Where to stay and what to do with two boys in London....

[NotInTheMood]

This will be their very first trip to London and they will be 7 and 4 years old. I would love to take them to a show I was thinking of The Lion King as i've seen it before and it was fantastic. But if anyone else can recommend something different but equally as great then please do although wouldn't mind seeing Lion again . The main thing is accommodation as its the four of us I would like somewhere that is family friendly and clean and fairly central and reasonably priced. I would appreciate any other suggestions that are not too expensive where we could take them during the day.

Stay in a travelodge/ travel inn place. you can spend hours on the web searching for a decent independent hotel and then find it isnt when you arrive. at least with these you know what you are getting. the free museums are ideal - Natural history and science with loads of hands on stuff so the little ones are kept occupied. we always love an open top bus trip and london zoo is not cheap but is a whole day out. went to the tower of london last time but the kids were older and enjoyed it. we also go to Ripleys and london dungeon but might be too much for a 4yr old. best tip - give each child a pad of paper and get them drawing or writing down fascinating facts keeps them occupied longer so you get more out of the day.

We recently stayed in the Novotel in Greenwich. Not dead central but v easy to get to and fro on the DLR. There are also more central ones.

Natural History Museum
Science Museum
Hunterian Museum for pickled things in jars and skeletons
British Museum for the mummies (and v close to Corams Fields too).
The Eye is expensive but worth it.
Walk down the South Bank and have a mooch in the Tate Modern.