adampr

Hi,

I've got a 14 hour layover at Heathrow on a return from Morocco. My wife and I land at Heathrow at 7:45pm and depart the next morning at 9:55am. We're pretty determined to do whatever we can to experience as much of London as possible in this time, since we've never been.

Any suggestions for how to get the most out of this? I'm willing to spend whatever I need, and sleep as little as necessary in order to get the most out of this time.

I'd like to find the fastest way possible into the city, tour/walk/eat until 1am or so, sleep for a bit at a hotel in the city, get up at 5am to walk and hang out more, and then find the fastest way back to the airport by 7:30am.

That sounds so crazy, I just need to get some feedback on whether that would actually work, so I REALLY appreciate any advice!

MmePerdu

While I think it'd be far better to postpone your flight home and have a real visit, have a look here:
https://www.timeout.com/london/clubs...dusk-till-dawn

adampr

Thanks for the link MmePerdu - I'd love to stretch the time there, but this is basically a last-minute trip to Morocco with a vacation package, so I'm stuck with this itinerary and trying to make the most of it.

sofarsogood

Say an hour to get through Heathrow then another hour to central London – by now it’s 9.45pm. Get a meal, check into hotel; it’s now closer to midnight.

You’re advised to arrive three hours before your departure flight, so that makes it 6.55 (leaving central London at 5.55). Probably the worst 14 hour layover.

I think you have two choices: stay in an airport hotel and forget London, or leave your luggage at Heathrow, head into London and stay up all night – take the wife clubbing. I can’t see the point in a hotel in London.

janisj

Unfortunately the hours of your layover are not AT ALL useful for seeing/doing anything.

You could not possibly be in central London until nearly 10 PM and quite a bit later if you first have to check into an LHR hotel before heading in to town.

And you have to be back at LHR by about 7 AM . . . so nope. Unless you stay up all night you won't be able to see/do much of anything. Most of the bldgs are not illuminated over night. There are some late night restaurants in London.

Splurge on one of the nicer hotels at LHR and forget about going into the city. Now, IF you had a late afternoon flight out of LHR I'd definitely try to squeeze in a quick look-see but not with a morning flight.

Gardyloo

Is this in the summer? If so, daylight is pretty long.

But here's an alternative to consider. Book a hotel in central Windsor. Windsor is very close to Heathrow, and there are some quite decent hotels right on the streets around Windsor Castle. Book a taxi or car service (use the google - not difficult) to take you from the airport straight to the hotel. Then have a relaxing evening walking around Windsor - the castle grounds, Eton... have a good pub meal and a decent sleep. The castle <i>is</i> floodlit and quite impressive.

Then back to the airport in the morning and off you go. This will be a more compact and easier plan than an all-nighter in London.

janisj

>>have a good pub meal and a decent sleep.<<

One would have to find a pub still serving the dinner menu after 9PM. The Two Brewers does serve until 10PM

OReilly

https://www.designmynight.com/london...lubs-in-london

http://londonist.com/2015/10/london-...ur-restaurants

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/de...d-attractions/

Hi there:

In the olden days, I would probably have considered stashing my bags at 'left luggage' (there is one in every terminal) heading into London, walking around for hours, having a late dinner, going to a club, having an early breakfast and then back to the airport for a 7am check-in. I have posted some links above. The very thought of doing that now makes me tired . it depends on your age and energy levels.

These days, I'd rather check into a good hotel IN the airport, having dinner and a good nights sleep. Best hotel IN the airport is the Sofitel IMO. I have stayed there a few times and have eaten in the restaurant, which is not bad at all.

http://www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-6214...ow/index.shtml

You have not mentioned which terminals you are flying in/out of. My preference is to stay in the hotels attached to terminals (Sofitel in 5 and Hilton in 4) as I spent too many years on the Hoppa bus travelling to the outlying hotels.

What I would not do is consider is staying in a hotel in London for the night. Personally I think it is a waste of time.

travelhorizons

Another issue you don't consider is that the immigration lines at Heathrow can sometimes be extremely long, especially if you're not flying in business class and getting a Fast Track card for immigration.

By the time you get through immigration, it could easily be 9 p.m. And you haven't gotten to the taxi stand yet...

Unfortunately, you don't have enough time to make this worthwhile.