Short time in London

[GMfitter]

We land in London at 4 pm. Our hotel is near the "EYE". Flight around 10 the next morning back to the US.

What can we see in a short time?

 

[gerntz]

Going into central London in these circumstances make no sense to me. You likely won't get into London till after 6p & need to leave for airport again about 6a I'd guess. Me, I'd just stay around airport & relax.

If you must, I'd hang around Trafalgar Square &/or Piccadilly Circus & just soak in the atmosphere. Too late & too little time for any museums. Maybe walk along Thames.

 

[euro]

We land in London at 4 pm. Our hotel is near the "EYE". Flight around 10 the next morning back to the US.

What can we see in a short time?

Personally, I would rebook the hotel to one out near the airport and just catch a good night’s sleep. Then again, I’m old and like to take it easy, especially at what looks like the tail end of a longer trip...
The problem is that when you land at 4PM, assuming you are on time (big assumption, especially at that time of the day), taxi to the gete, get off the plane, customs (depending on where you are flying in from), luggage pickup, etc plus the trip into London during rush hour, could take 2-3 hours just to get to your hotel. At that point, attractions like museums, tower, even the London eye will be closed. If the weather is decent, perhaps a walk on the South banks of the Thames would be a good use of the remaining daylight. If you don’t feel like walking, take the river boat out to Greenwich and back. Grab some food, or if you are really ambitious you could consider taking in a show in the Theater district.
In any event, if your flight leaves at 10AM, you’ll probably want to shoot for leaving to the airport at 7AM at the latest since you will again be facing rush hour traffic (though for the most part “against traffic”), so you may not get that much sleep.

 

[piccolopat]

A lot of the sights close before you will get into central London but there is outside stuff you can still do. After you walk across the Westminster bridge, you can walk by and see Big Ben (although there is still a lot of scaffolding on it), Parliament and Westminster Abbey. Walk up to St. James Park, about 10 minutes, and take the BirdCage walk down to Buckingham Palace. Then walk The Mall (roadway) to Trafalgar. Catch a cab or the tube back to your hotel. It's a lot of walking but doable in a few hours.

 

[ivinsfan]

Personally, I would rebook the hotel to one out near the airport and just catch a good night’s sleep. Then again, I’m old and like to take it easy, especially at what looks like the tail end of a longer trip...
The problem is that when you land at 4PM, assuming you are on time (big assumption, especially at that time of the day), taxi to the gete, get off the plane, customs (depending on where you are flying in from), luggage pickup, etc plus the trip into London during rush hour, could take 2-3 hours just to get to your hotel. At that point, attractions like museums, tower, even the London eye will be closed. If the weather is decent, perhaps a walk on the South banks of the Thames would be a good use of the remaining daylight. If you don’t feel like walking, take the river boat out to Greenwich and back. Grab some food, or if you are really ambitious you could consider taking in a show in the Theater district.
In any event, if your flight leaves at 10AM, you’ll probably want to shoot for leaving to the airport at 7AM at the latest since you will again be facing rush hour traffic (though for the most part “against traffic”), so you may not get that much sleep.

+1 except for the fact I'd leave for the airport at 6, 7 is cutting it too close IMO. OP there's a nice Hilton connected to the terminal, I've stayed there myself. Even if your room in town is prepaid I'd just suck it up and call it a learning experience. It sounds as though you are at the end of a trip, just chill before the flight back.

 

[Nemo2]

C'mon you guys, don't be so negative...there's probably enough time to visit the Eiffel Tower and the Parthenon if the OP hurries.

 

[braumeister]

Assuming the OP doesn't plan to eat or sleep much, there would be just enough time for a trip in the Eye, nothing more.

Time from deplaning at either Heathrow or Gatwick to the vicinity of the Eye and then back again could easily eat up four hours, depending on the day.

I agree with others that it's a very bad plan and changing to an airport hotel would be best.

 

[OddGuy]

This past summer, I was working in Spain and took a quick weekend in London. Had spent considerable time there in the late 80's, but hadn't been since.

Your biggest challenge will be dealing with the immigration line, particularly if you land in Heathrow. Allow an hour for that, and just deal with it (not that you have any option).

That said, I'd definitely recommend scooting into town, as you plan. Just figure on doing everything around your hotel, and don't worry about specific sights. London is so different from other European cities, and you can soak in so much atmosphere by simply commuting, whether by tube, train, or taxi. Walk the streets and the banks of the Thames, find a restaurant when you're hungry, people watch, find a pub. Repeat the experience in the morning on your way back to the airport.

There's a lot of life that can be experienced merely by strolling and watching, and London is a great city for doing both.

Who cares if you're tired? Sleep when you get home. You'll remember your 12 hours in the city for years.

 

[OldShooter]

Can you extend the stop? A few years ago we were scheduled through CDG on the way to India and, on my insistence rebooked to turn that stop into a couple of days in Paris. Very pleasant.

British Museum is stunning. The Empire plundered the world, including some stunning pieces of the Parthenon (thereby saving you the quick trip to Athens). Rosetta stone ... the list goes on. The Tower and the crown jewels are also a must-punch on your London card.

 

[Red Badger]

Like others have suggested, stay near the airport (or extend your stay). If you land at 4, very "best case" gets you into central London well after 6. Probably much later. OB flight around 10 AM means a prudent traveler is headed out of central London 6ish - maybe a tad later. Really?

Just because you can doesn't mean that you should.

 

[The Onceler]

The idea of staying at/near the airport is pretty sound but I’ll assume that you still want to see some other options.

Piccolopat has good suggestions. Depending on the time of year (not revealed) it might be light enough to take a good walk in St. James/Green/Hyde Parks (they all basically run together). That can be very pleasant and you can alternate between internal paths and ones that go along the roads (which will give you a flavor of London traffic).

Not knowing (1) the size of your luggage or (2) physical ability or (3) degree of travel savvy, if all of those things line up correctly I strongly suggest that you take the tube (underground) from and even more specially to the airport. That’s just me. Even though you technically are traveling at counterflow times realize that you also are in rush hour at both times. Central London will be quite miserable for car travel.

Uber would be my second choice and a proper black cab my third. Minicab last. Just personal as between Uber and black cab.

If you are somewhat FatFIRE and decide to go for it — with your arrival and a little luck you can make a theater curtain time of 7:30pm. Then go to J. Sheekey for dinner if you like seafood (owned by The Ivy but not as expensive or difficult to get in). Or if you just want to check out a pub you might try the Red Lion in Crown Passage and that will line up well with the Piccolopat walking suggestions. The Belgo restaurants are open late and you won’t need reservations (Belgian food). Or Chinatown is sort of fun for a first visit and SoHo will be hopping any night of the week.

I would say that three days in London is about optimal for a first visit tacked onto a separate trip.

 

[walkinwood]

Looks like you want to make the best of an opportunity to see a city...
Since most tourist venues will be closed by the time you get to London, go for a walk. You have a great location for that. You can see Parliament, wall by Westminster Abbey, and continue on to Trafalgar on Whitehall (take a peek at the Downing St). Depending on your stamina, you could walk all the way to Monument, recross the thames and walk back along the river. There are other options to recross the river & head back.



Take a peek at a map to see what there is on this route.



Or go take in dinner & a play & then find a club and dance away the night & head straight back to the airport.