London 17 hr Layover

Do not get a car. Waste of money, waste of time, too much traffic, no parking.

You will get multiple suggestions......here's mine.....

When you arrive in London, if you want to go to a hotel or into town, you will have to go through immigration and customs. With US passports, you can use the egates which will save time. Customs is just a walk through.

Since you are arriving late, my suggestion is to get a hotel near your departure or arrival terminal. Get up the next morning, check out, have the hotel hold your bags--check with them beforehand to make sure they do that--and get an early start into London. Where to go will depend on your interests. How to get there will also depend on where you want to go. (Figure travel time about 45 minutes to an hour each way.)

Whatever you choose, you have to start heading back to the airport somewhere between 12:30 and 1:00. When you get back to the airport, stop by your hotel, pick up your luggage, and catch your flight.

You will go through UK immigration and customs after landing. If you can afford it, take a taxi or car service to a hotel in central London, get up early, do a little sightseeing, and have an early lunch. Then a car service or taxi back to the airport, arriving about 1:30 for your 4:30 flight. Of course you'll go through security again at the airport.

You can travel much more cheaply on the tube (Piccadilly Line) but it will take longer and you'll have to handle your bags.

I don't know about storing luggage at Heathrow, but its website may have some information. My guess is that you'll have to bring it with you.

EDIT -- Frank has a good plan also, and he's a much more experienced traveller than me. The question is whether you want to wake up already in London or wake up at the airport and have to make the trip there and back within a few hours. But his plan solves the luggage problem. The Sofitel at Terminal 5 is very convenient, most of the US-bound flights use that terminal.

We always stay at the Sofitel at LHR. Nice hotel with very good dining

I rarely recommend staying in the Earl's Court/Kensington area as I see it as too far out for a London stay. But in this case it may well work well. The Piccadilly line tube will get you from Heathrow to Earl's Court in 34 minutes and. contrary to the comment above any form of road transport won't beat that, even late in the evening. The tube will cost £2.10pp each.

I would just book somewhere close to say Earl's Court station and just take your bags with you. A little bit more effort but it will save time tracking down the left luggage space at the airport and you can just pick it up on the way back the day after. But either works.

You can just take the tube to Westminster on the following morning and have a walk around there and over Westminster Bridge to the South Bank. Keep going until you need to get back to Heathrow - I would leave 90 minutes to get back at 1.30 to 2pm for you flight home.

Customs will take seconds unless you're planning to bring some drugs or guns into the country. Immigration should be quick as well at that time off night and with you able to use the e-gates but there can be unpredictables delays.

I second Johnews's advice - take the tube, don't take a taxi or car service as it will be significantly more expensive and slower. I travel to London regularly for both business and holidays, and wouldn't take a car even when work is paying.

If you can share your interests wr can make some suggestions on what to do.

We do exactly as Frank II suggested —-check in to a hotel right at Heathrow (connected to the terminal) and go into London without luggage for sightseeing the next day. We use the Sofitel that Suki recommended; it is a short walk to Terminal 5 and they do indeed have a decent restaurant (although you may not be having dinner with a 9:45 pm arrival.

You will save a lot of planning time if you just pick an airport hotel and book that, rather than trying to figure out one for London. There are too many choices and it’s a good way to drive yourself crazy.

A car service into London and back would be very expensive. The Tube is cheap and easy without luggage.

My suggestion would be to get to Westminster or St. James tube station, and enjoy seeing “Big Ben”, Westminster Abbey and the Parliament buildings. Cross the Westminster bridge and walk the Thames pedestrian path to see these iconic sights from across the river ( the most beautiful sight in London, to my thinking).

Then head down river to the next bridge, the pedestrian-only Jubilee bridges. Cross back and walk up past the main government buildings of Whitehall, through the Horseguards building archway, across the Horseguards Parade, and into St. James Park. Do a lap around this small park, with a detour to view Buckingham Palace if you wish. Then walk up The Mall to Trafalgar Square. You’ll definitely know you are on London.

By now it is probably time to head back to the airport. You can get lunch there.

I would suggest booking a room in Windsor. Windsor is a 15 minute taxi ride from Heathrow. The next day you would have time to tour Windsor Castle, walk down to Eton where Eton College (not really a college, it’s a school for middle school & high school age boys), it’s where a lot of aristocrats and royals send their sons. You will need to be back to Heathrow by no later then 1:30pm.

What airlines are you flying from Athens to Heathrow and then from Heathrow to NJ? Knowing which terminals means we can recommend hotels?

Whether you stay at Heathrow or London, you're going to have to stop to pick up your luggage either way.

As Earls Court is my "home" area, I can say the tube will take between 35 and 45 minutes from Heathrow to Earls Court and back.

That means the earliest, and I mean earliest you'll be arriving in the Earls Court tube station will be about 11 PM. Closer into the city of London the longer it will take.

One thing, when you go into town the next morning, you'll be sharing the tube with commuters going to work. By the time the train gets to Earls Court, it's jammed. (Personal experience.) However, getting on at Heathrow means you will probably get a seat.

Yes, they should have not trouble getting a seat on the Tube when they board at Heathrow. But coming back will be a different story. That is one of many reasons I favor booking an airport hotel—-preferably one connected to the terminal they will be using.

Riding the tube with luggage is not my idea of fun. After two horrible experiences, we are not doing that ever again. The Elizabeth line is OK, or the (highly unpopular) Heathrow Express.

We are doing a similar itinerary. Flight gets in around 1pm. We are staying at the Sofitel hotel at Terminal 5. The tube is right close by as I understand it. My "picky" friend always chooses the Sofitel.

We are taking the Picadilly line into the city for an afternoon of walking and dinner at a pub. Right now leaning towards Covent Gardens area.
I would have like to go to Windsor instead but both my friends have been there.

Thank you all SO much for your thoughts and suggestions. A couple more questions, I saw that the airport has a luggage storage facility for ~£12.50, has anyone ever used the storage facility? Our main focus is to see the Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Winston Churchill museum and London Eye, but we have no idea if that’s feasible. We are coming in on British Airways and flying back on American Airlines. Therefore I was thinking of dropping off our luggage at the Terminal 5 luggage facility so we can pick it on our way home. I have also been reading about the Heathrow express. But have no idea what that is and which train to take and where to get off?. Thank you all again for all your help and advice we are VERY grateful.

If your flight is on an American Airlines plane (not a ticket bought from AA on a BA plane) it is going to depart from Terminal 3, not T5. So it would be best to leave your luggage there, not at T5, to save time and trouble when you return to the airport.

There is a new hotel at T3, right in the Arrivals area according to their website.

https://www.myaerotel.com/en-uk/find/americas-europe/united-kingdom/london/aerotel-london

I have no personal experience with this hotel, but it would be the simplest solution, given your late arrival that night. It is a quick and easy transfer from T5 where your flight from Greece will land, to T3, using the “landside” transfer system—-a free ride on the Heathrow Express, Elizabeth Line, or the Tube (Piccadilly line). Here is the Heathrow guide on how to do that:

https://www.heathrow.com/at-the-airport/airport-maps/travel-between-terminals#:~:text=Free%20London%20Underground%20services%20run%20from%20Heathrow%20Terminal%205%20to,you%20only%20travel%20between%20terminals.

Fortunately, from T5 to T3 you are going towards London, so you shouldn’t be confused about the direction of travel of the train. You do need to get a (free) ticket from the machines before boarding. You can see this on the route map for the Elizabeth line:

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/elizabeth-line-map.pdf

But this raises the question of whether you might be better off just heading into London that night after all. Once you are on that train (either Elizabeth Line or Heathrow Express), you could just stay on til Paddington Station and check in to a hotel right there. There is a Hilton just outside the station—-just turn right from the exit. And lots more choices within a block. (The nearby Pilgrm is a well-regarded local hotel if you prefer that to a chain. I have seen it recommended in a number of travel magazines and online articles.)

https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/lonpdhi-hilton-london-paddington/

https://thepilgrm.com/

You will get there late at night but it will save you time in the morning. The hotel can hold your luggage while you explore. Take the Tube straight to Westminster Station after breakfast. Depending on how much time you have spent there, you may have time to ride a Thames Uber boat downriver from Westminster Pier to Tower Pier so you can see Tower Bridge, and all the iconic London buildings along the water on both sides of the river. It is a very enjoyable way to experience London.

https://www.thamesclippers.com/plan-your-journey/route-map

Then take the tube directly back Tom Paddington to collect your luggage and head back to Heathrow, getting off at T3.

But check the schedules very carefully before you commit to the boat ride, and make sure you are looking at the correct schedule (weekday, weekend, bank holiday, etc.) It looks like the eastbound boats on the R1 depart Westminster Pier every 10-20 minutes, and take 22-24 minutes to reach Towed Pier, so that should be doable.

Forget London, head to Windsor which is 20 minutes from the airport. Excellent experience.

...see the Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Winston Churchill museum and London Eye...

Even if you stay in London on your arrival night and get an early start the next day, that's a lot to try to pack in before heading back to the airport. Agree with other who have suggested Windsor instead. Much closer, more leisurely, and much less stress.

The next day you would have time to tour Windsor Castle,

You won't be able to do that if it is a Tuesday or Wednesday as the Castle is closed on those days.

You need to be back at Heathrow by 1.30pm, which is no later than 12.30 leaving Central London, preferably 12 noon.

I see no problem fitting in your 4 item wish list in Central London as you haven't asked to tour inside Tower Bridge or to ride the London eye, just to see them. Both of those would be a step too far.

I would go down to the Tower of London first thing, then catch an early Uber boat/Thames Clipper from Tower Pier up to Westminster (they run far earlier than many people think, as they are public transit, so carry morning commuters) to arrive at Westminster a bit after 9am. The 0856 on a weekday, arrive 0920 would do you nicely. Then see Big Ben on your way from the pier to the Churchill War Rooms. Book a ticket there for say 0945 or 1000.
You asked to see the sights of London, not somewhere else. It is our job to facilitate that wish list.