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London Layover

Hello! I'm looking for help and info about a decent hotel near (very near) Heathrow. We land at LHR at 10am, and depart the next morning at 10:30am. We would love to stay in a hotel that is close to the airport, or even connected to the airport via tram or bus. I looked at the Hilton but it is unfortunately out of our price range. Also, I believe we will be flying out of T3.
During our time there, we would love to see London and all it's glory. Is there a way to get in to town without taking a taxi? What is the best way to do so? And, on our list of things to do is Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, & Covent Garden... and I'm a HUGE Beatles AND Harry Potter fan. Any suggestions on things to do? Thank you!

Posted by
1986 posts

There are hotels connected to some of the terminals which i am not familiar with. However there are numerous hotels in close proximity to the airport serviced by the "Hoitel hoppa' bus. We have had good experiences with the Sheraton and renaissance Getting into London- the most convenient and cheapest is the Tube (underground), the Piccadilly Line runs from heathrow through the center of the tourist sights, the stop at Leicester square or Piccadilly Circus will drop you near Covent garden and you can walk via Piccadilly Circus to Trafalgar square, Westminster Abbey and Big Ben and also buckingham palace. (The Green Park stop- just before Piccadilly Circus) is very close to Buckingham Palace.
The first part of the tube journey is above ground, so you get to see something You can also get into town (paddington station) using the Heathrow express or Heathrow Connect train service from heathrow. More expensive but faster . Paddington has connections to Harry Potter- not my thing, so others can elucidate. Other things to do: Walk along the Thames or the fancy shopping streets, visit St Pauls and the tower of London. Multiple museums. Theater (matinee and evening performances) . Abbey Road (Beetles). Coming from California- you will be tired, thats a long flight , so you are likely to flag a little in mid afternoon- so probably not a good idea to attend the theater without an alarm clock. However, we have a similar schedule when we fly to London- so it definitely can be done despite "jet lag" I would probably plan on having dinner back at your hotel have i exhausted you yet? Enjoy the experience

Posted by
3843 posts

Since your time is limited, once you get into London, you may want to do one of the Hop On Hop Off bus trips. They drive by Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square and many other sights. You can, as the name implies, hop off, visit a sight, then hop back on the bus and continue with the tour. Be sure and get on a bus with a live guide instead of the recording, if you can. Since you are a fan of the Beatles and Harry Potter, have a look at the www.walks.com site. That is "London Walks", a company that gives inexpensive walking tours around London (and some trips out of town via train and bus). They have a "Beatles London" tour and a "Harry Potter" tour. Go to their website and look around a bit. I highly recommend them; their guides are friendly and give a good tour.