Have a trip upcoming to Europe. Thinking about taking a connecting flight through Heathrow with LONG layover (arrive 8 am; depart 7 pm). I've never been to London so would love to get your thoughts on planning an afternoon.

1) I'll probably fly BMI...so i suspect terminal 1(?) Is there a locker in Heathrow terminal to store bags?
2) What's a nice, not too expensive, restaurant or eatery for lunch in central London
3) What's the ONE must-see/do for first timer...the EYE, London Museum, Trafalgar Square, Shop, etc. The criteria I'm looking for i guess is if you never have another chance to visit London, what memory/experience would you want to leave with during a 1/2 day visit
4) what time should i leave central london to make a 7pm flight out of heathrow?

Thanks everyone.

the "new" trafalgar sq is the heart of london. from here you can easily (all within a 10-20 min walk from trafalgar) see soho, chinatown, walk along the thames (north and south bank) piccadilly, leicester sq, the national gallary (free - so a good quick visit), portrait gallary(also free), Covent garden, etc.

i know these are the obvious sites but if i had never been to london and had 1/2 a day, i would want to be out and on my feet seeing these main sites.

have fun.

ttt

1) I'll probably fly BMI...so i suspect terminal 1(?) Is there a locker in Heathrow terminal to store bags?

Can you carry a day bag? Perhaps the airline will check your baggage through?

2) What's a nice, not too expensive, restaurant or eatery for lunch in central London

You can often get lunch specials in all kinds of restaurants. I'm afraid I don't dine in central London. It's usually the kind of food that has given the UK a bad reputation for eating. But I would try China Town... or Greek Street in Soho has nice restaurants.

3) what memory/experience would you want to leave with during a 1/2 day visit.

I guess the eye... and see houses of parliament.. pretty iconic. The changing of the guards at Buck House (Buckingham Palace) is worth seeing http://www.changing-the-guard.com/sched.htm

4) what time should i leave central london to make a 7pm flight out of heathrow?

Get the Heathrow Express, times here...
http://www.heathrowexpress.com/defau...amp;selectid=4
Leave time to get to Paddington, plus 30 minutes for the journey from Paddington plus the check in times

Hope that helps

I'd get a hop on/hop off bus. You'll see many of the major tourist sites and you can hop off if something specially interests you.

I'd get a city bus and an all-day transit pass. Download and print this map:

<b>http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/tourist.pdf
</b>

If you take the Heathrow Express to Paddington or the Tube to Green Park and change for Bond Street, you can get right on the #15 bus and ride past many top sights all the way to the Tower of London (which might well be the ONE). Halfway there, get off at Aldwych and take the #59, #68, #91 or #168 to Tavistock Square and walk east to the North Sea Fish Restaurant at 7 Leigh St. for the best fish and chips in town. Then any of the same buses southbound to Aldwych and back on the #15. If you don't want to take the time out of your schedule to make the trip, stop at any of dozens of <i><b>pretamanger.com</b></i> along the route and put together a sack lunch. The <u>AAA Spiral Guide</u> - London features a #15 bus tour guide.

From the Tower, take the RV1 down the south bank to the Eye, walk from there to Westminster (Big Ben and the Abbey are both ONEs), and get the #11, #24, #148, or #211 to Victoria, whence a short walk takes you to Buckingham Palace (ONE more). The sights west of Victoria are accessible on the C1 route, as seen on this map:

<b>http://www.tfl.gov.uk/buses/spiders/pdf/victoria.pdf</b>

Thence you can return to Heathrow via South Kensington (Tube) or a #27 to Paddington and the Express.

If you choose the Express, you should get a &pound;3 bus pass at Paddington; if the Tube, get a one-day Travelcard for Zones 1-6 at Heathrow. An &quot;Off-Peak&quot; Travelcard will save you some money, but on weekdays you won't be able get on the Tube until 9:30.

Some weekends, a 6-Zone Travelcard is valid on the Heathrow Express, which would be the best of all possible worlds, because the Express trip only takes 15 minutes, whereas the Tube ride uses up most of an hour.

It's hard to look back as a first-time visitor, but if I were thinking &quot;this is my one and only chance&quot; (a depressing thought) then I would not necessarily go inside any buildings.
I would not take a bus, because on buses I don't necessarily get an overall orientation, but walk, starting at Trafalgar Square, down to Westminster Abbey (gazing up at Big Ben), then backtrack a bit to Birdcage Walk, around Buck. Palace, up through Green Park, ending on Piccadilly. From there you could walk to Harrods, or along Picc. past Fortnum and Mason. This route could be reversed. Both Harrods and Fortnum's have, not cheap, but moderately-priced cafes to have tea or a lunch. I think they have menus on line.

PS
Buy a Streetwise London map, Amazon and most chain bookstores have them.

I thought I'd add a little map to the North Sea Fish Restaurant (so you don't have to buy one).

<b>http://tinyurl.com/bztqd</b>

It really IS worth the trip, if you have the time.