LONDON LHR to DOWNTOWN

[kflietst]

We will be arriving at LHR from the US at 6:45AM on a Tuesday in September. What time would you recommend to arrange for a private transport into City Center where our hotel is located? And, how long will it take to get there (near the London Eye) from the airport? 

Thank you all for your advice.

 

 

Edited August 18 by kflietst

[Island2Dweller]

3 hours ago, kflietst said:

6:45AM on a Tuesday in September

That's peak time for long haul arrivals, so immigration will be busy.  The "average" is to allow an hour to get through immigration and collect bags but might be longer as you are at a very busy time.  The recomended approach is to tell your car service provider the flight number and they will recommend a suggested pick up time - and they can monitor flight arrivals.  The road journey should be about an hour but again this is peak morning rush hour so could be longer

[Cotswold Eagle]

Just to say, the term 'downtown' is not really used in the UK (although expressions such as 'going down the town' are). 

 

In London, there's a very tiny chance it could lead to confusion because there is a small part of Rotherhithe in south east London known as Downtown - it was between the Russia Dock and the river, and even as late as the 1980s had a reputation for being a very insular and somewhat strange place. Certainly not what a tourist would expect as 'downtown'. 

 

And London doesn't really have a 'city centre' - we talk of central London, but that is a significantly large area (which varies by individual's definition), so it's always best to be more specific - in the OP's case it sounds as if they are staying in Waterloo.

[KforKitty]

32 minutes ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

Just to say, the term 'downtown' is not really used in the UK (although expressions such as 'going down the town' are). 

 

In London, there's a very tiny chance it could lead to confusion because there is a small part of Rotherhithe in south east London known as Downtown - it was between the Russia Dock and the river, and even as late as the 1980s had a reputation for being a very insular and somewhat strange place. Certainly not what a tourist would expect as 'downtown'. 

 

And London doesn't really have a 'city centre' - we talk of central London, but that is a significantly large area (which varies by individual's definition), so it's always best to be more specific - in the OP's case it sounds as if they are staying in Waterloo.

Following on from this the City of London only refers to the Square Mile that comprises the central business district where the main trading and financial business reside.  So, as Cotwold Eagle says, you’re best to state the ‘borough’ that you are staying in.

 

Catherine

 

[Globaliser]

2 hours ago, KforKitty said:

So, as Cotwold Eagle says, you’re best to state the ‘borough’ that you are staying in.

 

Except be careful not to confuse that with "Borough", which is a specific area south of the City of London.

[Harters]

6 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

"Borough", which is a specific area south of the City of London.

I'm having that as today's "learn something new every day". I've been to Borough Market more than once and just assumed its name was that it was the "market of the borough" it was in (Southwark?), rather than an actual place. 

[exlondoner]

Often the clearest way to describe somewhere in central London is just to mention one of the nearest tube stations.

[Cotswold Eagle]

37 minutes ago, Harters said:

I'm having that as today's "learn something new every day". I've been to Borough Market more than once and just assumed its name was that it was the "market of the borough" it was in (Southwark?), rather than an actual place. 

Yes, it's one of those fabulous English things where THE Borough is part of A borough (yes, Southwark). It's the area around Borough High Street and over towards Bermondsey Street. Despite working there for several years, I don't know if there is well defined area, but you kind of know if something's in the Borough or not 😀 The origins are in the defended approach to the south end of the original London Bridge (but so is the name Southwark!) 

[Harters]

4 minutes ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

(but so is the name Southwark!) 

I'll have that as tomorrow's learning. 

 

I guess the "wark" relates to something defensive - like "bulwark"

Edited August 18 by Harters

[kflietst]

Thanks everyone!

 

 

 

 

Edited August 18 by kflietst

[kflietst]

6 hours ago, Island2Dweller said:

That's peak time for long haul arrivals, so immigration will be busy.  The "average" is to allow an hour to get through immigration and collect bags but might be longer as you are at a very busy time.  The recomended approach is to tell your car service provider the flight number and they will recommend a suggested pick up time - and they can monitor flight arrivals.  The road journey should be about an hour but again this is peak morning rush hour so could be longer

Thank you! This information will help establish a timeline for our first day in London.By any chance do you have a recommendation for a car service?

[Island2Dweller]

45 minutes ago, kflietst said:

do you have a recommendation for a car service?

Not a personal recomendation because across London I always use public transport, which is almost always faster and inexpensive.

But I see positive reports from others for Blackberry

[kflietst]

20 minutes ago, Island2Dweller said:

Not a personal recomendation because across London I always use public transport, which is almost always faster and inexpensive.

But I see positive reports from others for Blackberry

Thank you! 

[Eno]

When we landed took the Elizabeth line to Bond street and then onto the Jubilee line to Westminster.  Stayed at the Park Plaza Westminster had about a 10 min walk if that to the hotel. Transportation was very easy.  

[phabric]

On 8/18/2024 at 10:10 AM, kflietst said:

Thank you! This information will help establish a timeline for our first day in London.By any chance do you have a recommendation for a car service?

I have used to/from LHR/London hotel, a car service Just Airports.  Use your London hotel’s postal code to get a quote.

 

www.justairports.com

[Seaturtle2]

We’ve used booking.com for scheduling transfers to airport, hotel, ship and return   
The price varies but they have been reliable and well equipped. 

[liberty176]

If you post your hotel location on the forums here or on another popular non-cruise travel website's forums (not sure what names we're allowed to say here), people are incredibly kind and will make specific point-to-point recommendations.  For example, this summer we stayed at a hotel near Trafalgar Square, and people made a Tube recommendation that wasn't necessarily the most obvious (for example, Google had me changing 3 stops later), but resulted in most direct/ least number of steps with suitcases.  It was super helpful.

[kflietst]

28 minutes ago, liberty176 said:

If you post your hotel location on the forums here or on another popular non-cruise travel website's forums (not sure what names we're allowed to say here), people are incredibly kind and will make specific point-to-point recommendations.  For example, this summer we stayed at a hotel near Trafalgar Square, and people made a Tube recommendation that wasn't necessarily the most obvious (for example, Google had me changing 3 stops later), but resulted in most direct/ least number of steps with suitcases.  It was super helpful.

Thank you, but we are interested in car service recommendations for this day of travel. And, yes, this group is very resourceful and highly appreciated!