When is the best time to visit London?

[LockEmUp]

I'd like to take my DC (11&13) on a long weekend to London. Maybe see a show (they've never seen one) like a play or musical. I've been twice before, once on a day trip with school and once for a weekend about 15 years ago so my knowledge of the area is not great!

Timing wise, we're probably looking at the first weeks of July or August or half term (last week of September/beginning of October). Which is a better time to visit?

(Any extra tips on must do activities with DC this age gratefully received, or areas to stay! I'd like to do the Harry Potter Studio Tour with them.)

Most people don't break up until around 20th July.....so before that.....and usual state school half term in the UK is towards the end of October.....so late September would be great.

Harry Potter is not in Central London. So take that into account when you plan accommodation.

Either of those dates would be fine, the weather is likely to be nice it may be a bit hot in August or a bit cold in October, but no way of knowing ahead of time.

My kids loved watching the skateboarding at Southbank and there’s often a singer or a band down there in the summer.

Harry Potter thing is actually a bit outside London, so probably one to do on the way in or out.

It's been pretty hot in London over the summer but I think any time really.

Harry Potter studio tour is great! I love it.

Maybe get a river boat and go down to Greenwich, the planetarium is great.

Tower Bridge and tower of london always excellent.

If you can do July before the English schools break up, that would be great.

Harry Potter Studio tour is easily accessible from central London on a short journey from Euston station to Watford Junction, where a free HP shuttle bus takes you to the studio.

Train strikes permitting.

The big museums are always great. Boat down to Greenwich, see the Cutty Sark, walk through the Naval College, up the hill to the Observatory and International date line?

Buckingham Palace / Trafalgar sq sightseeing?

Changing the guard (don’t fall for any of the websites trying to sell you a ticket, it’s free) changing-guard.com/changing-the-guard-buckingham-palace.html

Camden Market

Harry Potter thing is actually a bit outside London, so probably one to do on the way in or out.
Are the public transport links not reliable then? It says it's well connected to central London....

It’s easy to get to for a day, you can take a train out of Euston.

20 minute journey

First week or 2 of July definitely! I know you can’t predict it but there’s a good a chance as you get of decent weather. Private schools will be off but there aren’t THAT many of them and the state schools aren’t so nothing should be too busy. Stay central, get the train from Euston to HP. If you have an idea of budget then people can probably recommend hotels.

train strikes permitting, HP Workd is a doddle from central London.

If going to the theatre is a big party of your plan you might want to aim for Kids Week in August - actually I think it's the whole of august nowadays. Savings could be considerable.
officiallondontheatre.com/kids-week/

There is an 'open house' running in London on 2 weekends in September which means various places are open to the public that normally are not. I think most of that is free.
If you want to explore bits of London in general then a weekday may be better, but the various museums, galleries and other attractions are likely to be busier in the school holidays.
Quite a lot is easily walkable too, rather than getting on and off the tube, but it does depend on your plans.

In general anytime is fine but I found August in London full of tourists and too busy to really enjoy it.

Unfortunately train strikes are part and parcel of life at the moment, tube is less so but for central London you can still walk and use busses.

Theatre: Look already where you want to go, I looked for affordable tickets the other day for mid July and hardly anything was available.

For theatre, sign up for Kids Week details, it's usually August. You gave to be quick off the mark to get the big shows, and it's easier if you can go early in the week at less popular times.

officiallondontheatre.com/kids-week/

Oops, sorry someone has already mentioned it. It is good though!

From what I've heard from friends, the Harry Potter thing is booked up months and months ahead so if you're set on doing that, maybe check availability and when you've managed to book it work everything else around that.

It is not in London though, as PP have said, and if you want to see London you might need a bit longer!

We live here, so are biased, but it's the greatest city especially with kids. South Bank, the Sky Garden, museums, parks, the zoo, Hampstead Heath, Portobello Road - so much to choose from depending on your interests. The river boat to Greenwich is a great shout as it takes in so many sights and views, as well as Greenwich being a cool place to visit in its own right.

I’d avoid UK school holidays if you can, plus can be very hot in summer there.

If you want to do a theatre show download the Todaytix app - they often have flag sales. There is theatre week in august (tickets on sale start of June) but limited seats and if you are not careful you can actually end up paying more.

Some shows have lotteries where you can get top band seats for £25 but often limited to 2 seats.

The Thames rib boats are fun - you can do a more sightseeing one or the blast ones which are just fast!

Trains to Harry Potter studios from Euston and then connecting bus. I have started at the Premier Inn St Pancreas which wasn't bad. That's 10 minutes walk from Euston and not far from anywhere really.

-DLR to Greenwich and boat back to Westminster is more interesting. -Avoid Madame Tussauds, long queues for very disappointing exhibition.
-Natural History and Science Museums worth a visit. Good for very hot or hot days. Check websites for exhibits that are of interest to kids
-Tower Bridge (pay) and Sky Garden (free, need to book) are close and also near Tower of London
-Heatwaves in London make it difficult. Sept/Oct best time to visit
-Be sure to have CityMapper app on your phone. It is also useful when planning your trip
-Use buses where possible, you see more of the city

Terrible Thames boat tour.