✈️ TLV to London - Heathrow (LHR)
United Kingdom
London
CityLHR
IATA3593.4 km
Distance4h 50m
Flight TimeCoordinates: 51.4706, -0.46194
Airlines:
About London
Weather in London
Understand
—Samuel Johnson
Climate
Despite having perhaps a fair reputation for being unsettled, London enjoys a mild climate on average. As much as one in three days on average will bring rain, though sometimes for only a short period. In some years, 2012 and 2018 being examples, there was no rain for a number of weeks. The fact that Londoners would find this remarkable should be an indication to visitors from drier climates of what they may be in for! Extreme weather is rare. Occasionally there may be heavy rain that can bring localised flooding or strong winds that may down trees and damage roofs, but overall you are unlikely to encounter anything too lively. Winter in London is mild compared to nearby continental European cities due to both the presence of the Gulf Stream and the urban heat effect. The average daily maximum temperature is 8 °C (46 °F) in December and January. The coldest temperature recorded in London stands at −16.1 °C (3.0 °F) and was recorded at Northolt during January 1962, but this occurred during one of the coldest winters ever experienced in the UK. Daylight hours are very short, especially around winter, with darkness falling at 3:45PM in the afternoon in December. Sunrise is not until after 8AM around the end of December. Snow does occur, usually a few times a year but rarely heavily (a few years being exceptions such as the winters of 2009 and 2010, with temperatures dipping down to sub-zeros regularly). Snow in London can be crippling, as seen at the end of 2010. Just 7 centimetres (2 ¾ inches) of snow will cause trains to stop running, airports to see significant delays, and the postal service to come to a halt. London is a city which does not cope well with snow; walkways, stairs, and streets will not be cleared by shovels or ploughs. The streets will be salted/gritted, but will remain slick and snow/slush-covered until the sun melts it away. This is due to a lack of widespread snow-clearing infrastructure as the city does not often see snow. Spring in the capital can be something of a weather rollercoaster with big variations in temperature day by day. It can be a very wet time of year, but the increases in day length from March onwards and steady temperature increases as the season progresses can make it a pleasant time to visit. Days can be mild and warm, but the temperature will often dip at night as the sun's warmth dissipates. The beginning of spring in March can be as cold as winter, so be sure to bring something warm to wear! Summer is perhaps the best season for tourists, as it has long daylight hours as well as mild to warm temperatures. The average daily high temperatures in July and August are around 23.5 °C (74.3 °F) with average daily lows around 16 °C (61 °F). On particularly hot days, the temperature can climb up to around 29 °C (84 °F) and not go below 18.5 °C (65.3 °F) at night, but these aren't particularly common. The highest temperature ever seen in London stands at 40.2 °C (104.4 °F) which was recorded at Heathrow on 19 July 2022. Daylight hours run from 4:45AM to 9:15PM, but begin to shorten as the summer goes on. Humidity across the city can increase and stay high over the course of several days and nights, leading to muggy conditions. Also, upon occasion, clouds of dust from storms in the Sahara desert can be blown across Europe and lead to increases in pollution levels. Despite the increased warmth, the weather in summer can be variable. Occasional prolonged instances of rain and unexpected dips in temperature can occur. If you're coming during the summer it is still advised to dress in layers and bring some waterproofs! Autumn in London can vary from year to year: in some years September and October can see temperatures similar to those seen in summer due to a phenomenon known as an "Indian summer", but in other years the temperature can decrease rapidly to winter levels and stay there. Autumn tends to be the wettest and windiest season but, again, this can vary from year to year. Day length at the beginning of autumn is near that of summer, meaning that a September trip can still be as easy to plan as an August one as there's plenty of daylight to work with. Mid-autumn is a wonderful time to wander one of London's many tree-filled parks as the leaves fade from green to gold. Another benefit of a September trip is that children return to school at the beginning of the month, meaning that some tourist attractions are quieter.
Talk
As one would expect of the capital of England, English is the main language spoken in London. Accents, however, do vary from Received Pronunciation (RP), also known as the King's/Queen's English , that is spoken by the upper-class residents of Westminster, to the distinctive Cockney accent spoken by the working-class residents of the East End. However, RP has largely died out, and has been supplanted by Standard Southern English , a more modern, more middle class accent that pervades the south of the UK. Similarly, Cockney has been driven out of London, now spoken mostly in Essex. As London is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world that is home to immigrants from all over the former British Empire , a new accent, known as Multicultural London English (MLE), has developed among younger Londoners who grew up with this cultural diversity. MLE has a Cockney base, but also incorporates noticeable influences from South Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, and is often regarded as the most representative accent of modern British society. Many languages from all around the world are spoken by first generation immigrants in London. For instance, Mandarin and Cantonese are commonly spoken in Chinatown and other neighbourhoods with large numbers of ethnic Chinese residents, and numerous South Asian languages such as Hindi , Urdu , Punjabi and Bengali are spoken among the various South Asian communities.
Get around
The main travel options in summary are: By bus : Running by iconic red double-decker buses, this is the cheapest and usually the best way to get around London as a tourist: on most of the Underground, you won't see anything! By Tube / Underground : As world's oldest rapid transit system, there're 11 lines cover the central area and northern suburbs, run by TfL. By Overground and the Elizabeth Line : Urban communter rail systems run between central area and suburbs, part of National Rail network but run by TfL. By National Rail : A complex network of suburban rail services mainly covering southern suburbs, privately run and not part of the TfL network, although all operators now accept Oyster payments within Greater London. By Docklands Light Railway (DLR) : An automatic metro system running from the City to East London via the Docklands, run by TfL. By foot : In central London, walking to the next Tube station often takes around 10 minutes, and is a more scenic choice than going underground. The street layout can be confusing, so a street map is essential; map and travel apps for smartphones and tablets are incredibly useful and many stations have central London printed maps for £2. By boat : Both commuter ferries run by TfL and pleasure cruises ply along the River Thames. Some services accept Oyster cards, but special fares apply, so check before you travel. By bicycle : There are hire bicycles (known to Londoners as "Boris Bikes" after former London mayor Boris Johnson) operated by TfL available for pick up in inner London. You will need a credit or debit card with a PIN. If you bring your own bike, there are plenty of cycle lanes and traffic is normally considerate. By tram : A tram service that operates only in southern suburbs around Croydon, Wimbledon and Bromley. Run by TfL and charges the same fares as buses.
See
I have sailed the world, beheld its wonders From the Dardanelles to the mountains of Peru But there's no place like London! —Stephen Sondheim, Sweeney Todd London can be stressful with kids – check London with children for slightly less stressful sightseeing. However, it is a breeze with children over 7. Feeling overwhelmed? Not sure how to begin planning your trip? Transport for London have produced their own useful list of itineraries for tourists . They include famous landmarks and iconic transport icons on their various public transport networks, among others. London is a huge city, so all individual listings are in the appropriate district articles and only an overview is presented here.
London Pass
Whereas some London museums offer free entry, some other top London attractions are ridiculously expensive. For example, entry to Westminster Abbey costs £20 per person (adult), and entry to the Tower is £21.50 per adult if bought online (2017). These prices can be sometimes mitigated by a purchase of London Pass, which needs to be done at the London Pass website . The pass comes in several varieties and gives access to over 60 attractions, including both Westminster Abbey and the Tower. For example, a day pass costs £62 for an adult (2017). The best strategy, if one wants to visit several expensive high-profile attractions, is to buy a day pass and to try visiting all of them in the same day. This requires some advanced planning and will not give you much time at each place you visit - for example, it can take an hour on public transport to travel between the Tower of London and London Zoo.
Do
London is a huge city, so all individual listings are in the appropriate district articles. To make the most of the city's tremendous cultural offerings (performing arts, museums, exhibitions, clubs, eateries and numerous others), visitors will do well to pick up a copy of a cultural magazine like Time Out London (available at most corner shops and newsagents) which gives detailed information and critiques on what's around town including show times and current attractions. The Time Out London website also has major shows listed. There is also apps available, although the print version tends to be more detailed.
Theatre
The West End , especially the areas concentrated around Leicester Square, Covent Garden, Shaftesbury Avenue and Haymarket, is one of the world's premier destinations for theatre, including musical theatre. In the centre of Leicester Square there is an official half-price TKTS booth. Be wary of other ticket offices -including those claiming to be the "Official Half-Price Ticket Office" - as these may have higher prices, and have been known to sell fake tickets. For up-to-date listings see the weekly magazine Time Out or check the Official London Theatre site. The South Bank is another area well known for world class theatre, and is home to the National Theatre and the Globe Theatre , the latter of which is London's only thatched building and an attraction in itself. Each Globe performance has over 700 £5 tickets. London's theatre scene outside of these two main districts is known as "the Fringe". Several of the larger and more established fringe theatres are an excellent way to see top quality productions of plays that may move to the West End, but at lower than West End prices. The Royal Court theatre specialises in new work by innovative writers from the UK and around the world. The Menier Chocolate Factory has done spectacularly well with revivals of musicals. The Lyric Theatre , Hammersmith, offers a mix of modern interpretations of Shakespeare, musicals, and plays serving the Asian and Afro-Caribbean populations of West London.
Other things to do
Take a walk through London's Royal Parks . A good walk would start at Paddington station, and head through Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Green Park (passing Buckingham Palace) and St James's Park before crossing Trafalgar Square and the River Thames to the South Bank and Waterloo station. At a strolling pace this walk would take half a day, with plenty of places to stop, sit, drink, and eat en route. Watch a film: As well as the world-famous blockbuster cinemas in the West End, London has a large number of superb art house cinemas. In the summer months, there are often outdoor screenings at various venues, such as Somerset House and in some of the large parks. Watch football: London has over a dozen professional football clubs, plus Wembley Stadium , the national stadium of England, hosting internationals (including World Cup and European Championships qualifiers) and the finals of club competitions, notably the FA Cup and the League Cup. As of 2024, London has six clubs in the Premier League, the top tier of English football: Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Brentford, Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs), Fulham, and West Ham United. In the second tier, the Championship, are Millwall and Queens Park Rangers (QPR). In the third tier, League One, are Charlton Athletic and Leyton Orient; and in the fourth tier, League Two, are AFC Wimbledon and Sutton United. Other clubs slug it out in the lower leagues, semi-professional going on amateur. International and top club matches need booking in advance, and at clubs like Arsenal and Chelsea, it's nearly impossible to get tickets without some sort of club membership or through a shady third party website or a scalper, which are both best avoided as the tickets probably aren't even valid. However, at smaller clubs you can just turn up and pay at the gate. At bottom-end clubs there's actually a risk that you might be begged to strip off and take the field to make up an eleven. Hackney & Walthamstow marshes have football teams and playing fields the way Xanadu had caverns measureless to man, with a thin drizzle blowing in off a sunless sea. Watch rugby union, 15-a-side. Internationals are played at Twickenham west of the city - the Six Nations games are likely to sell out. Three London teams play in the Premiership, the top tier of club rugby in England: Harlequins, London Irish and Saracens. You'll see famous international players in these club fixtures. Watch tennis at Wimbledon: Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely considered the most prestigious. Naturally it is a regular feature on the tennis calendar. London goes "tennis crazy" for two weeks when the competition commences in late June and early July. One of the greatest traditions of this event is to eat strawberries and cream with sugar. (Tube: Southfields) Watch cricket at the Oval (Lambeth) or Lord's (St Johns). Both host One-Day and Test matches (i.e. internationals, lasting up to 5 days). Watch important events like Ashes and India and South Africa Tours to London. Oval and Lord's are also the home grounds for Oval Inbincibles and London Spirit respectively in the Hundred Lord's is also the home ground for Middlesex in the County Championship and One Day Cup. London Open House Weekend: Explore many of the city's most interesting buildings during the London Open House Weekend , usually held on the third weekend of September. During this single weekend, several hundred buildings which are not normally open to the public are opened up. See website for details of buildings opening in any given year. Some buildings have to be booked in advance; book early for the popular ones. Winter skating. During the winter months multiple outdoor ice rinks pop up across London. Considered by some to be somewhat overpriced and overcrowded, they nonetheless have multiplied, easing congestion and increasing competition. Most charge from £10-12 (adults) for an hour on the ice, including skate hire. See the district articles for the City of London , East End and Leicester Square . Summer skating. In summer (and also in winter, for the more dedicated) there is also a thriving roller skating (on inline and traditional "quad" skates) scene in London, catering to many disciplines including street hockey, freestyle slalom, dance, general recreational skating (including three weekly marshalled group street skates) and speed skating. This mostly centres around Hyde Park (on the Serpentine Road) and Kensington Gardens (by the Albert Memorial). See the district articles for Mayfair-Marylebone and South West London . Bus and river tours: If you don't feel like splashing out on one of the commercial bus tours, you can make your own bus tour by buying an Oyster card and spending some time riding around London on the top deck of standard London buses. You don't get the open air or the commentary, but the views are very similar. You will likely get lost but that is half the fun; if that worries you then go for a commercial tour, which will give you a 24-hour ticket to use the company's buses to see the essential sites of London and a boat tour on the Thames (with the same ticket) provides a river tour of some of metropolitan London. Commercial tours are also the only remaining way to ride a vintage red routemaster bus through the city streets. Photography . Buildings such as museums, churches and art galleries will display their own guidelines clearly. In many public buildings the use of tripods and flash are not permitted. Hidden London . A series of tours run by the London Transport Museum exploring the hidden depths of the Underground, including abandoned stations and tunnels; plus there are visits to TfL's famous art deco headquarters (55 Broadway) and "access all areas" inside looks at operational stations such as Charing Cross and Euston. Demand is high for what is quite a restricted annual programme, and you can purchase a maximum of four tickets per tour. Adults: £41.50, concession: £36.50. This ticket includes a day pass to the LT Museum, to be used within a month of the event date, and gives you a 10% discount on all merchandise bought at the museum shop or online within the same period. NFL International Series . NFL ( American Football ) games held in Wembley and Twickenham Stadiums. Usually held on Sunday evenings or afternoons between October and December of each year.
Eat
For suggestions of specific restaurants have a look into the district articles . It is a huge task for a visitor to find the "right place" to eat in London – with the "right atmosphere", at the "right price" – largely because, as in any big city, there are literally thousands of venues from which to choose, ranging from fast food joints, pubs, and mainstream chains all the way up to some of the most exclusive restaurants in the world which attract the kind of clientele that don't need to ask the price. Sorting the good from the bad isn't easy, but London has something to accommodate all budgets and tastes. As London is one of the world's most multicultural cities, it is possible to find virtually every cuisine from around the world here if you look hard enough. Following is a rough guide to what you might get, should you fancy eating out: Smoking is illegal in all enclosed and indoor public spaces in the UK. Up to £6 - you can get a good English pub or cafeteria breakfast with a rack of bacon, beans in tomato sauce, egg, sausage, orange juice and coffee or tea. Most pubs stop this offer at 11AM, but there are literally hundreds of backstreet cafes (colloquially known as "greasy spoons") which will serve this sort of food all day. Most supermarket chains offer a "meal deal", consisting of a sandwich, a drink and a bag of crisps or fruit for £3–4 together, while buying the sandwich only can be the same price. If you are going to be on a budget for several days, the supermarkets are a good option. £8 - will buy you a couple of sandwiches and a soft drink, some takeaway fish and chips, or a fast food meal. There are also mostly Chinese restaurants which serve an all-you-can-eat buffet for around this price. These are dotted about the West End and it is well worth asking a member of public or a shopkeeper where the nearest one is. These restaurants make much of their revenue on drinks although these are usually still moderately priced. The food while not being of the finest standard is usually very tasty and the range of dishes available is excellent. There are literally thousands of so-called takeaways in London and are a cheap alternative to a restaurant meal. Check with your hotel management if they allow food deliveries before ordering in. Most takeaways offer some form of seating, but this is usually very limited. £6–10 - will get you a good pub meal and drink or a good Chinese/Indian/Italian/Thai/Vietnamese buffet. Many pubs have a buy-one-get-one-free offer, and you can either order two main dishes for yourself or bring a friend. £15 - some more expensive French, Mediterranean and international restaurants do cheaper two or three course lunch menus. £25 - offers you a lot more choice. You can have a good meal, half a bottle of wine and change for the tube home. There are plenty of modest restaurants that cater for this bracket. £50 (to almost any amount!) - with more money to spend you can pick some of the city's finer restaurants. It may be a famous chef (like Michel Roux, Jr, or Gordon Ramsay) or simply a place that prides itself on using the finest ingredients. Worth the splurge to impress a special someone. These establishments often need to be booked well in advance, and most will enforce a dress code of some sort, like Rules of Covent Garden, the oldest restaurant still extant. Prices inevitably become inflated at venues closest to major tourist attractions - beware the so-called tourist traps. The worst tourist trap food, in the opinion of many Londoners, is served at the various steak houses (Angus Steak House, Aberdeen Steak House, etc. – they are all dotted around the West End and near the main train stations). Londoners wouldn't dream of eating here – you shouldn't either! Notorious areas for inflated menu prices trading on travellers' gullibility and lack of knowledge are the streets around the British Museum, Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus. Even the major fast food chains charge a premium in their West End outlets, so watch out. Pubs in the touristy areas of London are usually a poor choice for food although there are some brilliant "gastro-pubs" hidden away. In general, avoid all pubs that have graphic-designed and printed menus. Look around you – see any locals tucking in? No? Then you shouldn't either. The other rule to follow when avoiding poor food is the same as in any other part of Europe – is the menu available in multiple languages? If yes, then start running! In the suburbs, the cost of eating out is reduced drastically. Particularly in large ethnic communities, there is a competitive market which stands to benefit the consumer. In East London for example, the vast number of chicken shops means that a deal for 2 pieces of chicken, chips (fries) and a drink shouldn't cost you more than £3 especially on Brick Lane . Brick Lane is also known for being home to London's version of the beigel (spelt "bagel" in the United States and Canada, but pronounced the same way), with Brick Lane Beigel Bake and Britain's First & Best Beigel Shop being among the sole remnants of what was once a thriving Jewish community in the neighbourhood. Both shops are also known for their salt beef , London's version of Jewish-style cured meats, and a popular filling in their beigel sandwiches. Another good (and cheap) lunch option is a chicken or lamb doner (gyro) at many outlets throughout the city, though meat quality is often poor. For more authentic Cockney food, try pie and mash , which originates from the working-class in the East End. Usually minced beef and cold water pastry pie served with mashed potato, mushy peas and "liquor" gravy, it tastes a lot better than it sounds. Some of the best pie houses are M. Manze in Peckham or F. Cooke in Hackney Broadway Market. Water Souchet and London Particular (green-pea and ham) are classic Cockney soups, though hard to find on menus. For those game, jellied eels , pickled-cockles and whelks are all traditional London seafood. It's people's experiences in these kind of places that gives Britain a bad name for food! The South Bank 's Borough Market offers wholesale produce as well as individual stalls that sell small bites and drinks for a casual and cheap meal. Kappacasein Dairy has a popular stand in the market famous for their grilled cheese which has earned the praise of Giada De Laurentiis and Ruth Reichl. Of course, the quintessential British dish fish and chips is widely available in London, but the standards can be pretty disappointing in the tourist trap pubs. The best-rated fish and chips shops in London are generally located in the suburbs, away from all the tourist fare in central London. For hamburgers, local chain Burger & Lobster is an excellent choice for gourmet burgers. Tipping may also be different than what you're used to. All meals include the 20% VAT tax and some places include a service fee (10–12%). The general rule is to leave a tip for table service, unless there's already a service charge added or unless the service has been notably poor. The amount tipped is generally in the region of 10%, but if there's a figure between 10–15% which would leave the bill at a conveniently round total, many would consider it polite to tip this amount. Tipping for counter service, or any other form of service, is unusual - but some choose to do so if a tips container is provided.
Drink
London is home to a great many pubs, bars and nightclubs. The online city guide View London and the weekly magazine Time Out tell what's going in London's night life, as well as cultural events in general.
Sleep
London has hundreds of options for accommodation to suit all budgets from hostels through historic bed and breakfasts (B&Bs), mainstream chain hotels and apartments all the way to some of the most exclusive luxury hotels in the world such as The Savoy, The Ritz and Claridges where a stay in a top suite will cost upwards of £1,000 per night. The average cost of hotel accommodation in London is higher than in any other major British city. Prices invariably become inflated close to major sporting tournaments (such as the London Marathon, Wimbledon or major England football/rugby fixtures), or other important events taking place in the city - so it pays to plan your trip around such occasions or book your accommodation well in advance. In general, most people tend to stay within "Zone 1" of the underground, however do your research carefully - sometimes being that extra five minutes away from a station can make the difference in cost and quality of local food and drinking options. In any case, you can always catch a bus anyway - by far the best way to see the city and get about generally. If you stay outside of Zone 1, TfL's travel time map shows which locations have good public transport.
Stay safe
In an emergency, telephone 999 or 112 . This number connects to police, ambulance and fire & rescue services as well as the coastguard for incidents on the river. You will be asked which of these services you require before being connected to the relevant operator. London has two of the oldest police forces in the world. The Metropolitan Police ( The Met ) is responsible for policing London except the tiny City of London , which is the responsibility of the City of London Police . In addition to these, the Tube and other railways are patrolled by the British Transport Police . On the whole, London is a safe place to visit and explore. Normal precautions for the safe keeping of your personal possessions, as you would in any other city, are suggested.
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Nerd activities in London