to want to take my son to London?

[MrsKeithRichards]

I have never been, we live in Edinburgh.

My son is 6 and has been asking for ages now and it has reached a crescendo with the Olympics. I would love to take him and it isn't actually that unrealistic.

But where do I start? He wants to see Big Ben, the palace and ride a red bus. He'd like to see the parliament and number ten. Could all this be done in a day or two? I'm such a country bumpkin. Where would I stay? Are tubes as mad as they look? Am I mad?

take a few days. i did a lot of touristy once when i had supervise children - they were no trouble but the day itself was exhausting.

If you're going on an open-top bus tour, use Tesco vouchers... saves a fortune!

We did a Duck Tour - that was a fantastic way to see the "sights" :) THe "Duck" goes onto the Thames after driving around the centre.

Go, definitely, how lovely.
It's only about 4 and a half hours on the train, no trouble with a 6 year old. If you book in advance it's not too expensive. If you don't have a family and friends railcard it might be worth getting one.
Might be good to go in one of the school holidays which are different between Scotland and England so if you want to go to any museums they will be a bit quieter. I think the Scottish October holiday is earlier than the English one.

We tend to stay slightly out of town. Premier Inns at Hampstead and Putney Bridge are both good and easy on the tube into central London, with nice places to eat on a night nearby. Been twice with kids - last year they were 4 and 2, this year 5 and 3 and loved it both times.

Took my 7 year old last week. We went on the train which was the highlight for him. Started in Leicester square for Haagen dazs, took a bus tour round the main sites and hopped on and off but not too much and then on the duck tours. He loved it and we were both exhausted but had a fab time and learned loads

I am going in November, i am taking my youngest for the first time (i go regulary).

I am paying £80 for a twin room, right by Victoria Station, which i got on the internet. I googled cheap London hotels and searched reviews.

We are doing a show and the next day, the London Eye, Dungeon and a Jack the Ripper tour (which is her thing).

Whilst we are doing a show my middle DD and her friend are doing the night bus tour.

We thought about possibly a river tour, we are going to decide when we know what the weather will be like.

We are doing all of the sightseeing, it is easily done in a couple of days.

You get a discount if you book attractions together online.

The tube system is easy and there is staff around to ask.

Check weekend breaks with a show, It can be cheaper than just a hotel.

Fly - the train is takes too long, unless you get the sleeper which ds might love.

If you get on one of the HOHO buses you will get to see all ds wants from the outside and you can ho at any you like the look of.

Rainforest cafe for lunch is fun.

Hamleys - but give ds a budget.

I love Harrods food halls but a 6yo might not.

See a show, maybe a matinee with a little one.

I took my then 10 year old nephew, all he wanted to do was go on the tube and tot he top of a tall building.

Can I just say that it all looks marvellous on the TV, bit less so irl, when you have to trek endlessly around mucky boring streets and up and down, up and down the tube ...

Yes the school holidays are nearly over. They start back next week here. Your comment was quite pointless really.

Try taking a bargain berth with caledonian sleeper trains - cost from £40 ish pp each way (but remember - for this you get travel and a nights accomodation) you leave Edinburgh at 9pm, get to London at 7am, they give you a croissant and a juice as you wake up, then you're all set to have a great day :-)

Ps don't fork out £50 each on a tourist bus trip - take the no 211 ordinary bus - it goes to almost the big attractions (st pauls, palace of westminster, big ben) and you can ride it for £1.35 per person all day on an oyster card. Have fun!

Check out www.daysoutguide.co.uk/ for BOGOF deals when you buy a railcard. Be warned that they don't always have the London Eye on there, the current offer expires on Aug 31st but they do it regularly. There is a lovely little park outside the London Eye.

You can get on a commuter boat (rather than a river tour) from Embankment/London Eye that will take you down to Greenwich for about £6 each way. Get the DLR back?

Have fun!

I am taking my 6 year old to London in a couple of weeks - we are going to stay in a family room at the YHA on Oxford Street - so central, 61.50 pounds per night for a private room for the 2 of us, in August. We have also booked tickets for the 'Original London Sight Seeing Tour' (open top bus tour which DD really wants to do - you don't get double decker buses where we live) which means we can see everything and hop on and off when dd wants a closer look. Bus ticket was 23 pounds for me and 11 for dd, so not cheap but worth it as a 1 off as it will kind of be the centre piece of the visit - DD wants to see "The famous sights" :o We booked the bus tickets with the accommodation through the YHA, and also Tower of London tickets as she wants to see the queen's jewels and the ravens.

I have promised to take each of my kids the summer before they turn 7, so will get to do this 3 times (DD is the oldest, DS1 is already looking forward to his turn but also to staying at his grandparents this time) :)

Can I just say that it all looks marvellous on the TV, bit less so irl, when you have to trek endlessly around mucky boring streets and up and down, up and down the tube ...

Who took the Jam out of your Doughnut?

I second the Caledonian sleeper, it is great value if you get one of the bargain tickets. Although it does leave London very late going back up north, around 11pm I think, which might be too much for your son.

I would go to the Tower of London, and Tower Bridge, which are right next to each other, then go on a river boat towards Westminster and see the houses of parliament and Big Ben from the water.

Go on the tube a couple of times for the experience, but really make sure you avoid it at rush hour, as it is so hot and busy it's not at all fun, and you might find you get swept along by the hurrying crowds when you're trying to stop and read the signs to find out which way you need to go! The top deck of a double decker is much more fun.

Oh yes what an odd comment from MrsJohnMurphy :o Most of us have been to London (lived there for 5 years in my early 20s myself, it's a rare British adult who has never been to London in their life I'd imagine, so most of us know what it is like from a source other than television) the question is about taking a 6 year old there on a short break.

www.walks.com/

These are brilliant and cheap - kids go free. You dont need to book up, just turn up at the right time outside the right tube station. You can sort the site by interest, by day, by time. Always something to do quite cheaply - and its much more fun when you have someone else doing the talking.

This is one you would like:

10.30 am on Sundays Not Sept. 9
from WestminsterTube, exit 4

Whoa! Here it is. The all-in-one London Walk. It's the Grand Tour. The London equivalent of the Yellow Brick road. So it's hey ho and off we go ? off to see all the classic sights in Westminster and the West End. Tick "em off: the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St. James's Palace, the quintessential Royal Park, classy St. James's, the Mall, Trafalgar Square, Admiralty Arch, Birdcage Walk, Queen Anne's Gate, you name it. They're all here ? all the London pearls. And here's the clincher ? Tom and Andy R. have strung them together with quaint little back streets and passageways that give you the real essence of London. And, yes, the walk is timed so we take in the Changing of the Guard (when it's on).

I think it's a fab idea, since I'm a penny pincher a few ways to spread the cost, tesco vouchers can be used for the eye and Madame tussards.

London for me is always invigorating when you are there but knackering on the journey which as long as you are not driving is not too much of an issue.

Don't worry about the tubes, it's easy enough to get off and jump back on again if you go the wrong way and you can plan your route in advance on the tube website, I normally note lines, statins and directions in a post it for easy reference

I wanna come now.

I haven't been for years.

We're going in the September weekend. Also in Edinburgh.

I have a family rail ticket and with my dad's disabled rail ticket, got 6 of us on the train for £300 return first class.

We've stayed around London. Heading across the water to a premier inn this time at Tower Bridge.

We've done the London Eye at sunset which was fantastic. Then went back the following summer for a day time tour. We did a bus tour but check out duck tours. We've done the boat trip down the Thames which was linked with the bus tour. We went to Madame Tussaudes and the Transport Museum and mooched round Covent Gardens and Trafalgar Square.

This time we're going to the Harry Potter Studio Tour. We're hoping to do the science museum and of course we just have to go to Hamleys and the apple store.

London has so much to offer and we went in the October Holiday the first time and it was fairly quiet and warm. We hadn't gone to London for a long time because I came back pregnant twice from London haha.

I would also recommend youth hostels. Nowadays, they are modern. more like travel inns, and quite cheap.

Theres a brilliant childrens book, 'Katie in London' by James Mayhew, about two children exploring London on the back of a Trafalger Square lion, whilst their gran falls asleep. It would be ideal for a six year old.

Before you book any where or any of the activities please look around for deals

for example

deals for the London Dungeons, wheel etc. are all over the internet and can be found easily

loads out there

GO!

I'd tee it all up in advance to get cheap train / plane fares. I travel the route regularly for business and the plane is often cheaper ATM. Flying into London City although often slightly more expensive works out cheaper as the time/ cost of getting from the airport to the centre is less.

Loads of cheap accommodation. There is a veritable raft of travelodges round Kings Cross or the youth hostels often do reasonable family rooms (but the budget hotel chains are often cheaper).

Get an oyster card for you on pay as you go (you buy them at tube stations/ or the city airport DLR ticket kiosk). Kids travel free on buses/ trains/ tube and DLR.

Duck is great but expensive and please book as Ii've been disappointed when trying to get on it before. Science museum, Natural history museum are HUGE hits with kids and free. I've been to the army museum recently and it was pretty good too. I also like the Geffrye museum in hoxton which is a bit off the beaten track and museum of the docklands (you also get to travel on the DLR - sit at the front and pretend to drive). Tower is seriously expensive - so I haven't been for yonks.

Other massive hit with kids recently has been a speed boat ride along the thames (Thames rib) but it is also very pricey. The eye is also popular with that 6 year old age group especially if they haven't been there before.

Trafalgar Square/ Covent Garden/ Westminster/ Big Ben/ Southbank are all pretty close together and worth a wander. There is a Tesco / Pret at if you need to buy cheap sandwiches to have a picnic and seats on the square itself or several nice parks down by the river.

I'm not a big sleeper fan as I don't find I sleep well and then have a sleep deprivation hangover the next day but it is a great experience - maybe do it on the way back?