London-for the weekend

We flying in/out of heathrow airport.

And......

like to have close center of the city but not far from the airport..... OK, so with Heathrow an hour by Underground (plus or minus) to what I expect you mean the centre of London tourism (the point used to measure from is Charing Cross but that may not be where you want to be), and using the Heathrow Express is both expensive and deposits you at Paddington, miles from the tourist centre. So, since you can't be at both the airport and the centre of London - your request - which do you wish to be closer to? If you are only going for a day (you really can't count Friday because you will be getting settled and dealing with jet lag if you are arriving from Texas) am I right to assume you have previously visited London? What things do you want to do in your limited time? What's important to you?

not far from the airport Which airport, shawn? None of the London airports are close to the centre. London City is the closest, a tiny airport east of the centre. Stansted and Luton are north of London quite a way, an hour to 90 minutes. Heathrow is an hour west of the center, Gatwick is an hour south by car, 30 minutes by fast train.

Shawn do you know e.e.cummings? RU flying into Heathrow? As Nigel noted there are more than one London airport, none of which are close to central London. Have you done any research on London? Read the RS guidebook? Lonely Planet? Even looked on this Helpline by using the search function? I've personally answered previous posts about "other sites" to see and many other folks have offered restaurant and pub ideas for "great places to eat." I found the cartoon museum, seeing a performance at the Wilton Hall, exploring the Highgate Cemetary, shopping in Brick Lane, and visiting the Sir John C. Ritblatt gallery in the British Library interesting. You may not. Without knowing what you and your wife's interests are, rather difficult to suggest what else there is to see besides the Pallie, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, The Eye, St. Paul's and the Tower of London.

How early is your flight out on Sunday morning? When I have a short stay in London and flights out of Heathrow, I like to stay in the Earls Court / Gloucester Road area. These stops are on both the Piccadilly and District lines. It is about 45 minutes by tube from Heathrow and about 15 minutes by tube to Leicester Square. I like the base2stay in that area which has nice amenities like free wifi and a kitchenette. There is also a Premier Inn on Knaresborough Road that is a good value. However, before you were to choose that area, I'd check to make sure that there are no engineering works affecting the Piccadilly line for the weekend of your stay. You can check on tfl.gov.uk. Also, you need to check to make sure the tube is running early enough on the Sunday of your departure to get you to Heathrow on time; otherwise, you might want to prebook a car service.

You might want to stay in the Earls Court/South Kensington area... It is more affordable than Central London, and seems to take only 35-40 minutes from Heathrow on the Piccadilly (blue) underground line. Staying in this safe, residential area would give you easy access to the Blue Piccadilly line (Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, Harrods, Buckingham Palace), Green District line (Big Ben, Trafalgar Sq, Tower of London)as well as Yellow Circle line (Paddington, Notting Hill)... (Circle line from S Kensington station, not Earls Ct).. Earls Ct and Kensington are only a 10-15 minute tube ride into Central London and is my favorite, safe place to stay.

To add on Tami's post, I think it important to note that the Piccadilly Line is a very dark blue. The light blue line is the Victoria Line. Just to avoid any confusion...

Oh yea. Thanks Nige. I forgot about the Victoria line! Some you ride more than others :)

thanks guys....very so helpful.....my flight leaves at 0630 am and sounds like I will have to take a cab to heathrow airport....?

Piccadilly line will get you right into Heathrow probably quicker than a cab, and much much cheaper.

The Piccadilly line does not start running early enough to get one to the airport in time for a 6:30 am flight. Shawn, You may want to use a car service. It will be much cheaper than a black cab. You can arrange in advance and it will be a fixed price. Just Airports is frequently recommended by people on this site. If you can check in online in advance, I'd recommend that. Also, make sure to see what time the airline counter opens.

If your flight is 6.30 am, you probably need to be at the airport no later than 4/30 am.... (3 hours before flight when it gets busy). Just cant do it realistically without staying at one of the hotels on the airport property Satrurday night. No practical way to do that and also be anywhere in London. I dont normally suggest this, but with a 6.30 am flight time, you need to be at the airport and go into London for the day

True some of us do ride the tube more than others. The Piccadilly line begins operation around 5-530am but is nearly a 60 minute ride to Heathrow. Might be the cheapest option but cheapest isn't always the best. Either stay at a hotel near the airport that has a shuttle service so you'll make your early a.m. flight OR stay in London and pre arrange a car hire to transport you to Heathrow. If you don't car about price get a black cab. 4:30am is the very latest you should arrive for a 6:30am flight.

Bus N9 goes three times an hour to Heathrow overnight, taking an hour or thereabouts depending on terminal and starting point - starts from Aldwych, going along the Strand, Knightsbridge, Kensington and Hammersmith. So there is a public transport alternative, albeit from a ive part of London without having to change bus. Would still be an early start though.