol

Lots of shops at Heathrow for killing time but selection and variety depends on the terminal. What terminal will you be flying out of? Take a look at this site for a list of shops in each:

http://www.baa.com/main/airports/hea...ing_frame.html

There are branches of Harrods, Burberry, Thomas Pink, Boots, and other UK stores along with Gucci, Ferragamo, Hermes, etc. And you'll save the 17.5% VAT. I think the World Duty Free shops also carry a small selection of Fortnum and Mason items. I bought bath products from Boots and found a pair of Pink cufflinks for less than what I saw at the Jermyn street store. I also bought Charbonnel et Walker chocolates but can't remember which store I found them in. T3 has the best shopping IMO.

simpson-

3 1/2 hours is actually not that long for a layover in Heathrow. It depends on which terminal you arrive and which one you take off. If you have to transfer between terminals, a lot of passengers have found themselves in long security lines. Also, T1,2 & 3 are in the same area, while T4 is far, far away. So, I don't think you should worry about being bored. And yes, there are lots of shops in Heathrow as well. All the shops inside the security area are tax-free.

It has been a very long time since I was at Heathrow, and I wasn't changing planes the last time. I'm coming in to London from the USA on United, and then flying on to Germany on Lufthansa. Does anyone know which gates or terminals that might mean?

I really appreciate all the information on shops. I'm going to visit that web site right away, Patty. You are right, three 1/2 hours isn't a long time by the time you deplane from one flight, and find the next departure gate! I love Harrods and Boots but don't know Thomas Pink at all. Boots is also in Bangkok and I buy many items there.

Thanks to my fodorite buddies for the replies.
Carol

Carol-

Based on the info you provided and looking at Heathrow's website, your UA flight will arrive in T3, and LH flight departs from T2.
http://www.baa.com/main/airports/hea...ons_frame.html
Click on ""which connection" on L column and then T3. It will show you directions on how to get to T2.

If you want to see what shops there are at T3, click "shopping & eating" on the top tool bar, then "shop listings" and "T3". YOu can get a pop-up window showing all the shops.

Since UA & LH are codeshare these days, I am pretty sure your luggage is checked all the way to Germany.

Carol,
It does look like your UA flight will be arriving at T3 and your LH flight departs out of T2. In that case, I'm not sure if you'll be able to do much shopping at T3. If I recall correctly, the majority of the shops in T3 were in the departure lounge area. I don't think you can access this area from arrivals. You will however have an opportunity to browse the shops in the T2 departure lounge, but there's not as much variety here. In any case I'm sure you'll find something of interest to occupy your time. A 3.5 hour layover at Heathrow isn't really that long. Have fun!

Patty-

You were absolutely right. I got myself confused between T2 & T3 while posting all the links.

Carol- yes, I don't think you can get to the shops in T3, my mistake.

Thanks to everyone who answered my question. I'm sure I'll find something to do for the layover. I'm 99.9% sure my bags will go directly to Frankfurt and not have to be collected at LHR, so I don't have to worry about that. I looked at the web sites that were suggested and found a lot of valuable information. Thanks again!
Carol

You can always kill time by going on the internet and telling how your trip is going!

Keith