London itinerary

[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.

[Anonymous]

Lots of good ideas here! I’d skip the boat cruise and just use uber boat to get to Greenwich as your boat ride.
My similarly aged kids loved the princess Di playground, Indian food, dessert spread at Ottolenghi, Tower of London, Borough Market (watch out it is insanely crowded at lunch time), Greenwich observatory, riding the Tube everywhere, British Museum.

[Anonymous]

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

Can't recommend it highly enough.

Sketch is amazing! One of the most whimsical/inventive meals I’ve ever had.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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

DP here. Is the Orchard Tea Room for afternoon tea or just sightseeing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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

DP here. Is the Orchard Tea Room for afternoon tea or just sightseeing?

Afternoon tea -- they offer the full spread (sandwiches, cakes, scones), although we only had cake slices and a pot of tea. We were there in late March and ate in the (somewhat chilly) garden, with tons of daffodils blooming. It's a tea room, not a hotel-style tea experience, and the cakes were terrific.

[Anonymous]

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

Can't recommend it highly enough.

My similarly aged kids loved a Charlie & the Chocolate Factory themed tea.

They also loved the rib boat up the Thames (a warm weather activity for sure), seeing Matilda & Wicked, the Tower of London, Camden Market, the Science Musuem (top floor & video games in the basement), a quick kids top hits of the British Museum, the Diana playground & fountain, and the boat ride out to Greenwich.