Lodging and sightseeing in London

I'm non-functional on my arrival day, but with luck you guys will be more resilient. What you might do is take a look at the schedule for London Walks when the summer schedule becomes available. See what's being offered on your arrival day that is geographically convenient. Have some options in mind that you can take advantage of if you think a 2-hour walking tour would be appealing once you've dropped your luggage off. You don't book those walks ahead of time, so there's no money at risk if some of you are just not up to doing it. The cost is 10 pounds per person, but students are 8 pounds, and any of the kids under 15 will be free if their mom is on the walk.

Edited to add: The big-name London sights are sort of divided between free (donation requested) and really, really expensive (to me). I wouldn't pre-purchase tickets to one of the high-cost sights for your arrival day. It might end up being wasted money, and it's better to be outside as much as possible, anyway.

The Heathrow Express does not have any stops other than its terminus, Paddington Railroad Station. It is also very expensive, 25 pounds per person off peak. A much less expensive way is to take the Piccadilly tube line into London. You can either find lodging along its route or transfer to another tube line.

I agree with the above post that doing a walk would be best on arrival. One of the walks in Rick Steves' London Book would be good. The next day you could go to one of the museums that wold be of interest. Many of the London Museums are free. For sites, such as St Pauls, Churchill War Rooms or Westminster Abbey, it would be advisable to book ahead on the internet to save time and money.

On my first day in London some years ago, I decided to make a pilgrimage to the statue of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. Getting there in the drizzling rain was not as much fun for my wife as it was for me. https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/kensington-gardens/things-to-see-and-do/memorials,-fountains-and-statues/the-peter-pan-statue

It's near Kensington Palace, and you don't have to go into the gates to see the trappings of royalty.

Trafalgar Square is an epic sight, as is Leicester Square. Head down Parliament street to Westminster and listen to Big Ben strike the hours.

Stay outdoors. If you must see an indoor sight, the National Gallery is full of paintings, and it is free so if you zone out on your first day in London, you're not out a ton of cash.

You’ve requested where to stay that’s most convenient to the sites.

For the very short period of time I would stay at the Premiere Inn County Hall. Book as soon as you can for best rates.

The London Eye and the Thames are right out the door. You can see the Houses of Parliament across the River and it’s a short walk across Westminster Bridge to Parliament Square. Aboutvas iconic London as you can get from a first timers POV. From there another pleasant saunter up Birdcage walk through St James Park to Buckingham Palace. From there off through Green Park to Piccadilly and down it to Trafalgar Square. Then into Covent Garden and a walk across Waterloo Bridge to put you on the same side of the Thames as your hotel.

Yes the Heathrow Express is the most expedient transport into London ( 15 minute ride) BUT unless tickets are reserved months in advance it’s the most costly. It also goes into Paddington Station which isn’t close to the above suggested hotel. If cost is no matter then take the Express and then a cab to your hotel.

If you want to be more prudent then buy you Oyster cards at LHR at the Underground Station. Use the kiosks. Hop on the Piccadilly line train to Victoria station. It’s about an hours ride but will give you all time to review your itinerary, see a variety of neighborhoods ( it’s not a bucolics ride). I imagine it will be the first huge train station the teens have seen unless they’ve been to NYC’s Grand Central.

From here you can take a cab or use the Tube again (to Waterloo station and then walk to the hotel) but imagine using the cab would be more prudent timewise.

If you use the Google maps satellite view you can see how well located that Premiere Inn is to the sites for your very short stay.

To get to Kings Cross where the Eurostar depends on your budget ( another cab) or how well you have learned to navigate the tube.

Two great cities to visit. Enjoy yourselves

It's Premier Inn (no e)

https://www.premierinn.com

"If you want to be more prudent then buy you Oyster cards at LHR at the Underground Station. Use the kiosks. Hop on the Piccadilly line train to Victoria station."

The Piccadilly line does not go to Victoria Station. To go to Victoria Station you will have to transfer to either the District or Circle line.

Seems I can’t spell or give proper directions from LHR.

Buckingham Palace is open to visiots on a strict time slot during the summer. Check the Royal Trust website to sign up for one of these special self guided audio tours.

I assume you already know that it will be much easier to use public transportation if you limit your luggage. You cannot count on elevators in all tube stations.

Head down Parliament street to Westminster and listen to Big Ben strike the hours.

Unless it's 2021 Big Ben will remain silent whilst repairs are ongoing.

I agree with Premier Inn for good location and price.

I disagree that Heathrow Express is quite as expensive as listed above. Advance purchase can make a huge difference on its pricing. The tube is cheaper, but I would not buy an oyster card for a one and one-half day visit.

I have done the hop on. hop off tour on my first day as a way to stay awake and get an overview of a location. It has worked for me.

You need to poll the group and find out what their "must see" sights are. It might be different than your list above.

Thank you for all this info. I'll definitely look into the Hop On Hop Off tour for our first day in London. I did check on the Premier Inn County Hall - fabulous location - but out of our budget range. I'm searching for another option that's in the same area. If anyone has any info on lodging in Westminister area (or is the Victoria area?), please let me know.

Do you have Rick's London book? I think he lists universities that have rooms in summer, although they may still be above your price range. I don't know what hostels are available in the area, but sometimes they have family rooms.

Premier Inn is fairly close to the bottom of the price scale for a nice but very simple room.

London isn't Switzerland but it isn't far behind in terms of room prices. Budget it ain't.

For lower, try Travelodge. Or one of the B&B's in Bloomsbury or Kings Cross; or rooms at a University (LSE do good ones by what I've heard); or youth hostels.

You may find that they wind up not a great deal cheaper, although some sort of breakfast will be available at B&Bs.

Good luck.....

I remember mention on this forum in the past of the Lancaster Hall Hotel , as a budget friendly place to stay in London. I think it was once the German YMCA but I am not sure.

I was in London for a day and a half about five years ago and stayed near Victoria station. It was very convenient and we walked everywhere. I can’t remember the name of the hotel but found it on booking.com. I would put in Victoria station and see what you can find for your dates.
My husband and I will be in London next June and after long searching are staying in the Premier inn recommended. The Victoria station hotel I stayed in with a colleague was cheaper I think but it did not have a/c. That was ok in October but I did not want to chance it in June. It is not even the heat I am so worried about but street noise. I am not used to it (live in south Florida where we usually have a/c running) and earlier this year in Santorini, Greece, barking dogs kept me awake. When I shut the window, I didn’t hear the dogs, but then I was too hot to sleep. So I am a priss and decided I was willing to pay for it. Premier Inn was by far the best combination of location, beds (my husband and I don’t share a double bed well and that is what many well priced accommodations have) a/c, and price that I found.

But I think you can find some well located rooms near Victoria station without a/c for less money. I went from Victoria station to Heathrow easily so that work well too.

Beth

A great budget hotel in Victoria is Cherry Court Hotel, run by a lovely woman named Mrs. Patel. This is a Rick Steves recommendation and I've stayed there several times happily. It's so convenient- right by the Victoria train and bus stations.

A few years ago we stayed at The Celtic -- nothing fancy, but you're not in London to hang out at the hotel. The price was right for us, at the end of almost 3 weeks in England. It is close to Russell Square, right around the corner from a tube station on the line that goes to Heathrow, and just a few blocks from The British Museum. We walked to Trafalgar Square and everywhere else, but most people might not -- but it is close to two subway stations/different lines. You might look into it.

I did attempt to book 2 rooms at the Premier Inn County Hall, but unfortunately there was no availability for the dates we needed. I really LOVED the location and am in the process of looking for any other lodging that is so centrally located. I also looked at Cherry Court Hotel and Lancaster Hall, but no luck there either. Still looking...Thank you all for your recommendations. Please keep them coming.

One more to try: Ridgemount Hotel on Gower Street

Linda H

In your other thread https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/europe-travel-in-july-2019
you are still reworking your (very busy) itinerary.

Since you have an arrival date and time here in London and the Eurostar time for the trip to Paris does that mean that all the discussion on the other thread about destinations is wasted?

Have actually got the plane tickets? Into London and out of ??

Have you got the tickets for the Eurostar?

Or is any of this dependent on what you decide about the whole trip in your other thread?

Are you looking at booking non-changeable hotels here?

Actually the only thing I’ve booked at this point is the flight into heathtow. Still searching for lodging in London. Then my next move is booking eurostar into Paris - hopefully in the late afternoon to give us more time in London. I’m definitely rethinking Capri after all the negative comments about it. Focusing on London - I’m looking into getting an explorer pass for 3 of the main attractions. Does anyone have any thoughts about that? Also trying to figure out how to get Skip the Line passes to places like Tower of London & St Paul’s. Any thoughts or suggestions? U all have been wonderful & have helped me so much! Thank u!!!

If you are interested in premier inn rooms, try using their web site. I found I could get rooms there when booking.com said they were sold out.

Regarding passes, have you looked at the London Pass? It has skip-the-line privileges at some places. We found it useful and a savings, but you really have to load your days to make the most of it. I hope you can find at least one more day for London!

"skip the line" or "jump the queue" - divided by a common language

what is your actual budget? I'd be extremely surprised if rooms were sold out for next July - in fact I don't believe it.

Beth, I did as you suggested and checked with the website for Premier Inns. Bingo! I was able to book 2 rooms at a great price at Premier Inn (London City-Tower Hill). I'm so excited because this is the exact location I have been desperately looking for - and the reviews were great. THANK YOU!!!

In looking into transportation from Heathrow airport to our hotel in London City, has anyone ever taken an uber? If so, would you let me know approximate cost and how I should go about securing an uber. Thank you

Glad my suggestion of trying the premier inn site directly helped!

I don’t know anything about Uber in London but did want to point out that you have 5 people which is too many for a standard car which holds four plus the driver. You would need 2 cabs or Uber’s or a larger than standard vehicle.

If you want a car from the airport to your hotel, you'd do best to use a minicab (that's Brit-speak for a prebooked car service). I have no personal experience, but three that are often recommended are:

Just Airports https://www.justairports.com/
Simply Airports http://www.simplyairports.co.uk/
Blackberry Cars https://www.blackberrycars.com/

For each of them, if you put in all your details (exact address, number of passengers, cash or credit card, size of car required, etc) you can get an exact price quote.

No personal experience but have seen it recommended by other forum members is suntransfers.com.

For 5 from LHR to London runs about $110. ( maybe more, maybe less depends on exact destination) You can go to the site and plug in your specifics for a quote.

A couple of hotel recommendations close to Victoria Station: Hotel Windermere, which is located at 142-144 Warwick Way, Pimlico, London. It's about a 10 minute walk to Victoria Station; pleasant, quiet area. Windermere offers a full English breakfast or continental fare. Friendly staff, clean rooms, comfortable. I believe they have one family room, but when I tried to rent it for a trip with my grandchildren, it was already booked. A bit closer to Victoria Station is Comfort Inn Buckingham Palace Road (but it's on a side street, not really on Buckingham Palace Road). Clean, staff not as friendly as Windermere but is about three blocks or so from Victoria Station; I believe breakfast was an additional charge and we usually skipped it or dined at nearby cafes. Victoria is very convenient for all the sites along the Thames.

I have a question about our Paris trip that I am planning with my family this next July. We want to purchase the 2-Day Hop on Hop off bus tour that includes the cruise on the Seine river. However, I haven't been able to locate information about the times and locations of departure for these cruises. Our plan is to end our first day tour with this cruise, picking a time around sunset. Does anyone know the times and location of departure or what website I can go to get this information? The normal Hop on Hop off website does not include this information, and I can't access the "contact" or "help" sections. Thank you!

We want to purchase the 2-Day Hop on Hop off bus tour that includes the cruise on the Seine river. However, I haven't been able to locate information about the times and locations of departure for these cruises.

Meeting Point
Bus Tour: You can board the bus from any of the designated stops and can exchange the voucher directly with the bus driver.
Seine River Cruise: Bateaux Parisiens, Pier number 3, Port de la Bourdonnais, 75007, Paris (Close to the Eiffel Tower).

https://www.hop-on-hop-off-bus.com/paris/big-bus-paris-hop-on-hop-off-and-seine-river-cruise_25730

Regarding transfer from Heathrow to your hotel...I’ve used Blackberry Cars for a number of years, most recently in September. They have minivans/vans that would accommodate the five of you and your bags. Clean newish vehicles, friendly drivers, and very good prices. Highly recommend.

The Tfl Train (used to be Heathrow Connect) runs on same route as Heathrow Express. I have used it when it was the Connect. Takes 15 minutes longer and is only about £10 for an adult. You use an oyster card which others have mentioned. Just google Tfl Train for times and fares. Out of respect for the locals I have always refrained from using the Piccadilly line all the way into central London with my luggage. Just my humble opinion.

It is very easy to take the Piccadilly Tube line from Heathrow to Hammersmith and then change to the Circle or District line to get to the Victoria Tube stop. I was advised to do that by people on this forum, and it is an easy change.

I also second the recommendation for the Windermere Hotel. My daughters and I stayed there for four nights in May and enjoyed it very much.

I would not recommend a Hop on Hop off bus on your arrival day. We did this and we were falling asleep during much of it.