My 20 year old daughter is studying abroad in Paris this year. She has a school break in a few weeks and is taking a trip to Ireland with a friend. On the way back to Paris they have a long layover at Heathrow - arrive at 9 pm and the flight the next morning leaves at 9 am. Neither girl has never been to London before, and neither have I. She has no idea what to do - but would obviously not like to spend 12 hours in the airport. I know the timing is tough as most, if not all tourist attractions will be closed at that time of night. Plus I am not sure how late the public transportation runs. I’m assuming they want a place that would be safe to walk around at night, maybe go to a pub or something, and have it be close to the public transportation so they can easily get to and from the airport as well as an inexpensive place they could sleep for the night.
Please don’t lecture me on how she should be planning this herself. This is the only part of the trip she has asked me about and she really has no idea what to do. She has never done this before. I would like to just be able to point her in the right direction. Thanks for any travel trips you can share.
Since the layover is in LHR on way back to Paris from Ireland, you may want to verify if she has to go through customs & immigration. Did Brexit change anything? If she has to go through immigration, a 9pm arrival might turn into a 10:30pm exit from the airport. I figure that in the best of times, it takes 20 minutes from touchdown to walking out of the airport. If she has to go through immigration, that could add a real chunk of time.
It’s about half an hour on the Heathrow Express from the airport to the train station in London. (I think it’s Paddington, but not sure.) They say 15 minutes, but I’m counting the time I usually spent buying the ticket and awaiting its arrival.
She could get a hotel near the train station amd Google good pubs around there. I think that’s pretty do-able.
She should not underestimate the time needed to get to the airport and through the boarding process the next morning. Heathrow is huge and complicated. It can sometimes take 20 minutes or more just to walk from the security area to the gate.
She might want to see how much an Uber might cost to do a quick drive around London at night. The Houses of
Parliament, Big Ben’s tower, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace all look great lit up at night. Cabs are a better experience, but they probably cost more.
If this is her chance to see London, I agree she should give it a shot!
Edited to add: I don’t recommend a hotel in a place that you need a car/cab the next day to get you to the train station or airport. I’m a scaredy cat about missing planes, and the traffic in London is horrendous in the mornings on a work day.
Boy, that really doesn’t give her much time. By the time she gets through customs it is 10 pm and she will have to be at Heathrow no later than 7 am, I would just grab a hotel at the airport and forget trying to see much. There is the Heathrow Express that gets you into London at Paddington Station. That is about 15 minutes. They could then take a cab ride around town to see some of the sights, but then it is back to Heathrow. Too bad it isn’t 7 am until 7 pm.
Do the pubs in London still close at 11? The other London option is the clubs with a cover charge, maybe not worth the late night given their early morning. Plus, the trains stop running at midnight.
Agree with silverlady - I would look at a Heathrow hotel and a local Heathrow pub.
I would recommend first grabbing a late dinner or drinks at a restaurant with a bit of atmosphere (maybe a quick dinner at the Wolseley or drinks at the Connaught Hotel) and then getting a black cab to drive them around the sights at night (Buck. Palace, London Eye, Tower of London) before calling it a night.
I say go for it. Seeing the sights st night from the safety of a vehicle sounds like the best option. And then sleeping somewhere close to the airport or train station.
Both the Heathrow express (def check the prices can be high https://www.raileurope.com/activities/heathrow-express/index.html )and a local train go from Heathrow to Paddington. There is a Hilton right at the train station and a Mercure across the street. H and I are at the Hilton next week for $268 per night in basic room. The other option to get into town is the Piccadilly line on the subway/tube. (Around £7.) There are tons of kids roaming around between the Piccadilly Circus and the Leicester stops, but the traditional hotel rooms can be spendy. In January my son and I stayed one stop earlier (Green Park) and spent the night at the Holiday Inn Mayfair which was just a block & half from subway stop. We prepaid and got a rate of $175 USD. The Piccadilly line goes to Heathrow (note ever other train goes to terminal 4 so make note). It takes about 45 minutes from the Piccadilly stop to Heathrow.
My memory tells me that the subways stop running around midnight. Lessor lines might close earlier. Warning…after the subways stop running the demand for transport is great in some areas (like theater district) and there can be private cars that operate as cabs. This creeped me out and I wouldn’t do it again.
They are kids and they can go without sleep, but they need to pay attention to what time they need to be at airport. Heathrow can be time consuming.
Brexit hasn’t yet happened. Definitely go into town, Heathrow Express isn’t inexpensive for kids but is the way to go on a quick trip, yes it goes to Paddington. About 15-20 mins to Paddington. Central London is very safe to walk around. A number of London tube lines now run all night. Lots of great hostels. London is beautiful at night.
I would also recommend getting a hotel near Paddington so they can hop on the HXP in the morning. The hotels near the airport are very expensive and not very nice (in most cases) and most require a van ride to the airport anyway.
My advice would be: don’t get a hotel. They’re young, they’re only going to have time for a few hours sleep, if at all. If they really want to go into London, go into London. There’s a ton of late late night life. (Don’t drink.)