Calling all Londoners / london frequenters

[Allthegoodnamesarealreadytaken]

Sorry posting for traffic

all of you in the london know, if you had a weekend in london coming up, what would you do?

massive caveat, it’s with a 3 year old and a 11 month old.

we’re leaving tomorrow for london and staying 3 nights.

we’re definitely doing the natural history museum and going to the rainforest cafe (or whatever it’s called, I know the food is pants but dd went in Disney land and loves it )

what else would you do for your days out? Nothing too expensive. Think mme tuassards and dungeon would be too scary and sealife centres are a bit crap (we’ve got one near us anyway, seen one seen them all) Any recommendations for nice child friendly restaurants with decent enough food for adults?

Actually t seems the bit I know has squirrels is called the Flower Walk. You cross over from the Royal Albert Hall and it's on the left at some point.

I was at Cutty Sark for first time in ages (since I was a child) with 4 year old nephew.

Yes, it's good but you spend a lot of time rushing around after kids - not sure if it's more suitable for slightly older kids?

I wasn't specifically recommending the Cutty Sark as an attraction to buy tickets for - just saying it's there in Greenwich to gawp at whilst the OP visits the area, and no doubt children will be interested to see a pirate ship. The Maritime Museum Ahoy Gallery is the real draw, along with the park of course, and both are highly suitable for 0-3 year olds.

I live near Crystal Palace. It does have a petting zoo but check to see when it's open and you can visit. The dinosaurs are inaccurate but good to walk around and spot them, plus the old Crystal Palace.

Another park nearby I went at the weekend with my nephew and family is Brockwell Park - huge playpark there.

With children that small I’d not be too ambitious. Coram’s Fields would be lovely. A boat ride? Covent Garden or the South Bank are nice for street entertainment. Street food at the South Bank.

Science museum is excellent, lots of hands on stuff. You could do that and the Natural History museum one day, with the Diana Memorial park, then a boat ride and the South Bank another. Coram’s Fields is good if you come into Euston or Kings Cross, so you could have a couple of hours there before you get the train.

If your child likes taxidermied animals, I'd recommend the Horniman Museum at Dulwich - but only if you're travelling from south of the river (it can be a bit of a pain to get to unless you like bus journeys). It's likely to be less busy than central London museums at half term too.

Go to camden market & walk along the canal to London Zoo. I did this once with SIL when her kids were tiny, 6 & 3 I think & everyone enjoyed it.

Museum of childhood in Bethnal Green
There's a curiosities museum in Bethnal Green as well
Lots of good adventure playgrounds at the big parks
Thames river cruise
Kids love the sky ride thing emirates airline quite cheap and fun
Spiralfields market
Tourism stuff in city eg monument, Farringdon, Bank of England and royal exchange

Aquarium and London Eye, followed by a pizza afterwards (the Pizza express on tbt south van next to the globe theatre has amazing panoramic views of the river but there is a branch 5 minutes from the London Eye.

Science Museum. The exhibits are highly interactive and made into fun activities/games. For some peace and quiet if the weather is good enough, go to the outdoor cafe at the V&A for lunch. There is a large shallow pond in there and small children like going in it. Have spare dry clothes.

Most of London is half term next week so you should be ok. But London does tend to be busy busy all the time. Unless she is the worlds greatest walker I would recommend taking a buggy for the 3 year old - more for keeping her secure in the busy crowds. You know where she is if she is in a buggy.

Oh she loves vapianos and the bunny pizza! Great shout thank you!

If you are in Chiswick consider Kew Gardens. Children are free under 4 and adult tickets are cheaper if booked 48 hours in advance.

Walk over to Richmond Park and see deer.

Royal Hospital Chelsea grounds are beautiful.

Made In Italy also does bunny pizzas. There are a few branches around.

Battersea Power station is great, and because it only opened last week, they are doing loads of things there at the moment
It is a few mins away from Battersea Park which has a sweet children's zoo, and really really good playgrounds, so you can easily make a day of it around there

If you go that way and alight the DLR at Mudchute there's an urban farm there. DH and I used to go loads when we lived in that area even before we had kids!

You can also walk from there through Island Gardens and then through the tunnel under the river across to Greenwich, for some reason my daughter found that fascinating.

I think Mudchute Farm is closed at moment, not sure.

we did the foot tunnel a lot as kids - lots of space to run up and down!

Second Hamleys as well.I lived in London when a child, and remember vividly my parents buying me a deckchair for my dolly! Sitting outside with her when we got home! London zoo is good too .

It looks open from their website. I looked it up to check it's still there as we don't live nearby anymore.

Close to Chiswick is Kew Gardens - they have an amazing new playground, all set in a huge sandpit! Also a very child friendly cafe, not to mention the gardens you can run around in, ride a train etc
www.kew.org/kew-gardens/families

The diana memorial playpark is great

ah yes, it does look open. Another one in the London area is closed.

My nephew went to the Deen City Farm (Mitcham) last weekend and said he liked it.

Jurassic World Immersive Experience brilliant for dinosaur enthusiasts is on at Excel (you could combine it will the cable car in the same day). You could take the boat to North Greenwich and then cable car over to Excel. Then cable car back to North Greenwich.

Chiswick to Waterloo (Exit 4, Tenison Way) then take the 521 bus from Bus Stop H - it goes part-way across Waterloo Bridge but then enters a magic wormhole / tunnel (the Strand underpass) and emerges at Holborn, where you're near Covent Garden, Transport Museum, British Museum etc.

Several other buses do the identical route without the underpass, e.g. 59.

Echoing those who've suggested river trips. I'm a big fan of the Thames Clippers (and you can get snacks on board too).

CityMapper is a good free app to have on your phone as well, or you can also plan journeys via the web app https://citymapper.com/webapp

Nearer to Chiswick: London Wetlands is in Barnes https://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/london

Jo

I think I fancy trying all of these now too! 😆

It depends where you live, because lots of the things I enjoy doing with toddlers may well be available in a better version near you, e.g. I love a city farm, but they're not as good as some of the bigger children's farms in other areas of the country. Ditto Richmond Park - I love it, but there are country parks with deer in other areas which are about as interesting for young children. On the other hand, things like the Diana Memorial Playground IMO are vastly superior to non-London playgrounds.

I would definitely go to the Science Museum since you're on the same road already. The kids' area in the basement is great for water play (bring a change of clothes), although most of the main part of the museum would be too old for them. If the weather's not too bad, then wandering around the South Bank, including the Cutty Sark and Borough Market, is good, but with children that age I wouldn't stay too long. Same for walking along the Regents Canal - either the London Zoo end (with a run around in Regents Park, although IMO it's not the best park for kids) or around Hackney/Victoria Park, especially busy and lively on a Sunday. The only bit of the zoo you see from the canal is the wild dogs and the big birds, they're not particularly impressive or easy for young children to see but the walk is generally interesting, including Little Venice and Camden, which both usually have things going on at weekends, although if you want street entertainment then Covent Garden is the best bet.

One of my favourite restaurant chains is the Lebanese Maroush/Ranoush. They don't do a separate kids' menu but are very accommodating of children and have plenty of stuff they like, plus it's the sort of food that's easy to share, especially the mezze. A lot of the branches are closed at the moment but they still have a few open.

If you like Indian food, Masala Zone (they have a few branches) is a good compromise because they serve unspiced food for children but you don't have to get burger and chips, they can still try vaguely Indian food (e.g. korma). Dishoom is also popular, although I haven't tried their kids' menu. Café Murano, Angela Harnett's restaurant, has a good kids' menu (basic, but tasty) and is lovely for adults. There are loads of good afternoon tea places for kids, but yours are probably too young to appreciate it so I'd save your money and not bother.