getting from heathrow to Blackfriars or St. Paul's tube stop

If I remember correctly from our trip last month, you can take the Piccadilly Line from Heathrow to Holborn and then switch to the Central Line to St. Paul's. I believe another option would be to take the Elizabeth Line from Heathrow to Tottenham Court Road and then get on the Central Line to St. Paul's.

Here is a tube map from the Transport for London website-https://content.tfl.gov.uk/standard-tube-map.pdf

Keep this on your phone until you can pick a paper copy up someplace, hopefully at Heathrow.

The easier station to reach is Blackfriars- take the Piccadilly line from Heathrow as far as either Hammersmith or Barons Court (it doesn't matter which, some people prefer one, some the other). At either get off the train and cross the platform. On the other face of the platform take a District Line train (it should have a destination of either Barking or Upminster which are way out in the suburbs. That train takes you all the way to Blackfriars - 11 stops from Hammersmith or 10 from Barons Court.
That is both the easiest route and, as you are on a budget, the cheapest.
The other routes you describe are valid routes- but a bit more complicated.
In this case easy and uncomplicated is best.
Study the map and see the various routes to Euston. There are 3 or 4 I can think of, just off the top of my head.

If you have a smartphone, download the "Citymapper" app. It will be your best friend when trying to navigate public transit in London. (Or almost any major city.)

As an example, you could enter "Heathrow to your AirBNBs address." Not only will it tell you the public transit options, but also give you walking directions from the station.

Lauri -- if I might, I'd suggest down loading the CityMapper app and checking it out. It is one of the best journey planner apps available, and I have used it for years in DC, London, and Amsterdam plus getting through Paris.

Thank you so much to all of you! I have downloaded the citymapper app. I figured there must be a better solution than what I was doing. I'll access the tube map as well. It looks like there are options. The citymapper app suggested the Elizabeth Line to Farringdon, then walking 13 " to my specific destination. Sounds good to me! I love public transportation but making changes with a suitcase is always tricky.

St. Paul's has steps so not as convenient, especially with bags. If you did want to go to St. Paul's then Piccadilly to Holborn then Central to St. Paul's. Or Elizabeth line to Ealing Broadway then Central line to St. Paul's.

For Blackfriars take the Piccadilly line to Baron's Court then cross the platform for the District line.

That said if you are happy with step free then you might be better with Mansion House on the District line. Same change.

I wouldn't go near the HE for that route. Neither it or the EL option really saves enough for the extra cost and if the timings go awry they could both actually take longer.

For Euston don't go to Bank as the transfer is a long walk - you can go Central to Tottenham Court Road then Northern, or Central to Oxford Circus then Victoria.

If Farringdon is the closest station then it's worth your paying the higher fare of £13,30 (rather than £5.60 on the tube to St Pauls or Blackfriars), to be on a direct train.

If the nearest tube stations are Blackfriars and St Pauls then Farringdon can't be closer.
It's quite likely that City Thameslink station (not a tube station) will be very close as it's between the other two. You can get there by Elizabeth line to Farringdon and then changing to a Thameslink train for one stop to City Thameslink, but I'm not sure that changing trains for such a short journey is worthwhile.
If you are bothered about changing trains with your bags then Piccadilly line to Blackfriars is the easiest - the train change at either Hammersmith or Baron's Court is literally across a platform, about 20 feet and flat. The Elizabeth line trains are a bit more comfortable but either a more complex change or a longer walk would make that route worse than the Piccadilly line for me. You will be paying extra for a more inconvenient route.

The only way to give you a clear answer to your question is if you tell us the address of your AirBnB.

There seems to be a difference between what the owners say and what the Citymapper app says. I assume that by 13" walk above you mean 13 minutes walk, which feels a long way to have to walk from any station in that part of London. Depending how fast the app thinks you walk that could be as much as 3/4 to nearly one mile.

But giving you endless different routes and endless more stations to think about is not assisting you.

There do seem to be a myriad of possibilities. I appreciate all the responses as I develop my vocabulary for London tube stops. CityThames Link is only 2 minutes from where I am staying. The Piccadilly Line to Blackfriars sound like a great option (easy tube change, cheapest) but Blackfriars has stairs according to one reply. I can deal with changes but if I can avoid stairs, that would make me happy. I would take Farringdon with a 13 minute walk (assuming no wrong turn or starting off in the wrong direction which I have been known to do) over stairs. The one stop change from Farringdon to CityThames Link may be worth it as it is so close. I actually have a decent sense of direction once I get my bearings but that can take a little while. I haven't been to London in 50 years (and I was an incredibly ignorant/inexperienced traveler then--I have everlasting gratitude to the unknown gentleman who helped me figure out how to take the underground) so I will need an adjustment period.

Thank you all!

Blackfriars and City Thameslink are both step free train to street.

As has already been said, your exact destination would make all of these answers a lot simpler as you are heading to an area with multiple options that all look close on paper but aren't always in reality.

I will stick with my advice of the tube to Blackfriars as being the easiest route - there is step-free access to Blackfriars no matter what you have read elsewhere.
You could take the Elizabeth line to Farringdon and walk if you're happy with walking that distance with your luggage. That train is more comfortable and will be a bit quicker but it is double the price.
I would not change for a train to City Thameslink. The stations are only 0.6 miles apart but you might end up walking a similar distance underground to make the change.

Knowing Blackfriars has step free egress that does sound like my best option. I am staying in an AirBnB and am reluctant to share the address in a public forum, even one as friendly and helpful as this one. I think it's against the AirBnB rules as well.

Me again. I must admit the below summary is a little daunting. I definitely want to be north of the River Thames. I gather step-free access via lift from the ticket hall to the Eastbound and Westbound Platform would best match my needs? I'll be exiting the Tube. I have certainly seen metro/subway stops in other cities where there is an escalator that only allows for one direction, and not necessarily the direction I wanted.

Paste from the website:
Summary

The Blackfriars Underground Station is located on the Circle and District Line.
The Queen Victoria Entrance provides step-free access from the north side of the River Thames.
There is step-free access via lift from the south bank by crossing the Blackfriars National Rail station platform.
There is no charge for using the platforms to cross the River Thames to access the underground station.
There is step-free access via lift from the ticket hall to the Eastbound and Westbound Platform.

In a way that has added confusion. Exiting from the tube station you will be on the north bank, exactly where you want to be.

You can also exit from the tube into Blackfriars National Rail station for main line trains.

The platforms of that station actually straddle or cross the River Thames, and there is now also an entrance to that station on the South Bank, although the main entrance always has been on the North Bank.

However you don't have to go onto the main line station if you don't want to and don't have to cross the river unless you want to at some stage during your stay.

Blackfriars main line station is great for trains to Canterbury (and beyond) and to Gatwick Airport and the South Coast. also to Luton airport. But all that is for another day, if indeed you are venturing out of London. You may well not be.

But as for getting there from Heathrow I am convinced that is your easiest route as stated above.

For someone like me who doesn't use apps, very rarely even google maps, it is surprising to say the least that the much talked about citymapper gave you seemingly poor information. I use something that seems to be lost in the mists of time now- paper.

Thanks. That is not too much information. That's very helpful. I will just be staying in London 6 days/5 nights before taking the train from Euston to Penrith to spend time in the Lake District. I believe you gave me some great information on the Lake District back in the winter.

To be honest I don't think we need the exact location of your AirB&B. Given that you say that it's between Blackfriars and St Pauls tube stations and 2 minutes walk from City Thameslink it's pretty obvious that it must be close to Ludgate Hill and/or the Cathedral.
Just come up out of Blackfriars tube on to Queen Victoria St and navigate from there.
When you get here you will see that the public transport system in London is way easier to get your head round when you are here than it is to describe in words.

Thank you.

a new voice to this chat.

Just to know that that part of London is quite three dimensional - in other words there are hills.

When you come out of the Blackfriars tube station / north exit from the train station, you will be close to the River in elevation, and Ludgate Hill which you will be climbing is a little steep, and has St Pauls perched on the top. So while you will have step free exit from the Tube you may have a slog up the hill. Just across from the Tube station is a beautiful and historic (and tasty) pub - The Blackfriar. As you get toward Apothecaries Hall (beautiful inside and out) the lanes get very narrow - be prepared.

City Thameslink station is fully step free and the south exit of the station comes out right onto Ludgate Hill midway up. You can get turned around though - as you go out the exit St Pauls is to your right and Ludgate Circus is to your left. City Thameslink also has two exits, widely separated. The northern exit is for Holborn Viaduct, St Barts Hospital and Smithfield meat market (strange bedfellows I have always thought). The southern exit of City Thameslink is the one for Ludgate Hill and the warren of lanes on Ludgate Hill (the hill) south of Ludgate Hill (the road) between Ludgate Circus and St Pauls.

If, as I suspect, you will be staying in that warren of lanes somewhere, or even as far up as the youth hostel, my route of choice would be Elizabeth Line (the fare difference would not bother me), change at Farringdon for the Thameslink one stop to the south end of City Thameslink. You may have a few minutes to wait for the Thameslink train so you can make good use of the time by wandering up to where the front of the train stops because at City Thameslink the way out is near the front of the train.

That would work on your Friday this week, but for others who may be reading not on a Sunday because City Thameslink station is closed on Sundays, and there is not a staffed ticket office on weekends.

I am quite familiar with that part of town. I love listening to change ringing on church bells, favourite is St Pauls, and that warren of which I speak is usually where I park my car.

Another super interesting reply! Hills! That makes sense. I am reading Edward Rutherford's "London". a historical novel that spans centuries, right now and yes, hills are mentioned a number of times. I was wondering what had happened to those hills. I guess they are still there. I believe I will be in that warren of streets. It's good to know about the different exits and where they take you as that can make an enormous difference in figuring out next steps. Thanks for the pub recommendation. I'll look for Apothecaries Hall. It all sounds delightful. I love wandering.

Lauri, there is absolutely nothing to fret about. There is very little in the world more confusing than the UK transit system. The good news is that they actually have one; not a given where I live in Canada. Bus is slower but way more fun. Do the tube just to get to your hotel.

For pub-crawlers like me, The Blackfriar public house is a unique monument to the traditional brew and quite literally a sight (and site) to see. Here is some history how it fended off the modern offices around it, led by a famous poet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blackfriar_(pub)

for folks who don't know what I mean by the lanes on Ludgate Hill "get very narrow" : https://goo.gl/maps/BRG2RdQWDwSJa4h49

Yes, that is actually a road, in fact both are, and yes that is a restaurant taking over part of the road.

I ended up choosing the Piccadilly line to Hammersmith (yes! You just walk across a platform) to Blackfriars. I felt confident and relaxed and it all went smoothly. It was very helpful knowing this area is a warren of small streets in trying to pin down my AirBnB. I swear Google Maps lies once you are in narrow streets. But I made it. I look forward to going to Blackfriars Restaurant.

This actually another topic but I could use some suggestions for tomorrow. I may go to Borough Market before going to the Tate Britain although getting from Borough Market to the Tate Britain looks like it may not be an efficient use of time. I have a Globe Theater ticket for 7:30 p.m. I do have some time in there that I could add something else. Any suggestions? I am wanting a good walking route or area to explore or a fun area to spend some time in. Tate Britain and the Globe will take up my powers of concentration so I want something low key but enjoyable.

It's good to get a post journey reply.

Personally I would jump on an Uber Boat by Thames Clippers from London Bridge City Pier to Millbank Pier (20 minutes) for Tate Britain, and come back to Bankside Pier for the Globe. The Clipper also has a pier at Blackfriars.

PS- I had the same experience with Google maps in narrow streets in a town I know fairly well, and went round in ever decreasing circles following Google maps. In the end my 'nose' did better.

Is Tate Modern not of any interest? You will be very close to it at both Borough Market and the Globe.

Re: Tate Modern suggestion, yes, it is of interest and I went yesterday. Re: Clipper cruise, I wouldn’t have thought of that. That seems workable. It’s good to know I am not the only one who has been baffled by Google maps in tight spaces.