Getting There

By Plane

The major airport for arrivals from North America is Heathrow (LHR) outside London. This is the hub of most airlines, including British Airways and American carriers, and has the best transportation links to London. Gatwick (LGW) is the second major airport outside London, but it is much farther from the heart of the city, requiring longer and often more expensive hauls into the city.

Chances are you will not land at London's minor airports, certainly not if you're making a transatlantic crossing; however, you might land at one of these airports if you're winging in from the Continent. They include Stansted (STN), London City (LCY), London Luton (LTN), and London Southend (SEN).

The Carriers -- British Airways (tel. 800/247-9297; www.britishairways.com) offers flights from 19 U.S. cities to Heathrow and Gatwick airports, as well as many others to Manchester. Nearly every flight is nonstop. With more add-on options than any other airline, British Airways can make a visit to Britain cheaper than you may have expected. Ask about packages that include both airfare and discounted hotel accommodations in Britain.

Known for consistently offering excellent fares, Virgin Atlantic Airways (tel. 800/821-5438; www.virgin-atlantic.com) flies daily to either Heathrow or Gatwick from Boston, Newark, New York's JFK, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington's Dulles, Miami, Orlando, and Las Vegas.

American Airlines (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com) offers daily flights to Heathrow from half a dozen U.S. gateways -- New York's JFK, Chicago, Boston, Miami, Los Angeles, and Dallas.

Depending on the day and season, Delta Air Lines (tel. 800/221-1212; www.delta.com) runs either one or two daily nonstop flights between Atlanta and Gatwick. Delta also offers nonstop daily service from Cincinnati.

Northwest Airlines (tel. 800/225-2525 or 800/447-4747; www.nwa.com) flies nonstop from Minneapolis and Detroit to Gatwick.

Continental Airlines (tel. 800/231-0856; www.continental.com) has daily flights to London from Cleveland, Houston, Newark, Orlando, and San Francisco.

United Airlines (tel. 800/241-6522; www.united.com) flies nonstop from New York's JFK and Chicago to Heathrow two or three times daily, depending on the season. United also offers nonstop service from Dulles Airport, near Washington, D.C.; Newark; Los Angeles; and San Francisco.

For travelers departing from Canada, Air Canada (tel. 888/247-2262; www.aircanada.com) flies daily to London's Heathrow nonstop from Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto. There are also frequent direct flights from Calgary, Ottawa, and St. John's. British Airways (tel. 800/247-9297) has direct flights from Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

For travelers departing from Australia, British Airways (tel. 1300/767-177) has flights to London from Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Brisbane. Qantas (tel. 612/131313; www.qantas.com) offers flights from Australia to London's Heathrow. Direct flights depart from Sydney and Melbourne. Some have the bonus of free stopovers in Bangkok or Singapore.

Departing from New Zealand, Air New Zealand (tel. 800/262-1234 in the U.S., or 0800/737-000 in New Zealand; www.airnz.co.nz) has direct flights to London from Auckland. These flights depart daily.

Short flights from Dublin to London are available through British Airways (tel. 800/247-9297), with four flights daily into London's Gatwick airport, and Aer Lingus (tel. 800/IRISH-AIR; www.aerlingus.com), which flies into Heathrow. Short flights from Dublin to London are also available through Ryan Air (tel. 35301/249-7791; www.ryanair.com) and British Midland (tel. 0870/6070555; www.flybmi.com).

London Heathrow Airport -- West of London in Hounslow (tel. 0870/000-0123; www.baa.co.uk), Heathrow is one of the world's busiest airports. It has four terminals, each relatively self-contained. Terminal 4, the most modern, handles the long-haul and transatlantic operations of British Airways. Most transatlantic flights on U.S.-based airlines arrive at Terminal 3. Terminals 1 and 2 receive the intra-European flights of several European airlines.

Getting to Central London from Heathrow -- It takes 45 to 50 minutes by the Underground (Tube) and costs £4 ($8) to make the 24km (15-mile) trip from Heathrow to the center of London. A taxi is likely to cost from £50 to £70 ($100-$140). For more information about Tube or bus connections, call tel. 020/7222-1234 or go to www.tfl.gov.uk.

The British Airport Authority now operates Heathrow Express (tel. 0845/600-1515; www.heathrowexpress.com), a 161kmph (100-mph) train service running every 15 minutes daily from 5:10am until 11:40pm between Heathrow and Paddington Station in the center of London. Trips cost £15 ($30) each way in economy class, rising to £46 ($92) in first class. Children younger than 15 pay £7.20 ($14) in economy, £23 ($46) in first class. You can save £1 ($2) by booking online or by phone. The trip takes 15 minutes each way between Paddington and Terminals 1, 2, and 3; 23 minutes from Terminal 4. The trains have special areas for wheelchairs. From Paddington, passengers can connect to other trains and the Underground, or you can hail a taxi. You can buy tickets on the train with a £2 ($4) surcharge, or at self-service machines at Heathrow Airport. (Tickets are also available from travel agents.)

Gatwick Airport -- While Heathrow still dominates, more and more scheduled flights land at relatively remote Gatwick (tel. 0870/574-7777; www.baa.co.uk), located some 40km (25 miles) south of London in West Sussex but only a 30-minute train ride away.

Getting to Central London from Gatwick -- From Gatwick, the fastest way to get to London is via the Gatwick Express trains (tel. 0845/850-1530; www.gatwickexpress.co.uk), which depart approximately every 15 minutes, daily between 4:35am and 1:35am. The round-trip fare between Gatwick and Victoria Rail Station is £27 ($54) for adults and £13 ($26) for children age 10 and younger. (One-way fares cost £16/$32 for adults and £7.95/$16 for children.) The travel time each way is 30 minutes Monday to Saturday, and 35 minutes on Sunday.

A taxi from Gatwick Airport to central London costs from £95 ($190). Fares vary according to a printed price list that defines the fare from Gatwick to whichever neighborhood of London you're traveling to. Meters in this case don't apply because Gatwick lies outside the Metropolitan Police District. For further transportation information pertaining to either Gatwick or any other location within London, call tel. 020/7222-1234.

London City Airport -- Positioned 5km (3 miles) east of the bustling business community of Canary Wharf, the Docklands, the ExCel convention center, the viability of London City Airport (tel. 020/7646-0088; www.londoncityairport.com) has rendered commutes from other parts of Britain and parts of Continental Europe faster and more convenient than equivalent flights into either Heathrow, Gatwick, or Stansted. Accepting flights from 23 cities throughout western Europe and Scandinavia, it services airlines that include British Airways, Cirrus Airlines, Luxair, KLM, CityJet, OLT, Lufthansa, Scot Airways, Air France, Eastern Airways, SAS, Darwin Airlines, Swiss International Airlines, and VLM.

Trains on the Docklands Light Railway make runs at 10-minute intervals from City Airport to the Underground station known as "Bank" (short for "Bank of England") in the heart of London's financial district, which is known locally as "The City." One-way passage costs £4 ($8) for adults and £1 ($2) for children younger than 16.

As a final means of getting from the airport to central London, consider boarding London Transport's bus no. 473 or 474, which makes frequent runs between the airport and various points in East London, including the Plaistow Tube (Underground) station. From here, you can make connections to virtually any other point in London.

London Stansted Airport -- Located some 80km (50 miles) northeast of London's West End, Stansted, in Essex (tel. 0870/000-0303; www.baa.co.uk), handles mostly flights to and from the European continent.

Getting to Central London from Stansted -- From Stansted, your best bet to central London is the Stansted Express train (tel. 08457/484950; www.stanstedexpress.co.uk) to Liverpool Street Station, which runs every 15 minutes from 6am to 11:45pm and every 30 minutes in the early mornings on weekends. It costs £15 ($30) for a standard ticket and £24 ($48) for first class, and takes 45 minutes.

By bus, you can take the A6 Airbus (tel. 0870/580-8080), which runs regular departures 24 hours a day to many central London locations and costs £15 ($30). If you prefer the relative privacy of a taxi, you'll pay dearly for the privilege. For a ride to London's West End, a taxi will charge from £85 to £100 ($170-$200). Expect the ride to take around 75 minutes during normal traffic conditions, but beware of Friday afternoons when dense traffic may double your travel time. Our advice: Stick to the Express.

Getting from One London Airport to the Other -- Some visitors will need to transfer from one airport to the other. One bus company offers these transfers. National Express (tel. 020/8593-771 or 0870/574-7777; www.nationalexpress.com) buses leave from both terminals at Gatwick and Terminals 1, 3, and 4 at Heathrow. Trip time is about an hour, with a one-way fare costing £20 ($40).

By Car from Continental Europe

If you plan to transport a rented car between London and France, check in advance with the car-rental company about license and insurance requirements and additional drop-off charges before you begin.

The English Channel is crisscrossed with "drive-on, drive-off" car-ferry services, with many operating from Boulogne and Calais in France. From either of those ports, Sealink ferries (www.ferrysmart.co.uk) will carry you, your luggage, and, if you like, your car. The most popular point of arrival along the English coast is Folkestone.

Taking a car beneath the Channel is more complicated and more expensive. Since the Channel Tunnel's opening (commonly called the "Chunnel"), most passengers have opted to ride the train alone, without being accompanied by their car. The Eurostar trains, discussed below, carry passengers only; Eurotunnel trains carry freight cars, trucks, and passenger cars.

The cost of moving a car on Eurotunnel varies according to the season and day of the week. Frankly, it's a lot cheaper to transport your car across by conventional ferryboat, but if you insist, here's what you'll need to know: You'll negotiate both British and French customs as part of one combined process, usually on the English side of the Channel. You can remain within your vehicle even after you drive it onto a flatbed railway car during the 35-minute crossing. (For 19 min. of this crossing, you'll actually be underwater; if you want, you can leave the confines of your car and ride within a brightly lit, air-conditioned passenger car.) When the trip is over, you simply drive off the flatbed railway car and toward your destination. Total travel time between the French and English highway system is about 1 hour. As a means of speeding the flow of perishable goods across the Channel, the car and truck service usually operates 24 hours a day, at intervals that vary from every 15 minutes to once an hour, depending on the time of day. Neither BritRail nor any of the agencies dealing with reservations for passenger trains through the Chunnel will reserve space for your car in advance, and considering the frequency of the traffic on the Chunnel, they're usually not necessary. For information about Eurotunnel car-rail service after you reach England, call tel. 0870/535-3535, or go online to www.eurotunnel.com.

Duty-free stores, restaurants, and service stations are available to travelers on both sides of the Channel. A bilingual staff is on hand to assist travelers at both the British and French terminals.

Once you arrive on the English side of the channel, the M20 takes you directly into London. Remember to drive on the left. Two roadways encircle London: The A406 and A205 form the inner beltway; the M25 rings the city farther out. Determine which part of the city you want to enter and follow signposts.

We suggest you confine driving in London to the bare minimum, which means arriving and parking. Because of parking problems and heavy traffic, getting around London by car is not a viable option. Once there, leave your car in a garage and rely on public transportation or taxis. Before arrival in London, call your hotel and inquire if it has a garage (and what the charges are), or ask the staff to give you the name and address of a garage nearby.

By Train from Continental Europe

Britain's isolation from the rest of Europe led to the development of an independent railway network with different rules and regulations from those observed on the Continent. That's all changing now, but one big difference that may affect you still remains: If you're traveling to Britain from the Continent, your Eurailpass will not be valid when you get there.

In 1994, Queen Elizabeth of England and President François Mitterrand of France officially opened the Channel Tunnel, or Chunnel, and the Eurostar express passenger train began twice-daily service between London and both Paris and Brussels. In 2003, the completion of a new section of high-speed rail in England, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, shaved 20 minutes off the trip between London and Paris, reducing it to just 2 hours and 35 minutes (or 2 hr., 20 min. to Brussels). This extension allows Eurostar trains to go at the rate of 482kmph (300 mph). The $15-billion tunnel, one of the great engineering feats of all time, is the first link between Britain and the Continent since the Ice Age.

So if you're coming to London from say, Rome, your Eurailpass will get you as far as the Chunnel. At that point, you can cross the English Channel aboard the Eurostar, and you'll receive a discount on your ticket. Once in England, you must use a separate BritRail pass or purchase a direct ticket to continue on to your destination.

Rail Europe (tel. 888/382-7245; www.raileurope.com) sells direct-service tickets on the Eurostar between Paris or Brussels and London. A one-way fare between Paris and London costs £93 to £107 ($186 to $214) in second class and £119 to £209 ($237 to $417) in first class.

In London, make reservations for Eurostar by calling tel. 08705/186-186; and in the United States, it's tel. 800/EUROSTAR (www.eurostar.com). Eurostar trains arrive and depart from London's Waterloo Station, Paris's Gare du Nord, and Brussels's Central Station.

Each of London's train stations is connected to the city's vast bus and Underground network, and each has phones, restaurants, pubs, luggage storage areas, and Transport for London Information Centres.

St. Pancras International (http://stpancras.eurostar.com) is the new London hub for Eurostar, replacing Waterloo Station as the arrival point from the continent. Restored and opened in 2007, it is the point where the high-speed Eurostar pulls into London, connecting England with Belgium and France through the Channel Tunnel.

The station boasts Europe's longest champagne bar, a daily farmer's market, all the Wi-Fi you'll ever need, plus dozens of boutiques -- and some of the world's fastest trains. It is also served by six underground tubes, including Victoria, Northern, Piccadilly, Circle, Hammersmith & City, and Metropolitan, as well as seven other rail companies. With such a vast network of transport, you can head virtually anywhere in Greater London.

By Ferry/Hovercraft from Continental Europe

P&O Ferries (tel. 08716/645645; www.poferries.com) operates car and passenger ferries between Dover and Calais, France (25 sailings a day; 75 min. each way).

By Bus

Bus connections to London from the Continent are generally not comfortable, though some lines are more convenient than others. One line with a relatively good reputation is Eurolines, 52 Grosvenor Gardens, SW1W 0AU (tel. 08705/143-219; www.eurolines.com). They book passage on buses traveling twice a day between London and Paris (9 hr.); three times a day from Amsterdam (12 hr.); three times a week from Munich (24 hr.); and three times a week from Stockholm (44 hr.). On longer routes, which use alternating drivers, the bus proceeds almost without interruption, taking only occasional breaks for meals.

To the delight of the frugal traveler, a new no-frills bus service has been introduced in England. Megabus.com (tel. 0901/332-0031; 10p/20¢ per min.) charges the lowest bus fares in the country -- only £1 to £5 ($2-$10) for a single journey on any route. From London, popular stops include Oxford, Brighton, and the old port of Plymouth. The network uses double-decker buses that once rolled through the streets of Hong Kong. Reserve at www.megabus.com, which levies a booking charge of less than a U.S. dollar.