On this collection, Lonely Planet’s crew of writers and editors solutions your journey issues and supply suggestions and hacks that can assist you plan a hassle-free journey. This week Tom Corridor, a Londoner and Lonely Planet’s VP of Experiences, tackles a question from a US traveler coming to Europe.
Query: Hey Lonely Planet, I’ve an 8-hour layover at Heathrow airport as I transit from the US to Athens. As I’ve by no means been to London earlier than, is it doable to go away the airport and see some sights in that point?
Tom Corridor: Eight hours will go in a short time and the fact is you will have as little as half of that as accessible sightseeing time.
Timing the journey from Heathrow into central London
To get into central London from Heathrow passengers should disembark, clear immigration, hop on one of many quickest transport choices – the Elizabeth Line (about 32 minutes, £11 roundtrip) or Heathrow Specific trains (about 22 minutes, £37 roundtrip) to Paddington station. From there, it’s an onward tube journey to a few of London’s largest points of interest.
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I’d permit 90 minutes for all that, although it might effectively take longer. Final week I flew into Heathrow, excited to be there 10 minutes early, after which sat in a funk as our jet took 45 minutes to succeed in its gate.
Returning to Heathrow, you’ve acquired to reverse the method. Arriving again at departures 90 minutes earlier than your flight leaves must be sufficient when you’ve got your boarding go already, even when airways advise being there earlier. One main time-saver is checking your baggage all through, so you should definitely do that if doable.
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Tips on how to take advantage of out of 4 hours in London
Even with all these hurdles, with 4 hours you can begin to expertise among the UK capital’s primary points of interest. That is ample time to succeed in Tower Bridge and stroll west alongside the South Financial institution of the River Thames to the Homes of Parliament, with a cease for a fast chunk at Borough Market. If queues are type, you would even handle a spin on the London Eye.
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Alternatively, concentrate on one huge attraction, a number of of which may fortunately occupy 2 hours or extra. St Paul’s Cathedral presents 2-hour reserving slots – and for that reason, may go higher than a go to to Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace (whose State Rooms are open to guests solely in the summertime months).
You would decide just a few galleries within the free-to-enter British Museum or Nationwide Gallery. Or if that’s all a bit full-on, intention for the traditional London expertise of afternoon tea at a resort like The Goring, or a pint in one of many metropolis’s many, many pubs.
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