Hello. Traveling from Boston, Massachusetts to Seville Spain, we have a six hour layover at Heathrow from 5:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Is there anything to do but sit and drink tea and walk around the international terminal for all this time? It seems like there should be something more interesting to fill in the hours. Any suggestions are much appreciated. Thank you. Lori

The Duty Free shops begin opening at 6am. Even if you did venture into London, you would still need to be back to the airport before anything really opened up in London for you to see. <BR><BR>If you happen to be flying BA, and have seats in business class or first class, you can use the private club there, relax, and also take a shower.<BR><BR>Otherwise, just enjoy browsing in the shops and drinking tea.

It's a shame it's so early. There will be rush hour traffic. You could take a cab to Windsor. Maybe half an hour ride. Or cab to Hampton Court, very close too, but still early.<BR>The same with London. You'll hit rush hour.<BR>Maggie

If your plane lands at 5:30, you won't be off the plane and through the red tape until 6:30ish. You'll need to be at check-in 10ish, so it's really only about 3 1/2 hours you'll be spending in the airport. If you're like me, you'll want to stretch your legs, so take a walk around the airport (go outside). By the time you get something to eat, buy a book or a Times, meander through Harrod's, it'll be time to check-in.<BR><BR>You also might check out the "clubs" for frequent fliers. Some offer a one-day pass for a fee, especially if you're flying on that particular airline. Or, if you've booked through a travel agent, ask if they can get you a pass. These clubs are quieter than the public areas in the airports; they offer refreshments, bathrooms, other amenities. They'll also announce your flights so you don't have to continuously check your watch.<BR><BR><BR>

Thank you Leslie, Maggie, and elvira for taking the time to respond to my inquiry. People like you are the reason Fodor's forums are one of my favorite web sites.

Lori<BR>since you are connecting in Heathrow you will not even clear UK customs which means you can not leave the transfer lounge anyway. After you arrive you will be put on a bus (or perhaps walk) over to the transfer lounge where you wait for your outbound flight. If you want to attempt to go into London then you will have to bypass that and clear customs in UK first. In 6 hours I would say forget it you don't have enough time. I say get breakfast, do some shopping, read, whatever. Remember if you leave at 1130 you will board around 11, and if you arive 530 you won't actually be in terminal until closer to 6 or later. So, now you are down to only 5 hours. Just stay cool, hang out in the lounge and wait patiently.

Some of the terminals (maybe all?) at Heathrow offer showers for a small fee... to the public, not just in the airline club lounges.

Hi Lori,<BR><BR>We just returned from Italy with a 4 hour layover at Heathrow. By the time we cleared customs, took the bus to terminal 3, we used up at least 1 hour. My husband grabbed a newspaper and sat down. I meandered around the airport browsing thru all the shops. I bought some English Toffee and cologne for my son. Wasn't as bad as I thought. The time passed quickly.<BR><BR>Denise

To Lori -- From another Lori:<BR>Do what everyone suggests, just hang out at Heathrow. Lots of shops, you can always spend money! Get a decent breakfast and stretch you legs a bit. They also have showers in the terminals if that appeals to you. Take a good book with you (or buy one there), reading always passes the time for me.<BR>I would not venture outside of the airport tho, you don't have that much time and it's way too early to do anything much.