London City is the closest airport to the centre and the cheapest to leave: the DLR starts under the terminal and a single £3.30 off-peak fare reaches Bank, London Bridge or Bond Street. Black cabs wait outside the door, and the meter starts with no airport extra. Below is each way in from London City alone, and how we would reach each of the ten hotels in our London edit.
The short answer
Take the DLR from the airport's own station: 23 minutes to Bank without a change, £3.30 off-peak with contactless. Change at Canning Town for the Jubilee line and the same fare reaches London Bridge in about 20 minutes and Bond Street in about 27. With bags or late at night, the black cab rank is just outside the terminal; our hotels are typically 30–58 minutes away on the meter.
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Leaves from London City Airport DLR station, a lift ride from the terminal. The best value of any London airport link and the right train for The Ned, which sits beside Bank station.
The quick way to London Bridge and the West End: take the DLR from the airport station six minutes to Canning Town and cross to the Jubilee line. One change with luggage is the only catch.
The rank is just outside the terminal entrance and many cabs have wheelchair access. The easy answer with bags, a family, or for Bethnal Green, Marylebone and Paddington.
Worth it for a late landing, a family that needs child seats or a bigger car, or anyone who wants a fixed price. Pre-booked cars collect from the pick-up area in the Short Stay car park, not the forecourt.
City of London
The Ned sits beside Bank station, 23 minutes from the airport on the DLR without a change, for £3.30 off-peak.
Mayfair
Change once at Canning Town for the Jubilee line and you reach Bond Street in about 27 minutes, a couple of minutes' walk from Claridge's, against a drive of about 49.
London Bridge
The DLR to Canning Town and the Jubilee line to London Bridge take about 20 minutes, and the hotel is above the station.
King's Cross
By rail it is the DLR to Bank and the Northern line to King's Cross, about 34 minutes with a change; with bags, a cab from the rank to the door in about 46 is simpler.
South Bank
A cab reaches the South Bank door in about 38 minutes; the Jubilee line gets to Southwark in about 20 via Canning Town but leaves a walk to the river with your luggage.
Bethnal Green
At about 30 minutes this is our shortest drive from any London airport; travelling light, the DLR to Stratford and the Central line to Bethnal Green take about 25 minutes for £2.30 off-peak.
Soho
Soho needs two changes by rail, via Canning Town and Waterloo, so the cab rank's 47-minute drive to the door is the calmer way with bags.
Pimlico
Pimlico is two changes away by rail, via Canning Town and Green Park, so a black cab for the 50-minute drive is simplest.
Marylebone
Bond Street is about 27 minutes away with one change to the Jubilee line at Canning Town, half the 53-minute drive, and the hotel is under a kilometre from the station.
Paddington
Our longest drive from London City at about 58 minutes, but the rail route needs two changes, via Canning Town and Baker Street, so with luggage a cab is the easier trip.
The DLR leaves from London City Airport station, joined to the terminal by a lift, and the whole network is step-free. Tap a contactless card or phone on the yellow reader before you board and again when you leave. Trains to Bank run without a change in 23 minutes, £3.30 off-peak and £3.90 at peak times, and the airport sits in fare zone 3. Trains also run to Stratford, about 15 minutes, for the Central line and the Elizabeth line.
For The Ned, step off at Bank and you are there. For the rest of the City and East London, the DLR is quicker than any car at rush hour.
Change at Canning Town, six minutes from the airport, to the Jubilee line. Transport for London's journey planner puts London Bridge at about 20 minutes from the airport, Southwark at about 20 and Bond Street at about 27, all for the same £3.30 off-peak fare. That makes Claridge's and The Zetter Marylebone closer by Tube than by car, and Shangri-La The Shard about 20 minutes away. The Elizabeth line does not reach the airport itself, so for Soho, Pimlico and Paddington the route needs a second change, and a black cab is usually the simpler trip.
The rank is just outside the terminal entrance, with licensed London black taxis, many with built-in wheelchair access. London City is inside London's taxi area, so the fare is the Transport for London meter and nothing more: there is no extra for a journey starting at the London City rank, cards and contactless are accepted, and luggage costs nothing extra. Our typical drive to our ten hotels is 30–58 minutes, from about 30 to Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green to about 58 to The Pilgrm at Paddington.
London City lists its opening hours as 04:45 to 22:00 on weekdays, 04:45 to 13:00 on Saturdays and 10:30 to 22:00 on Sundays, so the last arrivals of the day come in during the evening. The black cab rank is the reliable answer then. The 474 bus runs 24 hours from the airport to Canning Town, and a pre-booked driver who tracks a delayed flight saves you waiting at the rank.
Check-in opens two hours before departure and not earlier, so time the DLR for that. A car dropping you on the forecourt pays £8 for up to five minutes and £1 a minute after, with a 10-minute limit, settled online by midnight the next day; a black cab may add up to £6 to the meter for the same.
Questions people ask
23 minutes without a change, every 8 to 15 minutes, for £3.30 off-peak or £3.90 at peak times with contactless.
Not at the airport, but the DLR reaches Canning Town in six minutes, where you change to the Jubilee line for London Bridge, Southwark and Bond Street on the same fare.
The Transport for London meter decides it, with no extra for starting at the London City rank. Our hotels are typically 30–58 minutes away by car.
No. The nearest connections are by DLR: Stratford, about 15 minutes away, has Elizabeth line trains west through the City and the West End.
Yes, on the DLR, the Tube, buses and black cabs. Tap the yellow reader at the airport station before you board.
Of our ten, Town Hall Hotel is about 30 minutes by car, The Ned about 33 and Shangri-La The Shard about 34. The Ned is also 23 minutes by DLR without a change.
Image credits: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)