I've never been to London

[Greatballs]

Hello!

Following on from another thread today about living in London I noticed lots of people very passionate about the place. That doesn't seem to happen with other towns or areas so I'm intrigued to find out for myself what all the fuss is about.

Where should we visit? What should we do? I know it's a big place but what would you recommend for first-timers?

Thanks

Greenwich is great. There's also a big park, with a great hill for the children to expend a bit of energy and for you all to have a picnic (if you so wish). There's a market in Greenwich and lots of small shops and cafes and the Cutty Sark. You can reach Greenwich by way of the under the Thames walkway (which is interesting historically, too) or by river. So it's a good destination to go to.

The Wellcome Institute, right in the centre of London (though I'd take a bus from Oxford Circus if I were you), is a great location for science geeks and you can look up on-line for any specialist exhibitions that are on. It's also half way - on the bus - between Oxford Circus and Camden Market (which are teenager shopping destinations).

The Wellcome is amazing! Second that suggestion! It is quite literally opposite Euston station and one building to the right.

If you go to the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum and V and A are hard-by. The V and A is beautiful.

Borough market for lunch if you’re a foody!

Yes to everything already said and definitely put greenwich on your list and also a long walk along the south bank - takingn in London Eye, Royal Festival Hall all the way past the Tate Modern, Shakespeare Globe theatre and to Borough Market. London is truly one of the best cities in the world.

Brilliant! Thank you so much for the tips. I'm excited now - feel a bit provincial like Paddington Bear

Also, the British Library is also near the Wellcome (it's between King's Cross and Euston). BL often has exhibitions and it has a nice architectural feature inside for the housing of the King's Library.

And as people often say, a trip to the top of the "Walkie Talkie" building is free, though you have to book in advance. The view is amazing (for a start, you can't see the Walkie Talkie but you can see the Shard).

You can play "Stealth Shard" as you travel around London - watching for it peeking out of the skyline.

Go to the Natural History Museum and check out the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition!

The river Thames is a must.
Dock lands Museum. 2 minitues from West India Quay. They have sailor town and the mudlarks Gallery which is ideal for your children’s age.
West India Quay is on the Docklands light railway. Absolutely brilliant, let them sit in the fron and it looks like they are driving the train.
Also on the DLR is the Emirates Air Line. A cable car which takes you over the Thames and sets you down at the amazing O2, loads of places to eat, really child friendly..

I would avoid Places life Trafalgar Square . They are so little,
all they will see is legs. Avoid the open top tourist but get a number 11 bus. Check out the route it will take you through all the places of Hisorical interest, from the Heart of the City, Buckingham Palace and as far as Chelsea if you want.

Children travel free on buses and trains. At underground stations, take them through the wide gate. Don’t try to squeeze them through the narrow ones as the will swing back and give you a clump. I have lived in London all my life. My 8 grandchildren have travelled all over London with me. People are so friendly and helpful. Use contactless as there is a maximum daily spend, so it is becomes really easy if you need to hop off a bus for wee or food.

The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich is fab if you love ships. It's free & very child-friendly, lots of interactive displays & a great play area for kids.

I think the Natural History and Science museums are well adapted to little kids enjoying them. They're massive so you'll need a day to visit them. The underground is generally ok outside of the rush hour when it's madness. Generally you'll find London 100x busier and bigger than the cities that you've listed.

But yes, living in London makes you feel like you're in the thick of it and you often bump into celebrities ;) DH and I loved living almost in central London in our 20's and early 30's but then the madness got too much and we moved to the burbs. These days, a day in central London makes my head spin but I do go in 1-2 times a week for the theatre, galleries, events etc.

Oh trust me once you've stood waiting for a few buses in this pissing down rain you will be doing the undergrounding. Fuck that shit when there's a perfectly good tube station every 10 yards. You can't get lost down there either, not really. If you get on the wrong one you just get off cross over and get on the opposite side to go back.

No one sane drives in London unless they have to.

If it hasn’t been mentioned. Take the Thames Clipper. It is a brilliant way to see London from the river.
www.thamesclippers.com/route-time-table/book-now

The Science museum has a little playground area in the basement and also on the launchpad floor. It's better for kids than the NHM i think. They dontegular kids shows too.

Plus you can walk from there to the princess Diana memorial playground which is awesome!

If you're into science & thinking of visiting the civilised part of London Greenwich, the Old Royal Observatory (& planetarium) are well worth a visit. The Cutty Sark would be brilliant for a 5 & 7yo - there's a stamp trail for children on the way round, they can try out various spaces onboard, and the collection of figureheads tends to fascinate. The Maritime Museum is good too (& has a fun children's gallery).

As PPs have mentioned, you can walk under the Thames at Greenwich; there's a Thames Clipper stop there (am pretty sure the tourist boats run down there too, but clippers are faster & cheaper); & you can pick up the DLR either side of the foot tunnels - if you sit at the front you can pretend to drive...

The park at Greenwich is beautiful - visiting the deer in the flower garden is one of my Brownies' favourite things when we're there. Even taking into account the fact there's a very nice playground... it is, of course, a huge park, so you need to be prepared for that!

Greenwich has lots of restaurants plus heaps of food stalls on the market at the weekend so there's plenty of choice of food available.

Oh & while talking about this corner of London, the Museum of London Docklands is great - less sciencey, but well worth visiting (& also has a brilliant children's gallery). It's on the way up towards Canary Wharf (think the DLR is South Quay).

Honestly, the tube with children the age of yours isn't awful - you're not trying (I'm assuming you'd have provided this kind of information...) to manage a pushchair & you have a hand available for each (you can walk sort of folded together). I don't know all the routes I take my Brownies on & we're from one of the tubeless bits of Inner London so they're not used to getting about by tube & we can't hang on to all of them. Being ready to move to the side while you check which exit you need from a platform & remembering to keep left in passageways & stand right on escalators is the key. There are lots of staff at stations who'll happily help you figure out your journey (though things are pretty clearly signed, I think). The TFL website's journey planner provides really detailed plans for you too - you can set it to just plan bus journeys if you really don't want to do the tube though.

Another vote for Greenwich Park and nearby Greenwich Market for a browse, and you can get the Clipper from or to there. There’s a lovely old sweetshop in there too. Also the cable car “air line” is a fun and cheap-ish activity.

(Sorry - sweetshop is in Greenwich Market, not in the Clipper.)

Thank you so much for the information. I'll definitely take your advice. Will definitely do Greenwich based activities and give the underground a go.

DH went to London years ago for a work thing but can't remember what it's like
I told him I've got insides knowledge now!

Great stuff; what a lovely bunch you are!

Insider not insides...

I'd go to the West End rather than Greenwich as Greenwich is East and there is much more variety and things to do in the West End as pps mentioned. Greenwich is lovely but not for the first time you visit London -- you want to see the famous sites.

I have a work colleague with a six year old and the Science Museum and Natural History Museum have given his child endless fun.

Definitely try and get on the clipper. Nice little ride up the Thames. Book big things in advance for discounts etc. And check street maps as well as tube ones, sometimes you'd be better off walking but it's not obvious as the tube maps aren't completely geographical. The sights you want to see would really depend what you're interested in - for example I found the natural history museum more interesting than the art galleries. Madame Tussaud's wasn't worth the cost or the insane queue.

I'd say just go to a theatre though I lived in London for a few years and generally hated going into central London for anything because of the crowds, but the theatre shows I went to were amazing. I never got the love for London. The theatres couldn't outweigh the things I didn't like!

Yy the river & clipper service, if you want to explore a bit further Kingston is on the river & Hampton court palace is well worth a visit.
It also has a fab adventure playground within the gardens.
Greenwich is also pretty accessible & as pp has the tunnel walkway & dlr is easy to navigate, so much to do & see you will need to come back again😄 yy the science museum & V&A & try to fit in a show.
Have a great time.

If you are going to Greenwich and you like Science, then the Thames Barrier is a must. Walk or boat, it is not far.

Don’t be intimidated by the underground. Staff are really helpful as are the passengers. You just have to ask if you are not sure of anything.

We found the lift out of order the other week. Suddenly 4 young men appeared from nowhere and lifted my friend and her wheelchair, up a huge flight of stairs. When we thanked them and said goodbye, they all went off in different directions. 4 random strangers all with kind hearts.