Lhr?

[Alisa]

So I am going to be stuck at Heathrow for 11 hours on a layover in a couple of weeks. Any of you that are familiar with London have any suggestions for me? If you could go one place in London (I've never been), where would you go?

 

[GaryPanic]

given that you only have 11 hours ,I would not bother find a bar - get hammered .

it will take an hour to get out of heathrow and you need to be in heathrow at least 2 hours before you fly out (that leaves 8 hours ) it takes an hour to get anywhere and an hour back - 6 hours left - not really enough time to enjoy anything - also what time are you going to be around rush hour etc

if you could could get 24 hours then traflager square might be worth looking up - its usually has some outdoor entertainment on - check the website-

London eye - or visit London website "Visit London" should have a list

- it will rain/snow and be bloody cold ....so wrap up warm

Heathrow is a bit depressing - no where to really go

 

[Alisa]

given that you only have 11 hours ,I would not bother find a bar - get hammered .

lol good suggestion, but will have the kiddos with me. What is the legal drinking age over there?

 

[Kiwiman]

Howzit

Windsor Castle is about 10-15 minutes from LHR. They may sting you for the taxi fare though as it is outside the "London" area. We lived right next to Windsor and they were going to charge £50 for a 10 minute journey.

For London central, head into Piccadilly circus, Covent Garden and Leicester Square gives you a good feel for the place. The London Eye - a big ferris wheel by Waterloo station takes about 40 minutes to go around. Depending on the day could be worth a look - gets a good view of the surrounding city.

 

[Alisa]

Howzit

Windsor Castle is about 10-15 minutes from LHR. They may sting you for the taxi fare though as it is outside the "London" area. We lived right next to Windsor and they were going to charge £50 for a 10 minute journey.

For London central, head into Piccadilly circus, Covent Garden and Leicester Square gives you a good feel for the place. The London Eye - a big ferris wheel by Waterloo station takes about 40 minutes to go around. Depending on the day could be worth a look - gets a good view of the surrounding city.

We have a friend in London, might be able to persuade him to take the day off, pick us up, and take us around. Can you go inside the castle? Or just stand outside? And another question I have, what is a circus and why are there so many of them in London? Over here, we only have the Barnum and Bailey circus, and there are big elephants and clowns and cotton candy.

 

[Kiwiman]

Howzit

Yes you can go into Windsor castle. Also depending on the day and time you get there you may strike it lucky and catch the "Changing of the Guards".

This is where the new "Army Shift" that guards the castle, marches up from the barracks down the road with the accompanying band to take over from the existing shift. Only happnes on Tues and Thurs I think in the winter - around 11.30 am give or take.

Piccadilly Circus is just a place in London thats pretty buzzy - not a real Circus - it is strongly advised that you bring your own elephant if that is in fact you want to see .

I believe (or I was told) that it got it's name years back as it was where all the prozzies hung out. Another term forprossie back then was "Dilly" - therefore Pick-A-Dilly

 

[SQL_Hell]

Howzit
I believe (or I was told) that it got it's name years back as it was where all the prozzies hung out. Another term forprossie back then was "Dilly" - therefore Pick-A-Dilly

LOL, I'd love to know where that story came from.
The name Piccadily actually orginates from a tailor called Robert Barker who had a shop on the Strand in the 16th century. He made Piccadill's which were large stiff lace collar and were very fashionable at the time.

Alisa, you can get the Heathrow express to Paddington which runs every 15 mins and will get you to Paddington in about 20mins. I believe its around £25 return. It might be a little expensive but from Paddington it's easy to get Windsor or anywhere else in London.

The word circus comes from the Latin word meaning circle, it is essentially a circular open space at a busy road junction or intersection

 

[Alisa]

Well I am glad to have all that straightened out!

 

[chergh]

For London I would say get a coach tour ticket and then just get off and on at where you are interested.

 

[Rabbie]

The word circus comes from the Latin word meaning circle, it is essentially a circular open space at a busy road junction or intersection

Though in the Georgian parts of Edinburgh and Bath a Circus is used in street names that often would be described as a crescent

 

[RECrerar]

Alisa, you can get the Heathrow express to Paddington which runs every 15 mins and will get you to Paddington in about 20mins. I believe its around £25 return. It might be a little expensive but from Paddington it's easy to get Windsor or anywhere else in London.

Just joining in here. I live in London and I wouldn't recommend going from heathrow to Paddington and then into town and it will be much quicker and cheaper to take the tube which will take directly to Covent Garden (very nice) or Picadilly Circus and take about 40 minutes total. I'm not too sure exactly how much it is but I'd guess at about £8.

Not too much to add to people's suggestions, they all seem pretty good. Winsor castle is apparently very nice. If you do go for central London trafalgar Square is definately worth seeing as is covent Garden and Picadilly is popular with the tourists, although personally I find it a bit tacky (I guess that comes from seeing it all the time). All these areas are in within easy walking distance of each other if you get a map.

 

[Alisa]

Is it very cold there now? We are from Colorado, so we are used to cold weather, but will it be too cold to walk around? Or will we be ok as long as we bundle up?

 

[RECrerar]

It was quite nice this morning, about 8 degrees (celcius, I don't understand farenheight). Recently it has been quite cold, around around freezing point but nothing a coat and scarf can't deal with. Should be fine to walk around

 

[Alisa]

That's about what it is here during the day too, should be fine then. Thanks!

 

[stopher]

Just joining in here. I live in London and I wouldn't recommend going from heathrow to Paddington and then into town and it will be much quicker and cheaper to take the tube which will take directly to Covent Garden (very nice) or Picadilly Circus and take about 40 minutes total. I'm not too sure exactly how much it is but I'd guess at about £8.

Not too much to add to people's suggestions, they all seem pretty good. Winsor castle is apparently very nice. If you do go for central London trafalgar Square is definately worth seeing as is covent Garden and Picadilly is popular with the tourists, although personally I find it a bit tacky (I guess that comes from seeing it all the time). All these areas are in within easy walking distance of each other if you get a map.

I agree with this pretty much. If you had a couple of days I'd also recommend Windsor but are you really going to spend a whole day there? Depends on how much time you want to kill, how much you want to see and how much energy you have.

But, just head for Picadilly/Covent Garden on the tube. Sure they are touristy but fun. From there, there are many other major sites within a short walk:
Suggested walk route:
Covent Garden
Leicester Square (Theatre district)
Picadilly Circus (lots of neon lights)
Trafalger Square (Nelsons Column)
Whitehall (and Downing St (where the Prime Minister Resides), Horse Guards)
Westminster (Ben Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, London Eye)
Birdcage Walk/St James's Park to (Buckingham Palace - the Queen's pad)

(by now you will have walked about 2-2½ miles.)

From there just head up through Green Park until you hit Picadilly Rd and then either walk or catch a bus back towards covent garden (if you bought a day ticket for the tube that will also cover the buses). Buses are a great way to see London. You don't have to go back to Covent Garden of course, you can go to any tube station to get back to Heathrow (albeit with a change).

There's plenty of shopping e.g. Hamleys Toy Shop for the kids, but it's going to be manic this time of year. Also, Regents St (posh shops) and Oxford St (general High St shops & boutiques).

Chris

 

[Alisa]

Ooh I love maps, thanks for the links Chris!

 

[MSAccessRookie]

I agree with this pretty much. If you had a couple of days I'd also recommend Windsor but are you really going to spend a whole day there? Depends on how much time you want to kill, how much you want to see and how much energy you have.

But, just head for Picadilly/Covent Garden on the tube. Sure they are touristy but fun. From there, there are many other major sites within a short walk:
Suggested walk route:
Covent Garden
Leicester Square (Theatre district)
Picadilly Circus (lots of neon lights)
Trafalger Square (Nelsons Column)
Whitehall (and Downing St (where the Prime Minister Resides), Horse Guards)
Westminster (Ben Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, London Eye)
Birdcage Walk/St James's Park to (Buckingham Palace - the Queen's pad)

(by now you will have walked about 2-2½ miles.)

From there just head up through Green Park until you hit Picadilly Rd and then either walk or catch a bus back towards covent garden (if you bought a day ticket for the tube that will also cover the buses). Buses are a great way to see London. You don't have to go back to Covent Garden of course, you can go to any tube station to get back to Heathrow (albeit with a change).

There's plenty of shopping e.g. Hamleys Toy Shop for the kids, but it's going to be manic this time of year. Also, Regents St (posh shops) and Oxford St (general High St shops & boutiques).

Chris

As a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Fan, I thought the Sherlock Holmes Museum might be fun, but I just looked at a map and found that 221B Baker Street is over 2 miles away from most of these sites.

 

[stopher]

As a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Fan, I thought the Sherlock Holmes Museum might be fun, but I just looked at a map and found that 221B Baker Street is over 2 miles away from most of these sites.

Good point about museums. Plenty in London and a good bet if the weather is not so good. You can spend many hours in the Natural History Museum for instance (great for kids) and it's free.
Chris
Note to self: check out Sherlock Holmes Museum