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?

This is what comes up when I check the ULEZ charge. Does the congestion charge apply to all cars?

Fully electric (not hybrid) cars are exempt. You also cannot park in London unless you're a resident in a lot of places. You should check the parking restrictions of where you're staying on Islington Council's website before you bring your car into London.

Yes, only zero-emission vehicles are exempt from the congestion charge, @Madwife123.

I meant to add that if you did go by train and wanted to use a child travelcards when you go to the HP studios, you’d need to get the more expensive Zones 1-6 one (which is £10-something).

Islington as a London Borough is a big place and different from Angel Islington which is a part of Islington. Would you be able to give us some idea where you will be staying? We can then suggest bus and tube routes.

Islington as PP said is mostly residents parking you can pay to park using the RingGo app but it's eye-wateringly expensive.

There are also lots of LTNs (low traffic neighbourhoods) which make driving slow and frustrating. It's designed to discourage car driving in the Borough and frankly you'd be mad to bring a car here.

But it's easy to walk and plenty of tubes and buses.

Can you say more about where the Airbnb is or post a link? Islington is massive and there's a world of difference between being eg near the Angel and being in Finsbury Park, say. (Either could be fine, just depends what you are looking for.)

@Madwife123 I'm so sorry I hadn't seen your reply that the Airbnb has parking and you're only going to use the car for the HP day.

That will work well in that case and it's an easy drive well signposted.

ULEZ is different from congestion charge.

ULEZ (ultra low emission zone) is a bigger area covering out to zone 2/3 borders or thereabouts. If you go into this zone you pay a charge if your car is older and doesn’t reach certain emissions standards. Islington might well be within ULEZ, depends on the exact location but it probably is, so check your car meets the ULEZ vehicle requirements. Link here

Congestion charge zone is much smaller and covers only the centre proper (City, West End, Hyde Park type areas). Everyone pays a charge to drive through except electric/certain hybrid cars. Hopefully you wouldn’t be driving through the centre anyway. Islington to HP shouldn’t go through congestion zone unless you get really lost… So you shouldn’t need to worry about the congestion zone.

This map link shows the ULEZ and the congestion zone. You’ll see ULEZ is huge and definitely covers Islington.

I know you’re not local but surely you can look at where your air bnb is and then see where that is in relation to the rest of London. I’m not being rude but you’re going to find navigating London a nightmare if you can’t master basic map reading and following.

driving in zone 1 is a nightmare and I really wouldn’t recommend it. You will have to pay ULEZ if not exempt and Congestion.

Harry Potter is nowhere near london. Surely you could see that?!

No, it won't. Driving will be a nightmare, especially trying to drive back into London on a Sunday evening when all the Londoners who've been away for the weekend or out for the day are all trying to drive back too. Expect gridlock. The train is much quicker.

Harry Potter The options are 1) drive 2) underground to Euston - Watford Junction then shuttle to HP Studios 3) pre booked coach + ticket from Kings Cross Station

Tickets sell out fast so hopefully you've already booked?

If you drive, options on the way are RAF Museum at Hendon (hundreds of planes & helicoptors of all ages in a hangar, hands on exhibits etc) or Brent Cross (shopping) or Hampstead Heath (great views, walks around the Heath, cosy pubs for lunch).

If money was no object I might go for afternoon tea at The Grove after HP.

You can't live in London. No Londoner would recommend a tour bus. Get a normal bus!

Also whatever you do - avoid Covent Garden tube station. Get out at a nearby one (all the surrounding ones are within a walking distance - Piccadilly, Leicester sq) as CG tube station has hundreds of steps and is usually packed, the lifts have a ridiculously long wait as a result!

@OnABreeze agreed. The tour buses are absolute rip offs and some of the routes take you through areas with no tourist attractions.

The Thames Clipper is also a good alternative (more pricey then a bus though) if you want to see some sights sitting down. You can go all the way down to Greenwich and get a drink from the Bar.

Does your Airbnb actually have it's own dedicated off-road parking space, that your car will fit into, and can be left there? Or will the owner just sling a daily parking voucher at you, and you have to find your own on-road space to park?

that is a good point, and may have limited hours, involve having to return to move it.
you need to drill down into the details.
have you looked into staying in a reasonable hotel more centrally.
eg holiday inn, welbeck street or a travelodge/premier inn, or seven dials hotel in covent garden.

It has a driveway.

We went for air bnb as couldn’t find a hotel that had big enough family rooms, they all seemed to be 2 double beds or a double bed and a sofa bed etc. 2 adults and 2 pre-teens need more space than that.

Look at how much advice I’ve received from locals that wouldn’t be available on google. Google tells you the distance from place to the other but doesn’t tell you what areas are a nightmare to drive in, or about ULEZ which I wouldn’t have known to google if someone hadn’t mentioned it etc.

Hi Op, may I suggest finding somewhere in Chelsea ? It’s a great base for exploring London on foot, You can walk to all the places you’ve mentioned , not HP studios obv.
I really wouldn’t recommend going on a tour bus or visiting Bucks palace , my children at that age really enjoyed the tower which can be a better alternative , I’d avoid London eye and just wonder around instead, ditto Harrods , Selfridges and Oxford street ,
heres what I think are worth doing :
•Regent street, it has everything , amazing Xmas lights,
•British Museum,
•Sloane square

• Dennis severs house , it’s like stepping into a Georgian / Dickinsonian world.
• Fortnum is great at Xmas , really lovely festive decorations.
•borough market

• I’m going against the grain here but I really enjoy Covent Garden, kings street is really good for shopping .

One thing Google maps will tell you is what tube / overground station you’re nearest to, if any, and that’s very important information.

For Christmas shopping, windows and lights do walk along Piccadilly and New Bond Street. All the streets to the west of Regent Street basically - they are lovely and Christmassy and Regent Street itself will have your bigger shops and Hamleys. Off Piccadilly is Green Park and St James Park plus Buckingham Palace, Horseguards Parade, Westminster, the Abbey etc. and all of this is walkable. St James Park has pelicans.

Yes I was trying to explain this earlier but you sold it so much better! Do this OP!

It depends where in Islington the air bnb is OP. If it's basically Angel, you're pretty central and it's a good base. As good as being in Notting Hill or Shoreditch etc.
If not near a station or Angel end, maybe look at Clerkenwell, Caledonian Road, Shoreditch, Vauxhall, Maida Vale... anywhere within zone 2 that's very near a station and you'll be fine.

Whereabouts in the borough of Islington is the Air Bnb OP?