How do I get to London?

Heathrow (LHR), 24 km west of central London, is where most long-haul flights land: BA, Virgin Atlantic, American, United, Delta, Singapore Airlines, and Emirates all operate from here. Terminal 5 is BA's home base and feels surprisingly open for its size; Terminal 2 handles the Star Alliance carriers. Gatwick (LGW), 45 km south, splits between scheduled long-haul and budget carriers: easyJet treats it as a major base, and Norwegian has historically used it for transatlantic routes. Stansted (STN), 60 km northeast near Cambridge, is Ryanair's London hub. Cheap European connections, but the train into Liverpool Street takes 47 minutes and costs £20+. Luton (LTN), 55 km north, handles easyJet and Wizz Air for European budget routes. London City (LCY) sits just 11 km east in the Docklands: BA CityFlyer and KLM short-haul, with the fastest security-to-gate time of any London airport. You might clear it in 20 minutes flat. For a first visit, Heathrow or Gatwick is likely where you'll arrive.

From New York, direct flights run 7-8 hours on BA, Virgin Atlantic, American, Delta, United, and JetBlue: expect $500-900 round-trip in economy depending on season. Worth noting: JetBlue's Mint class from JFK tends to undercut BA Club World by $1,000 or more on the same route. West Coast departures out of LAX or SFO add 2-3 hours and roughly $100-200 to the fare. From elsewhere in Europe, budget carriers have made London almost absurdly cheap to reach. Dublin to Stansted on Ryanair can run €20-40 one-way. Paris CDG to Heathrow on BA or Air France sits around €60-150. Amsterdam to London City on KLM takes barely an hour. From Southeast Asia and Australia, one-stops via Dubai, Doha, or Singapore typically land at $800-1,400 round-trip: Emirates and Qatar consistently price below the nonstop BA and Qantas alternatives on those corridors.

The Eurostar changes the math entirely if you're already on the continent. Paris Gare du Nord to London St Pancras takes 2 hours 15 minutes, Brussels-Midi is about 2 hours, and Amsterdam Centraal runs around 4 hours with a Brussels stop. Standard fares sit at €50-180 one-way: the cheapest seats release 180 days out and go fast. Here's the thing first-timers miss: St Pancras drops you right at King's Cross, which is already central London. No airport bus, no Piccadilly line rattling through 20 stations while you grip your suitcase between your knees. That alone saves an hour and £20-30 compared to landing at Heathrow. Mind you, Eurostar does get disrupted by Channel Tunnel incidents a few times a year (strikes, weather, tunnel faults) so build in a buffer if you have a tight onward connection on the London side.

Flights to London are cheapest January through March. Cold, grey, damp air that cuts through your jacket, but fares from the US drop 30-40% compared to summer peaks. The worst pricing window runs mid-June through August and the two weeks around Christmas; a JFK round-trip that costs $550 in February might hit $1,100 in July. Shoulder seasons work well: late April through early June and September through October give you longer daylight, temperatures in the 15-20°C range, and fares between the extremes. One honest piece of advice for first-timers: London's six airports can tempt you into chasing an £80-120 saving at Stansted or Luton, but the ground transfer eats 60-90 minutes and £15-25. That saving evaporates fast. Fly into Heathrow or Gatwick unless the fare gap is dramatic: your first impression of London shouldn't be the back of a coach crawling along the M11 in the rain.