The Best of London in 8 Hours — A Whirlwind Adventure for a Long Layover!

My flight into London arrived just after noon, so that gave me the rest of that day, approximately 8 hours, to sightsee before heading to my hotel for my flight home the following morning. Challenge accepted!

I went straight from the airport to check in to my hotel. I had requested early check-in if available, and I was able to check in and leave my bags in my room as soon as I arrived from the airport. Most hotels will allow you to leave luggage in a secure location at the front desk if your room isn’t ready yet. I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3, because it is a very short 8-minute walk from the terminal and was incredibly convenient for both getting to and from the airport as well as accessing the tube into London, which also departs from the station in Terminal 3. There are a myriad of hotels near the airport. Only a handful are walking distance from the various terminals, but the rest are only a short cab or Uber ride away. You can also choose to stay at one of a seemingly limitless number of hotels in central London if you prefer (or if you have longer than 8 hours to spend).

After checking in and dropping off my luggage at my hotel, I returned to the tube station in Terminal 3 and bought an off-peak, single-day Travelcard at the ticket kiosk to get to Central London. This gave me access to all of the mass transit in central London as well as trains (except the Heathrow Express) to and from the airport starting at 9:30am until 4:30am the following day, so perfect for my needs and cost just over £15. You can also use contactless payment devices, and as long as you use the same device for all of your transit, your charges will be capped at the cost of a daily pass. I took the new Elizabeth Line from the airport into central London and connected to the Jubilee Line, exiting at Green Park, a ride of around 50 minutes. From there I walked through Green Park to Buckingham Palace, the Royal Residence of England’s monarch. Tours are available if visiting on a more leisurely schedule.

Buckingham Palace

From Buckingham Palace, I strolled east through St. James Park and past the Princess Diana Memorial Walk to the Westminster Bridge, for beautiful views of the London Eye across the Thames and the iconic views of Big Ben and the British Parliament Building. There are several cute old-school bright red telephone booths that make great photo opportunities across the street from Big Ben. I had just enough time to sit at a nearby pub, The Red Lion for a pint before my next stop, Westminster Cathedral.

Big Ben, London Eye, Phone Booth

It was too late in the day to get into Westminster as a tourist, but if you attend an Evensong Service (free admission, most days at 5pm), you can gain access to the interior for free. It was a great opportunity to hear the world-class organ and choir in such a spectacular cathedral! If you don’t want to stay for the entire hour-long service, you can always enter with the service attendees and duck out early.

Westminster

After my visit to the cathedral, I hopped back on the tube at Westminster station (either Circle or District Line) and rode a quick 8 minutes to Tower Hill and walked down to the infamous Tower of London, where all manner of historical figures were imprisoned and beheaded!

Tower of London

From the Tower complex, I strolled a short distance east along the path following the banks of the Thames to Tower Bridge. From the bridge, where you can take all manner of Instagram-worthy photos, I crossed to the other side of the river doing my best Frogger impersonation through a throng of tourists!

Tower Bridge

I walked back westward along the other bank of the river to London Bridge, crossed back over the river once again and arrived at Monument tube station. From there, it was a short ride to the Mansion House stop to see St. Paul’s Cathedral as the sun started going down.

St. Paul's

It was time to wind down, get off my feet and find some fish n’ chips. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese was the ticket! This medieval pub has been here since being rebuilt in 1667 following the 1666 Great Fire of London. The pub was a dimly-lit labyrinth of a place, with all sorts of nooks and corners and seemingly endless flights of stairs leading downward. The ambience was perfect and an ideal way to round out my whirlwind London tour.

Ye Olde Cheshire exterior

After dinner, I reconnected with the tube at Farringdon station and took the Circle and Elizabethan Lines back to Heathrow and made my way back to my hotel. l made a quick stop at Runway, the aptly-named rooftop hotel bar that overlooks the runways at Heathrow, and then caught my flight home the next morning.

Runway bar at hotel

Including travel to and from my hotel next to the airport, I spent about 8 hours in London and was able to see a lot! It was a really enjoyable way to spend a long layover flying through Heathrow.