Crazy Question
 

My brother and I are going to Europe this summer for the first time(Czech Rep., Austria, and Italy). Our plane has a 6 hour layover in London where we change airports from Heathrow to Gatwick. Do you think we have time enough to sightsee for 3 or 4 hours and if so, what could we do that would be quick or a must-see in London? We just might not get back there for a few years. Thanks

Aboslutely not. On the inbound, you must allow time to get your bags, clear customs, take the tube or Heathrow Express into London, then find a place to leave your luggage while you are sightseeing. You might have time for lunch and time to see something, but you certainly do not have 3 or 4 hours. At best you could spare 1 or 2, and that's if all goes on schedule. Keep in mind that you should arrive at LGW at least 2 hours before flight time, which means being on the train from Victoria Station to LGW at least 2.5 hours before flight time.

I do NOT recommend going into London, but if you do it anyway, I recommend taking the Heathrow Express into the city as the ride is only 15 minutes while the tube is about 50. Once you get to Paddington Station, I suggest you go immediately to Victoria Station and leave your luggage at the left luggage facility in Victoria Station. This way it will be there when you are ready to catch the train to LGW. By then you will have very little time to see anything, but if you just want to say you saw London, then I suppose you can. Once again, I strongly believe this is going to be more of a hassle and expense than it's worth.

Changing airports from Heathrow to Gatwick will eat up hours of your time. Sightseeing will have to be done from a shuttle window. The bus shuttle is supposed to take 75 minutes but often takes longer due to traffic. Airlines sometimes recommend that you allow 3 hours between landing on your first flight and checking in for your second.

If you're first-timers then you probably pack too much (prove me wrong...). If you each just have a small (USA-approved cabin-sized) carry-on rollaway and a modestly-sized backpack, and if you really have a full six hours, you can get some sightseeing in, better than nothing.

Either take the more expensive Heathrow Express, or the tube (Piccadilly Line) and walk around til you pick up the train to LGW (google both Heathrow and Gatwick airport sites and read up on the options).

With a bit of google and homework you'll figure it out.

BTW - in case you're flying from LGW with a European budget airline, read the fine print about luggage restrictions, they're way more tough than in the US, and every pound extra will cost you dearly - they actually weigh the stuff!

WK

You really need to get the details of transfering Heathrow to Gatwick.

You don't have 4 hours to spare!

Hi D,

6 hrs to get from LHR to LGW is a good plan.

You will not have sufficient time to sightsee.

The worst thing that will happen is that you will have an hour or so to down a pint.

((I))

I like that idea, ira! What better way to relax between flights and get a feel for English culture than to kick back in a nice pub. Does anyone have any suggestions for in or around either airport?

Get yourselves to Gatwick, check in, have a beer and shop.

Nope, unfortunately. It's a good ways between the two airports, and if you headed into central London, you'd have at most an hour. It's sad to do, but I'd recommend you just head straight for Gatwick.

Gatwick has some good places to have a beer. . . I don't remember names. Perhaps because of the good beer.

I agree with the others, don't bother with the sightseeing, you will not enjoy anything because of the pressure of getting back to the airport. Take your time, relax, read a book, have a drink. Travelling can be stressful enough you don't need to add fuel to the fire.

What day of the week will you be landing?

I'd wait until you get back. Spending at most a few hours in London wouldn't really prove much, except to say you were "there."

I'd get over to Gatwick...find a nice airport pub, and knock down a couple a pints. Who knows? You might strike up an interesting conversation with a stranger, who can give you great ideas for your next "real" trip to London.

IF your plane lands on time, and

IF you're lucky with customs and immigration and get on the Underground within an hour after arrival, and

IF the Tube gets you to Victoria in the nominal 48 minutes (changing to the District Line at Hammersmith)

THEN you'll be ready to get out to Gatwick ~4 hours before your flight. Allowing a half-hour for Southern Trains to get you to LGW and two hours for check-in and security, you'll have less than two hours to do anything in London.

But <b><font color="blue">if</font></b> you're back at Victoria within that 2½ hours (and that's a bold blue IF), I don't see any problem. You could grab a quick bus ride to Westminster, around Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus, over to Hyde Park Corner, walk by Buckingham Palace and back to the station. Checking your bags at Victoria Left Luggage would simplify things. If time starts to get tight, you can get back in a jiffy from Oxford Circus or Green Park on the Tube.

Buy a 1-day Travelcard at Heathrow, grab this map, and knock yourself out:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/cen_bus.pdf

That big paragraph wasn't as clear as I intended. It <i>should</i> have begun &quot;But <b><font color="blue">if</font></b> you're back at Victoria within 2½ hours of your flight...&quot;