UPDATE: 17.10.2012 – the Olympics are over so now all areas are once again accessible :). Hope you enjoy the walk.
UPDATE: 18.04.2011 – this post was written for a friend last year. However, feel free to use the information herein. I have a blog on London where you can find out a lot more about fun and interesting things to do and places to go while you are here – go to http://3daysinlondon.info/ Wishing you a fab time in the city.
So assuming your free time is the whole 6 hours I would suggest that you go to Green Park and visit Buckingham Palace to see the fabulous flowers (seasonal) and then take a walk to Big Ben & Houses of Parliament; so here goes:
Buy a one-day travel card for zones 1-6 at Heathrow Underground Tube station, off-peak Zone 1-6 £8.50 this will allow you unlimited travel from Heathrow to and in and around Central London and back again. If you travel before 09:30 the cost will be substantially higher. For further fare info click here which will take you to TravelforLondon website showing fares/zones.
Hop on the Piccadilly Line which runs from all Heathrow terminals. Allow an hour for the journey and go to Green Park (it’s direct).
Get off at Green Park and take the exit straight into Green Park. Stroll through the park till you reach The Mall and on the right you will see Buckingham Palace = approx 10-15 minutes stroll allows you time to look around and enjoy the many features.
Buckingham Palace
At Buckingham Palace spend some time looking at the Victoria Memorial Gardens and the Queen Victoria Memorial fountains.
Victoria Memorial Gardens
then take a walk along The Mall towards Trafalgar Square. On your way take a stroll through the park = St James’s Park.
tulips at St Jamess park
It is beautiful this time of year (April) and the tulips are magnificent = 30-45minutes or so. If you walk through the park, head to the Blue Bridge and cross over towards Birdcage Walk and stroll along towards Big Ben and Parliament Square.
Then at Trafalgar Square, spend 15 minutes or so if you wish to look around
fountain at Trafalgar Square with National Gallery in the background
While at Trafalgar Square why not pop in to The National Gallery, it’s free (they do appreciate donations) and the entrance is beautiful. Although the Olympic Clock is now gone, I have left a photo in just because 🙂
The London 2012 Olympic Clock at Trafalgar Square
and then head along Whitehall (main road) towards Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament (Westminster Palace) = 15 minutes or so. A pointer for direction is that Lord Nelson on his perch (column) faces towards Big Ben and Houses of Parliament along Whitehall (name of the road),
you will also pass Horse-Guards Parade (4pm to see the 4 o’clock parade; much lower key than say changing the guard but impressive and free. If you get there at any other time then all it is is a big square. Having said that there is a memorial to those killed in the South African campaign over 100 years ago which is both impressive and moving – thanks to Paul for the inserted contribution) as well as No 10 Downing Street on the right hand side of the road and the Cenotaph; a memorial to those killed in the 1st & 2nd WW situated in the middle of Whitehall.
At Big Ben, be sure to cross over to Westminster Abbey (looking towards the right & closed at 3.30 most days), the whole area is looking gorgeous.
Westminster Abbey the venue for the Royal Wedding on April 29th 2011
After that return to Big Ben
Big Ben
and walk up onto the right-hand side of the bridge (Westminster Bridge) where you can view the whole palace alongside the river.
Houses of Parliament aka Westminster Palace
At that point you would be able to see the London Eye and the Aquarium. Cross over to the opposite side for a better view.
the London Eye with the Aquarium in the background
be sure to stop and have a look at the statue of Boudicca on her chariot (Queen of the Iceni who ravaged the Romans). There is an ice-cream stand on the corner there where you can buy a double cone soft vanilla ice-cream with flake for £? the prices changes regularly but it’s in the region of £2.00-£2.50) 🙂 If you take a walk along the Victoria Embankment, be sure to have a look at the Battle of Britain memorial…it’s stunning.
If you want to and have the time, take a walk along the Victoria Embankment (with the river on your right hand side), towards the next bridge (Hungerford & Golden Jubilee Bridges), where you can see the RAF (Royal Air Force) monuments alongside the embankment as well as all our gorgeous trees that are just about in their full greenery (assuming you are here in spring/summer). = 45 minutes.
At Embankment Station there are a number of coffee shops where you could stop off and have a cuppa = 30minutes or so. If not and its a hot day, then have an ice-cream instead 🙂 If you have time climb the stairs onto the bridge, for a magnificent view upstream of the river towards the London Eye etc. From here you can take the District or Circle tube line to Earl’s Court and change for the Piccadilly line for Heathrow.
Heathrow to Green Park = 60-70 minutes give or take
Green Park station stroll to Buckingham Palace 15 minutes
Buckingham Palace through St James’s park to Trafalgar Square 60 minutes
Trafalgar Square 15 minutes
Walk to Big Ben and Houses of Parliament 15 minutes
Time at Big Ben and perhaps Westminster Abbey 60 minutes
walk along the Embankment (the London Eye will be on your right hand side) to Embankment station 15-20 minutes
stop for coffee (or not). There is a lovely park just behind the station; Victoria Embankment Park, a lovely environment to stop and rest for a while. You will find a memorial to the poet Robert Burns in the park as well as many other statues and and interesting memorials = 30 minutes
Back to Heathrow from Embankment approx 60-70 minutes.
These are all estimated times and depend on how long you stay at each place or how slow/quickly you walk. I have allowed extra time for each leg of the excursion, so you may find it takes a bit less for each. It’s up to you how long you want to take at each place. Good luck and have a fabulous time. Let me know if this works for you. 🙂
Not Just a Granny 
..wow great information. I’m going to save this info for my next trip.
thank you
ivonne
what brilliant information, can you advise the quickest way to get from Euston station on a saturday morning to near Buckingham Palace or the area?
hi Jackie. Your best bet would be to do a journey planner on tfl http://www.tfl.gov.uk/ I had a quick look and it takes about 8 minutes from euston to victoria and then its a 5-8 minute walk to Buckingham Palace. just make sure there are no planned engineering works on the tube for the day you plane to travel. good luck 🙂
[…] time and could I suggest something for them to do. So I set about creating an itinerary called 6 hours in London and sent it on. As it turned out they didn’t make the trip into London but an idea was […]
Thanks you for such a great idea. My wife and me took our 15 year old daughter and two of her freinds to the Capital Radio Summer Ball yesterday. Dropped them at Wembley and then made our way to Green Park as you suggested. Rail staff were extremely helpful and gave us details of which line to use, where to change etc.
The weather was great so we had a picnic in the park before walking through to the Mall. Couldnt get too close to Buckingham Palace as they where still taking down the stage and stands from the Jubilee concert. The Mall looked fantastic with huge flags on every post. We decided to walk into St James Park rather than walk up the mall. In the park is a very impressive crown made from plants!The lake and fountain are well worth spending time enjoying. After watching the birds on the lake (lots of different types and helpful boards identifying them) we walked through to Horse Guards Parade and arrived just before 4pm to see the 4 o Clock parade – much lower key than say changing the guard but impressive (and free). If you get there at any other time then all it is is a big square. Having said that there is a memorial to those killed in the South African campaign over 100 years ago which is both impressive and moving.
Trafalgar Square was followed by the National Gallery (free and the chance to see some famous paintings up close. Also free tours and talks in here – an unexpected bonus!!)
Big Ben and the houses of Parliament (from both sides of the river!!) and the Abbey – closed at 3.30 most days!! ) and then a walk back up the Mall was followed by tea in St James Park and completed an around 5 hourse tour for us. Tired feet and legs but we both felt that we had seen a fair bit of the parts of London we wanted to!
Thanks again for such great information – we really appreciated it and would recommend it to anyone with only a short time to spare in London.
Paul & Carolyn x
Dear Paul and Carolyn,
Thank you very much for the lovely comment/testimonial for this post I am so glad you enjoyed the ‘tour’ and were able to see some of the places you wanted to. I really appreciated the feedback and will make note of those 🙂
I have replied more fully via my website email, but just wanted to thank you from here too.
have a great day
regards
Cindy