London advice please

[SpicyTinkle]

We're planning to fly from Edinburgh to London the first week of April with 3 of our DC (8, 12 and 15).

I was going to just book a Premier Inn, but wondered if anyone had any other recommendations, or even a suggestion of which Premier Inn is best? I don't want to use Airbnb as we've not used it before and I'd be nervous about something going wrong when we've got the kids with us.

Which attractions are must see/worth paying for? We are happy to walk/use public transport and are hoping for a mix of free and paid for days out.

If anyone could suggest the best airport to fly into too, that would be brilliant.

Thanks in advance.

Heathrow is the nearest, you can be in town in 15 mins on Heathrow express or 25 on Elizabeth line. You and dh can use contactless cards and 8 year old is free. Might need a kids travel card for 12 and 15 year olds. Look at trains too in terms of cost, it’s not that much longer once you factor in waiting at the airport.

I love Thames clipper to Greenwich then a mooch around the market and standing on the meridian in Greenwich park. Book sky garden as it’s free.

Theatre express might have some cheap theatre tickets, five dials market is fun for cheese conveyor belt and food stalls. Bistro 1 is cheap for food. I’d do at least one museum.

I agree regarding Heathrow. You can get the Piccadilly line into central London really easily too. I always do that rather than pay for the Heathrow express but either is good. I don’t know about hotels. Some in Victoria are cheap ish. Also Kensington. Airbnb are everywhere but I don’t know what the prices are compared to a hotel.

You can get flights into London City Airport with British airways which really will put you in Central London straight away .

It is primarily a business airport however so weekend flights are limited

All premier inns are identical but the south bank one is usually recommended on here. Look at kings cross if you get the train as it’s easy for bag on way home. Paddington if you’re going to Heathrow on the train or vaguely near the Piccadilly line if you tube it Heathrow. Gatwick is ok for London as is London city but stansted and Luton are a pain in the bum.

Premier inn County Hall is a good shout for location. It's on the river next to the London eye and opposite the river to Big Ben I haven't stayed there as I live less than a mile from there but you know what you are getting with premier inn. I love their mattresses.

Thanks so much everyone. Please keep the suggestions coming. We've never really done city breaks with the DC, so want to get it right.

Some Accor brand hotels offer interconnecting rooms and 50% the second room for families, like Novotel. Would be a good set up with 3 kids as they can all stay in one room and you in the other! Premier Inn you would need 2 rooms and it's hit and miss whether they'll be together, so not ideal.

Camden for the shopping and people - try walking from Kings Cross through Granary Square, then along Regents Canal to Camden Lock - you go past some cool places.
Covent Garden for the street theatre
South Bank - loads of stuff for that age - London Eye, Electric Gamebox, Tate Modern, the skateboarders, London Dungeons
Mine liked going on the Cable Car in East London and hanging out in Greenwich
Oxford Circus to see Carnaby Street, Apple Store, Microsoft, Nike Town

They might like some museums like Natural History / Science Museums / Wellcome but with kids that age I'd concentrate on hanging out in cool uniquely London places with shopping, people watching and food.

When I say shopping - I mean window shopping not £££! There are usually lots of interactive things / events going on at the flagship stores

Aquarium and the Eye are right next to each other and fab for younger children.

i would book the travellodge in covent garden...;perfect location and easy to see the sights

trafalgar square is fun as is tate modern which has a great free viewing gallery, cable car is fun but i would pay for the arcelormittalorbit.com/

get a boat along the thames, kids tend to enjoy that

I wouldn't waste my time flying. Unless one of the DC specifically wants to fly. By the time you arrive early at the airport for check in etc then actually fly, wait to get off the plane and out of the terminal and add the travel into London onto that you would be much faster going by train directly into London.

It's worth noting that while the trains from Heathrow can be fast they also only go to Paddington so you have an onward journey in central London. You can tube it - takes around an hour but the Piccadilly line will get you closer to the areas you want to be, so again by the time you make 2 journeys to get to Covent Garden or close by you probably just as well on the tube.

I agree book the travel lodge at Covent Garden, direct tube from Heathrow and you are bang in the centre of town. Natural history museum (again Piccadilly line) is great, and loads of nice restaurants. Go to soho and wander down carnaby street, eat at kingly court (white and brown is a nice relaxed place and pretty reasonable). Do book restaurants, you can get walk ins but easier to have something booked. Also great to get the Thames Clipper as mentioned. If you stay in Covent Garden you can walk most places which saves travel fares. If you want public loos they are few and far between (the ones in the tube stations you pay for and they are grim or closed) so you want department stores (Fortnums, Liberty etc). If you go to Harrods be prepared to be lost in there for quite some time (at least I find it hard to navigate).

Why fly when you can get the train OP? So much easier, more relaxed and you arrive bang into the centre of town.

@KeirStarmerisMarkDarcy

Why fly when you can get the train OP? So much easier, more relaxed and you arrive bang into the centre of town.

If it's anything like when we had to get from Luton to Glasgow and back, the train tickets would have cost nearly four times as much as the flights. We flew.

You can get lots of cheap tickets on the east coast by booking in advance. LNER have many options and price variations. Lumo is a new operator offering low seats too

Agree SkyGarden is good, free, great views! Also recommend Museum of London www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london - also free and plenty of interest. Walking the South Bank never disappoints, especially on a weekend when there is a lot of street entertainment and lots to see - start at Houses of Parliament, cross over Westminster Bridge, walk along via London Eye, Shakespeare's Globe (can be an interesting tour), Tate Modern, lunch at Borough Market, cross Millennium bridge, walk to the Tower, hop on DLR to Greenwich... lots to fill just one day right there! Have a great time.

If you can't get into the Sky Garden (which can be very crowded), just nip round the corner to 120 Fenchurch St. It’s not quite as high but also has a garden, it’s free and the views are equally great.

Thanks everyone.

I've booked flights to Heathrow (train was £££ more) and am looking at Premier Inn now (we've had bad experiences at Travelodge).

Thinking about the Paddington (Paddington Basin) one. Any thoughts? The County Hall one is sold out.

If you’re at Paddington there isn’t much to do and parts of it are a bit grim. It’s nice to wander to little Venice and by the canal but seriously you’re better in the travel lodge at Covent Garden (I now live in London but have stayed there when I didn’t). The nice parts of Paddington are expensive.