3 day break in London with 2 & 4 yr old - ideas please!

[TuTu]

Any suggestions for what to do for 3 days in London at end May, that will entertain my 2 & 4 yr old boys, but not leave then totally exhausted ! We will be staying in Bracknell and only plan so far is to spend one day in Legoland. we are hiring a car so can travel a bit.
Thanks

London Zoo is fab!

Book the rainforest cafe for lunch - they will love the scenery and moving 'animals'

We went in October with 2 and 4 yr old DS

They loved science museum, toy dept in hamleys, going on underground, going on double decker bus.

London Aquarium is quite good too and they will get to see the Eye too and the street entertainers down there are good too. Plus there is a play park for some time out.

Great! Have never been sightseeing in London myself , so dont have a clue what would be good for their ages.

I'd second VanillaPumpkin and recommend walking along the South Bank to pass some time; my DS loves that. You see Big Ben, London Eye, St Paul's, the Gherkin, Tate and various bridges, plus the Thames and loads more...all for free!

There's a good restaurant called Giraffe not too far from Waterloo on the South Bank - extremely child friendly.

Natural History Museum is brilliant, particularly if they're into dinosuars. You can get back to Westminster quite easily from there for a closer look at Big Ben.

PS - if you're staying in Bracknell and want something local to do, I hear that the Coral Reef place is good there (swimming pool with slides/wave machine etc) is fab.

Natural History Museum.

If the weather is nice, the Princess Diana Playground in Kensington Gardens - the Peter Pan one.

thanks again for all suggestions.....cant wait to go now!

Or go the other way down the M3 to Marwell Zoo.

Or stay in Bracknell and go to the Look Out Discovery Centre, great outdoor play centre, woodlands, great for a picnic (Coral Reef is opposite)

basement at science museum is beyond fabulous
we found natural history museum not hands on enough
transport museum? recently reopened

if you fancy a trip out of the centre, Discover in East London is fabulous

london eye? you need to book first

for being outside - how about kew garden or richmond park - you can get to those from the windsor riverside train station

or spend more time in windsor and eton - its lovely round there - boat trips at the weekend, a good swimming pool if weather is dire, castle etc

Now I wish we were there for longer.....so many things we could do. Thanks

TuTu - are you going to attempt to drive round within London, though?

Well Dh will be doing the driving and I dont even have to stress about reading map as he has a satellite navigation system (which has been secret to a happy marriage!). Is driving round London a nightmare though?

Oh no dont drive - nowhere to park in central London, where there is costs a fortune and Congestion Charge too.

Can you get off-peak rail fare in? Bracknell is in commuterland I think

If you want something a bit different and not heaving with other kids, you could try the London Museum of Firefighting. It is open by appointment only, Monday to Friday with tours at 10:30 and 2:00. It is within walking distance of the Millenium Bridge.

We went there last spring with 4 year old DS who is crazy about emergency services. It was great - a private tour around loads of antique fire engines with lots of cool information. They also have a lovely gift shop.

Here is the website:

www.london-fire.gov.uk/about_us/our_history/visit_our_museum.asp

dont drive that is bonkers - congestion charge/parking 20 quid a day - it would be far nicer to get the train/bus

If you're going into london by train, pick up a 2for1 leaflet at the station or download from www.daysoutguide.co.uk. You'll get 2 for one at London Aquarium and lots of other places. Look out for duck tours - a bus that goes onto the river, I'm sure your kids will love that!

went to transport museum with dd 3.5 and friend and her dn 3.0, they loved it , very interactive, in there FOR 3 HOURS!adults £8 kids free, lovely lunch aswell.

ok, sounds like will ditch the car for going into centre of London for day. thanks again for all tips.....Mumsnet always keeps me right!

def don't bother with the car - our DC liked the underground best out of the whole holiday!

There's no congenstion charge at w/e, but parking close to any attraction you might want to go to is certainly a nightmare. Except occasionally you can get spaces in sidestreets by the Natural History Museum. Also at w/e you can park ON waterloo Bridge, which is handy for any S Bank based attractions, alos Covent Gdn.

But if you have to go on a meter it could cost £3 per hour or more, in some places, and NCP car parks are also a nightmare cost-wise.

I parked in the M&S car park in the King's Rd last year - and it ended up costing £25 because I was there just over 3 hours! If you get a travelcard on public transport you won't have to pay for the kids.

And at w/e you have to be in town early to get a space. Don't ecxpect to wash up near the Natural History Museum at noon and find somewhere.

Also - traffic is very congested and if you are visiting a few places, you could end up sitting in traffic all day!

Oh yes don't drive! Train and tube it. Easy!