U.K. and Ireland - 3 Days After The Olympics?

Hi I am going be in London on Friday a few days after the Olympics ends. How do you all think the city will be? Will it be crowded from tourists finishing the week in London or more on the desolate side with people going home. I am just curious of how quickly things will be going back to "normal"

Nobody knows.

When do the ParaOlympics start?

August tends to be busy in August even without the Olympics. I'd expect it to be busy during your visit.

The Paralympic games are 29 August - 9 September.

How about recent experiences anyone can share now? I'll be in London tomorrow, are the customs lines at LHR crazy?

How about recent experiences anyone can share now? I'll be in London tomorrow, are the customs lines at LHR crazy?

Depends on timing and terminal. also EU or not?

On Thursday, my sister came through the non-EU line in T4 in less than 10 minutes around noon and I came through T5 around 8pm in less than5 minutes.

I've been through T3 on Monday 16th and T5 yesterday. Both flights got in about 9.00 and I can safely say that I've never seen such short or even non-existent queues. Bags were also very quick to arrive.

Taking hotel prices as a guide, I imagine the week from Mon 13th will be desolate.

Hi I am going be in London on Friday a few days after the Olympics ends. How do you all think the city will be? Will it be crowded from tourists finishing the week in London or more on the desolate side with people going home. I am just curious of how quickly things will be going back to "normal"

Depends on what point of view you have. London is desolate now, with many residents away and most of the busy spots eerily quiet (see another thread on that topic). Offices are nearly empty and no real business is being done. This will revert to normal very quickly after the Olympics finish - but normal August is pretty quiet every year.

However, if you want to follow some Top Ten Tourist Trap guide to London, then you will find it very busy. Having said that, the news reported that shops in the tourist areas are seeing takings heavily down so far.

So it depends if you are coming to London to be a tourist, or for a business or social purpose.