Getting to London
London is one of the world’s best-connected cities. With five international airports serving 273 destinations, high-speed rail links to continental Europe and an extensive public transport network, London is capable of dealing efficiently with large numbers of travellers no matter how they choose to get here.
Fast track immigration services for conference groups are available at Heathrow and Gatwick.
London Airports
Heathrow
London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is one of the world’s busiest airports, handling more international passengers than any other. The airport is located 32 km (20 miles) west of London and has excellent public transport connections. Express trains connect passengers to central London in 15 minutes.
More information on getting to and from Heathrow
Gatwick
London Gatwick (LGW) is the second largest airport in the UK after Heathrow. Gatwick is located 45km (28 miles) south of London. Rail connections into central London take around 30 minutes.
More information on getting to and from Gatwick
London City
London City Airport (LCY) is situated approximately 9.5km (6 miles) east of Central London and just 4.8km (3 miles) from the business district of Canary Wharf. London City handles short-haul flights with a strong emphasis on business travel. It has excellent, quick connections into the city.
More information on getting to and from London City Airport
Stansted
London Stansted Airport (STN) is London's third international gateway. It is home to many of the UK's low-cost airlines, serving mostly European and Mediterranean destinations. The airport is located 64km (40 miles) north-east of London. Express rail services into central London take 45mins.
More information on getting to and from Stansted
London Luton
London Luton Airport (LTN) is a hub for many low-cost airlines, mostly operating short-haul flights to and from Europe. Luton Airport is 51km (32 miles) north-west of London. Rail connections into central London take around 30 minutes.
More information on getting to and from London Luton
Getting to London by International Rail
Eurostar operates frequent daily high-speed services connecting Paris and Brussels to London. Journey times range from 2 hours 15 minutes from Paris or 1 hour and 51 minutes from Brussels. Trains arrive at St Pancras International station in central London.
More information on Eurostar services
Getting to London by National Rail
London is the hub of the UK's rail network, with frequent services to all regions from the city's centrally-located mainline railway stations. Rail services in the UK are run by a number of private train operating companies.
Popular city-centre-to-city-centre journeys to London are:
- Bristol: 1 hour 45 mins (via First Great Western)
- Cardiff: 2 hours (via First Great Western)
- Birmingham: 1 hour 30 mins (via Virgin Trains)
- Manchester: 2 hours 15 mins (via Virgin Trains)
- Newcastle: 3 hours (via National Express East Coast)
- Edinburgh: 4 hours 30 mins (via National Express East Coast)
More information on National Rail
Getting to London by Coach
Coaches are a generally a good value mode of transport to London. Services cross-cross the UK, with connections to continental Europe too. However, coach journey times tend to be substantially longer than the equivalent train service.
More information on Coach travel
