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A few last minute London questions

Posted by (MD) on

Hi everyone. My trip to London (with a day trip to Paris) is quickly approaching and I have a few questions.

1) I can take the tube blue line from terminal 3 (Virgin Atlantic) at Heathrow to the Knightsbridge stop, correct?

2) It's my understanding that an 8 year old does not have to pay for tube/buses, because they go through with an adult but an 11 year old does. I believe we can get a half price oyster card at the airport for this age. Is that correct? The adults will tap phones or credit cards in and out when using tube/bus.

3) I want to make an appointment for fast track security when leaving Heathrow. The site asks for time of travel, which to me means what time the flight is due to leave, but that's probably not correct in this instance, is it? Should I put in a time 3 hours prior to my flight time? How long can I wait to schedule this?

4) What is the best site to monitor for potential tube/train strikes?

5) For our day in Paris, the Eiffel Tower lights come on at dusk, correct? And they twinkle at the top of every hour?

6) I have a note from several months ago that there will be work on the tube blue line in early December, so when returning to the airport I'll need to take a different line, but I can't find specifics now. Can anyone confirm this information or tell me where I can verify it?

7) Can I wait until about a week before our trip to get tickets for the London eye? I want to make sure we do this on a sunny/clear day if possible.

I recognize that my questions aren't as organized as I'd like, but life is a little crazy right now and since I'm the one that travels in my family, all the planning has defaulted to me, so I greatly appreciate any help you can offer. Kudos to those of you who regularly plan trips for families/groups. It's more challenging than planning my solo trips for sure!

Posted by
16235 posts

Please don't call it the tube blue line. No one will know what you are talking about. It's called the Piccadilly Line.

None of the tube lines go by their color. They are referred to by their name.--Piccadilly line, Central Line, District Line, etc.

Posted by
1159 posts

1) Yes
2) Yes
3) Yes but I would book 2 hours before. I suspect that accurate timings are not necessary
4) There are no strikes planned and unions must give at least 14 days notice by law. If you're coming over Thanksgiving that limit will soon be reached
5) No idea
6) There is work planned on the Piccadilly line on the first two weekends in December but nothing that will affect services between Knightsbridge and Heathrow
7) I would not book the London Eye until you get here, if at all. There is no way that you can get an accurate weather forecast until at least 48 hours before. In any case there are other free viewpoints available if you like.
Following on from Frank's comment calling a line the blue line is very confusing - the Piccadilly line is dark blue and the one you want from Heathrow, but there is also the Victoria line, which is light blue.

Posted by
626 posts

Thank you both for your input. I suppose I'd better get to learning the proper names for the lines rather than the colors. :)

Posted by
626 posts

I wasn't aware of the situation you mentioned Bill. I'll be in London from December 2-8 (it's a quick trip since my family can't be away long). From the article, it sounds like I'd better keep an eye on the issue, but hopefully it won't be a problem for me.

Posted by
7758 posts

Re- the Half price Oyster. You buy a normal Oyster Card and then get a staff member on the gateline to add the Half price discount using the staff functions at a Ticket Machine.
It is called Young Visitor Discount and is valid for 14 days.

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