Heathrow/London 1 day

Hi. We will be arriving in heathrow at 9am and have a full day before we leave for our cruise. Our hotel is a short walk from the picadelly line. I would love if anybody could provide some tour options for us to do while in town for the day. If possible please list a few authentic pubs. My husband would live to visit a true English pub. Thank you for your help.

We are staying at the Hilton garden inn, by the airport. We are looking forward to traveling into the city via this line.

I don't know what other information you are looking for, I gave you the name of the hotel. Hilton garden inn. It is right by the heathrow airport. We are willing to travel into the city.

You can just take the Tube into town and go to whatever is of interest to you and see whatever you want to see. As you have probably already seen, the Piccadilly Line runs right into the centre of town.

Where does your cruise leave from? If it's one of the UK ports, then personally I wouldn't stay at Heathrow even for a one-night stay. You'll miss much of what London has to offer in the evening if you do that.

This has been discussed many times and the clear consensus is, that if you only have one night, and wish to at least get a taste of what London has to offer, you need to stay in the centre of town somewhere.

If you are in a Heathrow hotel, you lose far too much time travelling into town; you also have to be sure to head back while transport is still running. Yes, lugging your luggage into town is a pain, but worthwhile for the extra hours you gain. You can get a cheap direct train from Waterloo Station to Southampton (if that's where your cruise starts) so staying near there makes sense. You can also catch a coach from Victoria Coach Station, so you can stay in that area too.

Thank you, but unfortunately I made the mistake of booking a no refundable hotel, so I will be staying in heathrow, and have to travel into the city for the day.

I am guessing that your flight arrives at 9:00 am from the US on Day 1. You want to visit the city and then leave for your cruise (Southampton) maybe on a ship's transfer from Heathrow on Day 2.

If that is the case then look at a few realities:

Immigration and customs can take a while. You may not get to your hotel before 11/12 ish.

Then you are back to the airport to take the underground into the city.

That gives you an afternoon and early evening in the city before getting the underground back. You can do a lot in that time if it is well planned but don't discount jetlag.

We have stayed at a Heathrow airport hotel overnight prior to another flight. We went into the city via underground just for the purpose of going to the British Museum and meeting folks for a late lunch. It worked very well. We were able to walk along the river for a while with wonderful views of the iconic buildings.

The OP is staying at a hotel very close to Hatton Cross station (the stop before Heathrow on the Picadilly line), which makes it much easier to do the trips into town - no need to go back to the airport to get the tube. So that's a good choice if one is to do this.

OP you have around a 40 minute trip each way to/from the centre of London, so you will probably be in town for a late lunch on your arrival day (assuming you have no need to sleep after a transatlantic flight). You can see a few sights in the afternoon, have dinner and go to a pub before heading back to your hotel for the night, but you do lose the advantage of being able to pop to the hotel if you feel tired or a need to change.

Would the hop-on/hop off bus be of interest to you? You can pick them up near several Picadilly line stations. Or are you museum/gallery types? It's hard to recommend without knowing your interests.

Well, assuming that you will be staying near Heathrow (at the Hilton Garden Inn) and not in central London, it is still possible to enjoy a full-ish day in London. Not knowing from where you are flying in--an overnight flight from North America?--you will have to contend with jet lag, so you might not feel like pursuing an ambitious itinerary or staying out late anyway.

As Heathrow hotels go, the Hilton Garden looks like being one of the more convenient for travel to/from central London: a quick glance at Google Maps & streetview shows that Hatton Cross underground station is a very short, straight walk from the hotel. The ride into town takes approximately 45-60 minutes, depending on your actual destination.

All of the Piccadilly Line stops from Gloucester Road to Kings Cross are in "central" London, but that encompasses a pretty wide area. As for "tour options"--well, that really depends on what you want to see and do. With limited time on the day you arrive after a (presumably) long flight, I'd just opt for strolling around in an interesting area, perhaps popping into a museum along the way if you feel like it. (And, of course, a pub.)

A quick, off-the-top-of-my-head and not comprehensive guide to central London underground stations on the Piccadilly Line:

Gloucester Road or South Kensington: Natural History Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, etc.

Green Park: A pleasant stroll from Green Park underground station to the Thames will enable you to see Green Park & St James's Park, Buckingham Palace, the Admiralty Arch & Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, etc. :)

Piccadilly Circus or Leicester Square: I usually avoid, but that's just me. ;)

Covent Garden: Covent Garden.

Russell Square: The British Museum, and Bloomsbury in general.:)

Authentic pubs? In London? I've only sampled four or five dozen, so my experience is rather limited.:D But of places that are fairly central, and famous, and in neighbourhoods where you are likely to find yourself, any of these (in no particular order) should fit the bill:

http://www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Bars_and_Clubs/Lamb__Flag/57f6/

http://www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Bars_and_Clubs/The_Lamb/32ed/

http://www.taylor-walker.co.uk/pub/museum-tavern-bloomsbury/c0747/

http://www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Bars_and_Clubs/The_Princess_Louise/d8c4/

http://www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Bars_and_Clubs/Cittie_of_Yorke/5c42/

http://www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Restaurant/Ye_Olde_Cheshire_Cheese/3ed4/

The OP is staying at a hotel very close to Hatton Cross station (the stop before Heathrow on the Picadilly line), which makes it much easier to do the trips into town - no need to go back to the airport to get the tube. So that's a good choice if one is to do this.

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That makes sense. Should be easy to do. I find that lunch in the UK is later than in the US so timing is good for that. If planned well should be a good afternoon and early evening. Don't recollect what map we used last time we were there but get a good one that shows places and the underground stations near to them.

Once we know what you want to see then we can give more specific advice.

Maybe this would be of interest https://www.theoriginaltour.com/

Thank you everyone. My parents will be with us, so maybe the hop on bus would be a good idea.

Well, assuming that you will be staying near Heathrow (at the Hilton Garden Inn) and not in central London, it is still possible to enjoy a full-ish day in London. Not knowing from where you are flying in--an overnight flight from North America?--you will have to contend with jet lag, so you might not feel like pursuing an ambitious itinerary or staying out late anyway.

 

As Heathrow hotels go, the Hilton Garden looks like being one of the more convenient for travel to/from central London: a quick glance at Google Maps & streetview shows that Hatton Cross underground station is a very short, straight walk from the hotel. The ride into town takes approximately 45-60 minutes, depending on your actual destination.

 

All of the Piccadilly Line stops from Gloucester Road to Kings Cross are in "central" London, but that encompasses a pretty wide area. As for "tour options"--well, that really depends on what you want to see and do. With limited time on the day you arrive after a (presumably) long flight, I'd just opt for strolling around in an interesting area, perhaps popping into a museum along the way if you feel like it. (And, of course, a pub.)

 

A quick, off-the-top-of-my-head and not comprehensive guide to central London underground stations on the Piccadilly Line:

 

Gloucester Road or South Kensington: Natural History Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, etc.

 

Green Park: A pleasant stroll from Green Park underground station to the Thames will enable you to see Green Park & St James's Park, Buckingham Palace, the Admiralty Arch & Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, etc. :)

 

Piccadilly Circus or Leicester Square: I usually avoid, but that's just me. ;)

 

Covent Garden: Covent Garden.

 

Russell Square: The British Museum, and Bloomsbury in general.:)

 

Authentic pubs? In London? I've only sampled four or five dozen, so my experience is rather limited.:D But of places that are fairly central, and famous, and in neighbourhoods where you are likely to find yourself, any of these (in no particular order) should fit the bill:

http://www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Bars_and_Clubs/Lamb__Flag/57f6/

 

http://www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Bars_and_Clubs/The_Lamb/32ed/

 

http://www.taylor-walker.co.uk/pub/museum-tavern-bloomsbury/c0747/

 

http://www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Bars_and_Clubs/The_Princess_Louise/d8c4/

 

http://www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Bars_and_Clubs/Cittie_of_Yorke/5c42/

 

http://www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Restaurant/Ye_Olde_Cheshire_Cheese/3ed4/

Wow thank you! I think I will print this out. Jet lag

may be an issue, as we are flying in from Wisconsin. I can sleep anywhere, but my husband not so much.

Regarding jet lag, the very worst thing you can do is take a nap upon arrival. Go out and walk, try to get some sunshine to help your body reset its internal clock. Stay in London as long as you can bear it then return to your hotel and collapse.

I have to add a couple more pub links to the good ones shown above.

http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/92/924/Harp/Covent_Garden (Best pub in London IMHO)

http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/15/1564/Ye_Old_Mitre/Holborn (Hard to find and only open weekdays)

http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/16/1660/Jerusalem_Tavern/Clerkenwell

Regarding jet lag, the very worst thing you can do is take a nap upon arrival. Go out and walk, try to get some sunshine to help your body reset its internal clock. Stay in London as long as you can bear it then return to your hotel and collapse.

You also need to consider getting to Southampton an embarkation day. There are four of you, so booking a car from http://www.smithsforairports.com/ or https://www.aquacars.co.uk would be your best mode of transport. Be sure to tell them that you are four adults with cruise luggage so that they send a suitable car.

The drive to Southampton should take about an hour and a half, so a midday pickup after a lay-in and a late breakfast should be fine.

OK, so you're committed to that airport hotel.

Not ideal, but no worries.

Airport formalities usually take 60 to 90 minutes.

To your hotel - taxi from the rank at the airport terminal will be quicker than the public transport options (I'd only suggest a taxi from the rank for short journeys like this, for longer journeys they're very expensive), drop your bags, & take the tube from Hatton Cross station which is close by.

Tube journey into central London takes 40 to 45 minutes, so you're likely to be there shortly before noon.

Consider the tube stations at.....

South Kensington (for museums, but little else)

Hyde Park Corner (for Hyde Park & Buckingham Palace)

Piccadilly Circus or Leicester Square (for the heart of "the West End")

Covent Garden (for Covent Garden & the theatre district)

or a better plan would be to switch trains at South Kensington to the Circle or District lines to Westminster (for Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, etc)

But because of your time restraints and potential jet-lag, museums or long walks are probably off the agenda, and I totally agree with Alaskanb that the ho-ho would best suit.

This will give you a good oversight of central London & its sights without too much effort - you'll just have to prod hubby awake from time to time ;).

There are two competing ho-ho operators, Original and Big Bus. There's little to choose between those two - prices, main routes, included extras and frequency are similar, but perhaps avoid Golden Tours' ho-ho - they offer a set central London evening tour which might suit, but they're new to ho-ho and their ho-ho's don't have anything like the frequency or extras offered by the other two.

Various routes and suitable starting points, the red & yellow routes are the main sight-seeing routes. The Original's yellow route has a live guide, the quirky information & corny jokes make the trip more personal, though the recorded commentary on the red or blue routes gives much more factual information. Ideal pick-up point for the yellow route is the corner of Coventry Street & Whitcomb street, a five minute walk from Piccadilly Circus tube station - they have a ticket/information booth there & it's where the bus starts, so more chance of a good seat.

Ho-ho's finish around 6pm, so unless you particularly want to visit inside any sights, best to stick with the buses til then............. except for Buckingham Palace. Buses aren't allowed past the Palace, so if you want to see it you have to get off the bus, walk a couple of hundred yards round the corner, then back to the ho-ho stop & catch the next one.

Parliament Square is a good place to abandon the bus & take a walk. Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Churchill's War Rooms, Whitehall, Downing Street, Horse Guards Parade, and as far as Trafalgar Square. And/or a short river cruise (included in the ho-ho ticket) from near Parliament Square at Westminster Pier to the Tower of London. Or vice-versa ..... off the bus at Tower of London & cruise to Westminster Pier, then walk those sights.

Don't worry about where & when to eat - yes, some places like Covent Garden are foodie territory, and Post Captain & Steve provided a list of potential watering holes, but you have a wide choice anywhere in central London.

Last tube trains back to Hatton Cross / Heathrow are around midnight, there are now limited all-night services but I don't know on which routes. And in any case you ain't gonna last that long :D

IMPORTANT for your return tube train. The Piccadilly line splits before Hatton Cross / Heathrow, two trains out of three go to Heathrow & you can take any Heathrow train. But one train in three goes to Uxbridge instead of Heathrow, and that's no good for you. They all use the same platform at central London tube stations, so check the overhead signs & the sign on the front of the train. Don't take one bound for Uxbridge. :eek:

Your time is woefully short, but you'll be able to achieve a lot as long as you don't delve too deeply anywhere.

From Heathrow to Southampton next morning you have a choice of National Express bus (that'll be cheapest) or train (not ideal from Heathrow) or ship's transfer (poor value, especially for ?4? of you) or private transfer.

I concur with Bob on the best private transfer operators, & add http://www.westquaycars.com All three are based at the Southampton end & perhaps more reliable, more personal & better value than London-based operators. For Nat Express or train or ship's transfers you need to start by getting to an airport terminal, & for Nat Express or train you need a taxi (or two?) from central Southampton to cruise terminal, under £10.

http://content.tfl.gov.uk/standard-tube-map.pdf

https://www.theoriginaltour.com/media/1945/map-from-3rd-oct-3.jpg

http://eng.bigbustours.com/london/home.html?gclid=CMzAwb744c8CFUS3GwodJWUMUg

https://www.goldentours.com/london-by-night-open-top-bus-tour

http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx

Mind the gap ;)

JB :)

Thank you everyone!