London for 11th birthday... recommendations?

[IhearyouClemFandango]

We are taking ds to London for the weekend for his birthday as he has never been.

I have booked a slot at the Natural History museum and Science museum which I think he will love, but I was hoping someone could recommend somewhere nice for dinner (he's relatively adventurous), perhaps a route or company for a bus tour?

Plus any little extra places to visit or see to make the weekend special for him.

I don't know who is more excited, him or me 😂 I used to go in to Embankment two days a week for work but that was 15 years ago now.

He's equally excited about leaving his siblings behind with granny and grandpa 😁

Thanks for all the suggestions, this is great stuff

Inamo is a fun restaurant. It has interactive tables which my kids loved

Ah I’m the opposite. I think the Science Museum is shockingly old and shabby, but love the NHM.

Sky garden - kind of overrated. I suppose it’s ok with kids, but for adults it would be so much better just to go to one of a million roof top bars.

Totally agree about SkyGarden!! I live nearby and it's really not worth the queue. But some people seem fixated on it - it seems to be the tourist equivalent of the MN fixation on Mulberry and Le Pliage bags. 🙂

Go to the Tower of London @IhearyouClemFandango It will blow your son's mind. I first went when I was 10 and I never forgot it. Years later I moved to London and I now live quite close so regularly walk past it (and visit with my local resident discount). It never gets old. Just amazing. They also do a very good Victoria sponge in the cafe inside the ramparts.😝The Beefeaters are hilarious (and great with kids) and you can get the boat there (much more fun than a bus given the state of London traffic).

I went quite recently and spent farrrrr too long trying to figure out the appeal. In the end I decided that it’s one of the few places with a good view of London that you could do with kids, without it being a bar or a fancy restaurant. That’s the only reason I could think of. I felt really weird being there as someone who actually lives in London. We were the only non tourists and I never normally feel like that - even in other tourist attractions.

Shard is great for views - just don’t do the viewing gallery. There are restaurants in the Shard only one or two floors below the viewing gallery (which costs ££££) and you get the same view but get to enjoy it with food and comfy seating and less tourists for almost the same amount of money.

Mine like going to the M&M and Lego shops the most! If you fancy seeing a show at the theatre, The Play that Goes Wrong is great for that age!

I can recommend the Thames clipper. We did it at sunset from London eye to Greenwich where we had a show on. It goes slow through all the sights, Tower Bridge lit up at night was gorgeous. Then sped up at the end. Probably 40. Minutes in total. There's a lovely bar on board so we had a little drink. Dead cheap as well, under a tenner iirc

Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood are fun places to eat when you’re a kid. You could go to the London Dungeon first then walk across the footbridge up to the Strand and walk the rest of the way up Haymarket (for PH) and down Piccadilly (for HRC)

Just seen Planet Hollywood has closed! Quite sad about that, loved going with my Dad as a special treat when I was little

You pre-book for sky garden. The last 2 times we've been there was no queue. One was at 10am though. We love it

Jungle Cafe?

Right, my thinking so far is train into Waterloo, lunch on Southbank. Route 11 bus out past some sights, off at Victoria and underground to Hammersmith to drop off bags etc. Bus route 9 back in past some sights, get off at Covent Garden and wander around for a while. China town, Leicester Square etc.

bus route 15 out to Tower of London area, boat back. Dinner somewhere central?

Sunday, science museum (can leave bags in locker), lunch, maybe natural history museum if time. Back to Waterloo for 330.

How does that sound?

Are you not intending to actually go inside the Tower of London? You won't have time before it closes at 5.30pm based on your proposed plan. Seems a waste to go there to just see the outside. If you do actually want to go there, I'd skip the mid-afternoon Covent Garden etc stop and instead go to that area for dinner and walk around then. Shops will still be open and things will get very lively indeed as the evening progresses. If you go with your original plan, I don't think you'll have time to get the bus to the Tower (even just to look at the outside) and riverboat back unless you like a late dinner.

You clearly like buses but you're going to lose a lot of time getting the bus so much. Even with bus lanes due to the amount of roadworks and traffic lights, progress will be very slow. Is it a while since you've been in London? I get the impression you don't realise how slow the traffic moves, even at weekends.

I thought buses would mean he could see the sights a bit more than underground

@HagsGlen
. Omg I'm amazed your 11 year old boo Boris Johnson 🤣.

Incredible for such a young child to come up with self initiated reasoned arguments to boo someone.

That sounds better op yes.
Sciences musuem is OK... You know you have to pay for the slightly more fun part upstairs, wonder lab?

Much more compact schedule there. However even if you just went up earth escalator in nhm it's worth it. It's a stunning building.

Tbh on this trip although I adore tower of London I'd skip it. Stay central. Unless you go in.

@HundredMilesAnHour

If she stays cental that won't matter. We always try and get bus and love it. Only if schlepping all over the odd tube would help

The Tower of London is central??!! Perhaps you mean stay in the West End?

I agree that the Tower is wonderful but I don't see the point of going there and not actually going inside.

I think you're trying too fit too much in OP, maybe pick one or two things and go back again.

You need to work on your geography I think 😂

Definitely speed boat down the Thames. Ds loved it at that age - fast, James Bond music etc 😄Then mooching around the south bank, watching the street performers, or walk across the bridge (good views) and head to Leicester Square which also has street performers (could pop into the Lego ship if he’d be interested).

don’t go to the Tower of London - you’d be there all day (but you’d go past it on the speed boat anyway). Can’t remember which company we used - was the red one.

Traffic is appalling - buses might be very slow

@HundredMilesAnHour how so?

Crumpet if she's staying central slow buses means she sees more