Help me with our London trip this weekend!

[Honeymoonmummy]

Hi all,

I'm going with DH, DD (7) and DS (5) to London this weekend (early Saturday to late Monday, 3 full days). I wrote a previous thread with a mammoth OP which I think put people off so I'll try and keep this short without dripfeeding!

I have the Sky Garden booked for Monday at 10am and we want to do Kidzania but otherwise no firm plans. We did our first ever family trip at Easter and did Kidzania, science museum, duck tour, Covent Garden, transport museum, Big Ben.

Current 3 day plan (open to suggestions):

Day 1 (Saturday) - brunch then boat to Greenwich - planetarium, maritime museum, cutty sark from the outside, cable car if time. Boat back to hotel. Evening meal either in Greenwich or South Bank near hotel.

Day 2 (Sunday) walk to Buck Palace, see changing of guard then maybe walk to Covent Garden

Day 3 (Mon) Sky Garden/ Fire of London monument if time, then Kidzania, home!

Golden hinde II & Natural History Museum are also on the wish list!

Questions-

In Greenwich, how close are the planetarium, cutty sark and cable cars? Can we comfortably do the three in an afternoon (not going into cutty sark). Anything else we should do in Greenwich?

Can anyone recommend a nice brunch near the London Eye for Saturday morning on arrival, maybe an American themed brunch?

Any recommendation for good place for an evening meal? We did the Rainforest Cafe last time and the kids want to do the same again!

Is there anything good on at the moment, summer holiday activities/events?

Along the same lines, given that we'll probably be back again during the winter months, is there anything we should definitely do in summer in London?

Which art gallery would you recommend for kids given current exhibitions? We'd like to just take them for an hour at some point.

I'm not sure this post is much shorter but hey ho! Thanks in advance

[peaz1]

Planetarium and Cutty Sark are near to each other but the cable car is near the O2 which isn't near Greenwich Village. You'd need a bus to the O2. I'd get the boat over to Greenwich Village, do the Planetarium, walk to the Cutty Sark (or vice versa) and then bus to the O2. You could have lunch there- loads to choose from. The do a round trip on the cable car.

There is the BFG dream jar trail which is a good way of seeing London on foot, whilst giving the kids something to look out for.

[Honeymoonmummy]

Thanks Peaz - I might just get a taxi, the thought of catching a bus in London scares me!!!

[Queenbean]

If it's nice weather you can walk from Greenwich village (cutty sark) to cable cars - just follow the route along the river and it'll take about half an hour

Id recommend going to the south bank near the London eye - there are loads of pop-up places and lots to see. There's a little square of restaurants between the London eye and the Tate which may be good for brunch

[Oly5]

Yes just go on the south bank near the London Eye.
Loads of restaurants there. Think there's Giraffe etc

[Honeymoonmummy]

Thanks both. Queenbean is that a nice walk, if it's not I'll save our legs and get a taxi!!

[Honeymoonmummy]

Bump

[Rainatnight]

Near London Eye, there's a lot of restaurants along and around the South Bank Centre. The most obvious one is Giraffe, which is v child friendly. Can't think of an American themed one though, sorry.

If you're thinking of taking taxis, download Uber. It's much cheaper than black cabs and kids love 'calling' them and seeing their route on the GPS on the way to pick them up.

On summer in London, I'm a big fan of lidos and London has some great ones. Our niece and nephew from Newcastle spent almost their whole trip recently in our local ones. Options are London Fields, Brockwell, Tooting, Parliament Hill Fields and the Serpentine, which is more central than all the others.

My only thought is whether you're packing too much in and need to schedule some chill out time? London is bloody knackering and your schedule has quite a lot of traipsing around. You might want to build in some time to laze about and watch the world go by?

[Toomanycats99]

We went to London this week and just near London Bridge (think it's more London) there are fountains kids can play in. My girls loved it. Not sure if the weather is quite good enough for it but if that can may be worth it.

[OutwardBound2016]

My parents recently too DD on the cable car and mentioned some kind of little beach when you got off, it had deckchairs, ice cream etc, DD loved it. The jam jars are also good but they are pretty small so some a tricky to find, would recommend printing off the map instead of relying on phone. Have fun

[Honeymoonmummy]

Argh there's a weather warning for wind tomorrow!!! Why us??!? So will leave Greenwich to Sunday - boats might be a bit too choppy and cable car might stop.

Not sure what to do tomorrow now - maybe something more indoors like Natural History Museum and maybe a walk to Kensington Gardens if the wind isn't too bad... Any recommendations for food around Kensington?

[bigTillyMint]

OP, seriously? I don't think they stop the boats (sure it doesn't get that choppy on the Thames!), and I bet not the cable car either - have you seen that on the websites or something?

There's the Princess Diana playground in Kensington Gardens which is pretty good.

[Misty9]

I'd check out what is on at the science museum too as the exhibits change and my dc loved it so much that we didn't see everything in one visit. I think there's a dinosaur exhibition now? Or is that the natural history?

We stayed near borough market and the kids enjoyed just wandering around- and really recommend the noodle place for food too. I've never seen ds eat so much! Will try to find name...

[Misty9]

It was called wokit in borough market - and was open late thankfully! Enjoy :)

[Honeymoonmummy]

BigTillyMint that's per Met office, gusts up to 40mph in London tomorrow and yellow weather warning.

[Floralnomad]

If you are at the O2 for the cable cars you could eat there ,lots of restaurants and choice .

[PollyCoddle]

For brunch, there's giraffe on the south bank near the London eye. Not American but always easy with kids.

[Mimilondon39]

The south bank has a fun sand pit and skate park plus the Tate Modern is good for kiddos. I like Wahaca, Wagamama's and Giraffe all nearby. Sounds like a lovely weekend.

[Fluffy40]

If you need a cheap lunch buy some lunch stuff and find a nice park.
EMbankment gardens are lovely and when I went not too busy.
Mind you it was a lovely sunny day ! Enjoy yourselves.

[Kbear]

remember your 2 for 1 offers if you travel by train......

there is an offer on the citycruiser day pass and most attractions are included

I went to HMS Belfast last with week with my DS - worth a visit

[Honeymoonmummy]

Thanks all for your help. We've decided to do Kidzania tomorrow because it's inside. Greenwich Sunday and as yet unknown on Monday!!!

[teddygirlonce]

Planet Hollywood is a fun destination for lunch (it's about a five minute walk from Trafalgar Square) and it's American-themed.

We went to see Metta Theatre's Jungle Book t'other day. It was THE most energised and awesome family show I think we've ever been to. Hip-Hop, rap and circus skills used to turn the classic into an hour-long spectacle that you and the DCs are guaranteed never to forget.

Agree with Rainatnight that you need to factor in some 'down time'. Seriously, galavanting around London for one day is very tiring, let alone three.

Kidzania is fun but it's very sensory depriving (no daylight for four hours) and I wouldn't personally do it in summer months - it's much more a cold-weather/winter activity.

If you're doing the Sky Garden and Monument why not go to the Museum of London (nearby) and do the Fire, Fire (of London) exhibition too.

I would try to manage three full-on days of London sightseeing so you stay local to one area on each day.

And something that's entirely free but which will tickle the kids' imagination is the The BFG Dream Jar Trail.

Have fun.

[CashelGirl]

Sky Garden was pretty underwhelming to be honest. Won't take up that much time. Greenwich is fab - the market is worth a mooch around and you they have nice food stalls. I wouldn't worry about the cable cars - it is a bus journey away from everything else. There is a little lake with pedalos, and next to that is a pretty good playpark, loads for kids your age to go and play for an hour while you sit under a tree and have a coffee and relax. Xx

[EmpressofBlandings]

I would start earlier to get the boat. We wanted to take my nephews on it from Embankment to Greenwich a fortnight ago and at lunchtime it was a forty minute wait after you'd got your ticket. You could do brunch in Greenwich maybe? Or do normal time breakfast and lunch?

[Hope34]

I would suggest the Science museum, beside the Nat history Museum. When you come out or South Ken tube, You could getting some lovely baked good/sandwiches(Paul bakery), go to Nat History museum, have a picnic outside, then the science museum and then a few minute walk to Hyde Park.
Have great weekend!

[Madcats]

If your kids are anything like mine, pack a spare T shirt/shorts/bottoms so that when they decide they REALLY MUST go in the fountains near Tower Bridge/Southbank/Princess Diana Fountain you have a change of clothing!

The new extension to Tate Britain has a fab (free) viewing gallery on the 10th floor.

FWIW my daughter really enjoyed Kidzania for the first hour or 2 (on a hot sunny day) and then got a bit tired/tearful even. She perked up no end when we left and saw daylight again. She now explains to friends that she enjoyed the trip, but found it too dark.
On the plus side, Jamies Italian is doing "kids eat free in August" so we all had a very cheap lunch.

Greenwich to O2 (for cable car) is a bus ride/short walk. You can catch a bus on King William Walk (by Cutty Sark) or along by the park on Romney Road. There is a stonking great bus station at the O2 so you won't miss your stop!

Have fun!