loulabelle's Profile

If you've only got 6-8 hrs the Heathrow Express is a must and I'd leave plenty of time either side. Security there can take forever to get through sometimes!! However, if you just want to go for it and see as many sights as possible in around 6 hrs and perhaps pick up some places to visit properly next time how about the following? (Which will also stretch your legs and tire you out for the journey home! I'm so considerate!!) (Below the description is a link to a map if you get lost in all the text!)

Heathrow Express to Paddington then the Circle or District line (yellow or green) round to St. James' Park. Walk across the park and you're out at Buckingham Palace. Then walk down The Mall (where the crowds gathered on the Jubilee), through Admiralty Arch and you're in Trafalgar Sq where there's usually something going on. Turn right from Admiralty Arch and walk down Whitehall, past the Cenotaph war memorial and Downing St (where the prime minister lives!) onto Parliament Square. You can see Westminster Abbey (Royal Wedding) and then turn round and look at the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben before walking over Westminster Bridge. Over the river you can walk down the steps and if you've time go on the London Eye (big wheel and you can pre-book a time in advance or if it's a quiet day it's a 25min journey up and over plus the queue) then next to the wheel is the pier. Jump on a Thames clipper here and see sights like the National Theatre (aka concrete monstrosity), The Globe, Millennium Bridge, HMS Belfast, the Shard, Tower Bridge and get off at Tower of London. You'll only have time to jump on the next boat back North unfortunately but you'll see the Tower! Returns are about £10, you can sit in or stand outside on the boat and there's a bar! If you've got time at the south bank when you get back carry on walking down to the National Theatre where there are outside exhibitions and stuff going on most of the time. Then follow signs for Waterloo station just behind South Bank and jump on the Bakerloo line for Paddington and back to the airport.

The walk is about 2 1/2 miles (about 2+ hrs if you're stopping to look/take pics? I walked from the National to Trafalgar Sq last night with a friend in just over an hour) and leave a good 1 1/2 hrs for the boat. Another 45-1hr for the London eye. There's a site called walkit.com that you can plan walking routes on so you could customise a route and it will tell you how long they take to walk at different speeds. I've put the route I've described here on as an example, plus the orange 1 and 2, which tell you where you can get the clipper and where to change:

http://walkit.com/themed-walk/london/local-interest/linniestorm/walking-tour-of-london/

I GUARANTEE you be absolutely knackered by the time you get back to Heathrow and will sleep all the way home.