Flights switched and we have 7 hour lay over can we just see Big Ben ?

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Ok-Start8985@reddit

1hr tube. 1hr back and keep an hour in reserve. Tube to Westminster you may need to change tubes but the tube map is dead easy. Go to Big Ben. Houses of Parliament next to, across the road is Westminster Abbey, where the kings and queens are crowned. Loads of famous royals and historical figures buried in there e.g Elizabeth I. Or instead of the above take the tube to Tower Hill and visit the Tower of London, Steeped in history, mystery, & murder. Crown jewels are there too. Alongside is Tower Bridge.

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CauliflowerMiddle149@reddit

Sounds like a great idea. You'll see Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, good view of the London Eye. If you have time a 30 minute walk up the river gets you past a lot of the main tourist attractions.

Could probably do all that and have an hour lunch.

1 hour travel

1 hour walk

1 hour lunch

1 hour travel.

3 hours of slack in case of delays and to get through security again.

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HoundParty3218@reddit

You are being very optimistic.

You should arrive back at Heathrow 2-3 hours before departure time and they will literally won't let you into the security queue if you are late. The cut off used to be 1 hour before departure but I think it's changed recently. Once through security (which can be pretty slow) there may be a train ride to the gate as some of the terminals are pretty big.

So your window would be 4-5 hours from arrival until you need to be back at Heathrow.

1h to get through Heathrow, including immigration.
1h 30m travel into town- assuming you just missed an Elizabeth line train
1h back -assuming you time everything perfectly and don't fluff the changes!

So you have 30m-1h30 to see the sights. Its definitely doable but there isn't a huge amount of leeway, especially if there are problems with the trains.

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72dk72@reddit

Yes doesn't take much for trains to be delayed, cancelled or line closed. Happens on a daily basis somewhere in London. Personally, I wouldn't risk it... probably wouldn't leave the airport. And it assumes your flight arrives on time too.

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shbd12@reddit

This. Don't forget the rule to add 5 minutes for every person in your party. It takes that long for everybody to get organized and that sort of thing. One person doing this is far different from five people doing this.

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Alexboogeloo@reddit

Also depends on which terminal and what time of day but these calculations are definitely more realistic

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notacanuckskibum@reddit

1 hour to get through customs & out of the airport

1 hour on the tube

1 hour wandering central London

1 hour eating

1 hour back to Heathrow

In security line 2 hours before flight

Still doable and worthwhile, but you do have to factor in the airport time.

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ProfessionalEven296@reddit

Just to be the Reddit pedant… you’ll be able to see the Elizabeth Tower in that time, but Big Ben is the name of the bell inside…. ;)

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timvw74@reddit

I'm fully onboard with the padantry.

Also, the largest bell in a collection was typically called Big Ben, so it's not reserved just for the big un in Elizabeth Tower.

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domonR@reddit (OP)

lol . The tourist in me kept calling the structure Big Ben ;). Thank you for the correction

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Jesters__Dead@reddit

Only reddit pedants call it the Elizabeth Tower

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opeth_syndrome@reddit

Don't worry about it. 99% of Brits call it Big Ben anyway.

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domonR@reddit (OP)

Thanks for all responses. Unfortunately our flight was delayed and the connecting flight time was pretty close .. but will definitely make a weekend trip ;)

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weedywet@reddit

It’s hard to see the bell inside the tower no matter how much time you have.

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Girru95@reddit

You can't take the tube from Heathrow to Westminster, lol.

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CthulhusEvilTwin@reddit

Elizabeth line from Heathrow 2&3 to Bond Street, Jubilee Line to Westminster.

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One_Of_Noahs_Whales@reddit

And then take the Northern to Mornington Crescent.

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ukslim@reddit

Unless you're in nidd. That could cause real complications.

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CthulhusEvilTwin@reddit

Well naturally.

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HalfExcellent9930@reddit

What? Yes you can

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codernaut85@reddit

Yes you can?! You may have to change line once but you can.

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domonR@reddit (OP)

Ok . Thank you for all the comments and suggestions. We are traveling with kids and need an ETA ( which I think we are pushing ourself) we are going to play it by the ear …

But based on all your feed back, I am going to make a weekend trip just to cover London since all of this points to the fact that London can be covered in a day or 2

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Why_Teach@reddit

Depends on what you think is important in London. I have been there three times, each time at least five days, and I still don’t feel I have seen enough. 😉

However, if you do decide on a two day trip, I highly recommend one of the hop on, hop off type tours. They give you a quick overview of the places you most want to see, but you can take breaks with the kids when needed. I do this in most cities when I visit.

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Impressive-Safe-7922@reddit

"London can be covered in a day or two" - you can see the outside of the big sites in a day, and you can visit a few places in two days, but there is a lot to do in London! Just visiting the three big museums in South Kensington could be a full day. People are giving you suggestions of some things to see in the short window you have (and fyi, some are being very optimistic - I wouldn't take too seriously the suggestions that aren't clearly factoring time to exit the airport, travel time and to arrive back at rhe airport 2-3 hours before your flight), but there is so much more. I think you can have a lovely time on a weekend trip, but don't think you'll "cover" London in that amount of time!

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somtampapaya@reddit

Download citymapper London and it will route your journey for you with arrival times and will tell you if there are any delays on the tube. Use it all the time as a London born

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domonR@reddit (OP)

Thank you !!!

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IndependentOpinion44@reddit

I feel like everyone is ignoring the two hours to get out and back into the airport.

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Special-Chicken307@reddit

Yeah I don't like this idea of 7 hours lol.

- An hour lost getting out of the airport

- an hour to central

- an hour back to the airport

- You need to be there 2 hours before the flight

BUTTTTT, 3 hours is plenty to see all the big landmarks, easily easily. But I wouldn't say seven.

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Capital_Release_6289@reddit

2 hours. Not 3 you’ve got 5 hours accounted for there.

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Special-Chicken307@reddit

Lol, still doable ish, i mean it's tight lol

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qwerty-mo-fu@reddit

Can you even get out of the airport on a layover? Most tickets mean you have to stay airside

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skifans@reddit

As already said it will be no problem at all.

Make sure you have the required paperwork to pass through immigration. Particularly if this was previously all on one ticket and you were previously going to pass airside.

If you had to get a Direct Airside Transit visa this will not be enough. You would likely need a Visitor in Transit visa instead.

If you don't need a visa to enter the UK (https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa) then you will like still need to apply for an ETA: https://www.gov.uk/eta This is required to pass through immigration even if just for a few hours.

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domonR@reddit (OP)

Thank you so much !!! We are on transit visa and now we need to get an ETA to proceed outside the airport

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skifans@reddit

No worries. So if you have a visa you don't need an ETA. They are only for people that don't need a visa, it is a one or the other situation.

The UK has two types of transit visas. Direct Airside and Visitor in Transit. To be able to pass through immigration you must have the later.

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domonR@reddit (OP)

Again we are going to be playing by ear. How the kids feel. If we feel the immigration is taking long we might drop the idea . If all looks fine , we will take the Heathrow express (businesses :since it allows fast track security) and then proceed to Paddington underground Yellow line towards Westminster .

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HoundParty3218@reddit

With young children you would be best staying in the airport IMO but the HEX could work for you. You could get a black cab from Paddington and ask them to drive you to Westminster via Buckingham palace and maybe back via Trafalgar square. You can see a few of the sights and be back at Heathrow in a couple of hours.

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Impressive-Safe-7922@reddit

The train platforms at Paddington always seem to be miles away from the Tube, so do allow time to walk from the tube station to the platform on the way back. I have had several stressful journeys via Paddington because I forget to factor that into my journey time 😅

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hallerz87@reddit

Yeah that's doable. Elizabeth line to Bond Street. You can see Westminster, the Thames, Enbankment. Grab something to eat then head back to airport.

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BigJDizzleMaNizzles@reddit

I work at Heathrow. Not a good idea. It'll take you an hour to get through immigration, then an hour on the tube then big Ben then an hour back to be there 2 hours before your flight. It's playing on hard mode. It's also not anything more spectacular than you've seen on TV. If anything you might be disappointed because it's not as big as it looks.

Book in advance. Go to the lounge. Get some lunch, a shower and a couple of beers those 7 hours will fly by.

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AlGunner@reddit

A few years back an American friend had about that stop over. I met him in central London and we walked around so he could see Parliament and Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square and a few other places we passed. The queen went past us in the back of a car as well, he was pleased about so he could say he saw her. We would have gone into Westminster Abbey but it was closed as that was the one he decided he wanted to see so instead he decided he'd prefer to just walk around and see some sights. I did suggest museums as well as the ones in London are free (except for special exhibitions) or maybe the public tour of Buckingham Palace but he didnt fancy that. You have time for quite a bit as a lot of it is close together. You can easily walk it in a few hours, so have a look and plan a route and you can see plenty.

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terryjuicelawson@reddit

You can pop your head up from the station and it is right there, so no reason why not. Walk past it and down a bit further and there is Buckingham Palace. Things are surprisingly central in London. If time starts ticking, any tube and they are well connected and regular enough to get you back.

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Capital_Release_6289@reddit

It will take 1hour to 90 minutes to leave the airport depending on immigration queues 1 hour by public trans port there. Same back 2 hours before check in. Leaves 90 to 2 hours of tourism

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pm_me_your_amphibian@reddit

Yes, but don’t underestimate how long travel will take and make sure you’re back in plenty of time. You could probably get in a couple of hours sightseeing but I wouldn’t faff too much.

Hope you enjoy it if you do!

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Classic-Gear-3533@reddit

Where are you flying to/from? Just think if you’ll want to be up for quite an energy zapping excursion after potentially early starts, late arrivals and/or overnighters on your planes. Low energy option is sleep in a hotel nearby

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domonR@reddit (OP)

We are traveling with young kids . Yes energy is going to be fun ….

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Classic-Gear-3533@reddit

dayuse.com do the airport hotels for funny times of the day if you need some space to flick on a tv, have a shower and charge some iPads

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subfunktion@reddit

Yeah good idea to get a hotel, rather than the plane itself

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FormerStatistician43@reddit

Take an Uber boat (commuter catamaran) down the Thames a few stops. https://www.thamesclippers.com/

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Embarrassed-Rice-747@reddit

Hi, I will say "it depends".

It depends on if you're in a group of all adults that can use the e-gates at the border, or if you need to use the manned gates. That's the difference between 30 minutes at most to up to two hours.

You'll also need to arrive back at Heathrow for 2-3 hours depending on your next flight.

THAT SAID, if it's not during rush hour, you can take the Elizabeth line or Heathrow express (faster but ££) into central London and then transfer to Westminster. You could grab a hop on hop off red bus or even consider hiring a taxi to tour you around. You can hit most of the 'big' spots to at least see them in about an hour by car.

Best of luck.

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pulltheudder1@reddit

7 hours? Yes you’ll be fine. I’d suggest looking at a big red bus type thing so you can see the main sights.

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Adelehicks@reddit

I’m from London (living in the states) and we love the bus tours when we visit

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redsandsfort@reddit

You'll be fine, plenty of time

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asymmetricears@reddit

You can do a lot more than just that. Presuming you're on one booking and your bags are checked through, you can get off your plane and be out of the airport in less than an hour, and into central London in another half hour (via Elizabeth line).

On the other end, you probably want to be back at the airport and going through security a minimum 1 hour before departure, longer if you want to shop/eat at the airport.

So taking 90 minutes off at each end leaves you with 4 hours in central London. So for example you can also see Buckingham Palace and Downing Street, both are within walking distance of Big Ben, and then have time to sit down and have a meal.

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ckayd@reddit

What time are you landing and getting through customs. If it’s in the morning then you can have a wonderful day in London. There’s Big Ben, Westminster?!, Trafalgar Square, heymarket, Thames cruises with that war ship. There’s the big ferris wheel and the aquarium, don’t forget some jellied eels and liqor (it’s not alcoholic). So much to see and all by foot, get a day tube rail and bus pass and the capitol will be your playground for 7 hrs.

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