Weekend in London - Advice Please

[Spaghag]

Hi,

We (a family of 5) are going to London for a weekend very soon. We are 4 adults and an 11 year old. Despite being mid 40's I've actually never visited London before

We are staying at the Tower (Bank) Premier Inn & obviously want to see as much as possible while we are there. Does anyone have any advice or tips please?

For example, are the bus tours worth the money? Or is it better to work out what you want to see and go on the tube?

Any attractions you would especially recommend? We've looked at Madame Tussauds, HMS Belfast, Tower of London & of course the bus tour etc but obviously won't have the time (or funds!) to do everything this time. If you were going as a family to one paid attraction where would you choose?

Any other tips also very gratefully received .

Don't do Madame Tussaud's.
Do do a boat trip - Tower to London Eye either on a narrated tourist boat or an Uber boat (aka Thames Clipper)
Definitely walk over Tower Bridge and round the outside Tower of London: they're both amazing. Whether you want to shell out for entry to either depends on your budget and whether you're into Victorian engineering/Tudor history.

Bank is a great location to stay if you want to explore on foot. From there you can get to St Paul's Cathedral, the Tate Modern and The Globe easily.

You can also head west to the Southbank for the BFI, London Eye, views of Parliament etc.

The bus tours can be slow because of traffic. River tours are more scenic.

Take comfortable shoes and just explore. So much of central London is walkable.

Maybe don't plan to do to much if this is your first time. It can be sensory overload when you're not used to it.

Tower of London and the Crown Jewels.

Oh and loads of galleries and museums are free, eg British Museum, V&A, Natural History Museum, Science Museum, National Portrait Gallery

Avoid Madame Tussauds. If you are staying at the Tower then the a Tower of London (and/or a visit to Tower Bridge - not been myself but you can go up it I believe).

Walking along the south bank all the way to the Eye takes you past the Globe, the Tate Modern, etc if the weather is nice. Can get a river boat back to the Tower.

I'd pay for the London Eye and a boat trip.
God no to Madame T's.
Lots of free things to do - what does the 11 year old like?

A full trip round HMS Belfast is a good half day. It's a must see m if you have a child/husband/self who's really into battleships but if you don't then again I'd aim to see it from the river.

If you're staying near the Tower then you could have a wonderful half a day walking over Tower Bridge and then slowly up the South Bank of the river past Belfast, Borough Market for a snack, Golden Hind, The Globe, Tate Modern, Millennium (wobbly) Bridge, National Theatre, the skateboarders, the food market behind the Royal Festival Hall and the London Eye.

My 11 year old loved the river cruise down the Thames. Hamleys is always fun too!

Head up to the Sky Garden at the top of the walkie talkie building for the best panoramic views of the City. Book tickets online in advance and its free!

Also, the Emirates cable car is a nice river crossing in Greenwich/the Docklands.

Tower of London isn't cheap but it's a whole day out and fascinating! Book online beforehand for cheaper tickets.

Lived in London for many years and honestly walking everywhere just gives you the best experience.

Recently had a weekend trip and did the Tower Bridge experience - brilliant!!! Take the stairs, not the lift.

Definitely only bother doing the Tower out of the ones you’ve listed.

Sky Garden at dusk is magical too - and it’s free!!

Have a fab time!!

Watch Spider-Man: Far From Home with the 11 year old before you go, it's got an amazing climactic fight sequence on Tower Bridge.

I would honestly do the free stuff, depending on what the 11 yr old is into. British Museum, Tate Modern, Tate, National Gallery, V&A, Science Museum are all great. Walking along Southbank likewise. London is fab.

Good advice above, try to book the Sky Garden (close to where you are staying) for sunset, great views. Id you’re there for a weekend I’d break the time into chunks, explore Tower of London, Tower Bridge, St Pauls, walk over the Millenium bridge to the Tate then along the South Bank via the Globe Theatre. As a pp said, you won’t have time to go in to all of the attractions, but you could choose one.
Another day i’d visit Covent Garden and then go up to Kensington and walk round the park, past KPalace and the Royal Albert Hall, then go in to the Natural History Museum for an hour.
You can walk most of it, if you need to use the tube just tap your debit card on the way through the barriers and it will charge you the correct amount.
Avoid the Leicester Sq area (unless you want to visit the M&Ms or Lego shops) and avoid Oxford St. Liberty is amazing if you find yourself in that area.

Useful tube tips if you need to use it - the adults will each need their own contactless card / oyster & if you want to change from Bank to Monument, it’s much easier to do it above ground. Also remember not to stand on the left on the escalators!

If you can, though, I’d stick to London buses, boats & walking. You see much more.

Narrated boat trip was really great last time I went. Bus tour got stuck in traffic and took hours, mostly stuck in road underpasses and we got stranded at the end of one (last bus). Citymapper app on phone was brilliant for getting around on buses as you see more than when on the tube, but it used a lot of my phone charge

That's so helpful, thank you all.

Madame Tussauds is off the list .

11 year old DD is quite interested at the thought of the thought of the Natural History Museum, which I must admit hadn't occurred to us before!

I'm really liking the thought of a boat trip too.

These are the bridge lift times
www.towerbridge.org.uk/lift-times?lifts_times_from=&lifts_times_to=&page=0

Just Googling Sky Garden - not heard of it before!

Personally I wouldnt miss The tower of London, its an incredible and remarkable building with so much history!

I would break it down into zones.

Central - Covent Garden, Soho, Fortnum and mason, Jermyn Street - then China town for dinner. Easy walking to westminster and then along the southbank could be one day covering an awufl lot. ( also see Bucks house)

Another area nearish you is tower of london - musuem of london - st pauls the wobbly bridge over to the tate modern, go up to the view galery and then walk along river - the globe.

3rd day - perhaps greenwich or notting hill area and markets for something different OR - Primrose hill and camden market. Primrose hill is a beautiful village with a glorious park which you can walk to the top and see stunning views of London.

What's wrong with Madame Tussaud's? It was AMAZING! We collect Tesco clubcard vouchers and exchanged these for MT tickets, London Eye tickets, and a hop in hop off open topped bus trip with boat trip tickets included.
Madame Tussaud's was the highlight. They had an amazing Marvel event on last summer. Not sure if still on.

We loved the Harry Potter studios and enjoyed exploring China town, Hyde Park and Covent Garden.

Tower Bridge experience is great.

I would definitely go to Covent garden for a wander. Your dd will love it. Clipper down the Thames is fun. Stroll down the south back and go to the Tate Modern. If the weather is good, one of the parks would be good.

I loved tower bridge and I would do Thames clipper/Uber boat-not sure a commentary is worth the extra money. I’d go to greenwich and stand on the meridian and do the park and market.

Don't bother with a tourist bus tour. Just take an ordinary red bus. The top of a bus is one of the best ways to see London. The No. 11 or No. 15 routes are good ones for taking you past a lot of sights, and the No. 15 is sometimes an old Routemaster - or was, pre-Covid, don't know if it still is. Or look up bus routes on www.tfl.gov.uk and make up your own itinerary. If you get stuck in traffic you can just get off and walk, or find another route. The tfl site will tell you all about fares, how to pay etc (London buses don't take cash).

Do take the Tube at least once, just for the experience. But if you're only going central, walking can be just as quick. Tube is really for longer journeys - out to South Ken, for example.

It's worth investing in an A-Z street map (not a tourist map), even if you have got a map app on your phone. Give it to your 11 yo and get her looking things up and planning routes.

The Museum of London at the Barbican is closing later this year, as they're preparing to move to a new location, so you might want to see that, as you won't have another chance for a while. The Museum of London Docklands remains open, though, and that's well worth a visit. Can be combined with a trip to Greenwich.

There is so much to see and do in London (lots of it free), you will never get to the end of it. If the object is to see London, I personally wouldn't spend time on attractions such as Mme Tussauds and Harry Potter - which isn't in London anyway.