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 .

Thank you all for your help. I'm looking forward to it even more now .

Am I the only one that thought the tate modern was rubbish??

If you’re at tower do the Tower of London in the AM. It’ll take a couple of hours to do a beefeater tour/see the Crown Jewels and to fly round the middle tower. Walk out and see tower bridge. Grab an Uber to do a cruise.

From Tower of London ten mins walk to tbe walkie talkie sky garden. You need ID it’s like airport entry check bags etc. Then another ten mins walk to St. Paul’s. And you can again get 2 for 1 tickets with your train tickets.

Walk to mansion house and get tube back …if you’re not too tired go to Trafalgar Square and walk down towards Whitehall/downing st and Westminster (although you’ll see Westminster etc on the cruise)

Recommend the National Gallery right on Trafalgar Square very very easy to get round and just mind blowing

My favourite time for river cruises is when it’s just dark & everything’s lit up along the banks - beautiful.

I don't like everything (or indeed much) in Tate Modern, but it's always thought provoking and the space is incredible.

The giant Dalek made out of radios is one of my favourite art works ever.

We love the vibe of Borough Market too and then a walk by the Thames towards the Globe.

Rather than the Tate Modern do the Tate Britain - you should be able to get a Thames Clipper to it. The art is absolutely mind blowing, the building itself is amazing and it's a lot quieter than the Tate Modern.

Really don't do Madam Tussards.

A walk through the City, poking into all the backstreets and alleys and courtyards, is interesting.

Lots of interesting churches to visit, if that's your sort of thing - All Hallows by the Tower, St Mary le Bow and St Bride's Fleet Street for starters.

I would normally recommend the Guildhall Art Gallery and Roman Amphitheatre, but I believe they're currently closed.

The Royal Parks look lovely in Spring (though it might be a bit early yet to see them at their best). From Trafalgar Square, you can walk down the Mall and through St James's Park to Buckingham Palace.

The perfect time to explore the City is on a Sunday morning when it’s quiet.

Street performers in Covent Garden are good to watch for a while. Lots of nice little shops/stalls to browse too.

I love London.

www.thamesclippers.com/plan-your-journey/timetable

Definitely a river trip on the clippers. (Uber boats) instead of a bus tour.

Go up The Monument. It's not expensive - just over £5 for an adult, around half for a child. You get a workout going up the stairs. You can stay up there as long as you like, so take a map and get a great idea of the layout of The City and beyond.

A few minutes walk to the south is the church of St Magnus the Martyr, which has a lovely model of the old London Bridge, with the buildings on it. It's free and open Tuesday to Friday, 10-3.

The perfect time to explore the City is on a Sunday morning when it’s quiet.

Though even on a weekday it's still much quieter than it was pre-covid, or was a month ago when I was last there. Much, much less traffic, which is nice. One can stroll across the road at Bank!

@LouisRenault

The perfect time to explore the City is on a Sunday morning when it’s quiet.

Though even on a weekday it's still much quieter than it was pre-covid, or was a month ago when I was last there. Much, much less traffic, which is nice. One can stroll across the road at Bank!

I hadn’t thought of that!

The Days Out website is your friend here.... loads of 2 for 1 deals esp for the touristy stuff. DaysOut website

Cutty Sark is good too, and near to Greenwich market if the grown ups fancy a sit down and a drink. Also Goddards Pie shop is out there, my lot loved it one day when we went out there and they had Pie and Liquor for breakfast!
Also you can do the foot tunnel there.

If the 11 year old is 11 going on 15 then Shoreditch Market can be good...lots of t shirts, not quite crappy key rings, some second hand stuff, plus if you hike up the road about ten minutes you could find the Best Beigel Shop in Brick Lane.

Camden can be good, but it will be mad on a weekend, the narrowboat tours to Little Venice are fab, and you can get off at the back of the Zoo and do that, although if you have vouchers I don't think you can use that entrance.

Just walking along the Thames path in the evening is brilliant, from St Pauls you can cross over the Millenium Bridge to the Tate.

I recently went with my 7 year old. She absolutely loved all the walking and seeing the sights such as Big Ben, if you time it right you can see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. Also did the Tower of London which was amazing.

Leicester Square was a good time waster - the Lego shop & M&M world are a hit with kids. You can hop on and off the river ubers which are an experience in themselves. I didn't find we spend much on attractions but meals soon added up. Hope you have a fab time!

London has a huge amount to do. If you do natural history museum have a look at the science museum as well. It's been a long time for me but they used to have a lot of interactive stuff which kids went crazy for, the the V&A next door is fabulous.

The walk along the South Bank is good. I am very out of date (the Globe was still being built), but we would start at Lambeth Bridge with the Houses of Parliament across the river and work out way down, so you get theSouth Bank arts stuff, London Eye, Globe, Tate Modern, replica of the Golden Hind, Borough Market (with lots of great lunch options), Tower Bridge, all in no particular order.

It does get very crowded.

My DC loved Madame Tussauds when they were younger! If you're going to go, do book though as otherwise the queues are enormous. Mine loved the London Dungeons too, but it's quite scary so depends really on the sort of thing your 11 year old likes.

Walking in London is great, but remember an 11 year old will get tired of walking and if it rains, walking is miserable so maybe have some plans in mind in case of wet weather.

In good weather I would consider going to Buckingham Palace to watch changing of the guards and walk down to Horse Guards Parade. St James Park is good for a walk and nice to get away from the crowds for a bit. London Zoo is good if you like animals. A walk along South Bank is lovely and there's so much to look at. Covent Garden is nice to have a browse round the market and watch the street performers. If you like things that are a bit alternative / quirky, you could also consider Camden Market.

Wet weather - I would do Madame Tussaud's, my DC loved having their photos taken with the 'stars'. Natural History Museum is great. I think the science museum is pretty dull, but really depends on what you like. My two loved M&M World in Leicester Square (it's hell on earth for adults though!), also the big Lego Shop, Hamleys's and Harrods.

Boat trip along the Thames is a great idea, it's a really nice way to sit back and see the sites.

I always find our biggest expenditure is food and drink when we go to London, when I used to go with the kids we used to grab a Tescos meal deal for lunch to eat in a park.

Another thought. Not long pre-pandemic we took DH's nephew, roughly the same age, on a visit from Ontario, to London and asked him what he wanted. We ended up: London Eye, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and I can't quite remember where else.

We said a theatre matinee, your choice (ouch, expensive!). His choice wasn't what I would have but it was great.

Picked somewhere to eat for someone who was a proudly picky eater at the time (Chickn'Sour)

Loads of suggestions on this thread. Ask your kids. What will float their boats?

You are going to have a fab time. (Not envious)

We have just come back. Tower of London was definitely worth the price.
We did Buckingham Palace and walked to Trafalgar Square then onto Covent Garden.
The British Museum was free although I would have maybe gone to the Natural history museum.

We did alot of walking!

If you do go to St James’s park, the pelicans are fed daily between 2.30 & 3pm.

11 year old would probably like the M&M store in Covent Garden. We've taken my 4yo there a few times and they are absolutely transfixed . Just sit cross-legged on the floor and stare at all the colours. And the joyous disbelief of getting to fill a whole bag with M&Ms.

South Bank definitely worth a wander. Borough Market too... although can get expensive!

If you're towards the City, St Paul's is beautiful and the Postal Museum is well worth a visit. They have an underground ride you can do...I think where the old mail trains used to go.

It's a bit touristy, but we've always enjoyed doing a show and then one of the pre or post theatre menus at a restaurant in Covent Garden.

The Globe Theatre is a fun experience and you can get cheap standing tickets but might be too much for 11yo.

Boat trip along the Thames is great. Get off at Greenwich and go to the National Maritime Museum and then walk though the park to the observatory. There's also the Cutty Sark, the Queen's House and the O2 near there, as well as the Emirates cable car, which 11yo might like.

Portobello Road market is interesting for a poke if you're in the area.

Probably enough to fill a week at least here .

Thank you all, some great advice and plenty of things we really wouldn't have considered.

DD wants to see Big Ben which shouldn't be too difficult . We've booked for the Tower of London & are going to try to fit in the Natural History Museum too. We're also forgetting about the bus tour idea & opting for a boat .

You know you need to book tickets for the Natural History Museum? It’s free, but timed entry.
If you do get to Greenwich, visit the market & climb the hill to the planetarium!

@EmpressaurusWitchDoesntBurn

You know you need to book tickets for the Natural History Museum? It’s free, but timed entry. If you do get to Greenwich, visit the market & climb the hill to the planetarium!

Yes, thank you. We are still deciding whether to try for the Friday afternoon or Sunday morning based on distance from other things .