Should I get a bus day-pass (or whatever you call it) for a 7 hour tour of London?

Question

I'm gonna be in London on 8th of September and having an awful half-a-day layover before departing for Edinburgh so I was thinking of taking the National Express Coach from Heathrow to Victorian Coach Station and spend the day sight-seeing some interesting places in London. Now, my question is, do you have a subway day-pass with no limit of rides like we do in NY ? If no, what about buses, and where can I purchase the ticket ?

Answer 1

Take the Heathrow express train! Only takes you 15 minutes to get to Paddington station so that you can make the most of your sightseeing day!

Answer 2

Hi Luluo,

Hopefully your layover won't be awful if you can fill it with some good London sightseeing.

Don't take the National Express coach from Heathrow. Instead, go straight to the Underground (tube) station -- right at the airport.

There you can buy a one-day pass which covers you for all travel on the tube, buses and more. Once you have that, just hop on the tube (Piccadilly Line) and head into town. The journey takes around  50 minutes but brings you into the heart of the tourist district.

Here are three stations you might like to get out at:

Piccadilly Circus, for West End department stores, upmarket foodie shopping at Fortnum & Mason's plus the landmark statue of Eros.

Leicester Square, to visit Trafalgar Square and stroll from there to Buckingham Palace or take a short-hop bus ride down Whitehall to the Houses of Parliament.

Covent Garden, for cafes, shops and the crafts stalls in the old market.

Normally I'd recommend buying a pay-as-you-go Oystercard (this is the cheapest way to travel in London, used by locals and visitors alike). But you pay a returnable deposit of £3 for the card and you have to fill out a form too -- if you're only here for one day, it's going to be easier to pay a very little more and buy a one-day travelcard.

If your half-day here starts before 9.30 on a weekday morning, you need a peak rate card (£6.80); if it starts after 9.30am or falls across a weekend then you only need an off-peak card (£5.30).

The prices I've given you are for cards to cover London's two most central travel zones.

For more info on how to get around, Transport for London's official site is brilliant. Take a look at their maps section: the full tube/bus/DLR map to give you a feel for the network as a whole; the central bus map to match up some of London's top sights with the buses that pass them. Here's the section for maps and the handy "journey planner" http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/1106...

Anyway, hope you have fun.

Love from a Londoner born and bred. =D