Off to London tomorrow 2 DC any dos and don'ts

[Shinyandnew2022]

So we are heading off to London tomorrow- as we used to live there we are visiting friends but also wanted to take DC to see some sights as they can't remember anything from earlier trips.

Anyway we have haven't really planned anything beyond socialising .

We know our way round etc but I am a bit worried that we haven't really thought through much what they will get the
Most out of without us going too all
Out extreme tourist ! Obviously we haven't pre booked anything at all.

DC are 8 and 11.

Can anyone share their top hits and anything you wish you hadn't bothered with ?

We will 'do' Big Ben , Buckingham Palace
Etc I guess ..
That's as far as we have got !

London is comparatively quiet at the moment - fewer international visitors, lots of Lndoners emptying out, big engineering works on railways deterring travel form some directions.

That said, there are still plenty visitors from other parts of Britain and Londoners being tourists in their own city. So I'd expect the South Ken museums to be rammed as they always are at peak holiday time

I'd go on the Thames Clipper from Westminster, after seeing Big Ben etc, down to either Tower of London (high visitor numbers, but absorbs them well IYSWIM) or Tate Britain, and then you can visit and walk back along the south bank of the river, taking in other attractions (Golden Hind, Globe, Clink, HMS Belfast) if you fancy it.

What sorta of things do you like doing?

The Horrible Histories boat tour goes from near the Tower. I haven't been on it, but lots of friends have taken their kids and say it's really good.

You have to pre-book every sodding museum that you used to be able to just walk into. I found it out the hard way last week. Culture turned into a shopping trip..

I try never to screech 'How much?!?!?' but I'd have to part with north of seventy quid for my three kids and I, to go on that 'Horrible Histories' boat tour.

It's 45 minutes long.

I'd want it to be fucking outstanding.

Pre book everything, check public transport you want to use as loads of engineering works. Cup final at Wembley on Sunday will also impact transport.

@LetHimHaveIt

I try never to screech 'How much?!?!?' but I'd have to part with north of seventy quid for my three kids and I, to go on that 'Horrible Histories' boat tour.

It's 45 minutes long.

I'd want it to be fucking outstanding.

We won tickets for hh boat tour.

It was good but there is no way I would have paid the asking price for it.

@Pinkflipflop85

Thanks; that's helpful. I just can't see myself parting with £70+ sponds for an experience of 45 mins duration. And I speak as a fan of the series.

Thanks! I'll be watching this thread closely as I'm due to go to London with my 10-year-old daughter at the end of May. We're only staying Saturday to Sunday, though.

If anybody can recommend decent accommodation in central London around the £150-200 price tag, I'd be forever grateful! I think on that budget we can only stay in places like Travelodge or Premier Inn - I guess they're not bad, just not so special.

My dc loved the Tower of London when we took them. They also enjoyed the view from the Sky Garden viewing platform, The dinosaur part of the Natural History Museum was good but so busy. We got there for opening time and there was soon a large queue to get into the dinosaur part. It was made worse by the huge number of massive pushchairs trying to get around.

We're off to London tomorrow too: I've precooked the science museum as they have an early birds thing for autistic children.

After that I'm thinking we'll get on the tube and do a bit of central London touristy stuff until they've had enough.

@TR888 we always stay in Premier Inns when in London. They’re always clean and the beds comfortable. I like how the dc get a bed each, not a sofa bed to share. I think they’re a better standard than Tavellodge. I just prefer to spend money on things like show tickets, eating out and attractions because you’re in the room for so little time. I suppose if money was no object then I would stay somewhere fancy, but it isn’t so we stay in Premier Inns. There are usually lots of families staying in them.

@startwig1982

We're off to London tomorrow too: I've precooked the science museum as they have an early birds thing for autistic children.

After that I'm thinking we'll get on the tube and do a bit of central London touristy stuff until they've had enough.

Bus probably more fun for sightseeing. If you download CityMapper (Google Maps will also do at a pinch) then it will hold your hands through the previously challenging process of catching the right bus and getting off at the right stop.

If you’re up for a leisurely walk and not actually going into attractions, I’d take a walk around the city; leadenhall market, st Paul’s, Tower of London, etc. It’ll be really quiet all weekend, but there are a couple of big pubs around the Tower that will be open. If you go a little east, St Katherine Docks is lovely, and the Dickens Inn did excellent pizzas, though I haven’t been for years.

Spitalfields Market area is a nice place to have lunch if you're walking round the City

We went Monday. 3 kids: 7,12,14 and me. Tower bridge cost £25 for all 4 of us and was really fun - took about an hour, including engine room.

Then we walked to Tate modern which is free. Most expensive things were food, even though I did take snacks!

A red bus tour is great to see the main sights and you can hop on and off as you like.
A picnic lunch (Tesco meal deal!) on the top deck went down well with ours at similar ages.
Walking tours to see changing of the guards
Clipper down to Greenwich and visit the Cutty Sark.

We were there last week. We enjoyed the Thames clipper out to Greenwich, we got to see pretty much everything important from the boat. The kids wanted to go on the cable car at Greenwich so we did that. Enormous queue though for a very short trip.

We walked around Trafalgar Square, walked past Downing Street and Buckingham Palace.

We went to the science museum but it was incredibly busy. Make sure you book tickets even for the free museums. We enjoyed just walking around outdoors more than the attractions. Just too busy for us.

@ChocolateRiver Thank you for your perspective! I agree it's best to spend time sightseeing than on accommodation. I think I'll go with a Premier Inn as, like you, I prefer them to Travelodges.

I loved going to Kew Gardens with my kids. And Tate Modern and then get the Uber boat up the river to Battersea power station or Tate Britain. You see all the sights but without paying the huge bill of a sightseeing trip. A walk along South Bank is nice. And Camden Market at the weekend - go in cyber dog for a full on experience, and, if it's still there you can do crazy golf.

We're just back from London with our 8 year old. I disagree with the comment above about it being relatively quiet - we found it really busy around the key sights! And we come from living in another UK city.

Our favourite parts were fitting in a number of good playgrounds e.g. Jubilee Gardens (next to London Eye), Greenwich Park (took the Thames Clipper there) and Princess Diana Memorial Playground (Kensington Gardens).

We did the Natural History Museum (really busy) and Science Museum. We preferred the Science museum and it was less busy.