Is there such thing as a monthly pass for the London underground?

What to do with half-a-day layover in London ?

• Well, I'm gonna be in London on the 8th of Sep for a transit flight to Edinburgh. The thing is, my flight to Scotland doesn't take off until 9 p.m and technically I have 9 hours on my own to explore London (oh and BTW it's my first time there so I have no idea what to do with transportation). So my question is, since I've booked a national express round-trip ticket from Heathrow Airport to Victoria Coach Station (in Greater London I believe), what should I do to get myself a nice sight-seeing tour in 9 hours ? (I'm on budgets now so a customized one is out of the question) Should I purchase the "Original London Tour" ticket, hop on and off or simply purchase a day bus pass at the station and create my own route ? (Whatever it is, I have to be able to get back to Victoria Coach station at 6 p.m to return to Heathrow for my flight). What would you recommend ? Any advices will be extremely appreciated.

• Answer:

  I'm hoping that your nine hours doesn't include check-in time for your Edinburgh flight. You do need to be careful with timing transit layovers at Heathrow -- it can take a while to clear immigration when you arrive, and you probably also realise that Heathrow is out on the far western edge of London. Well, fingers crossed that you have taken all that into account! I wish you'd posted your question before you booked your coach ticket to Victoria. If you can cancel it, I'd suggest instead getting a one-day off-peak Travelcard at Heathrow (£7 after 9.30am or any time at weekends) and travelling in by tube on the Piccadilly line. This takes around 45 mins from Heathrow, usually a fair bit quicker than travelling by road. Whether you can do this after all or whether you're stuck with your coach ticket, here are some good ideas for a quick first-time visit. I think you'll be best off doing your own solo tour. It'll be cheaper and more flexible than the Original London Tour. Walk to Victoria tube/rail station (5 mins from the coach stn) and buy a one-day travelcard (zones 1 & 2, £5.30 after 9.30am weekdays or any time weekends). This allows you to hop on buses and tubes as you like in central London. Now, what to see. I'd start with Parliament, as it's really close to Victoria. You can pick up a number 11 bus or catch a tube (2 stops on the Circle or District lines to Westminster station). Bus = more scenic; tube = faster. Either way, you end up in Parliament Square. All around you are: the Houses of Parliament (including Big Ben in its iconic clock tower) Westminster Abbey (the place where every monarch here has been crowned since William the Conqueror in 1066) Westminster Bridge over the Thames (wonderful views) and just across the river, the London Eye. The Eye is a giant sightseeing ferris wheel and is everyone's favourite viewpoint, but if you want to go on it, you'd be best buying a ticket in advance. A standard ticket costs £15.50, a fast track ticket is £25 but lets you jump the always-long queues. Info here: http://www.londoneye.com/ You could spend a whole day just doing the above stuff. But if you're in the mood to whisk round (not going into the abbey or onto the Eye) you could skitter round in an hour and then catch a bus up Whitehall. Or walk... if you walk, you can have a peep through the gates at the end of Downing Street at the amazingly ordinary London residence of the British Prime Minister (don't worry; he gets a big country house called Chequers too)... You will also pass Horseguards Parade, where the Queen's cavalry guard are an essential photo-stop. You know the ones: bright red jackets, bearskin hats... like this: http://www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Attraction/Horse_Guards_Parade/5274/ Almost immediately after that, you arrive in Trafalgar Square. The whole walk takes about 15 mins; 8 mins or so by bus (take any bus that runs up Whitehall). So, Trafalgar Square. This is another fantastic panorama. You have Nelson's Column in the centre, with the huge, adorable lion statues at its feet. On its northern side is the National Gallery (amazing collection of art; Leonardo da Vinci, Monet, Van Gogh and much more). Free entry to the main collections: full info here: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/default.htm Oh, and good food, too: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/plan/information/food.htm On the eastern side of the square is the beautiful 17th-century church of St Martin's-in-the-Fields. If you follow the road that leads out between St Martin's and the gallery and take the next left, you'll be in Leicester Square (lined with premier-hosting cinemas); walk through to Piccadilly Circus. But I'd really recommend instead, leaving Trafalgar Square via its south-western corner, under Admiralty Arch. This brings you to the Mall. Stroll down here and you come to Buckingham Palace. You can walk beside the road, in one of London's great 'royal parks', St James's Park. Summer tours of Buckingham Palace are still running next week when you're here, so if you can spare 2 hrs 30 mins or so, you could book that... info here http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/default.asp?action=article&ID=30 but even if you don't have time for the tour, it's very splendid from the outside. And from Buckingham Palace it's about 12 mins walk back to Victoria rail/bus station, and about another 5 from there to the coach station to catch your connection back to Heathrow. If you go to Transport for London's excellent site, you can use their journey planner to show this walking route (or any other journey on foot or by public transport). Just enter 'buckingham palace' ('place of interest') as your start point and 'victoria coach station' as your destination. http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/user/XSLT_TRIP_REQUEST2?language=en I hope you have a great time here, and that our fickle weather behaves. Love from a Londoner born and bred. =D