What can I *realistically* see/ do in London in 8 hrs (btwn 10:15 am and 6pm)? Stopping over en route to Jberg

Question

Not a big shopper, so don't send me to Harrods, pls :) and don't care to see all the palaces, etc. I've heard the bus tour is a must- any idea how much that costs? Also, suggestions of good veggie restaurants would be appreciated! Tips on cool/interesting exhibits also welcome. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

It will take you about 1 hour to get into town so I would not try to pack in too much.

Starting at the farthest point you could get the tube to Tower Hill, have a look at the Tower of London (2 hours), walk over Tower Bridge and along the river past the London Eye. You will see the house of Parliament on the other riverside. Cross over the bridge and get to have a look at Big Ben. If you still have time you can have a quick peek into Westminster Abbey and then catch the tube back to the airport. I would probably just grab a snack on the go.

If you want to take time for lunch you can take the tube to Westminster. Have a look at the House of Parlament and Big Ben, walk to Trafalgar Square to see Nelson´s Column and peek into the National Galery, go to Picadilly Circus, from there to Leicester Square and have a dirnk at the Waxy o´connors in Rupert Street. Check out all of the pub... it´s massive! Then you can walk to Convent Garden to check out the market and have something to eat. You can check out Soho before you go back to the airport.

The secound option may be the better one... you will be less rushed.

http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/Vegetarian-Restaurants-recommended-london.html ... restaurants
http://www.tubeplanner.com/cgi-bin/planner/route.pl?start=Heathrow+Terminals+1+2+3&end=Westminster&submit2.x=21&submit2.y=7&submit2=Find+Route&search_type2=fastest ...tube journey planner
http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/london_maps_index.asp ...london maps

Answer 2

Not a whole lot.

If you're leaving the airport, you will need to re-check in for your flight to Jo'Burg, and it's a 2 hour advance check-in. So right there you're down to 6 hours.

At that time of day going to Central London from Heathrow will take you approximately 1.5 hours in a (very expensive) cab or a minimum of 1 hour on the Tube. Loads of restaurants do good veggie food - Cranks is the best known and has three or four branches.

Unless you're stuck on going to town, you should head away from town.

Not far from Heathrow there is some pretty countryside and decent pubs, but it's not exactly veggie land.

If money's no object I would take a cab to the village of Goring or Moulsford in Oxfordshire. It's no more than 30 minutes away, and it's an idyllic spot right on the prettiest part of the Thames. You can sit on the terrace and watch the swans swim by if it's a nice day; if it's not so nice, the places I'm recommending are very cosy. Both do good vegetarian food, although neither specialises in it:

Beetle and Wedge in Moulsford, or
Leatherne Bottel in Goring (won Conde Nast "Most Excellent Restaurant" in 2006).

Henley-on-Thames is also very pretty. Forget Newbury, Staines and Reading - sh*tholes. You could visit Windsor and Eton pretty easily from Heathrow - you'd be going against traffic. Part of the Castle is open to visitors and the area is lovely, again idyllic riverside. The town of Windsor itself is fairly quaint - has your usual shops but a thousand times more civilised than its near neighbours.

The London bus tour takes about 4 hours, so would be out of the question for you. If it was an option, it costs about £25 per person. Boat tour is gorgeous but also takes too long. You could do the London Eye (ferris wheel for a bird's-eye view of central London), but if it's a nice day there are often long queues to buy tickets. I've done it 4 times with out of town visitors and never thought it was anything special during the daytime (with all the pollution and ugly buildings blocking the view of the nice ones!).

Answer 3

Heathrow to central London about 45 minutes on Picadilly line - get a multi trip pass!

You can see the Tate, Portrait Gallery, Parliment Bldg, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace.


Get some descriptions at RickSteves' website:
http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/britain/698lonsight.htm

Also buy (or read) a copy of Top 10 London (DK Eyewitness books). They are in every big chainstore. It will be 10 bucks well spent. They give compact sightseeing agendas - very helpful!

Bon Voyage!

Answer 4

I love Madam Tussauds Wax Museum or the Tower of London

Answer 5

It will take you 8 bloody hours to get out of Heathrow or Gatwick, mate. Stay there and have a cold one.

Answer 6

hmm I'm sorry to say but it would take you safely saying two hours for the journey into and out of the airport but if you are realy itching to see the sights go see the houses of parliament and that area beautiful site.