heathrow airport to central London via Heathrow Express

It depends on where in London you want to go, the Tube and the newly opened Elizabeth line are also good options.

That's a great question. Our Air B&B is close to the National Gallery, but we arrive at 7:00 a.m. and cannot check in and drop our bags off until 3:00. My plan is to put our bags in a locker, get breakfast and start sightseeing. Paddington station seemed like the closest drop-off to National Gallery. Is there a closer drop-off? Is it cheaper to get a Uber when traveling with 3?

Were it not for the need to drop bags, the easiest connection would be Piccadilly Line from Heathrow to Piccadilly Circus or Leicester Square, depending on exactly where your AirBnb is. I rarely advocate for Heathrow Express, but given your need to drop bags, its not a bad idea at all.

Heathrow Express and Elizabeth Line will both take you to Paddington. They both cost the same (GBP 5.50, if you buy Heathrow Express ticket in advance), and the Express is quicker (15 mins vs. 35) and more comfortable.

Uber will cost at least GPB 45.

Thank you! Do you know what website I would buy the Heathrow Express tickets in advance?

From next week there will be a through service on the Elizabeth Line to Tottenham Court Road from Heathrow. This is very close to National Gallery but i don't know where you can store your luggage

Since you have located luggage storage near Paddington, taking the Heathrow Express or Elizabeth Line to Paddington Station is a good idea.

If you are ready for coffee or breakfast after stashing your bags, here is a blog (not mine) with a. Rusted list of good coffee places near the station:

https://candaceabroad.com/best-coffee-shops-and-cafes-paddington/

She doesn’t mention chains, other than Starbucks (!), but there is a Nero’s Caffe on Spring Street that is my husband’s go-to place for his morning cappuccino when we are staying in the area.

Where are these storage lockers?

Rogerbrown - I have downloaded the luggage hero app. This shows where storage lockers are around London (or wherever you are). I have not used it in the past, but you see customer ratings per location.

Kernow1300 - Thank you for the website of the map. I have now downloaded the map. Where do you get contactless cards? Is there an app?

"But where exactly is your accommodation?" - It's an Airbnb, so they don't give an exact address until 1-2 days before but the pin looks like it's within a 2-minute walking distance from the National Gallery

Lola, Thank you for the blog website. I love a great local nonchain coffee shop!

You won't find lockers. Not in London since the IRA blew up things in lockers. The places you have found will take in the bags and put them somewhere for you. It won't be self service. If you leave them with Excess Baggage at a main train station they run them through an x-ray machine and keep them secure. More expensive though.

Paddington is across town, a fair way, from the National Gallery and Trafalgar Square.

Where do you get contactless cards? Is there an app?

From your bank or financial institution. It will have the wavy lines symbol somewhere on it, usually the front. You may already have one. You can also use an app like Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay. You may even have one of those on your phone already.

Nigel - Good to know about the lockers. Do you happen to know if Charing Cross Station has them? It's close to my Airbnb if they won't store them.

When I looked at the tube map, it seemed like you always had to go to Paddington station first and then the tube to the location you wanted to go. I may just Uber it to somewhere with a secure baggage drop-off near our Airbnb to make things easier on the first day.

Contactless, in our world, just means "credit card" or "bank client card". Just make sure you allow tapping on the bank card. English in England is a bit like French: they have a different word for everything.

Thank you! It took me a bit but I figured it out😊

Kris, we've stored our luggage using Stasher and it was cheap and convenient, as they use locations all over London. (e.g. we took ours to a Premier Inn Hub that was one of their locations, and near where we were staying.)

Thank you elizabeth!