Planning a trip to London help

[wingingit1987]

Hello all- I would like to visit London and take the kids to the Harry Potter Tour, Shreks Adventure, London Eye, Madame Taussauds and some general sight seeing. Where am I best staying and how am I best navigating this trip? We can fly or drive- unsure of which is more suitable.

i really need a bit of an idiot’s guide here I’m afraid so all tips welcome!

When are you going to go? Maybe look into Merlin passes because 3 of those are Merlin attractions and that could make it cheaper? (And you could throw in London aquarium/London dungeon as well if you wanted)

The Harry Potter studio tour is in Watford not London . Where are you coming from as that will affect answers .

We are planning on getting Merlin passes for kids Xmas. They look fab.

Coming from Glasgow. Should we stay in Watford for the tour and move to central London for other sites or is there somewhere central for both?

Specific where depends on your budget and preferred level of comfort. But in general I would look for somewhere next to Euston or Russel Square.

If you're coming from Glasgow your train will come into Euston.
The train to Harry Potter goes from Euston I believe.
Kings Cross station is a few minutes up the road, which has the Harry Potter platform 9 3/4 and merchandise shop.
Madame Tussaud's is 20 minutes walk.
You're within walking distance of most of central London for all of the other attractions and for if you like to wander/explore, but you also have direct access to multiple tube lines and buses if you prefer public transport.

How long is the trip?

This is so helpful! Thank you!

Likely around 3 nights.

There is a special double decker bus that will take you from the centre of London to the Harry Potter Studios. You have to book it in advance. I believe there is also a bus from Watford Station to the studios.

Don't drive! Particularly not from Glasgow! There is nothing on your itinerary that requires a car and there's no need to drive in London (even if you did your spend your whole day driving and parking)

Watford is a 20 minutes train journey from Euston so stay centrally. Watford is no place for a holiday.

If you have a Potter Head then Cursed Child is great but it's two shows so is £££ and will take up an entire day.

We tend to stay fairly central in a Premier Inn which means we can pop back for a rest / cup of tea for an hour or so which is much better than when we stay further out and makes a big difference although rooms are slightly smaller. We stayed at the Farringdon one last time. Good access to various tube lines, St Paul's and a little parade of shops including a Sainsbury's local was useful for topping up with basics.

If you come part of the way (it only needs to be a couple of stops I think) on the train you can then benefit from 241 at key attractions.

London Eye is both a must do to say you've done it and also rubbish, SeaLife centre isn't worth doing it's the same as anywhere, Shrek is great, Tower of London is great, Getting off and climbing up the Monument at Pudding lane is cheap and worth it if your children have studied Great Fire of London. St James Park is good if they are older and like Good Omens.

National History Museum for the dinosaurs, Science museum for the hands on bit, and then Kensington Palace and the Princess Diana park if they are still Park age

British museum for the mummies.

A trip to Greenwich on the river boat, tunnel under the Thames, cutty sark, observatory and planetarium if that's still there. Again that's slightly further out and would be a day but great views of the city from the top of the hill.

Please, please do not stay in Watford! Your sanity will never forgive you 🤣

DD and I had to Covid quarantine in a hotel there, I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever seen somewhere so soulless. Reckon I’ve got a lifetime phobia of Hiltons after that..

Not in London and likely a trip for another time but depending on the age of the children the Ronald Dahl museum in Great Missenden is fantastic it's about 45 mins on the train from Marylebone if I remember rightly. Great museum and activities, 2 walks one to RD grave which has various story related things there and another up through the woods that inspired Fantastic Mr Fox and you can see the three farms from the top of a hill.

View 22 is a brilliant newish place for amazing and free views over London. You’ll need to pre book though.

if you fancy the theatre then todays tix app is great. Also lots of free / cheap Harry Potter walking tours around. Harry Potter studios are amazing but def pre book. Mine used to really enjoy going platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross and that’s a great place to visit too.

Thank you so much everyone! This has been really helpful!

My advice would be not to bother with Shreks adventure. It’s 45 minutes of walking through dark corridors.

Also HP Studios gets booked up quickly. As soon as you know the dates of your trip get the tour booked.

I agree. You come into Euston or Kings Cross from Glasgow. You go to HPW in Watford from Euston. Platfrom 9 3/4 is at Kings Cross ( a few minutes walk from Euston). Euston and Kings Cross are very central with loads of tube and bus connections to get you everywhere else(I think it's a straight-down-the-road bus to Tussauds from there.)

I'd definitely pick a hotel near Euston.

Thanks so much everyone

If you stayed in the Hilton on the A41

That was Alan Partridges hotel in the series. Probably chosen because it looked so sad and soulless

🤣🤣🤣