London itinerary

[Anonymous]

Londoner here! Definitely Tower of London, the tours are very exciting, especially for that age range. I would skip Hamley's bc it seems scruffy and crowded to me and do the Selfridges toy floor instead. Thames boat to Greenwich to see the prime meridian and views over London. King's Cross for the redevelopment and restaurants, Nine Elms/Battersea, list goes on. Really depends on what you are into and where you are staying!

[Anonymous]

We were there a month ago, with a 9 and a 12 year old. We used golden tours ( $800 credit from Costco travel) and it was fine ( it would give you ideas where to visit, some tourist attractions open on certain on certain days of week or seasonally), except the hop on and off bus, due to protest it closed route, we end up using uber, tube and walk, but it was fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your kids are into Harry Potter, go to the Warner brothers studio and get tix well in advance of your trip! We took DD when she was 8, and she loved it.

+1 like months in advance. I waited until 2 weeks to give us some wiggle room for our itinerary, and it was all booked. Kids eventually went back, but as teens. My spouse is from the UK so we go back every couple of years.

Does anyone know if a paid tourist bus tour can get you in? That is the usual solution for "no tix online".

[Anonymous]

Greenwich

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your kids are into Harry Potter, go to the Warner brothers studio and get tix well in advance of your trip! We took DD when she was 8, and she loved it.

+1 like months in advance. I waited until 2 weeks to give us some wiggle room for our itinerary, and it was all booked. Kids eventually went back, but as teens. My spouse is from the UK so we go back every couple of years.

Does anyone know if a paid tourist bus tour can get you in? That is the usual solution for "no tix online".

No. They do a good job of limiting the number of tickets sold so it's not too crowded. I was surprised by how reasonable it was in peak summer. If there are no tickets available on the website, they are sold out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hamleys is a fantastic toy store and well worth a visit for kids those ages. Agree about the tower and the war rooms if your kids are into history. We just went with 10 & 12yos who were fascinated with both.
With season and neighborhood info we can narrow down a lot of other ideas.

Totally agree on Hamleys. Great toy store with staff doing demonstrations from different toys including arts and crafts and painting of nails with cute little stickers and nerf guns. Very fun store.

Agree on Tower of London and boat cruise on Thames. We went to Stonehenge during the evening sunset and inner circle tour with a tour company who also took us to Bath. Harrods and Selfridges are great department stores as well that my kids loved because there was so much to see in the food halls. My kids also loved afternoon tea. They thought it was so fancy with the tiered trays and little sandwiches, scones and desserts.

[Anonymous]

My ten-year-old loved tea here:
https://sketch.london

Can't recommend it highly enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hamleys is a fantastic toy store and well worth a visit for kids those ages. Agree about the tower and the war rooms if your kids are into history. We just went with 10 & 12yos who were fascinated with both.
With season and neighborhood info we can narrow down a lot of other ideas.

Totally agree on Hamleys. Great toy store with staff doing demonstrations from different toys including arts and crafts and painting of nails with cute little stickers and nerf guns. Very fun store.

Agree on Tower of London and boat cruise on Thames. We went to Stonehenge during the evening sunset and inner circle tour with a tour company who also took us to Bath. Harrods and Selfridges are great department stores as well that my kids loved because there was so much to see in the food halls. My kids also loved afternoon tea. They thought it was so fancy with the tiered trays and little sandwiches, scones and desserts.

How was the bolded? We're doing a tour like that in April with our eight year old.

[Anonymous]

Postal Museum - they have an old postal train you can ride underground which is basically a miniature Tube. Lots of fun with kids.

[Anonymous]

I highly recommend Victoria and Albert museum. My top picks are:

1. London Eye
2. Tower of London
3. Victoria and Albert Museum
4. British Museum
5. Harrod's and Selfridges
6. Lots of tea at Gail's and Paul's cafes'.

I am a tea drinker and I love the tea and pastry/sandwich options in London.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hamleys is a fantastic toy store and well worth a visit for kids those ages. Agree about the tower and the war rooms if your kids are into history. We just went with 10 & 12yos who were fascinated with both.
With season and neighborhood info we can narrow down a lot of other ideas.

Totally agree on Hamleys. Great toy store with staff doing demonstrations from different toys including arts and crafts and painting of nails with cute little stickers and nerf guns. Very fun store.

Agree on Tower of London and boat cruise on Thames. We went to Stonehenge during the evening sunset and inner circle tour with a tour company who also took us to Bath. Harrods and Selfridges are great department stores as well that my kids loved because there was so much to see in the food halls. My kids also loved afternoon tea. They thought it was so fancy with the tiered trays and little sandwiches, scones and desserts.

How was the bolded? We're doing a tour like that in April with our eight year old.

+1

I'd like to know also -- headed to England in October.

[Anonymous]

At that age/close to it, my daughter enjoyed:

- Boat down to Greenwich and the Maritime museum. We were there at half-term for the UK and they were running some great programs for kids; I don't know if that is only at half-term. And a visit to the Cutty Sark.
- London Transport Museum in Covent Garden
- Borough Market -- go hungry since it is mostly prepared foods these days
- afternoon tea on the Brigit's Bakery bus (although I would say the tea itself is so-so, if you are doing it primarily for tea, you might want a different plan)
- Hampton Court Palace - they had actors playing various Tudor VIPs and you would run into them/interact with them as you visited the palace and grounds. This might also be for half-term, though.
- Hackney City Farm combined with Columbia Road Flower Market on a Sunday morning
- Musicals in the West End
- Backstage tour at the National Theatre
- Daytrip to Cambridge with walk along the river to Grantchester and the Orchard Tea Room
- Science museum and Museum of Natural History
- Holland Park playground

[Anonymous]

I don't think SkyGarden has been mentioned. Highly recommend this free activity. You just need to register in advance. Great views of the city, unique space, etc. My kids loved it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always recommended the Tower of London as the attraction not to miss. With kids that age, you can give many of the other big ones a pass, like parliament and Big Ben. You can visit the horse parade grounds in lieu of the changing of the guard. I would set aside time for the kids to do London things that are not sightseeing necessarily - visiting the toy dept and food halls at harrods in Knightsbridge, walking through the princess Diana memorial fountain and playing at her playground in Kensington gardens, picking up food from m&s /waitrose/sainsbury/tesco and having a picnic in the park, walking around covent garden, attending a musical, eating at borough market, etc.

Battersea park has a cool ropes course for kids if they need more vigorous activity. Sadly, kidzania is closed - that was perfect for kids your age.

Agree with Tower of London, especially if you won't see any other castles on your trip. And do the Crown Jewels.

Harrods is cool but the toy department wasn't that unique 20 years ago compared to 30 years ago. It was going mass market then.

Princess Diana was a Boomer/Gen X phenomenon. Not sure that her statue is a big draw for today's littles.

I like the Pret a Manger chain for having Panera-type meals (but better). They have sandwiches, salads, kid beverages, etc. and they are all over.

If your kids are interested in archaeology, Egyptology, classical Greece, etc. I would go to the British Museum to see the Elgin Marbles, Rosetta Stone, pagan gold hoards, etc.

We usually plan no more than two attractions per day. An AM one and a PM one.

You might find a suitable walking tour from Londonwalks. They are highly reputable. Kids under 8 are free.

https://www.walks.com/

It’s the memorial fountain and playground that I was referring to. The fountain is unique and kids love splashing as they walk through it. The pirate ship in the playground was well loved by my kids when we lived there.

I would skip pret a manger for other kid friendly chains or stand alone restaurants. Try carluccio’s, wagamama, pizza express, Franco manca, giraffe, cote, Paul, pizza, ranoush/ maroush. Ottolenghi has a few locations and is good for quick meal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hamleys is a fantastic toy store and well worth a visit for kids those ages. Agree about the tower and the war rooms if your kids are into history. We just went with 10 & 12yos who were fascinated with both.
With season and neighborhood info we can narrow down a lot of other ideas.

Totally agree on Hamleys. Great toy store with staff doing demonstrations from different toys including arts and crafts and painting of nails with cute little stickers and nerf guns. Very fun store.

Agree on Tower of London and boat cruise on Thames. We went to Stonehenge during the evening sunset and inner circle tour with a tour company who also took us to Bath. Harrods and Selfridges are great department stores as well that my kids loved because there was so much to see in the food halls. My kids also loved afternoon tea. They thought it was so fancy with the tiered trays and little sandwiches, scones and desserts.

How was the bolded? We're doing a tour like that in April with our eight year old.

OMG it was amazing! Totally worthwhile. We went through Viator for the tour. Many options to choose from. Sunrise or sunset or just going. But being able to go inside inner circle with no other tourists other than your fellow bus mates was incredible. And the tour guides help take pictures with your family. Tour guide was super interesting as well.