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?

Marking place - me and DS7 are going for a few days in October. £70 for return train travel for both of us from Edinburgh OP but there were still loads of cheap tickets left for the October break (I need to be back for a gig so we were a wee bit restricted).

It's all very do-able, but don't walk too much and you need frequent rest stops. Just plan in advance and accept you can't do everything.

Actually you don't even need to go on a tourist bus: some standard bus routes (e.g. the 11, 9 , 94) will take you past a lot of landmarks. Buses are nicer than the Tube as you see more, and the river buses are great-especially to the Tower of London.

Friends of ours went to London and got a special deal with the train fare that got them into various places at half price, including the London Eye and the Aquarium, so that could be worth researching.

You'll have a fantastic time!

I'm taking my DS's on the Sky ride next week. I can't believe it's only £3.20 for adults and £1.60 for children (one way)

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2165872/London-2012-Olympics-crossing-Boris-Johnson-tries-new-50m-River-Thames-cable-car.html

absolutely not! sounds like a great idea, and just the train ride will be an adventure for your DS, let alone what you get up to in London!

my top tips are:

• southbank
• open-top bus trip
• natural history museum
• lunch in the pret in St Martin's Place (just up from Trafalgar Square) - great location with lots of people watching potential
• the Monument (www.themonument.info/visit/) for views of London - much cheaper than the London Eye

I don't have much experience of London hotels cos I live here, but have a FAB time!

oh yes, the Sky ride too! forgot that one as it's so new!

Just remembered a great place to stay - the youth hostel in Holland Park (nearest tube is High St Kensington or you could get a bus) - you can get a family room and the price includes an all you can eat cooked breakfast, lovely location too...

Catch a no. 23 bus out of Liverpool Street. Try and sit upstairs at the front.
It will take you past:
The Royal Exchange and Bank of England.
St Paul's Cathedral
The Old Bailey
Fleet Street
Trafalgar Square (with a good look at Admiralty Arch)
Piccadilly Circus, Regent Street and Oxford Street.

You can stay on the bus and get off at Hyde Park or Kensington Gardens. If you walk south through Hyde Park you'll end up at Hyde Park Corner and then you can potter down Constitution Hill to Buckingham Palace, The Mall then through St James Park to Horse Guards Parade. There are quite a few buses you can hop on to take the weight off your feet as there is quite a bit of walking in this last bit.

I find the train is often much cheaper than plane if you book in advance.

Sign up with East Coast trains to receive their special offers. MIL got a return, Edinburgh to London for £50 first class!

(not sure if they do that kind of offer in school holidays though).

Or, look at the "Best fare finder" on www.thetrainline.com to find their cheapest fares.

Personally i find the train less of a faff. It actually takes about the same time by plane or train, if you count check in,and getting to and from the airport.

Unless flying is part of the adventure, of course!

I'm thinking of doing this with DS in sept too. He is 5 and we are a bit further up than Edinburgh but its only 6 hours on the train. I used to live in London and am desperate to take him

Thanks for all the great trips! I was thinking of flying but leaning towards train. Dh thinks I should drive but I think no! He'd drive anywhere.

I feel like such a donut being so clueless but I'm thinking train would get me central enough so could plan from there.

October week is a good idea. Going to write down ideas.

Thank you so much! I've travelled all over the world but this feels like a bigger adventure! Be ace to spend some one on one time with ds. New baby means I feel like he's been a bit neglected recently.

If you get a chance, Ripley's Believe it or Not at Picadilly Circus is a brilliant museum for a 6yr old boy. It's expensive but you can get plenty of 2 for 1 offers online. You can also take photos in there.

It's also only a short walk to the Mall and St James' park from there.

If you want a free museum, The Imperial War Museum near Elephant and Castle is brilliant...again you can take as many photos as you want to.

Oh god no, don't drive! Driving in London is hell! And extortionate beyond belief.

I second not driving!

His birthday is coming up do you think it's acceptable to ask for money towards it from dgp's? And no party!

Yeah I'm not driving! Dh drove down a couple of years ago when his brother was living there and thought it was fine but I won't! Train will be much more fun I think.

Lurker makes a good point about the transfer into the city centre - I read a few years ago that the cost per mile of the train from Heathrow to Paddington is the most expensive in the world! 6 hours on the train sounds quite long but if you factor in the time you have to be there before flying to check in, it might be better than flying.

I did a 3 day trip to London with DD when she was about 9 (flying from Dublin) and we had a brilliant time. Just make sure you have good walking shoes and hooded anoraks in case of rain.

Red bus hop on hop off tours are great. The Tower is a bit walky/historical for a little one (though we loved the Crown Jewels, it wasn't busy so we walked backwards on the travelator for about 5 mins to have a long look at the bling!)

Catch the thames clipper boat near london eye to greenwich for cutty sark and fab national maritine museums.other lovely museums there too.

If your son's relatives are anything like mine, your DS will end up having more spending money for the trip than you yourself will have...

And yes it's plenty acceptable to ask for money instead of toys plastic tat but make sure you warn your DS beforehand that he'll just be getting a card for his birthday - at that age he might hang you by asking them "Where's my pressie?"

Also make sure you have a few stamps with you, and buy some really touristy postcards of the sights. Then in the evening in the hotel it might be nice to get him to write to the GP's etc and he can post them the next day when you are out and about. People never send postcards anymore and it would be a lovely thing for the grandparents to receive. I think my folks still have postcards from my daughter somewhere (she's 15 now).

train or sleeper....our lot have loved the sleeper and they are much older. I can't believe we missed doing it when they were smaller!

For Parliament visits you have to arrange it with your MP....just email and they will sort it for you!

We tried to go up Big Ben, but stupid MP's secretary got the wrong end of the stick and sent us Parliament passes instead, but although it was disappointing to realise we were not getting the Big Ben tour, it was good to have done the HofP I suppose

We have also done the Millenium Eye, love it although it is pricey.

Tesco Clubcard Deals are well worth checking out for London Stuff, you can save a complete fortune, especially for meals.

ooh and what about the new thames cable car??

and there is a walkway that has been set up to goright over the O2 dome!

Greenwich is also great, the tunnel under the Thames is quick to do! and free!

I actually tend to forget about all these touristy places, but I've been to nearly all of them and live in London so you can PM me if you want help with planning.

My friends son came to stay with us from the middle of nowhere having never spent time in any cities and these are some of the things we did with him.

-Definitely take him on the tube in mental rush hour. You can always get off, so maybe plan a short journey but its an experience.

-Take him to places like Rainforest Cafe, Inamo, Benihana,

-Definitely see a show.

-Natural History Museum, Science Museum (Both in south ken/knightsbridge) and Tate Modern (which includes a walk along the Southbank and a look at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and London Aquarium).

-Harrods, Liberty, Selfridges, Hamleys and then Ice Cream in The Parlour at Fortnum & Mason. This would mean Oxford Street, Regents Street, Piccadilly and Knightsbridge.

-Covent Garden, to see the entertainers and have a mooch around. Walked down to Leicester Square (we planned it so a premiere was just starting and he thought that was really wow seeing all the slebs).

-The palace, watch the changing of the guard, houses of parliament/big ben etc (maybe do this on a red bus)

-Go into the city and see the Gherkin and now the Shard. Friends son was amazed at all the suits buzzing around. Also around St Pauls or Bank of England.

-Other places are speakers corner, the parks, maybe some of the more exotic markets (petticoat lane is just along from Spitalfields, give you a taste of 'true' London). I tend to think Madame Tussauds is a waste of time, London Dungeon is ok but he might get a bit scared. Trafalgar Square.

-Depending on when you go the Olympic Park might have opened.

You will have a brilliant time, and have all the advice you need here. The main tourist sights are all pretty walkable in a day, and then a day at the Science/Natural History museums (which are directly next to each other) the following day would make a great 2 day trip.

One other thing, on the tube escalators ... stand on the right!

oh yeah .... DO NOT waste your time at Madame Tussauds.

You lot are amazing! Can I hire a mumsnetter for the day?!