Top attraction in London for 3 yr old?

[Tangle]

Any suggestions? I'm guessing we're going to have about 5 hours incl. lunch.

At the moment I've got the Natural History Museum at the top of the list, as I think she'll quite enjoy it - not sure whether a lot of the real touristy stuff (St Paul's, Westiminster, etc) will do much for her at the moment. If there are other things that are good for that kind of age it would be really good to know, though

(Also, has anyone been to the Butterfly Explorers exhibit? Worth doing?)

Take her to feed the pigeons.

Trafalgar Square was up there as well. Think she'd rather chase the pigeons than feed them, though! One of the Parks is another possible, but parks are easy to come by at home. Also trying to come up with indoors options as they're forecasting rain at the moment.

(Isn't pigeon feeding frowned upon these days?)

Tangle, just been to the NHM with my 4-year-old and 6-year-old and they both loved it, although it's absolutely heaving at this time of year.

The Butterfly Explorers is really nice, they have some amazing ones in there and the kids get a little passport to stamp as they go round. It's a bit pricey for the 15 minutes or so you're in there, but you won't have to pay for your DD. If you decide to go, do the butterfly thing first and keep your ticket, as you can then skip to the front of the queue to get into the museum itself (otherwise it's miles long...).

Best things inside for little ones are the dinosaurs and the gallery with the blue whale - you have to queue for the dinosaurs too (no charge for them), although we were there before midday and didn't have long to wait - later on as we were leaving it was about 45mins to an hour .

You can take lunch with you and eat in the picnic zone, otherwise they have a nice (newish?) Deli Cafe in the Darwin Centre which was far more civilised than the main cafe in the entrance hall.

Other things the DC have enjoyed were Trafalgar Square (where you can feed those pigeons!), which tends to have lots of interesting stuff going on during the hols - last time I went there were 'giants' on stilts and strange creatures going round scaring the life out of all the kids .

The South Bank always has loads of things going on too, and is nice for a traffic-free stroll, down to the Tate Modern or Tower Bridge?

London Aquarium - were about to start a refurb last time we were there so check what's open.

Boat trip is fun from Westminster or Waterloo Pier down to the Tower of London or Greenwich (great for a picnic/ice cream and amazing views from the Observatory hill).

Other things I've fancied doing but not got round to yet (and cost a good deal more than any of the above) are the London Eye, the Duck Tour, or the open-top bus tour; will probably wait til they're a bit older for these.

Do what you want to do, that is also something a 3yo would enjoy.

South bank, wandering over bridges, wagamamas, the aquarium is good if it rains.

The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Playground in Hyde Park - NOT the fountain, the playground. It's amazing and absolutely free. Take a swimsuit/change of clothes as there's some tempting water play features.

The London Transport Museum in Covent Garden, truly wonderful, interactive and loads to appeal to a 3-year-old.

I'd skip the NHM right now - it's so crowded it's unpleasant. Also, those dinosaurs can freak out a 3-year-old (T-Rex was closed for a refurb a couple weeks ago when we last went, anyway.)

Science Museum is fun for children as there are lots of hands on exhibits with buttons and levers to push and pull. It's just behind the NHM.

If you're looking for somewhere a bit different to have lunch then The Rainforest Cafe would be a good choice.

London Zoo is another option but probably wouldn't be hugely fun if it rains.

Coram Fields -- free, fabulous and you could easily spend all day there, take a picnic or get lunch at the cafe.

Ride on the tube and a trip on the river, see Big Ben and London Bridge. Don't need to do anything else imo.

Walk across Millenium Bridge (slowly) to watch boats and trains and people, to Tate Modern. Lunch at Smith's to beforehand. (Ds2's favourite way to spend a day in London).

Maze in Trafalgar Square?

Fwiw, my dcs hated the Diana playground. It was horrifically busy and there wasn't really room to do anything (and they got panicked when they couldn't see us in the crowds of parents). It is fabulous though and must be great in its quieter moments.

Great - thanks for all the ideas

She is quite keen on the idea of dinosaurs (although this morning it became apparent that she thinks dinosaurs are about 3" long, and are just a different animal that lives in a museum rather than a zoo... - we had a quick conversation about things like rocks, bones and geological time scales. Although not size )

I think we'll just aim to get on a train and then take it as it comes. I've printed out some bus routes and will get a travel card so hopefully we'll have fun wherever we end up

The zoo.It is fab.Used to go several times a week when I lived in London and dd (who was nearly 3 when we moved away) never tired of it.Coram's fields is good to just hang out in (its right by great Ormond st hosp)and my dd did like the aquarium,but the zoo won out.

I'm reluctant to go to the zoo (although I'm sure she'd love it) as we're near a large zoo and have a season ticket for it. I know they're all different, but seems a shame not to do something completely different...

There's the changing of the guard (best at St James's Palace as there's no fence and it's a little less crowded) and then a picnic in St James's Park (and feed the ducks) - there's also a cute little playground there. You can then walk up to Horse Guards Parade and Trafalgar Square and then up to Covent Garden where there's all the street theatre (and the Disney Store!). Somerset House is also nice (especially if it's hot and she can play in the fountains) and in the vicinity as is Coram's Fields.

Natural History Museum is fun, and free so no worries if your DD gets bored as you haven't wasted any money.

I dragged DS around the outside of the Houses of Parliment too (he was sort of interested) then we wandered up whitehall, past Downing Street and Horseguards Parade (photo op!) then a walk around Trafalger Square and a few mins in the National Gallery for a wee and a look at the pictures.

There was a lovely allotment in St James Park last year and we had our lunch in there. Not sure if it's still there this year.

I took an executive decision and scrapped the NHM plan - kind of disappointed but we wouldn't have got there till lunchtime, by which time she was hungry and I didn't want to find out how long the queues would be. Try that one again in September :)

Instead we walked down to the London Eye Pier and got on the Clipper to the Tower, looking at boats and bridges and buildings on the way. Walked around the outside of the Tower and talked about how it had been a palace, a prison and a big safe. Got on a bus back to Trafalgar Square, where she wanted to go swimming in the fountains and/or sit on the lions. Met up with DH hiding under Admiralty Arch and started walking towards St Jame's Park, pausing to lurk under trees while it rained as DH hadn't taken a coat . DD took us for a walk around the park, and was fascinated by the friendly wildlife (at home we tend to treat squirrels as pests - they certainly don't eat out of your hand!) Walked down to the Palace and looked at the guards, although it wasn't guard changing day. Then back through the park to Westminster where she got on another bus with DH to go back home and I headed off to meet DSis for a spot of girlie time out :o

All in all she seemed to have a good time, and her favourite thing was, apparently, the boat and looking at the buildings :)

Sitting on the top of a double decker bus is always a fave with ours