4 year old London day trip top tips

[FusionChefGeoff]

Hoping to take the train into the big city at half term - DH will be at work and wants us to the Natural History Museum and Science Museum as a family trip when he's a bit older so they're out for now.

We did the river, Big Ben and the Eye on a trip in the summer so where could I head for this time??

The museum of childhood in Bethnal Green is lovely and has a sandpit.

I took one of my daughters to the Zoo for her 4th birthday.

My 4yr old loves London zoo and the London aquarium but he is animal obsessed! The zoo isn't the easiest to get to on the tube but it's a lovely walk across Regents Park from Baker Street tube.

Museum of transport. My DD enjoyed a trip there at about the same age. It's in Covent garden which means you can also have a bit of a potter around there.

The Southbank has the image children's festival www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/festivals-series/imagine-childrens-festival on over half term. There are both free and ticketed events, you could combine that and the London aquarium as they're neighbours.

Brilliant ideas here thank you - anyone have any tricks to getting cheap entrance tickets for any of these??

London zoo is usually 2for1 with your train ticket, you need to pick up or print of a form here www.daysoutguide.co.uk/zsl-london-zoo

The website is worth having a look for other 2for1 offers, lots of places do it.

this website is also good for discounts and ideas for places to go

Museum of London is good, haven't done Transport but hear good things about it.

Our DC have loved the Tower Bridge Experience at that age, with the glass floors. Also Cutty Sark, and the maritime museum and planetarium at Greenwich.
The cable car between Royal Victoria and the O2 goes down well, as did climbing the London Monument and St Paul's cathedral.
The Museum of London Docklands is really good, I think better than Museum of London.
We were all underwhelmed by London Zoo.

Definitely look at the 2for1 with train tickets, for something like London Zoo you'd just pay for you and your 4 year old would be free if it's just the 2 of you.

Our previous trip to London was when the DC were 5 and 4, and we did many of the things listed so far - also the Princess of Wales memorial playground in Kensington Gardens is great for that age.

That website is brilliant thank you. I love Covent Garden so I think I'll go for the London Transport Museum this time - but this is a great thread now for inspiration. I'd like to get into the habit of taking him a few times a year so this should keep me going for a few years now!

We took DS to London for the first time when he was just 5. His absolute favourite thing was the statue people in Covent Garden (the gold/silver spray painted ones who move suddenly). That and the ice cream shop there. We spent longer looking at them than in the NHm!

Just be careful with the street performers at Covent Garden. When we were there a year ago there was one who was pretending to get in people's selfies and stole a phone and pretended to take a photo down his trousers.

3yr old DS went back into nursery telling all the staff he'd seen a man take a photo of his willy.

The tickets for the transport museum are valid for a year's entrance so hold on to them after your trip!