London (Kensington) what to do, where to eat, what to see?

[TooWicked]

We have a few days in London booked for the end of August, any recommendations or must do's for two adults and an 18 year old please?

We love eating out (we'll try anything and everything) so any recommendations for quirky eateries, bakeries, cafes would be welcome.

With regards to touristy stuff we've done all of the museums previously when DS was younger, done Harry Potter, Madame Tussauds and Tower of London. I guess we are looking for something a bit more 'grown up' for DS. Would love to do a Buckingham Palace or Kensington Palace tour but it's not clear from the website whether they're actually open.

Thanks in advance!

Where will you be staying, there is loads to do if you like museums you have the Science and Natural History, walking through Kensington Gardens and into Hyde Park or Holland Park. Ken High Street, Church Street and up towards Notting Hill and Portobello Road market are great for shopping, especially clothes music and crafts . Kings Road and Knightsbridge are walkable so a trip to Harrods is easy. The Albert Hall used to have concerts, some were free, which you could Google.
There are loads of London tour trips, one has a afternoon tea on board which looks fun and a river trip is always a nice day out.
What sort of things do you enjoy.

We’re staying in Kensington and as I said we’ve already done all of the museums. Portobello Road Market is a good shout and I’ve just found a rock music tour I might book.

V and A, Science and/or Natural history museums. They all have refreshed exhibits in recent years. Attend a Prom concert? Lots of eateries on Kensington high Street, Kings Road etc but it is easy enough to travel around to Embankment, for Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square, West End.

The V&A do afternoon tea, but op has already done all the museums. Kensington covers a large area, there is a music festival on at Stamford Bridge footy club but that's on the 21st. London traffic is horrendous sometimes with all the demonstrations and our bus tour got cancelled. A canal trip along The Regent Canal is nice. I like to get a picnic from the whole foods market in ken high st and sit by the serpentine where you can get paddle boats. The Saatchi art gallery is good, the Army Museum and Chelsea pensioner hospital, a lot depends on your family interests.

Assuming you're staying near High Street, Ken:

Design Museum
Diana sculpture at Kensington Palace Gardens
Alice in Wonderland at the V&A
Portobello Market
Tour of the Royal Albert Hall
Tea at Harrods

Friday's the best day for the market.
A swim in Serpentine lido with the backdrop of the park and the buildings beyond is fun - assume it will be open by then but you'd probably have to book.
The Serpentine galleries are great for modern art, prob a have to book them too.

Camden Market maybe, combine with a walk by the canal
Hackney/Dalston (Kingsland Rd)/Shoreditch

• Shoreditch has lots of trendy/pop up eating options

Walk along the South Bank, including visit to the Tate Modern I think Kensington Palace is open

Odd to discount all the museums on the basis of having been - by the sounds of it - several years ago.

I always love taking a boat out on the Serpentine. Cheesy but guaranteed fun. Da Mario is a super cute neighbourhood Italian restaurant on Gloucester Road. Dishoom have a cafe just off the high street, which is a tourist must-visit and very does very good Irani-Indian food.

Walk down the alley way by St Mary Abbot's Church, bear right and you'll come into Kensington Church Street - which has some interesting shops. From there head north towards Notting Hill Gate and the walk to Portobello Road - which I also enjoy on non-market days.

You could also head along Kensington High Street towards the Olympia. There is the Design Museum at that end plus Holland Park. Also some interesting Middle Eastern food shops.

Take a bus to Hammersmith Broadway and ask someone to direct you to the river. There are plenty of restaurants and pubs along there, plus it's a lovely walk.

Some great ideas here, thank you!

We’re discounting the museums as we’ve done the typical and obvious museums and red bus tourist stuff every time we’ve been to London. We just fancy doing something different this time.

Regent canal trip to Camden Market, swim and picnic at the Serpentine and tour of the Royal Albert Hall all sounds good to DS. We’ve never been to Shoreditch so adding that to the list, Kensington Palace and the Diana statue for me, and DH is happy to go with the flow, he’s all about the food.

Dishoom sounds right up our street for food, we will definitely have a visit there.

Leighton House is a museum in Kensington which you may have not done before. The building is really quirky and full of Pre-Raphaelite art.

We loved the dishoon Carnaby Street, in fact I'm in that area soon and off to the back of this thread will probably eat in dishoon after!
Portobello area, explore also west Bourne Park, beautiful bakeries and cafes... Have a drink in bbb etc.

Don't know how your budget is but if you're planning a boat trip on the canal and you're into food, maybe a lunch trip aboard The Prince Regent with the London Shell Co.? Haven't done it myself but it gets good reviews.

There's a fantastic Georgian restaurant by south Kensington tube shoty.co.uk/

A walk around little venice is nice.

We’re in London at the end of the month.
I’ve booked an afternoon tea cruise from Tower pier and bought tickets to Kew gardens (BOGOF with rail travel) as I’ve always wanted to go, half an hour on the train from Waterloo.
I couldn’t be in Kensington and not visit the V&A, if only for the stunning cafe.