London - Kew Gardens? Or other recommendations please

[YouBelongWithMe]

We're off to London next week. My mum and I hage done several London flying visits before so we've done a fair bit of the 'tick offs'.

I'm wondering about booking to Kew Gardens for the orchids festival but it's saying it'll take an hour each way from central London - is that right? And would you recommend, is it worth the time?

If not, would love some other recommendations of things we can do during the day.

Thank you!

It's worth it in that there's not really anything comparable in central. We love Kew! But if you're not big outdoor/flower people it might be a waste, especially if it's raining....

Depends on where you're staying, but it's 30 mins on the District line from Westminster.

What kinds of things are you into? Currently we love the Sky Garden (I know others will say it's a waste!), a trip down the Thames on an Uber boat (fun to watch the London skyline even in bad weather) to Greenwich which is a lovely area for a mooch.

Moco is a new-ish modern art museum by Marble Arch and I was really impressed - lots of interactive art, some Banksy etc. Tate Britain is also a lovely art museum that's underrated (IMO)

If you like shows you can download Today Tix which often has decent priced same day tickets.

We're already booked into A Streetcar Named Desire and then Richard II the next night.

Have done Sky Gardens twice, done Duck & Waffle for breakfast with a view.

We are planning to spend one day with a morning in South Kensington doing the Natural History Museum and V&A for lunch. Harrods in the afternoon.

Another day and a half to fill, really. Staying in Bloomsbury but happy to use all public transport.

We've done a lot of central London mooching and wandering, so I'd like to have an actual itinerary with places to visit.

Will check out that gallery, thanks!

What about Chelsea Physic Garden - very central and easy to get to, just a 5 minute walk from the King's Road.

Kew is lovely! Go for it, lots to see and a beautiful place to explore and it's peaceful to make a change from central. Well, except for in the orchid exhibition which is full, hectic, and you have to queue even with a booking. The orchids themselves are amazing, I used to go every year but wont this year as they've made it busy somehow by having bookings when it was fine without. Anyway, that's my rant, sorry.
My recommendation is yes Kew is worth a visit, orchids are a maybe depending on what interests you

Kew is lovely. But this time of year…not as much to see outside obviously., I’m not sure. We took the boat down and train back. The boat had a commentary which was fun.

I like the sir John Soanes museum or the Wallace Collection.

we went to a brilliantly done exhibition at the British museum huw Locke.

The Kew orchids are always spectacular, and the crocus carpet (millions of them!) should be worth seeing about now. There will be other spring flowers, too.

If you turn left after the main entrance, that path is lined with camellias that should be spectacular around now. Further along that path is the Marianne North gallery - she was a Victorian woman who, after her father died, travelled all over the world, including to some very remote places, on her own, painting Nature - mostly flowers, plants and trees, with some wildlife and landscapes thrown in.

The gallery is lined, almost like wallpaper, with her 800 odd paintings, which she bequeathed to Kew.
It’s spectacular, and well worth a visit.

but it's saying it'll take an hour each way from central London - is that right?

Depends where you are coming from. It's 30 minutes on the District Line from Embankment but there's a 10 minute walk from Kew Gardens Station to the entrance.