London mumsnetters, I need help!

[Madwife123]

We are visiting London this December (first time) and finding it hard to work out via Google what is close to each other to work out activities.

If I list what we plan to do can a kind mumsnetter tell me the best way to plan them to make the most of being close by?

Friday - Arrive. Hotel in central London. Going shopping, is London eye near shopping area?

Saturday - Hyde Park. Is Buckingham Palace near? If not how about London eye?

Sunday - Harry Potter studios. Free afternoon so anything child friendly worth visiting?

Monday - Either London dungeons if kids will brave it or wax works if not. Head home

That’s the rough plan but I don’t know if that means lots of back and forth and it’s better being re-jigged?

Not waxworks. Boring, bit depressing and really expensive. Where are you staying?

Also, how old are kids? And what kind of shopping do you want to do?

Yes bucks palace is next to Hyde Park

Harry Potter studio tour isn't in London but outside, in Watford. What time do you have it booked for?

London Eye is in Waterloo which doesn't have a shopping area directly close by, nearest one is probably Covent Garden or Oxford street

As others said HP isn't nearby but I generally have a rule to allow half hour to get around Central London. All your others sites are easily doable.

Download the city mapper app, it'll sort routes and times for you pretty much door to door.

Where is the hotel?

Christmas Shopping. Do you actual want to shop and buy presents or more look round some nice shops (like Fortnums)?

Hyde Park - are you doing Winter Wonderland? I think you might want to do something else that day. The park alone might not fill up day.

London Dungeons and London Eye close together on South Bank. You can get combined tickets. So I would do those same day.

I would recommend getting a tour bus, which will take you past e.g. BuckinghamPalace and loads of other central landmarks. If you time it for late afternoon you'll see the Christmas lights.

Shopping: kids will maybe want to go to Hamleys, which will be an utter hellhole just before Christmas. Only go if you are one adult per child so you can split up if, say, one wants to explore Lego and the other cuddly toys. Harrods is another possibility & is in the same area as Hyde Park.

If your kids are good walkers then Covent Garden (shopping & transport museum) are near enough the London Eye to combine them.

If your kids are little and you live somewhere without a similar system, going on the tube can be quite a big adventure. Have you thought of going on one of the riverbus boats? Pricey if they're just for transport, but brilliant as an experience.

IME kids like the Natural History Museum for dinosaurs, big whales, etc, and the child focused stuff in the Science museum is also excellent, plus they're next door to each other and free entry.

When you say Hyde Park do you mean the Winter Wonderland thing there? Otherwise, it's just a park really.

Children are 10 and 12. Do you think the dungeons will be ok for a youngish 10 year old?

We are staying in an air bnb in Islington. Which I believe is near where we want to visit but I’m clueless as never been.

Shopping we probably won’t buy much but the kids will want to look around the big shops. Particularly those we don’t have up north.

Harry Potter we have booked for Sunday afternoon and we are taking the car so will drive up and spend the rest of the time in London.

Yes I mean Winter wonderland at Hyde park.

The kids will LOVE the tube so might have to find a way to work that in and will add the museums to the list as they sound fab also.

You have nothing to worry about, the tube makes everything easily accessible.

Download Citymapper app, it will plan journeys for you door to door, it will even tell you the correct platforms to use.

You will be fine, just focus on having a great time! The children are old enough to enjoy your plans and will probably find the tube fun!

@Madwife123 just incase you do decide to do London Eye, Dungeons or Madame Tussaud’s, Merlin have a code where ‘adults go free’ and you pay the child’s price (still works out cheaper!) you don’t need a code from a pack it shows a code on the site when you select your venue option. I’ve used it several times, hope it helps! 😊

www.merlinfun.com/book/

Take the children to Hamleys toy store on Regent street. It’s massive and even adults love it.

River cruises are fun, too.

Islington is huge - whereabouts are you staying? Angel?

If so, the No73 bus will take you to Oxford Street (Oxford Circus) for Christmas lights and shops. You could walk down Oxford St to Hyde Park or get on the tube at Oxford Circus to Marble Arch entrance to the park (Central Line - Red on map).

Harry Potter will be a nightmare to drive to. Get the bus (73 again but other direction) to Euston (or Northern line - black - on tube) and then mainline to Watford. There’s a dedicated bus right outside the station.

Harry Potter world takes agessss so allow lots of time for that.

Everything is easy on the tube if you're happy to do that.

If you go to the London Eye the south bank is great to wander along, there's normally food markers in winter or you could go to borough market for food.

Buckingham Palace very near Hyde Park - each to their own but not sure how interested I'd have been in that at 10. But I did used to love the Tower of London, you can spend a good few hours there.

What shops do you want to visit?

Natural history and science museums are perfect for your age children, get tube from Islington to Victoria and change to South Kensington so you tick the tube box as well plus they are not weather dependent.

The flagship Lego store in Leicester has queues outside nearly all the time but a weekend in London in December prepare to wait if that is one of your hit shops.

Foyles bookstore is great children's section ground floor and their cafe top floor is lovely (also toilets) it's 5-10 minutes up Charing cross road from Trafalgar Square, (obviously the Norwegian tree is at Trafalgar) you can then walk along Oxford Street (flagship LUSH store) to Oxford Circus tube which is direct to Islington.

Covent garden is lovely for smaller shops and Christmas market, expensive but lovely, again 5 minutes walk from Leicester Square tube.

Hamleys toy store is utter chaos but if you want a full hit Christmas toy shop that's the one! And you also have the chance you might see someone famous in there, we saw Robin Williams with his kid in there way back when. I think that's up Piccadilly (check map).

Liberty, Selfridge's, Harrods all do brilliant windows, liberty is around carnaby street way which is more cool hip teenage stuff but it's quite pretty regardless and pedestrianised.

The national gallery has a glass fronted cafe overlooking Trafalgar if you can get in and the breakfast club in Soho does a day (until 3pm I think) amazing brunches and bloody Mary's, but there is usually a queue.

Hi OP! Glad to hear this is your first time visiting and hope you have a great time - London is full of magic around Xmas.

Don't want to spill the joy but just wanted to say - beware of pickpockets and phone snatchers on bikes - if you plan to visit Oxford Circus shops etc! Especially you might get distracted when trying to watch the kids or using google maps to find directions

Urhh spoil not spill!

Look up each place you're staying at /visiting and save them on google maps - you'll be able to see how it all hangs together.

There isn't one 'shopping area' - there are loads, depending on what you want. Oxford St /Regent St is where the flagship stores are traditionally but Westfield malls now have lots of the big names. Covent Garden has smaller branches and independents, looks lovely at Christmas.

London Eye is by Westminster Bridge so ideally placed for visiting Parliament Square/Whitehall/Buckingham Palace/Trafalgar Square. It's not far then to Covent Garden.

OP Islington isn’t really in central London, it’s north London and on the edge of the city. It has its name we area which is really just a big high street with nice restaurants and bars. It’s located easily enough for The City / St Paul’s but not for the west end. Obviously you can get a bus but you won’t be stepping out of your accommodation into the tourist areas

the London eye is on the south bank. It will be very busy but there are street performers and the Christmas market should be open which is nice. It’s a fun area for the kids. It’s not a shopping area you can also walk along south bank, go to the tate museum and then walk along the millennium bridge to St. Paul’s, through the city and back to Islington

you can walk across another bridge (think Westminster) and to Covent Garden, from south bank. You come out at Charing Cross. Cross the road and any of the side roads take you into Covent Garden

hyde park isn’t particularly interesting in winter so I would give the parks a miss. Your kids would still be at the age for somewhere like the science museum and natural history which are in South Kensington so would do those instead of a park

Harry Potter is miles away in the arse end of Watford. It’s amazing and you will need a good few hours there. I would assume it will take up the best part of the day by the time you factor in travel. I would just stick to Islington for some dinner afterwards.

dungeons are good. Waxworks are waste of money. I think the dungeons are on south bank by London eye so do them at the same time.

Little Angel Marionette Theatre is lovely and plenty of shopping in the local area (nice toy shop at After Noah)

Islington is about as Central London as you can get, not sure what PP is on about. It’s just not the West End. It’s perfectly situated with excellent travel connections to most tourist attractions.

I’d probably split Fri and Sat into shopping and sightseeing. Friday probably marginally less busy at the shops but by that point it’ll be carnage everywhere really.

As others have said there are lots of places to shop. I’d maybe suggest getting the 73 bus through to Marble Arch (Selfridges), walking east back along Oxford Street (John Lewis but Debenhams and House of Fraser sadly no more). Dipping down into Regent Street for Hamleys. I’d probably swerve Libertys but that would be on the route, then through Soho to Covent Garden which is lovely at that time of year. Or some combo of that if they are too young for lots of walking.

Or you could head to one of the Westfield malls, both are accessible easily from Highbury and Islington station. I prefer the White City one. An option if the weather is bad.

Saturday you could then do London Eye (southbank usually has some kind of Xmas market though mainly food), Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park (Winter Wonderland is a great suggestion but you need to book) as they are quite close together.

No advice on HP as that’s not in London!

Monday I might go off the beaten track a bit. Angel (Islington) is quite nice (I live close) but maybe somewhere like Greenwich or the new Battersea Power station.

Can anyone tell me if a visitor Oyster card is worth getting? Trying to work the zones out. Would it allow us to go as far as Watford central on it? Do I need to get a card per person?

You can use any contactless debit or credit card as an oyster. You just need to use the same card to tap in and out at each station or bus

you need one card per person, but younger kids travel for free

I saw that the Oyster card gives a discount in travel? Is this the same if using a contactless debit card? Could I use my card to pay for me and the kids or would I need to tap cards for them also? Kids are 12 and 10.

Kids that age generally love Camden Market forshopping. I wouldn't bother with Oxford Street, it's pretty run down and generic now. Perhaps go to one or two of the big department stores for their Christmas departments.

If you think they’d like the tube, then consider doing the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden.