Hi, this October, we’re traveling to/from Greece via LHR on BA, and have ~20-hour layovers each way. We look forward to these “mini-vacations” and I’d love some feedback. It’s four of us, with my daughter turning 13 on the first day we’re in London (my son is 11). The times below are arrival / departure.
- 1st Layover, Oct 6-7: Fri @ 11:35am —> Sat @ 9:05am
- 2nd Layover, Oct 15-16: Sun @ 8:50pm —> Mon @ 4:10pm
My kids have never been to London, so we want to see the quintessential sites (literally, just looking at them) and ideally my daughter would get some boutique shopping and/or tea time on her birthday. I’m unsure if we can achieve that during the same layover, since the appealing shopping areas (South Kensington, Chelsea) are removed from the main tourist corridor.
1st Layover
We booked the Heathrow Express and Premier Inn Paddington. After dropping bags, I thought we'd tube to Green Park, then walk our way east until Tower of London. I know there are lots of sights along the way, so I'll have to pick a few. I'm hesitant to enter any paid attractions, because I worry we wouldn't have enough time to warrant the expense (although Tower of London may still be worth it?). In the evening, if we aren't zombies, we could take advantage of late museum hours at either British Museum (8:30pm), National Gallery (9pm) or Victoria & Albert (10pm). Then an early wake-up call on Saturday, to get to LHR for our 9am flight.
2nd Layover
Many have recommended Windsor Castle over London (again), especially since this layover would have less "useful" time. But I haven’t made any plans yet, in case Layover 1 falls apart, or we don’t accomplish much. I'll book a hotel once we know how the first leg goes: near the airport for Windsor Castle, or back to London for Monday morning sightseeing (incl. Changing of the Guard).
P.S.: My post about Greece is here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/greece/mykonos-santorini-in-october-family-trip.