Just wondering what to see and do in London when I only have 5 hours.
So I am traveling from Vancouver to New delhi, India next april, and have a 10 hour stop over at Heathrow airport..I was wondering If I could hop on the underground to downtown and see a bit of london for a few hours, is this possible? what kind of immigration and customs will I have to go through and will it be too time consuming? I would love to see some of my english roots, (even if only for a few hours lol)
Thanks!!
Reply to this Hi,
If you are Canadian, it should not be an issue. Buy a day pass, will not be that expensive if you take the tube.
In 5 hours, you could do a LOT...go to Tower Hill Station. It's on the yellow/green line. From the, you see the tower of London and the Tower Bridge. You won't have time to visit any of the two, but you will see them. From there, take bus 15. This bus will cross the City, passing by St Pauls. I would stop at Trafalgar, and start to walk in the direction of Buckingham.
From there, walk back in the direction of Piccadily. You can look around, or hop bck on the piccadily line to Heathrow.
10 hours, I would definitively do it. Try to have all you luggages check all the way through. Count the exact time it takes you from your terminal to London, on the way back, you need the same time, plus 90 minutes...and you are than on the safe side.
Enjoy, London is a great city!
Peter
Reply to this Agree with PA - London city is a compact area and it is possible to see a lot in that time. You may even have time to head into the National Gallery or British Museum (for the briefest of visits) as an option if the weather is particularly bad and you need to stay indoors.
Reply to this Hello John 😊
I dont know about the immigration, because I have an EU passport, but if it is not time consuming then hopping on the Underground and going into the city is a great idea, in my opinion.
You dont have loads of time, so just hit one attraction, and maybe hang out their enjoying the surroundings with a coffee or something. That is what I did when I had around a 5 hour layover in Heathrow one time. I went to see Big Ben(even though I had seen it many times before). Just hung around there for a couple of hours enjoying the London atmosphere and then went back to the airport. Another time when I had a similiar layover, I hung out at Piccadilly Circus for a couple of hours.
Be sure to spend no more than 2 hours in London, to leave a margin of error. Heathrow is huge, and Underground trains can sometimes be delayed.
Another option if money is not an option is to take a taxi from the airport to someplace in the city which you want to see and then another back to the airport. But how much time this will actually save will depend on how heavy the traffic is. Certainly not a great option for 5PM on a weekday, for example.
Mel
Reply to this
A taxi to the city can be over 100usd for one way, stuck in traffic...London is the worst for this.
I like the idea of the National Gallery, the British Museum is great too, but more time consuming to get there.
If you pick up bus 15 from Tower Hill, you can transfer to line 9 at Oxford Circus, and get out at Hammersmith to get the tube back to London. With these 2 buses, you would see around 60% of the best sites in London....or with a minimum 5 minutes wlak from any stop.
Reply to this A taxi to the city can be over 100usd for one way,...
Yeah, it is expensive. I meant to say, if money is not an object, and not if money is not an option. Spelling is not my talent. :D
Reply to this if money is not an object in Lonodn, you take the airport express to Paddington, but in this case, wouldn't save him much time.
Taking a taxi, to go to the city is not a story of money, it is a serious waste...and flying is not an option...in NY...if money is not an object, you can fly to lower Manhattan for 189usd one way in a helicopter, it's expensive, but it is something....not a waste...just a great way to blow money...in London, taxi...no way!
Reply to this yeah, the underground can take over an hour to get into town from heathrow, so be careful!
A great way to see London is to walk along the South bank, either from Tower bridge to the houses of parliament, or the other way. You see all of london that way - the history, the modern london, st pauls, the tate, Shakespeare's globe, and great views of the city and the Thames. At the 'Eye' you walk across Hungerford bridge, into Trafaklgar square and then along the Mall to Buckingham palace.
Or you could take the Piccadilly tube line into town, get off at knightsbridge where you are near harrods and explore the very posh west end, and stroll through Hyde park and its historic buildings to Hyde park corner tube station so you can get back easily to the airport.
Any specific questions, you can PM me - i live here!
Reply to this All the suggestions above would be a pretty great way to see London...but I would definitely take the Heathrow Express to Paddington if you are pressed for time. It takes 15 minutes and costs £16. The underground can take forever...and you stop at 20-30 stops before you get in to the centre. From Paddington you could easily get the underground to Westminster etc. Check out
for more info on the Express. Reply to this leicester square is colorful & vibrant, with theatre, cuisine & tons of ppl around.. a must see!
& what are ur plans for Delhi ?!
Reply to this going by tube most likely you won't have to wait half an hour for deprture, definitely suggest to take underground, it's very easy and comfortbale by Heathrow. And no worries about traffic jams. Trafalgar squere and coventgarden is nice area to see. Then of course Oxford Circus and Tower Bridge or Westminter area with Abbey and Parliament House&Big Ben close at hand. Too many places one must visit being in London but too little time. 😊 Good luck!
Reply to this I like the express train from Heathrow to Paddington as the subway will have about 15-20 stops (during which you may begin to doubt your choice). It costs about 16 pounds vs 5-6 pounds, so yeah, it costs more.
If you wanted to visit west London (nearest Heathrow), I recommend Kensington Palace and Gardens (Princess Di's place), Harrods, Notting Hill, Portobello Road. I have a
video of that area you might like. But these aren't the big "gotta see" places, so you may want to go into the center of town.
Reply to this I really want to thanks you for showing interest in London its really i wonder place and with in 10 hour as you mentioned you can visit some places of London and the best way is contact some traveler operator who provide cheaper cab services in London You may get shared taxi also which is very cheaper . Here is a link of one travel operator in London http://www.directtraveller.com/ you can book taxi with them.
Reply to this 
