Steve_P

My wife and kids and I are leaving for England and Scotland tomorrow. We have 4 full days in London and a long list of palces we hope to see, including, but not limited to, the following:

1. Westminster Abbey
2. Buckingham Palace ? Changing of the Guard or maybe with should do the Changing of the Horse Guard instead)
3. Trafalgar Square
4. National Gallery
5. British Museum
6. Houses of Parliament
7. St. Paul?s
8. Tower of London
9. Victoria and Albert
10. Natural History Museum
11. Kensington Gardens
12. London Eye
13. Kensington Palace
14. Tate Britain
15. 10 Downing Street
15. A good show

I realize we may not be able to see all of them but I would appreciate some help putting these into an order that might work for a 4 day visit, leaving out (or adding) things we should (or should not) miss.

Thanks.

Steve

travelbunny

..whoah!!! how old are your kids? i would not call this particularly kid friendly (or even teen friendly)..i have been in london at various times with children between the ages of 5 and 16 and have some suggestions..but are age and your kids interests specifc..can you post this info..i might be of some help.

travelbunny

..if your kids are young there are some good suggestions in the thread that is currrent on the board with good reference to other threads....

Hee_hee_hee

Your kids are gonna hate London if you force feed them too much historical/cultural activities on them. Let them have a say on what they want to do i.e. visit a video arcade (Pepsi Trocodero), play in the park, visit Hamleys, or just chill out for a while.

Kate

I should point out that you can't actually see 10 Downing Street - the street has been blocked off (big gates, loads of police) for years (due to the IRA fondness for car bombs).

Grasshopper

Spend your first day on the Hop On Hop off bus and pick the ones that appeal to you. You'll get a great overview of London.

The Natural History museum has some good kid friendly interactive displays. Consider a trip to Hampton Court? The costumed guides are really interesting and the maze might be fun for the kids. Beautiful gardens.

sundial

We just got back from London. We enjoyed seeing the changing of the horse guard and were able to get a lot closer than you could at Buckingham Palace. Your kids will love the London Eye! You should know that St. Paul's is under renovation. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a great show even for adults.

Steve_P

Thanks for the suggestions. The kids are 8 and 10 and have been reading "Kids to London" and other kid-oriented books. We realize that we can't see all of these things and hope, with your help, to narrow down what we should see and the best way to see them, ie, which are in close proximity to each other, so that we can be efficient as we go. We will probably see the Natural History Museum because we know they want to see it and have seen the ones in Chicago, New York and Washington. We will also spend time in the parks. I've also enjoyed Hampton Court in the past and thought that might be worth seeing, if time permits. Thank you.

Steve

LynnieD

I second Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

MFNYC

Definitely plot things out on a map. London is huge, but the tube system makes getting around quite fast and easy (and inexpensive with a fmaily day pass). The hop on/off bus is a good idea and a good way to get orienrated. You can also get 'fast track' tickets for the Tower of london (so you don't have toi wait on the line).

The Natural History museum is next to the V&A, so if you want to see both, definitely do them at the same time. ALso check for evening hours at the museum.

Gardyloo

I would suggest taking the boat down to Greenwich at some point (a) for a little fresh air and to see the river up close, (b) to see the Cutty Sark, and (c) to visit the Royal Observatory so the kids can stand with one foot in each hemisphere.

I would probably cut at least one or two museums out of the itinerary unless the kids are really big on them. I love the V&A but it's awfully big for kids, for example. But your call.

travelbunny

..re the kids..some suggestions that are this age specific...(and i agree that althoughtthe natural history mus is great if you can do it in chicago why do it during a short trip to london)..a half day bus tour will allow the kids to see all that they have seen in the books..ex buck house, trafalger sq. ect...the tower of london is absolutely great with this age..be sure you take the beefeater tour....if the weather great would suggest going by boat to greenwich (catch it near the tower)..great maritime museum there as well as the observatory...then in greenwich cross over the thames and take lrt..quick and a brief look at canary wharf...my kids loved london walks jack the ripper tour (londonwalks.com)...if the kids have any interest in music suggest evensong at st. pauls (wonderful choirmaster) or westminster..but be sure it isnt the 1 day per week in which it is "said" and not sung..the boys singing will be as young as 6 and the oldest will be young enough to still sing soprano..and to me it underlines the reason that these churches were built..my youngest loved doing a brass rubbing at the brass rubbing center in the basement of st. martin's in the field...also second the london transportation museum..be sure to have a fish and chips meal...the eye is great esp after a bus tour as the kids can pick out things they have seen..there is an aquarium next to the eye which is fun..be sure to have enough downtime and involve the kids in some of the planning....hope your brood has as much fun as mine has had during our various stays...

Steve_P

Travelbunny and others:

We plan to see what we can and save the rest for another trip. Although London may be a little hectic for us, from there we go on to The Cotswolds and Lake District where we plan to take it a little easier. The kids went through a pretty rigorous visit to Russia last year and did extremely well. They loved the Hermitage and the palaces, so I think they'll like what they see in London also. Thanks again.

Steve

Anonymous

It's not just the pace of the list in the OP, it's the TYPE of places -- mostly museums, cathedrals, etc. If you do manage to do everything on that list, you will have a fine idea of London past, but not much experience of London present. Tate and Kensington would certainly not be on my list of things to do wtih kids that age in 4 days, nor would both Westminster AND St. Pauls', and I'm not sure what the V&A has to offer them. But kid-oriented places like the science and natural history museums are missing from your list.

The kids would probably prefer to spend more time outdoors and doing interactive things. My kids really enjoyed taking the catamaran cruise down to Greenwich, climing up to the observatory, assuming the corny dateline-straddling pose, and visiting the Cutty Sark (until we boarded, my son thought we were going to see Cutty's Ark, complete with animals).

Steve_P

Anonymous:

I didn't have it on the original list but we will go to either the Science or Natural History Museum, and we don't plan to go to all of the other museums. The cat down to Greenwich sounds great also. How long does it take to get there and back? I'd also love to hear which of the items on the list should be sacrificed until a later date, and which should not be missed. Thanks.

Steve

Grasshopper

Steve, Greenwich is a good idea! Take the boat one way and the train back.

Anonymous

The Catamaran Cruisers leave from Embankment Pier near Westminster and take under an hour -- we arrived at Greenwich just in time to see the daily 1 PM ball drop from the tip-top of the observatory. Took the tube (DLR) back, as Grasshopper recommends. For the faint of heart (or feet), there is a shuttle bus up the hill.

The only thing not to be missed (IMHO) with kids is the Tower of London. (I apologise for overlooking the Natural History Museum from the original list). Everything else is very subjective. We had two full weeks -- I don't know how I would've coped with just 4 days!