London Travel Forum

Hi all,

We have an overnight layover in London on our way to Istanbul. I've been to London many years back but my BF hasn't so I at least want him to experience one or two things in our very brief layover.

We arrive in London at 9:45PM and depart the next day at 4:20PM for Istanbul. So, by the time we get to the hotel and settled it will be midnight so I'm looking for a hotel for that night near a monument or area where we could wake early, stroll briefly and grab a breakfast before heading to the airport early afternoon.

Please help! I don't want to end up at the airport all night! LOL

:o)

Which airport?

You won't be out of the airport (whichever one) much before 2245 and will need to be back there by 1420 (or maybe earlier..check your airline).

From Heathrow you will arrive at Paddington station by Heathrow Express or Heathrow connect train, at Victoria Coach station if you take a bus and anywhere you like if you take a taxi (the most expensive option by far). The cheapest option, using the Tube, will of course take you anywhere.

http://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/heathrow.htm

From Gatwick you will arrive at Victoria station if you take the Gatwick Express train, Victoria coach station if you take the bus and London Bridge or City if you take the 'ordinary' train.

This page has detailed info and links:

http://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/gatwick.htm

Rather than spending extra time travelling to an area or monument I suggest you find at hotel near to your arrival point so that you can check-in quickly and maybe have something to eat/an early night. Then, with an early start, take the tube to explore whichever sights/sites appeal to you most..perhaps the Houses of Parliament/Big Ben/ Westminster Abbey area with a walk up to Buckingham Palace? Or to Tower Hill to see the Tower of London and Tower Bridge?

Tube map here (not a download):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/travel/downloads/tube_map.html

Alternatively, find a hotel somewhere near Westminster Abbey or the Tower (depending on your preferences).

Remember to allow ample time for your return to the airport wherever you stay.

The official Lodn tourist info site allows you to search accomm by monument and area:

www.visitlondon.com/accommodation

But I recommend that you use www.booking.com for hotels. It's a reliable site used by many Vt-ers, with good mapping and rates and honest guest reviews.

What are you going to do with your luggage while you stroll and so on, before heading to the airport? Make sure the accommodation you choose is willing to look after your luggage for a few hours.

All depends which airport you fly into and fly out of. If you are in and out of Heathrow, then I would use the Heathrow Express and find a hotel in Paddington or Lancaster Gate or Bayswater. All have excellent connections to a great number of monuments/tourist sites.

If you are in and out of Gatwick, then something in the Victoria area.

If you are in to Heathrow and out of Gatwick, then Victoria.

Or into Gatwick and out of Heathrow, then Paddington, etc.

Or perhaps it is Luton or City airport???

Hi, If you're arriving & leaving from the same airport, Heathrow & Gatwick have yotels! www.yotel.com

Quirky setup, clean, decent, modern, ensuite cabins fully-furnished. Luggage will be safe & you can travel light to the sights you're keen on!

Otherwise I suggest a place near Victoria, easily reached from the airport, and several hotels & B&Bs abound. You can then get a hop-on-hop-off tour bus from there, for the perfect introduction to London, catching maximum sights in minimum time, and also getting to see London street-life without being holed in the underground & only emerging at your chosen sites!

I suggest completing the whole circuit first, and then if time permits, revisit a place you like to spend more time there, grabbing lunch, before heading off to the airport.

If you're departing from Luton or Stansted, I suggest a hotel near Baker Street, Victoria or Finchley Road, as you can book & catch shuttles to these airports from the stations just mentioned.

Good luck.

Well I was going to suggest you get a free coach to any number of hotels near the airport then an early start, I have stayed at the Radisson Heathrow, there is a bus that pulls in and takes you to the train, it doesn't take that long to get into London but if you must go in to London at night by airport transport leave your baggage, take a trip up the Thames. If you must go into London I stay at the Park Plaza right near the eye with a view of Big Ben, the Hop On Hop Off bus stops outside. Whatever you decide have fun.

Since you have such a short time what I would recommend is to get a hotel for the night near Paddington, then you can take the faster (than the tube) Heathrow Connect which takes about 1/2 hour from Paddington to Heathrow assuming that is the airport you are going in and out of. The Heathrow Express is faster at about 15 minutes but twice as much. I have stayed at an airport hotel on a short 1 day layover and it's a pain to stay out near there, you have to shuttle to and from the airport to get anywhere.

From Paddington you can take the tube wherever you want to go, I've stayed up there several times and it's a quick journey by tube to wherever you want to go, 15 minutes to central London.

Another alternative is to stay somewhere on the Piccadilly line from Heathrow which is a straight shot back to Heathrow, Green Park is near Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square and Covent Garden are all central London but expect the hotel prices to be higher than Paddington. Or you can stay near Westminster where you will be close to the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, you can change easily to the district line at Hammersmith (cross platform change). Expect that the tube ride will take 45-60 minutes from any of those spots.

Another option is to stay in Windsor for the night as it's closer to Heathrow than central London, you could feasibly get up in the morning and visit the castle before going to the airport, last time we stayed there we took a bus, the info should be on my Windsor page

Forgot to address what to eat, I love having a full English breakfast at least once on a London trip and find that it usually fills me up so I don't need lunch, a couple of places I've enjoyed are the Cafe in the Crypt in Trafalgar Square at St. Martin in the Fields and the Regency Cafe near Victoria Station which was used in the film "Layer Cake" but I'm sure you can find a place near wherever you will be

http://www2.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/page/cafe2010/cafe.html

http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/regency-cafe-london

When we stay up near Paddington, we usually grab a kebab before heading to the airport, my favorite place is Lolita's on Spring Street, just across from Paddington Station.

I cannot thank you all enough for the detailed and invaluable information you took the time to share! :)

We are flying in/out of Heathrow.

After I posted yesterday I did more research and determined that we should get a hotel near the Westminster/Parliament area OR the Tower Bridge/St. Paul's area just as you suggested. However, Dabs...your Windsor castle visit idea is very tempting as well for something more low key.

I will now explore all of your area hotel ideas and tube links and keep you posted!

AGAIN, THANK YOU! :O)

London Toolkit has a nice selfguided walk of Westminster if you decide to stay near there, for a 1st visit I'd personally opt for Westminster over the Tower area since you don't have enough to visit the Tower and you add on another 20-30 minutes of travel time to the airport.

http://www.londontoolkit.com/walks/whitehall_walk_westminster.htm

Check TFL's website for planned closures on the tube, esp. if you are traveling on the weekend, I've had a few times getting to and from the airport where I had to use replacement buses or the tube simply wasn't running because they were on strike. And check for the last tube time from Heathrow in case you get delayed coming from Chicago (or wherever you are flying from) and have a backup plan.

We stayed at the Park Plaza Westminster in June, loved the location and somehow managed to get a decent price on it, when I looked again for our trip in July, the rates had skyrocketed. You might have a go at Priceline's bidding section, I usually get a good deal on London hotels by using it although I've not had much luck with it in 2011 (half terms, Wimbledon AND the Royal Wedding on my three visits this year)

IMHO, the best hotel around hetrhow and you pedinton station is the andaz liverpool street .. the brand hyat hotel... having five star amneties at affordable cost. you one day will make your lifetime memories.. options like no deposite... no prepay... book now and pay later seems great indeed .. have a look at http://www.tigerhotels.co.uk/andaz_hotel_liverpool_street-london-27836/hotel.aspx

From Heathrow Airport take the Heathrow Express train to Paddington Station. Then take the underground (Hammersmith or Circle line) to Liverpool Street Station. If arriving by car , take the M4 for 16 km , before continuing on the A4. Join the A315 and pass Hyde Park Corner (4.8 km) and then return onto the A4 for a further 9.7 km (follow signs for the city) before turning left off Threadneedle Street.

thanks, britany :)

Golly, that's hardly near Paddington and certainly nowhere near Heathrow!

Sorry Britany, but I think that hotel is far too far away for this poster's requirements. It would be ok for Stansted airport though.

By the way, 'no deposit, no pre-pay' is quite usual for UK hotels...especially those booked through a reputable agency such as www.booking.com

Having checked out that page (why no Westminster Abbey or St Paul's?) I suggest that the VT pages for London contain far more information about all the places listed and a vast amount about many, many more.

VT pages and tips are all written by VT locals and visitors. There's a wealth of information right here: just use the searchbox top right of this page.