London insider knowledge!

[Guineapiggiesmalls]

Mums, appealing for your help… we’ve a few days in London with two pre-school girls. We’ve done all the normal touristy stuff before (London eye, open top bus etc) but wondered if some local mums could recommend something we wouldn’t have normally thought of. Indoor or outdoor, I just want to do something different! Thank you :)

The transport museum and postal museums are great. Coram's Field has a great playarea. A boat trip on the Thames? London Zoo or one of the city farms like Vauxhall city farm?

oh, and the Emirates cable car from the O2

Uber boat trip
My kids loved HMS Belfast at that age
Diana memorial playground
Transport Museum in Covent Garden if you haven't done it before

Sky garden - you can often book a free walk around visit. Or you could book a lunch / coffee stop in the sky garden. Its not too expensive if you don’t go all out - but quite a nice spot for something different!

Sorry mis read pre school girls as school girls so ignore my post! Probably better when the girls are older!

Canary Wharf- ride the DLR, wander around the roof garden and visit the Museum of Docklands- great pre school area

Also:

Greenwich Maritime museum is great combined with Greenwich park which has a great playground

Stratford Discovery centre is good, we combined with the Olympic Park and lunch at Westfield

Horniman museum is lovely lots to do to spend the day there

Crystal Palace park very nice too with dinosaur statues

This does see the sights but from the river and on the road, so same as you have done before but a slightly different experience. DS5 loved it

Duck Tour

Battersea park for the big playground and the children’s mini zoo. The cafe at the mini golf also has surprisingly good pizzas.

I think 2 preschoolers wouldn't get the value out of some of the suggested activities. I'd go to a city farm and/or play park for free.

Greenwich is lovely at that age and they'll love "driving" the DLR. Ideally go one way on the DLR and the other way on a Clipper boat underneath Tower Bridge.
Ditto the Olympic Park.
Just walking up the south bank of river from the Eye to Tower Bridge past the Globe, the buskers, the beach sculptors, the wobbly bridge, the boats, the skateboarders, the Clink, and briefly into Tate Modern is a great day out at that age with no traffic fumes and lots to see. Grab something to eat at the food market behind the RFH if it's open (there are lots of loos in there and the Tate Modern which is always handy with pre-schoolers)

Postal museum? You get to go on a miniature underground train

Greenwich is perfect. The museum is a good size for small kids and has a soft play area which I'm sure they will love.

Only hassle might be transport, depending on where you will be staying.

Tate Modern used to be good with my pre-schoolers. Turbine hall is a great space and sometimes has stuff for kids in there. There also used to be a cafe with computers where kids can draw art and display it on a big screen (whilst parents drink coffee!).

Vauhall city farm is worth a visit if nearby (small donation only) and has alpacas.

Haggestron, East London has the Cuppa Pug cafe where you get to play with some pugs - need to book an hour slot

Re the score museum - The wonderlab is the book in advance bit you pay for and it’s aimed at older kids, I’d say 5+. They need to be a metre tall to go on the big slides and there are lots of science demonstrations. Really cool but not for preschoolers. We actually have an annual pass as live locally and my 5YO loves it but the only bit my toddler likes is the that dark colour change room with the toys stuck on the walls. It’s not worth the money with younger ones. The Garden in the basement is the interactive bit for younger ones and is free with no booking needed but it’s small and gets mad busy on weekends. It’s not bad on a weekday morning though. There’s also the Pattern Pod but that’s even smaller.

If you want indoor stuff for little ones I’d say Postal museum, transport museum or there’s a really good indoor play space in Army museum. Lots of kids like the natural history museum but mine don’t particularly.

Oops Score museum should be SCIENCE MUSEUM!

Bit far out of Central London but the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill is good. There is also a lovely park not far from there, on the main road toward East Dulwich.

Transport Museum is very good with the sort of pre-schoolers who like trains and buses. Even at age 3 and 4 their interests do usually tend towards trains/dinosaurs/live animals/kings and queens/monsters/running around and climbing on things and you can tailor your pick accordingly.

Also strongly recommend seeing Tower Bridge open if there happens to be one at a convenient time for your visit.
https://www.towerbridge.org.uk/lift-times

Peppa Pig afternoon tea bus tour?

https://afternoontea.co.uk/uk/london/covent-garden/b-afternoon-tea-bus-tour/

Have you done the Princess Diana memorial playground? It’s fantastic.

Yes I was going to suggest this! There's also a carousel outside in the park too.

London Zoo is good as well.

Hampton Court Palace is fab for kids, lots of space to run around plus amazing play area with sand, water, tree houses and ice cream

https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/whats-on/the-magic-garden/#gs.yweu91