Monday afternoon in London...layover...ideas
 

Have a layover in London...arriving Heathrow around noon....leaving the next morning. We've been to London's tourist places but need an idea for lunch and "something." Lunchin the same neighborhood as the "something"???? Someone suggested a walking tour....lunch at Launceston Place in South Kensington??? We haven't been to the British Museum. Are there tours inside the museum? We will have a little jet lag so don't want to have to do a lot of thinking (!!)...........Shopping is okay but only interesting shopping (not into buying clothes).

If you haven't been to the British Museum there are obviuosly a lot of tourist sights in London that you haven;t seen. But depending on if yuor plane lands on time and if you have to go through Immigration - by the time you get into London you might not have a lot of time for the Museum after getting something to eat.

Have you considered going to Windsor, lunch, see the Castle and spend the night there?

Have a hotel at Heathrow....been to WIndor, the castle and the usual. But, no, haven't been to the British Museum.

There is a very nice/posh restaurant IN the British museum. But I don't think it will work for you. W/ a noon ETA, by the time you go to your LHR area hotel, check in or drop the bags, return to LHR to catch the tube and ride to the museum it will probably after 3PM. On Mondays the museum closes at 5:30 and the restaurant only does afternoon teas.

Besides - if you'll be jet lagged do you really want to slog around a massive museum?

What else haven't you visited - maybe there is something else that would fit better w/ your schedule.

I would suggest a walk, it seems to really help with jetlag and you'll be able to see something different at the same time.

Either pick an area you don't know at all to wander about or try a London Walk www.walks.com

You could have a coffee (and maybe cake at Le Pain Quotidien or Paul - both chains) when you first arrive in central London, then have dinner after the walk.

There are millions of restaurants but two ideas of where to start - Butlers Wharf has lots of places to eat and a wonderful view of Tower Bridge. Or Southbank, you can walk across the pedestrian bridge near the Embankment tube station, lots of restaurants and quite lively with crowds from the nearby London Eye.

Kay

A cruise of the Thames might be nice...

It all depends on likely jetlag, but I'd be inclined to get the Heathrow Express into town, leave your bags at the Paddington Left Luggage, then do whatever (including lunch) and check in after that.

I'd also buy a copy of Time Out at LHR before getting the train, and use the time to see if there's anything on at the time that might interest you.

South Ken is hugely inconvenient for lunch, and the immediate vicinity of Paddington station lives down to the dismal standards of most railway stations' immediate hinterland. I'd suggest the cluster of places between Bicciole (Homer St W1H 4NA) and Roti Chai (Portman Mews, W1H 6HS): the brief walk from Paddington would wake you up.

I don't think South Ken is usually inconvenient for lunch.Carluccio's in right acro ss the street. Orsini , Racine and brompton Brasserie are across for the V & A , a 5 minute walk. Cafe concerto and Cafe montepeliano are another 2 or 3 minute wak=lk for those. All are excellent

From Paddington, Notting Hill is only a 15 minute walk - lots of quirky shops in which to browse and places to eat. Portobello Road market may be on when you arrive. Hugh Grant will be there....or not

"I don't think South Ken is usually inconvenient for lunch"

We're not talking "usually". We're talking this specific brief. Launceston Place doesn't open for Monday lunch, BTW.

Eating in South Ken requires checking into a hotel first: there's no left luggage for miles. Which as janisj points out, means it's almost impossible to do anything but lunch - and most destination-style restaurants will be closed by then anyway.

If you can stand Carluccio's, the area's OK. But it's useless for someone arriving at Heathrow with luggage at midday who wants to go on and have time in a museum or similar before it closes.

Arriving London around noon....checking into airport hotel for an overnight....Coming in from U.S. all night flight....So we have the remainder of Monday....Probably will be hit with a little jet lag later in the day. So probably a late lunch depending on how long it takes to get to central London. So if the restaurant were in a walk around area, that would be nice. Thames ride could be interesting. We'll be arriving at Terminal 5 and the hotel is there as well. Supposed to be a tube station in walking distance? How long to get into central London?

"<i>How long to get into central London?</i>"

Count on about an hour. By the time you walk to the tube station (not far) and wait a few minutes for the next train - then 45-50 minutes on the tube. Longer if you are headed somewhere that isn't along the Piccadilly line and have to transfer.

W/ a noon landing you really can't count on being in London until about 2:30 - especially if you actually check in to the hotel and don't just drop your bags.

What would I do. I'd check into my hotel, have a shower, change my clothes, relax but not sleep then get on the tube into town for a nice walk around the neighborhood and a drink near the restaurant I've chosen for a leisurely early dinner. Then back to the hotel for a good night's sleep. Do less and enjoy it more. You'll be glad you did.

This is happening in the coming months, right, rather than in Spring/Summer? Especially with the earlier onset of dusk, for myself I'd probably follow MmePerdu's plan, and if the travel is in cold or rainy weather, I'd aim to wander and eat in an area with places worth 'popping into' even after museums close. I'm partial to bookstores, myself. Around 2008 I spent a happy late afternoon wandering along Charing Cross Road.