best london airport
 

I'm travelling to London next month and was wondering what's the best London airport to fly into/out of? I'm staying in London proper, so I'm most concerned with getting to and from the airport from the city. Any other insights would be helpful too.<BR><BR>Thanks!

Depends where you are coming from. for instance, if you are coming from the US, you are unlikely to be flying into STN. Both LHR and LGW are well connected to London. Gatwick by the Gatwick Express train, and Heathrow by taxi, tube, express tube or bus. I'd choose Heathrow over the others. It is accessible, the shopping is great and if you're a FF, the lounges are better than the other London airports. If you're coming from Europe, you are probably better off financially using Stansted or Luton. London City Airport if you are staying in the city and coming from Europe is a good alternative. If you arrive by private jet, Farnborough is about a hour from town!!

Recognize that Heathrow is one of the busiest airports in the world. Gatwick considerably less so. Transport from either is simple, easy and reasonably priced. Heathrow is closer to "downtown" some 15 minutes by train vs. about 30 minutes by train from Gatwick. Recognize, too, that some airlines, Delta for example, are not allowed to land at Heathrow.

O.k. I'll admit it, I love to shop in Heathrow! I've been know to schedule long layovers just so I can spend time shopping there! <BR><BR>I also found the tube from Heathrow fast and easy to the city. <BR><BR>But really it's the shopping!

Amplifying on Wes’s comments, Heathrow is the 4th busiest airport in the world, with 64 million passengers annually. Gatwick is the 23rd busiest, with 32 million passengers annually. Heathrow has 4 terminals and Gatwick has 2, so the average passengers per terminal is the same for both airports. One advantage of Heathrow is that it has more and cheaper transport options into London. An advantage of Gatwick is that it has a station on the national rail system, giving more options if one’s destination is not London.

Heathrow intimidates me, too big, too much going on, I vastly prefer Gatwick because it's a lot more "user friendly". But then, I've been told by friends. that Stansted is the best choice of the three.

The best airport is the one you can get the best fare to. LHR and LGW are about equal for convenience to London. LHR is better for shopping, LGW is smaller and easier to navigate. So if you can get a bargain fare into one or the other - that should be your pick.

I prefer Heathrow, for all the reasons mentioned above. Even though the Gatwick Express runs well and frequently, if you're not staying in the VS area you have to get yourself to your final destination. <BR><BR>We've been traveling with only carry-on duffels the last few times so we take the tube from Heathrow directly to South Kensington, where we choose to stay.<BR><BR>One more thing to remember about Gatwick: It DOES take longer to get to so you need to head out of London earlier than if you're going to Heathrow to catch your plane. Once we even spent the night at a B*B in Horsley to insure catching our early morning flight the next day.