London layover
 

Hello,
I am flying from rome into heathrow. The flight lands around 8:30pm Saturday. My departing flight isn't until almost 1:00pm the next day. Is it feasible to take the train into London the night I get in, stay in a hotel and then get up early enough to see a few sights and take some pictures before heading back to Heathrow? Thanks for any help you can offer.

You won't have any free time to see any sites on Sunday. You need to be at LHR by about 10 or 10:30AM -- so leaving central London by 9:30-ish.

And you wouldn't get in to central London until probably 10:30PM or thereabouts.

Unfortunately your schedule isn't conducive to doing much.

I was thinking we would get up early, out by sunrise. And just take pics from the outside, not tours and such. I figured we'd have to be at the airport by around 10:30. We are used to getting up super early when we travel to see uncrowded sights.

OH -- If you just want to walk around from very early and getting back to your hotel to get your bags @ 9:30 - sure. I'd pick a hotel at or very near the center. Trafalgar Sq, Covent Garden, Embankment, etc. Then you could see and/or walk past the Eye, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St James's Park, Admiralty Arch, Trafalgar Sq, the National Gallery, etc.

I'd book a car service like justairports.com to pick you up at your hotel @ 9:30.

For example from Royal Horseguards Hotel (not recommending it necessarily but just using that location) through Trafalgar Sq, under Ad. Arch, down the Mall along the park to Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, up the Victoria Embankment (the Eye is straight across the river) and back to the hotel is about a 2.5 mile walk. And at that time on a Sunday morning there will be very little traffic so it would be a lovely walk.

If it's not raining or drizzily!

So you melt when its wet?

No but not so good for taking photos.

Since when? That's crazy. Some of the best photos ever are taken in wet/misty conditions.

OK a photo shoot walk in rain sounds downright delightful - you've won me over! Maybe better with rain it sounds. Pray for rain!

Sarcasm is never helpful. Just admit you were wrong. It doesn’t hurt and no one will think less of you.

Who is the judge of who is right and wrong here? Wrong to think a rainy walk is not as nice as a sunny one? Sorry I don't and few others would either I hazzard - ask OP would you rather have it rainy or sunny?

Sorry, once again you completely missed the point, but I’ve better things to do now.

Thanks
 

Thanks everyone for the tips! I appreciate it so much. I know it's not the ideal trip, but I would hate to be in London for the first time and not see anything. So, we will use these tips and head out for a bit, rain or shine ;) (sorry for not posting a thanks earlier, but it kept saying I could only post twice in 24 hours)

>>(sorry for not posting a thanks earlier, but it kept saying I could only post twice in 24 hours)<<

Once you are an old timer (I think that means 5 posts but not sure) then you can post as much as you want :)


( We'll hope for good weather for you so Pal won't fret >) )

I’m sure you’ll have a nice walk-about as they say in Australia whether it rains or shines. Nice to be up and about before the crowds and Sunday morning should be excellent for doing just that.

( We'll hope for good weather for you so Pal won't fret https://www.fodors.com/community/ima...ted/alien2.gif )

Well you say there is no such thing as bad weather so then it will always be good!

Thanks so much for your help planning my time in London. We had a wonderful morning. There were barely any people on the steeets, we took some gorgeous pictures. I appreciate you input. Can’t wait to visit again. :)