What to do in London on Xmas? And airport transportaiton?
 

HI -
I'll be arriving in london the morning of the 25th and was just wondering what, if anything, will be open that day...Is there a site that might list what's open?

Also, what's the best way to get from Heathrow to Knightsbridge...can we take the Heathrow express?

Thank you!

The Heathrow express goes to Paddington Station, which is not near Knightsbridge.

The most convient way to/from the hotel would be to use a private car service from the Airport. There are many differnt companies, most charge between GBP 30 to GBP 35, for transfers to/from Knightsbridge. (At least that was the price last year).

Another option is to use a shuttle bus service, called Hotel Link, this will pick you up from the Airport and will take you to you hotel, but since you will be on a bus that has to drop off passengers at different locations, this will take much longer than the car service.

There have been several threads about Christmas and Christmas Day in London here. You might do a search.

I will say that we found very little open -- nearly died from caffeine withdrawal looking for coffee in the morning! Limited restaurants -- mainly just the hotels and the places in Chinatown. We did a nice London Walks that day -- there are a number of them -- our was Dickens' London.

I'd agree that with at least two of you, the BEST way to get to your hotel is a car service. Justairports.com is great and one of the most economical (if you pay cash rather than credit card).

Hello,
I went to London a few years ago and arrived on Boxing Day (the day after x-mas) and i can tell you that just about everything was closed. in fact, we were there thru new year's day and many things (savile row boutiques, certain galleries) were closed. that is not to say you won't have a fantastic time. in the larger shopping areas & bigger museums, not a problem. but if there is something you have your heart set on doing, best to check ahead of time. you can take the heathrow express to paddington station and then just get a cab to knightsbridge.
bon voyage!

Heathrow Express is farther from most arrivals gates than the tube-for much more money. If you want cheap, take the tube and transfer or cab from the closest stop to your hotel. If you want convenient, use a car service. Others have recommended justairports-we reserved them but when we finally made it out of immigration (3 hours!) they weren't there. The tube is super easy, and you can buy your oyster at Heathrow and just one out of zone 1/2 ticket.

I you have a Zone 1-2 Travelcard on your Oyster that's valid for that day, you only have to pay £1 to get from Heathrow to Zone 2, and the rest of the way is on the pass. Possibly the cheapest airport transfer in Europe.

all this talk about the tube, oysters etc won't help you because there is no rail service, tube service, or bus service on Christmas Day and the tube offices are shut as well.

The Heathrow Express runs a bus relacement service so You can get into town. But a pre-booked car service will be your best bet. Taking the HEX coach only gets you to Paddington station and w/ no buses or tube and almost no taxis you'd have a very long walk to your hotel.

No tourist attractions are open. A few - mostly ethnic - restaurants will be. There will be virtually no traffic so just plan a day of nice long walks.

I can almost guarantee you that two tickets on the Heathrow Express to Paddington and then a taxi to Knightsbridge will cost you MORE than a car service, and will take more time total as well, not to mention considerably more schlepping of luggage and connection "issues". Sorry, I've just never understood that recommendation for two or more people.

<<< was just wondering what, if anything, will be open that day >>>

Churches, some restaurants offering VERY expensive meals, some ethnic restaurants offering cheaper meals and some London walks

If you are taking an apartment then either arrange for food to be sent there or pick some up at Heathrow when you arrive as nothing else will be open until about 10:00am on Boxing Day

"...because there is no rail service, tube service, or bus service on Christmas Day..." - janisj

<b>Christmas Day:

The Oxford Tube service will operate a special service between Oxford and London Victoria until 1900, calling at Heathrow Airport Central bus station in both directions...</b>

Source:
The festive season
Travel information
TfL brochure, 2007

So it would appear that one can, in fact, get from Heathrow to Victoria on public transit on 25/12.

Details of the Oxford Tube bus service are in their website:
www.oxfordtube.com
On Christmas Day, they're charging a special one-way fare of &pound;25 for any journey.

'Tis the season to be greedy
Fa la la la
La la la la.

&lt;&lt;&lt; On Christmas Day, they're charging a special one-way fare of &pound;25 for any journey. &gt;&gt;&gt;

Making even the HEX look cheap

The HEX doesn't connect London with Oxford.

And if anyone knows any other public transport service in Britain that's offering a 60 mile journey on an empty bus, paying the driver quadruple time, for a trivial &pound;25 on Christmas Day I'd like to hear about it.

I'd have said you have to be a whining Scot to complain about Oxford Tube having the gumption to provide a Christmas service for less than a sixth what Oxford cab drivers are charging that day.

But it looks as if Americans too think workers should turn out for free on a day everyone in Britain wants to be home with their families.

Amazing how shallow-rooted the idea of a free market is in Scotland and America.

It's &pound;25 Heathrow to Victoria

If someone DID take the Oxford Tube bus to Victoria Coach Station - then how would they get to Knightsbridge w/ luggage?

I stand by the car service being the only practical way to get from LHR to any hotel not right at Paddington or right at Victoria.

And if it's 25 pounds per person (?) from Heathrow just to Victoria -- but about 30 pounds for two people from Heathrow to your hotel by car service. . .let's think about this a minute.

And not to sound politically incorrect, but I don't think the vast majority of car service drivers I've had in London celebrate Christmas with their families!

&quot;If someone DID take the Oxford Tube bus to Victoria Coach Station - then how would they get to Knightsbridge w/ luggage?&quot; - janisj

Maybe they'd take a taxi? Or will those be plying for hire only at Paddington? Or what?

&quot;Taking the HEX coach only gets you to Paddington station and w/ no buses or tube and <b>almost</b> no taxis you'd have a very long walk to your hotel.&quot; - janisj

The 2 places that will have taxis - if only a few - on Christmas Day will be Paddington &amp; Victoria on the grounds that's where the &quot;trains&quot; are running on that day

one note - the Oxford Tube goes to Victoria Coach Station which is a good 2 block walk from the taxi queue at Victoria Train station. Taxi's <i>might</i> be available at the coach station - but I'd hate to get there and find none (or not enough)

In any case - a pre-booked car service would be cheaper and more convenient than any other mode of transport on Christmas Day.