A day in London with 6 and 7 year old boys - what not to miss?

[YellowDinosaur]

The thread title says it all really...

We'll be in London for a day between Christmas and new year. We'll be coming in on the train from Hertfordshire. First stop, which will be non negotiable for both boys and Dad, is the arsenal stadium. We'll also probably head to Buckingham palace for the changing of the guard at 11.30. We're quite happy to spend all day and head back late but want to make the best use of our time without rushing too much.

Any suggestions? Both boys are mad on star wars, football and Lego if that helps!

science museum, but it will be heaving. Natural History museum, too.

The park next to Buck'm palace (sorry, I forget name) has great play areas for kids. You might not get any further.

natural history museum is amazing but get there early or pre book if you don't want to queue for hours for the dinosaurs.

Why don't you think about an open top tour. Its fun for the kids and you get to see all the main sights.

Thanks ladies tips much appreciated!

Clipper boat up the Thames is a good way to see stuff, and not too cold.

they do a harry potter London bus tour if they've done harry potter books/films (although they might not have at that age)

Take nuts to feed the squirrels in St. James's Park by Buckingham palace. Hard not to enjoy squirrels eating from your hand.

You can only fit so much into one day and Arsenal will take up a bit.

Rainforest Café near Piccadilly is amaaazing but a bit pricey.

All the ice rinks will still be open too I think? Natural History Museum has one, as does Somerset House and there's one in Hyde Park.

Booking in advance (for either/both) is probably a good idea!

They might enjoy climbing up the monument - get good views from the top, is lots of steps so may tire them out if they have excess energy and they will get a certificate at the end too

Thanks again! Especially liking the nuts to feed squirrels tip - they'll love that

Most junior schools do a bit about the Great Fire of London so going to Pudding Lane and climbing the Monument is probably a good plan - good view from the top and a LOT cheaper than the London eye. When we went we did a lot of walking, and saw the outsides of all the places that you see when they show London on the news or at state occasions - dd (now 12) still says "Ooh, we went there!" when she sees things from about 4 yrs ago.

London eye always good

HMS Belfast at London Bridge. From there you will also have a great view of Tower Bridge, the Tower of London and can walk back along the river for 10 minutes to see Shakespeare's Globe, a fantastic view of St Pauls, you could walk over the Millennium Bridge to get closer to St Pauls if you wanted.

Take a boat down to the cable cars. Amazing view if the river and not many people know about it. It's little boy heaven! We have a route (from home) of the overground train to the DLR (kids can sit at the front and pretend to drive) them cable car across the river to the boat then we stop at the SouthBank on the way home.

The London Eye is good, my niece LOVED the 4D movie they show as part of the ticket price ( she reported it was the best thing we did her day out in London and we saw the Trooping of the Colour, so the royals and the red arrows, but they didn't beat the 4D experience). She also loved the tube. Walking past Parliament House ie across Westminster Bridge, was good as she had seen it on the news. She also loved the Imperial War Museum. I would suggest only one museum though, maybe let them pick? The museum shops usually have great little items for kids to buy to remember the day if they have a bit of pocket money. Finally, an alternative the open top bus is the London Duck Tour - the bus is a boat and drives into the Thames. Kids love that although it may be v cold on the water

Decide on one or two good things, and don't try to pack too much in.

Highlights of our recent trip - London Eye, Squirrels in St James' Park, Hamleys.

If you are short of time, I wouldn't bother with Science Museum. You will regret not having enough time to really enjoy it. We only spent a couple of hours there, and it wasn't nearly enough to see it all.