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Overnight London Stay

We are arriving in London at the end of November from Rome at Heathrow at 2PM and have to leave out on a flight back home to California at noon the next day. Staying at the Grosvenor House by Hyde Park over night, but need to know if we have time to get to the London Eye before it closes that night or should we just hang at Piccadily Circus and get something eat and call it a night. We understand it takes an average of 2 hours to get through customs and we plan on taking the Heathrow Express to Paddington station before dropping off luggage at hotel..

Posted by
410 posts

Having just checked the London Eye website, the last 'boarding' at that time of the year is 8.30pm so you should have plenty of time. It should take nowhere near 2 hours to clear Customs but an arrival time of 2pm likely means you would not leave the airport until 3 or later, largely dependant on actual landing time and passport control, which is where the delays could be. I have never had a 2 hour delay. One thing to bear in mind is that it will be dark from around 4pm. Not to say the Eye wouldn't be lovely by night, but you do need to know what to expect. In some respects night time may be more spectacular - I have only ever done it around 8pm in June.

Posted by
8572 posts

More than enough time to take the Eye. Lovely at night.
Then walk back across the bridge to Whitehall and enjoy the lights of Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. You could then hop on the Westminster tube or take a stroll along Whitehall to Trafalgar Square then over to bright lights and mayhem of Piccadily Circus.

Posted by
11 posts

Thanks for the replies ladies. We knew it would be dark and probably cool (hopefully no rain) and have a plan on which tube to catch to get to Waterloo, but was trying to decide if we should purchase the Eye tickets online in advance or just wait until we arrive and purchase at the event? Also had plans to leave our most of our luggage at the airport...anyone had any experience with that?

Posted by
149 posts

Are you willing to go on The Eye regardless of the weather conditions? If so, then purchase the tickets beforehand. If not, then wait until you get there and buy tickets only if the weather is clear. Personally, I would wait until I got there. If it's rainy or foggy, visibility will be poor and you won't see much.

Posted by
11 posts

Thanks Margaret, great point about checking to assure if the night is clear especially with the weather being so unpredicatable so late in the year. We will make that decision on Eye tickets once we arrive.