You can save time by taking the Heathrow Express from LHR to Paddington station. It's a 15 minute journey. While definitely not cheap, it would save you loads of time.

fflochan,

Living in London when I go to the airport (Heathrow or Gatwick) I usually aim to arrive three hours before departure - that's what the people in charge advise.

Rather than use the Tube to travel into Central London save time by taking the Heathrow Express https://www.heathrowexpress.com/index.asp?SID={896FE5EC-A3C8-4389-AC7B-20F4578003C6} or the Gatwick Express https://www.heathrowexpress.com/index.asp?SID={896FE5EC-A3C8-4389-AC7B-20F4578003C6}

Both more expensive than the Tube but will buy you time which is the crucial factor here. They are also more comfortable and convenient than the Tube as there are very few stops.

I would say to you if you had two hours to see London I'd get out at Westminister Tube station which is on the door step of the Houses of Parliment (and there Big Ben too), the London Eye and the River Thames.

When you've had your photo taken go back to the Tube and go to Charing Cross station. This is on the doorstep of Trafalgar Square so you see the pigeons, Nelson's Column and the National Gallery (no time to go in).

Good luck.

Very few sights and attractions will be open at an early hour on Sunday.

There are no planned works for the Piccadilly line on 14 Sept; there will be no Victoria line service at all and limited District line service, but neither should have an impact on your visit.

I think you're flying with BA all the way, so your bags should be checked through to FCO. Since your flight to Rome departs from T5, you should remember that you must be through Security no later than 35 minutes before the scheduled departure time, otherwise you will not be allowed to board the flight. Ground agents are strict about that rule at T5, so allow sufficient time to get to and from the city.

At an early hour you could take the Piccadilly line to Hammersmith, alight there and cross the platform to an eastbound District line train. Alight at Westminster and leave that station at the Bridge Street way out for an iconic view.

You will not be able to tour the Abbey, though, as it is closed except for services on Sundays. If you're interested and the weather is clement, you could walk across Westminster bridge and have a flight on the London Eye, or take the number 11 bus along Whitehall towards Trafalgar Square and the Strand, stopping for breakfast there.

You'll not have time to do much more than nod at a sight here and there; if you wanted, you could hop on the number 15 bus on the Strand and take it to the Tower, have a very fast look, then hop on the District line at Tower Hill to head back to the airport.

fflochan,

Use the Transport for London website - http://www.tfl.gov.uk/

The Journey Planner on the right hand side of the homepage is really helpful - even for Londoners.

I may get criticised for saying this but you can see some of the top attractions in London in less than 3 hours without ever having to go indoors. And there's no issue of opening times, enterance fees etc

Rome has plenty of excellent galleries and museums!

I hope you'll give us a post visit report on Rome. I'm hoping to go next year so your views would be most welcome.

Regards.

hi everyone, thanks for the advice on heathrow express, didnt know of that one before, that does save an extra 30 minutes of time, let me see how the time plays out, since most places are closed on Sunday mornings anyways, maybe we'll just be able to drop by the outside and take a picture.

and travellplus, you are soo correct, I am travelling with BA, so I wont be holding onto my luggage, just the carry-ons, that should take less time for the checkins, I read that I would only have to go through immigration, so it shouldn’t require as much time. you mentioned no later than 35 minutes before my flight departs, if i allocate 1.5 hours...? would that be enough to arrive at T5 by 12:45?

a lot of bus numbers and info, is the Piccadilly line a tube line? I understand heathrow express tickets would have to be purchased separately, but is there like a pass that I can travel on the tube and on all those buses mentioned?

as always, TA forum to my rescue!!! Thanks for being so quick with the responses!!!

hello trip_too_far! wow... what a great link... it looks so... complicated... i'll definitely have some fun clicking around on that!!! i wish they had a link like that for italy, would if made things easier! i'll be visiting italy for 14 days in september, and with 5 days in rome, i'll probably be posting a trip report on the italy forum in october when i return, i'll let u know how it is! but i absolutely cannot wait! and stopping over at london, ofcourse is a bonus =)

<<< hi everyone, thanks for the advice on heathrow express, didnt know of that one before, that does save an extra 30 minutes of time, >>>

No it doesn't - because unless you want to visit the north end of Hyde Park, you'll have to pay more to get anywhere of interest.

So your "extra 30 minutes" may in reality boil down to less than 10 minutes - for which you've paid £28 for the privilege

thanks for the headsup Alanrow...i will definitely need to study the orientation a lot more before i move forward...

Unfortunately, the Heathrow Express does not travel from T4 to Paddington; the train goes from Paddington to and from LHR T1,2,3. In order to take the HEX, you would have to take the Heathrow Connect shuttle or a free bus service from T4 jto T1,2,3 to catch the HEX.

Heathrow Connect does operate from T4, but only two trains an hour.

HEX tickets are pricey at £14 each; Connect tickets are just £6.90 each way, but you'd still end up at Paddington, from which you'd have to take a bus or the Tube to get to most anywhere you might wish to see. Going to Paddington is rather like wanting to visit the Ex but starting off at Broadview.

The Piccadilly line is one of the Underground lines. If you want to travel to and from LHR and see a bit of the city using the Tube and / or buses, you'll need a one day Travelcard for zones 1 - 6; it will cost just £7 and allow unlimited use.

"you can save time by taking the Heathrow Express from LHR to Paddington station. It's a 15 minute journey. While definitely not cheap, it would save you loads of time."

Grr no it does not save LOADS of time! This often is said here, but its just not true. First of all its quite a long trek to the HEX station depending which terminal you are leaving from, secondly if you are arriving at T4 is more like 25 minutes, and third unless a train is departing within a couple of seconds of you arriving at the platform, there is waiting time to be added. Finally, the HEX does not take you into central London, it takes you to Paddington station, from where you will need to get a cab or tube into the centre.

The upshot is that its nearly as fast to get into CENTRAL London by tube, which takes 45 or so minutes, and costs about £6 return instead of about £25 return. As long as its running of course. Also, if there are say 3 or 4 of you (maybe even just 2) then a pre-booked car service will be cheaper, as quick on a Sunday morning, and take you right into the centre.

You are also somewhat optimistic about getting out of the airport so quickly,and havent mentioned about your luggage. I'd say its going to be more like an hour, maybe 1.15 to get out. As I presume you have luggage to transfer that isnt booked through, you will need to get to your departing terminal, which is likely to be 2,4, or 5 (what airliens are involved?), and store it in the Excess baggage. This will take extra time. So I wouldnt expect you to be in the city centre before about 930. Depending if you are already checked in or not, you should start returning, either by pre booked car , taxi, or tube, at about 1130 as you say. Mostly you'll be wandering around parks or looking at the sites, most shops and museums wont be open until 10-1030. You could get a HOHO bus if they start running that early which they may well do this would get you best bang for the buck in terms of seeing places.