transportation

Take the Circle line in the direction of Edgware Rd. http://www.tfl.gov.uk

What Michael S said is the most straightforward. It should take about 15 minutes after you get on the Underground train. Two alternatives are Victoria Line northbound, change at Oxford Circus on to the northbound Bakerloo Line. That may take about 16 minutes. Or there is a bus - the 36 goes direct via Hyde Park, Park Lane and Marble Arch. that will take around 23 minutes plus traffic delays if any.

OK, to take up from Margaret, BTW - there are deals available online at the moment for the Gatwick Express. A little less expensive, but also slower, is the Southern service from Gatwick to Victoria. The even slower Capital Connect service from Gatwick to Kings Cross is not really suitable for Paddington. It is possible that Dorsey actually want to reach Heathrow, but they did not say that. If that had been the case there is the option of the motorway coach but that was not the posed question. Margaret, you say that the Underground is most straightforward but most expensive. Other than walking or using a Boris' bike I don't know of a less expensive way to get from Victoria to Paddington. How would you go?

.You would still have to change at Victoria, but it would be cheaper and you wouldn't have to buy 2 different tickets or switch from the rail station section of Victoria to the tube section. I'm really sorry but I have to fundamentally disagree with the information posted above. There is no train which goes from Victoria to Paddington. The only rails that go there are the London Underground. It is completely mandatory to change from the rail system to the Underground system at Victoria. To be perfectly clear, it is not possible to take a train from Gatwick to Paddington, even with a change. Also, First Capital Connect does not and never has served Victoria. It goes nowhere near. I don't want to be argumentative but I deal with these trains every day.

Margaret, you say that the Underground is most straightforward but most expensive. Other than walking or using a Boris' bike I don't know of a less expensive way to get from Victoria to Paddington. How would you go? I didn't say that the Underground is most expensive, but that the Gatwick Express is more expensive than a regular train. I do not take the Gatwick Express to Victoria or the Heathrow Express to Paddington because I think they are overpriced, and the time savings compared to a regular train (about 10 minutes) is not worth it to me. I also know that a lot of people like to use them. To each his own. I deleted my post. The original poster should just follow your sage advice. And I had no idea what a Boris bike was until I just googled it. Interesting!

As Nigel said, taking a Southern train from Gatwick to Victoria will save you some money. Taking the Circle Line from Victoria to Paddington would work well. However, taking the bus will give you an above-ground introduction to a slice of central London. Bus 36 runs every 4-6 minutes.