HOW CAN I MAKE THE MOST OF AN AIRPPORT LAYOVER? Quick access to a city center via public transport makes it easy to steal away for a few hours
and take in some sights—and even a meal. Here are six airports we love, all with convenient luggage storage.
TRAVEL TIME TO CITY CENTER
HOW TO DO IT
WHAT TO DO
LHR Heathrow, London Minimun layover needed for two hours in the city center: 5 hours
15 to 20 minutes
Heathrow Express to Paddington ($57 round-‐ trip; trains every 15 minutes)
A short ride on the Tube gets
you to Waterloo, where you can walk alone the South Bank for views of Big Ben,
St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the Shard’s
glass spire. End with a tagliolini with clams at Gordon
Ramsay’s Italian inspired Union Street Café.
AMS Schipol,
Amsterdam Minimum layover:
5 hours
13 to 17 minutes
Netherlands Railways to Amsterdam Centraal
($11 round-‐trip; trains every 7 to 16 minutes)
Rembrandt’s Night Watch and other Dutch
masterpieces are a quick ride away via the GVB train
system. From Centraal, take Tram 2 or 5 to
the Rijksmuseum, which reopened last year after a
10-‐year renovation
DXB Dubai
International layover: 6 hours
25 minutes
Dubai metro Red Line to
Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall ($2.50
round-‐trip; trains every 10 minutes; no service Friday
mornings)
An aquarium, an ice rink, 1,200 shops: there’s plenty to keep you busy at the Dubai Mall. Next door the world’s tallest
building, the 2,716 ½-‐foot Burj Khalifa, has a tour that whisks you to the 124th floor ($34 online; $109 at the door).