Just passed through London visiting friends and colleagues, and learned a few things while there that might be useful to pass along.

1. Heathrow to CBD

The fastest way from Heathrow (LHR) airport to CBD is the Heathrow express train. The problem is that unless you’re staying near Paddington Station, it doesn’t connect well to the rest of London, especially if you have luggage. Taxis are horrendously expensive and not faster than the regular train services, such as the Picadilly line.

If you’re not staying near an easy tube connection, especially with luggage, then the solution is simple: Heathrow Express to Paddington, and then Uber to your destination. From what I can tell this is the fastest and most convenient solution, though more expensive than the regular tube.

2. Getting around CBD

By far the fastest way to get around central London is actually eBikes. You can rent them directly from the Uber app, or using dedicated apps such as Lime or Forest. I used the Uber app simply out of laziness, but the other options work well too. For longer trips, I’d usually grab an eBike to get to a tube station and then tube for most of it.

Uber is manageable, but horribly slow. Cars basically crawl around central London, so expect 10 to 15 minutes just for the cab to arrive, and then another 15 to 30 minutes to get basically anywhere.

Grab the Citymapper app for figuring out routes, seems to work better than Google Maps.

3. Cash vs Contactless Payments

I took out several hundred pounds to pay for things… and ended up using less than 20. Everything is now contactless payments, and many places do not even accept cash. Make sure you have a card (debit or credit) that does contactless payment, or even better Apple/Google/Samsung Pay. I would probably convert like 100 GBP just in case, but that’s pretty optional at this point.

4. The British Museum

I was on the fence on whether to go to the British Museum, but I’m super glad I went. It’s incredible, even if most of the artifacts are stolen (for some definition stolen), and worth seeing by anyone with any appreciation for history and culture. Here are some tips in case you decide to visit:

  1. Book your visit in advance through their site. This can be only a few hours before, but it’ll definitely save you a ton of time over just showing up.
  2. Download the Museum app in advance, and download the audio for any of the tours before you go. The internet (both wifi and 4g) in the museum is simply overwhelmed by the number of people, so access is spotty. The app is really helpful for guiding you and giving you context for the pieces, which I found really helpful. Bring your fave earbuds, and it’ll make for a nicer experience.
  3. My suggestion is to leave at least 3 hours in the museum. It’s huge and absolutely packed with really interesting exhibits. You can do a whirlwind tour in an hour, but to me that would be really rushed.
  4. They advertise that they close at 17:00, but then start closing galleries at 16:45. Even the gift shop closes at 17:00 sharp. This makes no sense to me, but it’s the way of things. My suggestion is to plan on leaving at least 15 minutes before closing to avoid crowds.