Ajolder

Three of us will be returning from Stockholm to States on Thursday Dec 10 and will layover for one night at LHR, staying at Sofitel hotel which is directly connected to terminal 5. We understand there is a tube station right in terminal which promises express 21 minute service into London. Since we are arriving approx 5 PM we intend to check in and then hit London that evening. Looking for suggestions on where to go once we get into London. Any good restaurants proximate to tube exit? Suggested areas to walk? Recommended pubs/bars etc? Appreciate your thoughts.

julia1

The 21(?) minute service is likely Heathrow Express, which takes you to Paddington station, which is near Hyde Park and Oxford Street. From Paddington you can connect to the tube or take a taxi to get to other more salubrious areas. You can also take the tube directly from Heathrow, Piccadilly line, into the center, about 45-50 minutes to Gloucester Road. There is also Heathrow Connect train service to Paddington which takes about 30 minutes, but it leaves from Heathrow central rail station, not T5.

yk

Is your flight landing at 5pm? It'll easily take 1 hour just to get from the plane to check-in at Sofitel.

The 21 min train is Heathrow Express, which takes you to Paddington station, which is no where near anything that's too interesting. Since it'll be dark, the only place I find interesting to walk around would be near Big Ben and the South Bank along the Thames; so you'd need at least a cab ride or a tube ride to get there from Paddington.

In case you don't know already, R/T price for Heathrow Express is £32 per person. So, for 3 of you, you're looking at spending £100 just on transport to Paddington, and not counting getting elsewhere from Paddington, or the cost of dinner.

As julia mentioned, you can take the much cheaper tube, but it will take quite a bit longer.

jent103

As julia and yk mentioned, the 21-minute option is a train, which is not the same as the Tube. The Piccadilly line of the Tube (dark blue on the maps) goes direct from Heathrow to central London, but allow an hour to get to, say, Covent Garden.

I actually like walking around London in the dark, if you don't mind a bit of cold (and I assume you don't if you've been in Sweden in December!). If it were me, I'd take the Piccadilly line straight to Leicester Square or Covent Garden. From there, you're close to several restaurants and can easily head to Soho, Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden, Piccadilly Circus, or take a bus (or long walk) down to Big Ben and walk across to the South Bank.

Personally, I think once you got to Paddington and changed for the tube, you wouldn't be saving all that much time, and it would be considerably more expensive. Just make sure to leave time to get back to Heathrow and your hotel before the Tube stops running.

Ajolder

Thank you all for your suggestions. Agree it appears the "express", while (theoretically) swifter, is not much value in that it leaves you at Paddington station. Much prefer idea of going to the Covent Garden or Leicester Square area. Presuming we in fact do that I now have two questions:
1. Any specific restaurant recommendations?
2. Since we have three people I would imagine a taxi would be more economical than tube? However how bad will traffic be and will we lose too much time in traffic - thoughts?

Thanks again.

yk

A taxi from where? from Heathrow? It'll end up costing as much as HEX and will take forever. You are arriving during rush hour.

yk

And for restaurants, there are probably thousands of resturants in that neighborhood. We need a bit more info from you:
Budget?
Cuisine?
Formal vs casual?
Quiet vs hip?

Mathieu

The Leicester Sq./Covent Gardens/Picadilly Circus area is full of bars and restaurants. From small chic bistros, to larger chain restaurants, to Doner kebab places, to chinese restauranrs in nearby chinatown and all sorts of pubs and watering holes. I'd recommend just taking a stroll in the area and doing as you please. With all the lights, excitement and crowds around you, you'll not likely want to be tied down to a few hours in a particular restaurant any way. Sip and eat as you explore around.

john61

I'm no expert on london, having only been there for a few days a couple times.. but if it was me and I only had one night, I would take the tube to westminster and walk around the big ben, parliment, eye, river area.. then I would either go one tube stop to victoria station and visit a pub called the traveller's inn, next to the victoria coach station.. great food and plenty of seating... or I would head from westminster to china town, it is interesting to walk around and there are some good places to eat there as well.. whatever you do, have a great time!

jent103

This is just my personal opinion, but if I were only in central London for a few hours, I would go for dinner of the "grab and go" variety so I could spend more time actually sightseeing. There are plenty of places suitable for that, including three Pret a Mangers around Trafalgar Square.

However, if a restaurant is a priority for you, yk is right - we need more information to make a recommendation for you.

I'm also confused by the taxi question. An off-peak travelcard for one person for zones 1-6 (Heathrow is 6, central London is 1) is £7.50. Times three is £22.50. I think a taxi from Heathrow and back would cost considerably more.