Going to London with 5 year old daughter

[Belle82]

On Thursday I am taking my little girl to London for the day.

I had a baby 8 months ago and so she hasn’t had much 1:1 attention so I have tried to spend one day a week where it’s just me and her.

I have a couple of things planned, a short theatre show & natural history museum (just for the dinosaurs)
is there anything else I could do with her?

hop on / hop off bus tour (but stay on)?
afternoon tea (there are some kids versions) - too young?

I haven’t been to London in so long I’ve forgotten what’s there?

Same reason mine hates the Tube @BryceQuinlanTheFirst

They love Uber as they can track it on the app.

My son is obsessed with black cabs, it's the highlight for him lol, he likes the sky lights they have.

OP I think what you have planned sounds like plenty.

There is Milk Train in Covent Garden which serves ice cream on a cloud of candy floss. Could go to the newly refurbished Lego store in Leicester Square. But I’d save afternoon tea or another museum for another visit.

Your list is quite good so far.

A cheap thing to add would be Chrystal Palace Park especially the dinosaurs

Pricey but fabulous are the London Aquarium and tickets for Frozen the musical (which is amazing!!!)

If you do the hop on hop off bus get the one that includes boat tickets - that is great

As a Londoner, I agree that two activities will be more than enough. A day out in central is exhausting even for me, and transport/walking will eat up a lot of your time and energy. I'm always having to come to the rescue when my small town friends over-plan for a day out and end up tired and overwhelmed.

Plan for rest stops and ALWAYS avoid rush hours on the tube. You'll have a great time!

We recently did the Horrible Histories boat cruise. Would thoroughly recommend

Hamleys would be a must for me .I lived in London as a child ,fond memories of being taken there by DP, and getting a deckchair for my dolly! Liberty is also a lovely shop , I remember loving the beautiful wooden staircase and carvings.All wood sourced from Ships apparently.

Wonderlab at science museum is for 7+

Nothing wrong with using cabs , it’s part of the fun of London especially for people like me who get sick on the tube , if you’ve got the budget go for it .

At the Natural History Museum- make sure you go to the basement!! It has a whole "child-friendly" room where children can touch everything and do activities. It was my daughter's favourite part of the museum

Hamleys used to be my daughter's favourite store 🙈

Or the toy section at Harrods is also great

For your DD and particularly if its hot the Princess Diana Park is amazing. There is a cafe there but there can be a queue to get in so we would get lunch and eat it in the line. We did once walk from the NHM and Im not sure if I went the wrong way but it was a trek, there is a tube station nearby though. Take a costume for her to change into if you go as there is some waterplay too.

In fact when we used to go into London in the summer Id take a small town, DDs swimsuit and a pair of jellys so that she could safely run through the fountains and cool off.

Remember children often remember and love the simple things, one of my DDs best memories is feeding the ducks at St James Park and also in the NHM she spent ages and ages looking at the rocks upstairs, much longer than she spent looking at the dinosaur fossil downstairs.

Oh and when you go to the theatre, if your dd is wearing a skirt/dress/shorts bring something you can lay over the seat. We regularly go to the theatre and DDs behaviour had always been perfect until one evening we went to see Wicked and she just would not stop moving and knocking the person in front of her which was totally out of character. It turned out that the seat material was really itchy and scratching at her legs.

Do be aware of distances! Some of the things people are suggesting - I'm sure they're lovely - but Bethnal Green, Crystal Palace etc. are literally the other side of town from South Ken. It would take you ages to get from A to B and you'd be frazzled by the time you did!

Hamleys is fun, but it will be busy. One thing that might be fun to do is to walk up from the NHM to Prince Consort Road and see the Albert Hall (it looks like a big cake!) and Albert Memorial. Both the Royal College of Music and the Royal College of Art have reasonably priced cafes which are open to the public and nice to sit in. Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park is also right there, and you can pick up a cab from Kensington Gore to get to the West End (it will be much quicker and cheaper than getting a cab from South Ken/Exhibition Road).

That sounds fine. Covent Garden do have some Disney event on with Disney costumes etc on display and opportunities for photos.

Bethnal Green toy museum is currently closed as it is being refurbished, I can't remember when it is due to reopen but details are on the V and A website.

Get to the museums (Science, V and A and Natural History) as close to opening at 10am as possible to avoid the queues. I was volunteering outside directing tourists this Summer and by lunchtime queues were forming outside and by early afternoon the queues were huge. Harrods is 10 minute walk from them, or 10 minutes in a different direction would get you to Hyde Park and the Princess Diana fountain.

Red Buses are a cheap way of travelling and you can see the sights from them, I think numbers 8 and 11 are good sight seeing buses, but don't plan too much and take lots of breaks.

This thread should be renamed “how to tell people I am not a Londoner without saying “I am not a Londoner”.

Harrods toy dept is far nicer than Hamleys, and is a reasonable walk from the NHM. Easy tube ride from there to Cov Garden too.

Crystal Palace park is over an hour away from the NHM @MajorCarolDanvers. it’s also an average, albeit pretty, park in Zone 4 - certainly not something to traipse over to for your one day out in London!

Yes I know. Many things in London are a distance from each other.

My children both loved it and we found it well worth the visit - especially the incorrect dinosaurs.

And not everybody wants to (can) pay the ridiculous prices charged in London for many attractions.

If she likes sugar, try The Knot Churros afternoon tea. Tiny place about 5 mins from the NHM, but a Palace of pink and flowers and sugary things that my 5 year old loved.

I took my son to London when he was 5. We went up.in the london eye, Hamleys toyshop, climbed on the lions in Trafalgar Square and saw the Lion King.

Not sure if anyone else has mentioned it but check if you need to "book" free tickets to any of the museums in advance. They get busy during the school holidays and some relatives got caught out this week.

I have a nearly 5 year old and we live in London. London is pretty tiring. She likes the science museum and the National History Museum. She also loves the playground at Hyde Park and the memorial fountain (not too far away from the museums but perhaps get a cab if you can afford). Food options aren't great round there - you'll find things but you may enjoy some takeaway bits from M&S more! The museums have picnic areas and of course the park is great for picnics.

Other good places:
Tate Modern has a cool installation at the moment in the Turbine Hall where you stick coloured dots all over a white room. Kids love it. Walk along the Southbank to get there, plenty to see and do along the way.

National Maritime Museum in Greenwich is good - get the boat there and also a great playground nearby. But it's quite far from central.

The Transport Museum (not free)

Green Park - nice birdlife and a small playground

London Eye might be fun if you can get some kind of deal on the tickets, or the Tower Bridge experience.

Princess Diana Park
Coram's Fields (park only for children and those with them . . Nice little collection of farm animals as well
Greenwich Park (Lovely big playpark and sandpit . Boats to Hire . Deer and Ducks in the top part of the Park)