London Itinerary

[lynn07]

Thank you so much for all of the feedback on the Paris portion of our trip! I’ve moved a couple of things around and scaled back a couple of days, so I appreciate the advice!

Now for the London part of the trip. We (along with 13, 11, and 8 yo) are staying in Clapham for the first 3 nights, then heading to Paris, and then will be back in London for 2 more nights (staying in Kensington) before flying home.

Day 1 (Thursday): Fly into Heathrow at 1100. Get to hotel, try to do a little sightseeing to stay awake. Battersea park, any other ideas?

Day 2 (Friday): Tower of London tour, go to the top of either the Shard or Sky Garden

Day 3 (Saturday): Clapham Saturday market, Afternoon tea someplace (suggestions for where?), what other activity would be good for the evening?

Day 4 off to Paris

Return from Paris:
Day 1: morning train from Paris, drop off bags, either Natural History/Science Museum/or Victoria and Albert Museum

Day 2: sightseeing at Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Harrods

Day 3: fly out of Heathrow at 1400

Any other ideas on things our kids would love would be great! Someone today told me maybe the London dungeons? I’m sure mrsukyankee will have some ideas for me. Thank you!

[Deleted]

No British museum? My kids loved the British museum for all the Egyptian artifacts. We tried to also go to the natural history museum, but the line was so incredibly long so we went to the science museum instead (I would not choose this museum with limited time).

My kids also loved visiting Harrod’s. And my youngest at the time was 4 and his absolute favorite part of London was riding a double decker bus. When we got on the first he told us that we’d unlocked all of his dreams. Lol.

We also really enjoyed the Tower of London and seeing some of the Crown Jewels.

[mrsukyankee]

Yes to the British Museum (it's also in a great location and easy to get to other places via the Tube).

Again, I'm a HUGE fan of the hop-on-off bus or to do a London Walk. I'd plan on doing one of those on the first day or you could do one on the final evening/day.

I'd not go to the top of the Shard or Sky Garden unless the weather is amazing - there's a free place you can go to get a great view and it's near St Pauls, which is a fab area (go up the elevator to the top of One New Change). You can then walk over the Millennium Bridge and walk along the Thames on the south side, which is awesome, followed by lunch at Borough Market (and if you want to do the Tower of London tour, do it after that as it's not that far away). The Crown Jewels are currently undergoing some changes so I'd check about that before booking - if it's going to be during a very busy time in London, I'd even suggest against going unless you really, really, really want to go (over the Christmas holidays the queue to get in was stupidly long, even with tickets).

Afternoon tea - there are a lot of decent places. I like the one at Fortnum and Mason as the setting is amazing.

[gardengal]

Is there a time period your kids are really into or are learning about in school? So much of US history is tied to England, having a focus May narrow choices & lead you to some cool things off the beaten path. Generally, however:

I’d consider British Museum over anything other than V&A which I love (but may be of less interest to your kids?).

I’d definitely consider doing a London Walks. My kids enjoy those kind of “digging deeper” into history & every one I’ve been to has been great. There’s also (or was 5yrs ago) a public bus that hits many of the major tourist attractions. You may want to investigate that. We got on the top deck in the front & the kids really enjoyed the walking break but we could still site see

A highlight for us when we went was taking a boat to/from Greenwich passing by the Tower given the proper main entrance was by boat. We also visited the Tower that trip so it was cool to see it both ways. Unless Greenwich & Royal Observatory is of keen interest, I’m not suggesting going there per se (it’s a keen interest of my H) but seeing the city from the river was a great perspective generally & a good break from walking.

I also enjoy F&M tea. They also have a more casual (and cheaper) upstairs ice cream parlor that does tea as well in a cute, casual setting: www.fortnumandmason.com/media/fortnums/blogpost/pdf/Parlour_A3_Placemat_20230203_V5.pdf

I am unfamiliar with Clapham outside of Poirot’s case of the missing Clapham cook!

[RockNVoll]

The same Rick Steves Audio Europe guide covers the major London museums, too

Fortnum & Mason does a great tea. I also really enjoy the Wolseley's.

Sky Garden was just OK in my experience; I wouldn't hesitate to drop it for something else though with the myriad options in London!

You could wander around either Carnaby Street, Seven Dials, or Covent Garden and check out the shops and general scene. The Transportation Museum is also right in Covent Garden and I only mention it because one of my friend's kids loved it. Personally, I thought it was kind of boring but depends what you're into!

Maybe see a show on your free evening? You could try your luck at the TKTS booth last minute, but buying in advance would, of course, be safer.

I liked to walk guests along the route that takes you by Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Parliament, the London Eye, 10 Downing St., Horse Guards Parade, and Trafalgar Square. You don't have to go into any of them, but it's easy path (pretty much a straight shot) that covers a lot of big sites!

[erbear]

Another vote for the British museum. My kids loved it. We also did a tour of the Tottenham Stadium, which was a huge hit with my soccer fans.

I would also do st Paul’s (to the top) vs the Shard . We also loved Borough Market and a boat ride on the Thames.

[osumelissa]

I liked afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason. Also Borough Market is one of my favorite places in London so another vote for that.

[wise_rita]

I've heard a few sources say that Sketch is the place for afternoon tea, and the Ritz is a classic.

[lightbulbsun]

I just got home from London and we did the Science Afternoon Tea at the Ampersand Hotel. It's close to the Natural History Museum, and it has a science theme where they give you a little experiment to do, and the desserts are all science-themed. I thought it was fun, and I think kids would like it.

ampersandhotel.com/eat-drink/the-drawing-rooms/science-afternoon-tea/

[lynn07]

Mar 13, 2023 13:41:17 GMT -5 lightbulbsun said:

I just got home from London and we did the Science Afternoon Tea at the Ampersand Hotel. It's close to the Natural History Museum, and it has a science theme where they give you a little experiment to do, and the desserts are all science-themed. I thought it was fun, and I think kids would like it.

ampersandhotel.com/eat-drink/the-drawing-rooms/science-afternoon-tea/

Just saw this place last week and was wondering about it! Glad to hear you liked it and that it would be good for kids!

[imimahoney]

Mar 14, 2023 12:00:46 GMT -5 lynn07 said:

Mar 13, 2023 13:41:17 GMT -5 lightbulbsun said:

I just got home from London and we did the Science Afternoon Tea at the Ampersand Hotel. It's close to the Natural History Museum, and it has a science theme where they give you a little experiment to do, and the desserts are all science-themed. I thought it was fun, and I think kids would like it.

ampersandhotel.com/eat-drink/the-drawing-rooms/science-afternoon-tea/

Just saw this place last week and was wondering about it! Glad to hear you liked it and that it would be good for kids!

Are you in the London travel with kids Facebook group? It's awesome and super helpful. Lots of posts recing this tea. We have it booked for our July trip.

[lynn07]

Mar 16, 2023 5:10:26 GMT -5 imimahoney said:

Mar 14, 2023 12:00:46 GMT -5 lynn07 said:

Just saw this place last week and was wondering about it! Glad to hear you liked it and that it would be good for kids!

Are you in the London travel with kids Facebook group? It's awesome and super helpful. Lots of posts recing this tea. We have it booked for our July trip.

Just joined it. Thanks!

[dutchgirl678]

We went a few years ago with our kids (they were a bit younger than yours now). We were there a little longer, 4-5 days if I remember correctly. We did the following things:
- British museum
- boat trip to Greenwich
- London Eye
- Natural history museum
- Tower of London / Tower Bridge
- Hyde park / Buckingham Palace
- eat at pubs / Borough market

[wise_rita]

Feb 14, 2023 21:13:13 GMT -5 RockNVoll said:

I liked to walk guests along the route that takes you by Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Parliament, the London Eye, 10 Downing St., Horse Guards Parade, and Trafalgar Square. You don't have to go into any of them, but it's easy path (pretty much a straight shot) that covers a lot of big sites!

Is the Horse Guards Parade worth a walk by if it's not the changing of the guards time?  Are horses there waiting to be seen?

[RockNVoll]

Mar 21, 2023 7:36:57 GMT -5 wise_rita said:

Feb 14, 2023 21:13:13 GMT -5 RockNVoll said:

I liked to walk guests along the route that takes you by Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Parliament, the London Eye, 10 Downing St., Horse Guards Parade, and Trafalgar Square. You don't have to go into any of them, but it's easy path (pretty much a straight shot) that covers a lot of big sites!

Is the Horse Guards Parade worth a walk by if it's not the changing of the guards time?  Are horses there waiting to be seen?

There's no changing ceremony there but, yes, there are often horse-mounted guards on the grounds. I've always just come across them at random though, not sure if there's an official schedule.