Going to london

[Slowies]

But worried about going to London with Husband and two teenage daughters. Husband and eldest want to go on the eye, me and the youngest are very scared. What can we do nearby?

Can you see a West End show whilst you're there? Back to the Future or Stranger Things are very popular with teens.

Seven Dials food court is great for a reasonably priced pre-theatre meal.

My kids love Camden and Covent Garden for shopping.

Museum of London Docklands is close to where you're staying and really good.

The V&A, Science Museum and Natural History Museum are all next to each other in Kensington - all really impressive and free entry.

Honestly London is nothing to be worried about - I live in the suburbs but have been taking my DC into the centre since they were babies.

I hadn’t realised it was tube strikes too. You get the 222 bus from Uxbridge station to West Drayton and you’re lucky that people catching the Elizabeth line from Heathrow get on a separate branch, because at least it won’t be full of their luggage!

You can use contactless cards on the bus & only need to tap when getting on.

A pp made an important point about public transport etiquette - make sure your kids know to stand on the right on the escalators at stations, or they’re likely to be asked to move out of someone’s way.

If you're staying in Canary Wharf I'd do a day near where you're staying. Museum of London Docklands, then go over to Greenwich Market, the Cutty Sark, Maritime Museum and have a walk through Greenwich Park up to the observatory. Have a walk by the river and maybe get a river boat. Loads to see, nice places to eat and drink and a bit more chilled than central London.

London's no busier? 😂Give or take an extra 8 million more people living in London than Manchester, Leeds or Newcastle.

They are not all in the same place at the same time! The eight million is the whole of Greater London, including all the suburbs, including all of Middlesex. Many people live and work and go to school in their suburbs and don't really think they live in London at all only go into Central London for days out or nights out.

A paper street map as well as an app is a good thing to have - you can spread it out and see where places are in relation to each other, and get an idea of the overall street layout of Central London. Get your kids to study it before you go.

The London Eye looks incredibly boring and I think you'd do well to avoid it if you're not desperate.
If you're visiting London for the first time you'll see a lot more on the buses which are clean, cheap and you can follow the route on Google maps so you'll know exactly where you're going. The underground is dirty, smelly,crushed but great if you want to get from a-b quickly. If you can't handle crowds avoid Covent Garden and Leicester Square tube. You can walk pretty much everywhere between Westminster, St Paul's, the strand and Covent Garden anyway.

I would suggest the Elizabeth line from CW to Tottenham court road that puts you in a fairly good staring position for exploring the central sights etc

As the London Eye doesn't take that long if it's a nice day I would just get a coffee in the royal festival hall and sit outside on the terrace people watching and watching the boats go by. Sometimes the nicest bits of London are about sitting back and watching what is going on.

Would also skip Madame Tussaud's. Lots of good museums you could go to instead, than maybe a show in the evening

Would also skip Madame Tussaud's. Lots of good museums you could go to instead,

And most of them are free!

The big museums are likely to be very busy as it will be school holidays. Best thing is to pick just one gallery to look at properly, rather than trying to see everything. Just the mummies or just the Sutton Hoo treasure at the BM, for example. And have a plan to meet up in the shop or cafe if you get separated, or want to look at different things.

A paper street map as well as an app is a good thing to have - you can spread it out and see where places are in relation to each other, and get an idea of the overall street layout of Central London. Get your kids to study it before you go.

Also, a lot of central London is perfectly doable on foot - look out for the big black & yellow maps all over the place, they’re very easy to read & hugely useful.

Just tagging you in this as I've heard that thr tube strikes have now been called off for Monday.

That makes my day a little easier now.

Hope you have a great time 😀

We live in the arse end of nowhere AKA rural north Scotland. We had a week in London this month, do it all the time and feel perfectly safe. Just the usual caveats of being mindful with valuables, and keep your kids close by to avoid being separated. Granted, my DD is a teen but we still made sure not to wander too far from each other. You'll be grand, OP. Wish we were still there as we had a fabulous time.

Perhaps this London guide may assist, to me looks pretty relevant🤔