Tips for London with 8yr old dd. we want to go and do touristy things, but not sure what/where

[lizandlulu]

Just that really. We want to go for 1 night in the Easter hols. We will be going by train, arriving around 10.30 am. She wants to see the crown jewels and Buckingham palace, but other than that, Im not sure. Maybe the science museum. Probably harrods

I was just hoping to hear other people's thoughts about what they did, the order they did it.

Also, nice, cheap ish hotel to stay in close to all these things?

Any help is muchly appreciated.

We stayed in the Travelodge in Covent garden , which was handy for the theatre and shopping .
Also did Buckingham Palace and Westfield shopping centre .
Another time we stayed at the Travelodge at Kings cross
We loved London Zoo , takes the whole day though but it was lovely

If the weather is good, a lovely day out would be Kensington Palace, lunch or tea in teh orangery there and a walk through the park to the amazing Diana memorial playground. If you have any energy left after all that, Westfield is a short hop away and the cinema there is very good. Even better - Portobello road market on a Saturday morning and then on to Kensington. It's also near the science museum so could combine with that.

If you want to see the Crown Jewels I really a recommend you book your tickets for the Tower of London ahead of time as the queues can be enormous, particularly in school holidays.
Science museum can take all day. Fine if you want to spend a whole day there (and why not!) but if not, recommend you do a bit of research beforehand about what you'd like to see. The Launch Pad is a great interactive hands on thingy for children and is totally brill but can get mobbed. If you get to the museum for it opening at 10 and head straight there you'll get a good go before it gets super busy. Other great bits of the science museum for 8 year olds is the secret life of the home (in the basement) and I think the section called In Future which is in the welcome wing.
Which station are you coming in to? I would recommend a travelodge or similar near a station (Kings Cross is near us and is well served by chain hotels)

Sounds fun! Well she's got quite a list going already, all those things are quite spread out so you don't want to knacker yourselves out doing too much.

For the Crown Jewels you'll be at Tower of London which is a good 4 hour stint. The beefeater tours are well worth it and the guys who do them are always amazing. Whilst there, it's cool to go up tower bridge too, you get a great view from the top walkways

I recently took my niece who's 6 into London for her first "visit" (to the touristy stuff). We took one if the duck boat tours which the kids all loved, great way to see the main sights of the city with excitement of splashing into water

Lunch at rainforest cafe is good for a bit of fun. Not that much more expensive than anything else in the centre of touristville but great service and pretty reasonable food

There are some good sushi 'train' type restaurants near the science museum which could be novel

Hotels wise, not that sure as I live here, although I think there's some reasonable options around the strand which leaves you pretty central. Or alternatively anything more towards the city is a bit cheaper at the weekend although a bit dead. St. Paul's way wouldn't be too bad though

Have fun planning!

I would definitely recommend the duck tour. Also, have you thought of Hamleys? My kids love just walking round and I would give them some money to spend plus as notepad so they can start their Xmas lists... Its not cheap but it is child heaven! Another idea is the mummies at the British Museum. Enjoy!

I took my 8 year old last year and we did a hop on off bus tour and the duck tours, we both loved it

You know that Buckingham palace isn't open to the public then? What about the London eye? I am being badgered to go there by 8yo ds. South bank is also worth a wander.

Another fab thing is to climb up the Monument. Great view from up there and your dc will get a certificate proving they climbed up

Are the beefeaters at the tower of London? I think that may be the proirity.

We are coming into kings cross. I am liking the sound of a travel lodge.

We won't do Westfield as we already do a lot of shopping and can do that anywhere, so won't interest her much.

It sounds like I need to be booking the tour for tower of London for the first day if poss. Then probably go on a open top bus.

Maybe fit harrods in there if we can.

Harrods doesn't open till 11 does it? The days half over by then! Or is hat just Sundays? I think I have only ever been on a Sunday.

So on the second day, go to the science museum, or harrods first if it opens early enough, then on to the museum.

I have only ever been on the tube once. But hoping to master it!

No 12 bus passes lots of sights for a fraction of the price of a tour bus

From Charing Cross you can get the number 9 bus to the Albert Hall. About one in 4 of these is the old routemaster bus. From the Alexandra Gate in Hyde Park you can walk down Exhibition Road to the museums though I recommend the V&A as the lunch room is magnificent (though pricey) and the jewellery collection might match well with a trip to the crown jewels. There is also rarely a queue for the V&A which makes it a good place to hang out waiting for the queues for the Science museum to go down (around 2:30 - 3pm usually).

The Princess Di playground is fantastic if the weather is fine though, again, get in early because they limit the number of people who can go in and a queue can build up around lunch time.

Don't underestimate the Southbank for children. Normally there are things going on and street performers near the London eye. The guy who blows giant bubbles is a particular favourite.