London in Eight Hours

We traveled from Germany to the United States with a 8-hour layover in London. So what do you do with three kids who have never been to the UK?

We took the tube from Heathrow to Picadilly Circus. There we were able to board an "open top" double decker bus and do a tour of London. The great thing is you can go on/off these buses as often as you like. (Same with the tube with the day pass.) Taking the "original tour", we got to see many of London's famous sights.

• Kensington Palace
• Hyde Park
• Ritz Hotel
• Royal Albert Hall
• Nelson's Column & Trafalgar Square
• British Airways London Eye
• Big Ben & Parliament
• Downing Street
• Horse Guards' Parade

But the time was too short to really take it all in. And with the London traffic, we had to cut out some of the other typical sites of London (St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower of London, Sherlock Holmes house). As it was, we had train delays getting back to the airport. We literally ran to the gate and were among the last ones to board.