My family and I find ourselves in London for one breif night and morning in mid June 2007. We arrive at 5:00pm into Gatwick Sat evening and fly out of Heathrow at 4:35 pm the next day. Having never visited the city before, we would love to get a glimpse of the city, have a nice dinner, and perhaps a brief tour of the city in the early am. Is this realistic?
Recommendations? In terms of accomodation, I would like to stay under 500 American $ for 2 adults and 2 children. I have heard that there is a high speed train to Heathrow from the city which takes about 15 minutes. The cost p/p?

Sorry, brief

There are five train lines serving Gatwick from a dozen stations all over London. Fares range from £9 to £14 and the trip takes 30-50 minutes. See http://www.thetrainline.com

If you're thinking in terms of riding the Tube to Heathrow, staying in a hotel along the Piccadilly Line would simplify things. Kensington and Bloomsbury are nice neighborhoods with many hotels in your price range, but you can do even better with priceline.com (learn the ropes at biddingfortravel.com).

Some info

www.heathrowexpress.com

http://www.city-discovery.com/london...tour.php?id=22

< I have heard that there is a high speed train to Heathrow from the city which takes about 15 minutes. >

Unfortunately the start point isn't in the main tourist areas of London so you'll have to get there first plus for your family it would cost something like £40 whilst the Tube would be nearer £15 & possibly a lot less depending on the age of your children

Given you are coming from Gatwick (please DON'T take the Gatwick Express) you'd probably do best finding somewhere near Victoria as it's convenient for tourist sites and it's relatively easy to get to Heathrow from there by Tube

The "high speed" train to LHR is called the www.HeathrowExpress.com. It leaves from Paddington station (up northwest of the city center) and the rack rate adult fare is £14.50. It has been called "the most expensive train ride per mile in the world."

How old are your children? I ask because the London hotel we like only has double and twin rooms, so we get one for our teenage girls and an adjacent one for ourselves. Last year the weekend rate was 95 pounds per room.

We stay here for the location---a block or so from Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Bridge. We like to walk across the bridge and along the South Bank walk in the evening---the views back to Parliament and "Big Ben" are wonderful. And the girls enjoy the walk past the London Eye, over the Millenium Bridge and to the Covent Garden area for dinner.

The next day, we take a cab from there to Paddington Station (a reasonable deal for 4 people with luggage) and take the heathrow Express to the airport. We much prefer that to the tube for getting to the airport---it is faster and much more comfortable.

Helpful replies, all. Enzian, I like the sound of your scenario. The kids are 12 and 16. Of course the 16 year old wants to see the Abbey Road crosswalk. Sunday morning at 7:00am might be possible for a relatively traffic free snapshot? LOL

Yes--but you'll need one more person for the photo!

From Whitehall, take the Jubilee line from Westminster station to St. Johns Wood, then go southwest on Grove End Road to the intersection of Abbey Road. There are always tourists there taking each others' pictures, so finding a photographer won't be an issue.

http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/Dow...sWood_spdr.pdf