Aibu to think that we can do all of this in one day out in London?

[danishkids]

We are going to visit London soo and there as soo many great things to do. Ideally we only want to use one full day. The rest of the time we will be in a city close by.

Aibu to think that we can visit the natural history museum, the science museum, do the London eye and walk around for some sight seeing in one day?

We are a family of 5 with a 9, 8 and 6 year old.

Or do you have a better recommendation of how we could use our time in London city? Or should we stretch it too 2 days?

Personally I think that’s quite ambitious.. will be a whisky stop tour of the museums. we took a day in the natural history museum and half a day in the science museum with two 10 year olds.
I would stretch it over two days.

It’s going to be a stretch with kids that age, just because of the amount of walking. It is possible though. A morning at one Mis and the afternoon at another and the london eye late afternoon (not sure what time it closes).
Have a look at the museum websites snd decide what you are going to see before you go.

No chance. You can easily spend a full day in either of the museums.

You could do all of that in a day, but I’m not sure why you would given youd miss loads of stuff and would be totally hurried

I’d extend the stay to 2 days and spread it out a bit

I recently did 3 hours at the natural history museum with my 9yo and that was enough for her. But I’ve been there loads and knew what would interest her.

You could do the natural history museum in the morning, go somewhere nice for lunch, and have a nice walk before going on the london eye later afternoon.

I wouldnt try to do another museum too that will be too much in one day

The science museum has loads of interactive stuff for kids, this is a whole day out for us

I could but I'm not one for loitering unnecessarily. I'd get rid of the Eye though, it's very boring and if the weather is crap, even more boring than that.

Too ambitious.

I could do both museums in one day but I've done then both before.

At the ages your children are, a walk and 1 museum was enough (and pretty tiring). I'd go with pps suggestion of the Eye and just museum.

You won't be able to do it at a pace that is enjoyable.

It's possible to go to all those places in a day, but you'd be running through them rather than actually enjoying your time there.

I'd do NHM in the morning, lunch and then sightseeing via bus or boat in the afternoon. Science museum is fine, but NHM is better. London Eye has long queues and isn't really that exciting for kids. NHM is a lot of walking so do your sightseeing sat down (boat or bus). The Diana playground in Kensington Gardens is fab for a run around at lunch time too.

That would work fine for my DS(7) - he would do the dinosaurs and a walk around the NH museum, then an hour in the Science Museum would be enough for him. So if your walking/sightseeing was Trafalgar Square, down the mall to Buckingham Palace, then along to Westminster Bridge (passing the HoP), that brings you to the London Eye.

If you can stretch to two days that would be better obviously, but my DS definitely wouldn't spend a whole day in any museum. Staying on the move works best!

I wouldn't try and do all that in a day. Pick one of the museums and be quite selective about which bits you go to then have a nice lunch and head to the south bank in the afternoon for the eye

Def two days or you’ll be dashing about which isn’t ideal with kids that age.

No. We took 2x 6yo on Saturday, got there just after 9.30, did the Science Museum, London Eye, played at a park, had some dinner and then it was 5pm. You'll need another day. The Science museum is fab, could easily have spent most of the day in there.

Personally I think its a bit ambitious, especially for kids that age. You could get one museum done, lunch and a go on the London Eye for example but what you want to do will be very tiring for the kids.
Id split it over 2 days or if not possible, pick one of the museums (id say science museum for kids that age) and do something different in the afternoon.
The queue for the london eye alone can be pretty long if you dont book in advnace.
Hope you have a lovely day whatever you end up doing!

Not a chance but wishful thinking 🤣

We live in Central London, so trust me when I say your plan sounds great but unfortunately you can’t fit all that into 1 day, it’s just not possible.

That's far too much to do in a day, you'd get very little out of the museums because of time constraints. Definitely do two days.

I'd do two formal things max in a day and have a wander around the rest of the time, or even one thing and and walk. There's a lot to take in.

Mine really loved the Diana Memorial Fountain and we spent well over an hour at it. The street artists can be very entertaining.

There was a thread recently on someone looking for budget places to eat and drink in London, it might be worth you searching for if cost is a factor in not turning it into a 2 day trip?

You could do both museums in the morning as they are next to each other but you wouldn't be able to look at everything very closely - more like a brisk walk around the exhibits. I would go to Wonderlab at the top of Science museum which costs around £10 each and has lots of interactive things to do. Allow at least 2 hours each museum.
I don't know if you have been to London before but a bus ride for sightseeing is a good idea and will save your feet. London Eye needs booking beforehand - use Lottery tickets to get cheaper tickets to the Eye. May need to cancel Eye depending on weather. You can walk from the Eye across the river towards Westminster and take nice photos on the bridge. Finish up around Leicester Square to visit M&M world and Lego shop and maybe Chinese in Chinatown for dinner just around the corner.

An uber boat ride is much more fun than the London eye and you see a lot

I think that will be doable if you accept you can't see everything in the museums and just pick some highlights. Look up in advance what you plan to see. For the natural history museum, get there as soon as it opens to see the dinosaurs and then pick no more than one or two other galleries. The Science Museum is close by. I would take a picnic or get lunch from one of the museum cafes. The Wonderlab in the Science museum is good but you need to book a session.

Then I would get on one of the sightseeing buses to travel to Westminster. From South Kensington you should be able to see Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament etc. Then go on the London Eye early evening.

Pick one or other museum, they’re both huge and you won’t even get round of half of one in a day!

But 1 museum, tube to embankment maybe go see Trafalgar Square if it’s a good day then walk over to the Eye, and along South Bank after. Loads to see along south bank between Westminister Bridge and Blackfriars/London Bridge.
I’d find some way to make the Eye cheaper - you can use Tesco Vouchers. It’s Extortionate without some kind of discount !

You need a couple of visits to fully appreciate the Natural History Museum alone.

If you do one of those bus tours of the key sights you can save some time, instead of trying to do it on foot. But like others have said, your plan to do everything in one day is overly ambitious, particularly with young children. Have you been to the museums before? They’re all pretty big and often there are long queues to get in to the Natural History and Science Museums on busy days.

I'm sure that you used to be able to get 2 for 1 on the Eye if you travel on by train. You can look it up on line.

@Dogscanteatonions

An uber boat ride is much more fun than the London eye and you see a lot

Yes I agree or there is a company called Go Boat were you can drive the boat yourself and they go from different locations and it’s reasonably priced and great fun.

In my opinion the London Eye isn’t all that to be honest and a bit pricey but if you get the discount codes in advance then I suppose it’s not that bad.