7 hours in London with 3 year old

[HowAnnoying]

with a rather short attention span. Can I have your recommendations please, I'm thinking London Aquarium, Hamleys and maybe a boat trip?

What's your budget? Because you just spent the best part of £50, not including buying anything in Hamley's.

With lunch and tea about £60-70 for 2 adults and a kid. Should I skip the boat trip and go to a museum instead, they're free arn't they?

Hamleys was great for my kids 3 and 5 at the time. theres lots of hands on things to do and some cheap toys you can get so your dc can work out with something.my ds's also loved the undergroud. try the history museum, thats free and my boys loved the dinosaurs. they also liked buckingham palace and the big park to run around in!

Just walk along the river and stop at what grabs your attention Start at the Southbank by the Eye; lots of entertainers.Walk towards London Bridge direction. Carousel is £2 though so best avoided! Street entertainers. Park opposite eye. Lots os sculptures they lke climbing on. Appearing rooms fountains . Giant grass covered chair and sofa. Hays Galleria; sculpture thing and fountain by the pier. You can get down onto the waters edge by Gabriel's Wharf and the Oxo tower.Look at the Golden Hinde (too expensive to go onboard tho). More fountains by City Hall, and the outdoor theatre area to run around! Quick look at Tower Bridge, maybe walk across to the Tower of London.

I would stick to the South Bank, London Eye, little playground next to it, walk along the river and see the buskers, possibly get a boat a couple of stops - the commuter one is fun, really fast. The aquarium is there too

Would really recommend the Science Museum- there's an area in the basement called the garden, it's aimed at 3-6 years but my 2 year-old loves it.

The transport museum is also great if they're into buses etc, but it's £10 entry for adults whereas the science museum is free.

A lot of the london parks have good play areas as well- there's the Princess Diana playground in Hyde park (does get very busy in the summer though), there's a good playground in the south of Regents park near the station. Or there's Corams Field which is a park and play area just for those with children.

Princess of Wales memorial playground is good if it's not raining, but you may have to queue. Most of the best and cheapest suggestions involve playing in fountains (Somerset House is brilliant), but that only works if it's warm.
Walk along the South Bank and watch the buskers and the boats on the river.
The Tate to Tate boat is a good, and not too expensive, option, but any of the Thames Clipper journeys will be a fun way to get from one destination to another - no need to sign up for an actual guided tourist boat trip, a three year old will be just as thrilled with the boat trip itself.
If the Natural History Museum queue is too long then the basement of the Science Museum next door has a great area for toddlers, and s/he'd probably also like the models and Making of the Modern World.
Child will love Aquarium and/or London Eye, but there are probably cheaper options.

Natural History Museum.....dinosaurs exhibition......fab!

(Though the big moving one may freak her out.)

Plus loads of stuffed animals on 1st floor then the human life exhibition on 1st floor. Fab fab fab (and free).

And the Science Museum is next door.

Overall, I'd not try to do too much.

(or you could try the top deck of one of those double decker tourist buses).

how are you getting to london? you could save entry on a 2 for 1 deal with your tickets

www.daysoutguide.co.uk/

My £50 guestimate was for just you and dd - pile on the ££££ when it's another adult!

Lunch: sandwiches
Tea: cheapo McDonald's or fish and chips or pizza hut - you can worry about nutrition another day

If you want to do the Aquarium, I second walking along the South Bank. Yes, museums are free, and you can walk (20 mins? half hour?) from them up to the Princess of Wales playground in Ken Gardens (also free)

Thanks for all your ideas. We're getting the train into Paddington, think I might do Aquarium and walk along south bank, if weathers good. Do you think the London Eye will be too long for DS as he gets bored easily?

I will take him up again later in year to do the museums (am I right in thinking they are quite far from Aquarium)

Will check out that website too thanks.

London Eye good for 3 year olds - but queues can be long and you need to book tickets in advance, otherwise you stand a chance of not getting on at all. The 'flight' itself is about 30 minutes I think. And it is right next door to the Aquarium.

Yes, museums not near Aquarium - maybe about half an hour away by tube.

You can walk along the south bank to the Tate Modern - lots of activities (free!) for children. Free activity colouring books and other things on in holidays.

And sorry, for some reason I thought you had a dd! No idea why I thought that.

Oooh tate modern I can be all cultural an' all!

Thanks really looking forward to it now!

I think your plan sounds good - get a travel card for inside London, and the two-for-1 deal at the Aquarium using your national rail to Paddington, then walk down South bank. Can stop at the small playground by the London Eye if needed, then carry on past the street entertainers, and carousel, then you reach a Giraffe/Strada/Wagamama/Eat and Canteen is around the corner. Giraffe is probably best bet, you should be able to find a two-for-1 voucher online if you search, they do them all the time. Canteen is often quieter because it's not so visible.
It's quite a long walk (for young'uns) all the way down to Tate, that's why I'd have lunch after Aquarium etc, then if there's any chance of a nap you might get it in the buggy after that .
Depending on how you feel, there's a boat that runs from the Tate Modern back up the river to the Tate Britain (children under 5 free, discount for adults if you have a travelcard). Not really suggesting that you visit two museums but you could just as easily get to Tate Modern and realise that it's not going to work, boat to Tate Britain then the cafe/toilets there would be just as good.
You could take a bus from there back to Paddington, the 436 goes from Vauxhall Bridge Road to Paddington, via the back of Buckingham Palace and past Hyde Park up Park Lane. My DS loves buses, so this is pretty entertaining in itself and it's nice route, you can jump off if there's time and something strikes you.