As a one-time resident of Edinburgh, this is a no-brainer for me. It has to be London. There is so much to see and do in London that a week is not enough to do London justice. There are dozens of museums in London, all free of charge, that would impress any 7 year old. The Imperial War Museum and the Science museum are but two. Edinburgh's transport system is in chaos at the moment. It does not have an underground subway. If I were you, I would not even consider Edinburgh at the moment.

Thanks so much! Very helpful. I had a gut feeling that London might win out, but I've heard so many people rave about Edinburgh that I wanted to explore both possibilities.

We have visited London many times and Edinbugh but once last month and there is no comparison-London. Edinburgh is interesting city with incredibly nice people but London it should be.

It has to be London.

Speaking from the experience of taking our 6 year old from Scotland this year, I can assure you that any boy will be kept occupied for a year.

National Maritime Museum
Football match
London Eye
Aquarium

In addition to those above and the very obvious attractions.

Another vote for London.

Consider on your to-do list the London Eye, the Tower, Horseguards, feeding the waterfowl in St. James Park, Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens, boating on the Serpentine in Hyde Park, exploring the Regents Park Zoo. A canal boat ride from Camden Town to Little Venice with a stop at the zoo could be fun.

Avoid Madame Toussaud's.

For lodging, you might want to look into a short-term flat rental. Being able to sit down at "home" to dinner or breakfast can be a real plus with a child. Many flats offer washing machines and microwaves. The supermarkets have a good variety of ready to eat meals that just require heating and also ready-made sandwiches that are great for picnic lunches in the parks.

Have a wonderful time.

Edinburgh is great but London is nearly 20 times larger, and that means far more options for entertaining the halfling - e.g., the Tower, the Imperial War Museum, the Cabinet War Rooms, the Transport Museum, the Natural History Museum, etc. The zoo is superfluous - you probably have one near your own hometown and London's is not akin to that of Columbus or San Diego.

Take a day trip on the fast train from St Pancras to Dover for Dover Castle (he'd likely go nuts in the Tunnnels) and potentially Deal Castle too (up the line a bit) - they were part of the coastal defenses envisioned by Henry VIII.

Edinburgh is my favorite city anywhere -- And kids love the castle, the bagpipers, the fun museums, etc. But London would be better for this first trip.

Or EVEN better -- how about 6 or 7 days in London and a couple of days in Edinburgh and cut a couple of days from Munich.

You could fly into Edinburgh, spend 2 days/nights, take the train (or for a big adventure - the sleeper train) to London, spend up to a week, fly to Munich.

This would be an absolutely terrific threesome - Edinburgh/London/Munich.

Fantastic ideas. Thank you all. VirginiaC, a flat rental would be ideal. We are Marriott Platinum members and typically stay on points at Residence Inn properties because the suite setup works so well for us as a family, but that's not an option in London. (Funny enough, Edinburgh has one, not that that would sway our decision.)

Besides the big rental sites such as vrbo.com and homeaway.com, are there other local, reputable ones you would suggest? And which neighborhoods might you recommend? We don't mind staying a reasonable distance from the city center (up to a 20-minute Tube ride). And ideally, we'd like to find something for 700 pounds per week, maximum, in late spring/early summer. Thanks!

For your perfect castle, consider a daytrip by train out of London to Warwick Castle. It fulfills pretty much all your requirements and is set up for visiting kids.

Look at www.slowtrav.com for reviews of apartments to rent in London and also for reviews of apartment rental agencies.

We use Oxbridge Apartments in "The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea" but we've been accused of having no taste.

The buildings have been undergoing renovation for at least the last four years and the remodeled "executive" apartments aren't bad. We last stayed there in Spring of 2011 and have reserved a one-bedroom flat for October of this year.

Oxbridge's chief plusses are location, location, location -- a 10 minute walk to the Underground, within walking distance of Hyde Park, Albert Hall, the V & A and the Natsural History Museum. Just about across the street is a huge Sainsbury's supermarket, a laundromat that offers wash and fold service, and a collection of passable Italian restaurants that do pizza. The price isn't too steep.

Thanks for the recs, Mimar and VirginiaC. I'll check those out.

NO NO NO NO NO for homeaway.com.

VRBO may be dicey too - depend only upon listings with reviews from non-EU residents.

There are TON(NE)S of London flat rental agencies so go googling.

Do Dover Castle over Warwick - the latter is overtly touristy.

I do agree with Janis that Edinburgh would be cool if you can figure out how to fit it. Seeing Mons Meg alone would have junior flip out and Edinburgh Castle's looming presence over the city from so many angles would be neat for him - that effect is absent with The Tower.

A football match would be easier to see live in Edinburgh than in London because (1) the EPL teams' tickets are extremely hard to obtain and riotously expensive and (2) the two primary SPL teams (the ones that matter to any degree internationally, although Scottish football is irrelevant to anyone who isn't a Scot) are based in Glasgow, not Edinburgh. If your trip is for August, that's festival season in Edinburgh and accommodations are difficult; if it's for June or July, the football suggestion is moot - that's off-season.

bigruss, what is wrong with homeaway? i use a fair bit-should i be worried!?!

Thanks BigRuss - good to know. I've seen generally positive feedback about Holiday Lettings (holidaylettings.co.uk) and Ivy Lettings (ivylettings.com). Anyone have experience with either?

I lived in London for a year and a half and now I live in Edinburgh for almost 2 years. I have no doubt that Edinburgh is a much better place for kids.
Attractions great for kids:
1. The National Museum is great and free, have a look at their website http://www.nms.ac.uk/our_museums/national_museum.aspx
2. Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace
3. Holyrood Park: incredible where you can walk and hike (easy one my niece and nephew loved it)
4. Dynamic Earth - paid but also great for kids
5. Smaller museums: People's Museum, Children's Museum, Edinburgh Museum, etc (all free)
6. Edinburgh Zoo!!! with the pandas, penguins, koalas...
I could just keep listing places but need to go now.
In London you would spend a lot of time and money with transportation while Edinburgh is a small lovely city.
If you are travelling with kids, it's best to get a self-catering apartment (it's also more affordable) www.edinburgh-flats.com
I hope this helps.
Dani

All great suggestions. I'm starting to think that we should skip Munich entirely this trip and spend a week to 9 days in London, then take the train to Edinburgh for a few days.

To the OP, there are 2 types of vacation rental web sites. One is a listing convenience for owners, the other is an agency that, to some degree, vets the apartments and houses that it lists. For the first type, you have no idea what you're getting. The photos and reviews may be fake. The vast majority of the users of sites like VRBO have a good experience but some people don't. VRBO itself has some kind of insurance, but when your precious vacation goes up in smoke, you have to scramble around, find another place to stay, whatever you can get, and probably pay more money -- well, getting a refund months later won't help your vacation. And, dealing with owners, you usually have to pay all or part of the rental up front, before you see the place. That money's gone if you don't like the apartment.

Agencies will allow you to pay with a credit card, which is another form of recourse. And the individual rentals have some degree of guarantee. At the very least you know they exist and are more or less like their photos. The agency would soon go out of business if it was cheating its customers. You do pay a fee to the agency or it's included in the rent. But you get more peace of mind.

Outside of Edinburgh is the Falkirk Wheel, the most magnificent useless structure I have seen.

But still there is so many things and distractions in London to bombard the senses of anyone let alone a 7 year old.

I'm a big fan of both cities. I agree that London has more to see for a 7 year old, however.....Edinburgh is wonderful too. I always like to take the train from London. Coming out of the train station onto the Waverley Bridge is just spectacular. Edinburgh Castle is straight ahead. The Old town to the left. It's just a beautiful sight. If you could do just a few days in Edinburgh, I really think you would be glad you went.

Hi - we live in London (we are originally American) and have a 9 year old girl, so know about kid friendly stuff. Your idea of a few days in London followed by Edinburgh sounds great. Some suggestions:

In London - great museums for kids include the Science museum and the Natural History museum (both are hands on places and will take the good part of a day, if you want). Also recommend the mummies in the British Museum and you will see other stuff on your way to/from the mummy section. If you also want to expose him to an art museum, the Tate Modern is always fun and has a great kids station where you can get some good activities/maps/arts and crafts so that he has something to 'do/look for' while you are enjoying the art and views. The Tate Britain has a great art cart too. If he is into armour, the Wallace collection has a fantastic armour exhibits, including horses and knights in full kit and they quite often have a craft session for kids - one time my husband took my daughter there and she made a knight's helmet with moveable parts which she still has.

Take him to the Tower of London and have him join the knight's apprentice sessions... He'll love it and will get knighted at the end - very fun, but book your tickets in advance to avoid the lines. Hop on hop off bus is also fun and it's a double decker so will likely be something he will remember (hopefully traffic won't be too bad, but if it is, you can always hop off). Hampton Court is also fun, but I would probably do the Tower before Hampton Court if you can only do one. HMS Belfast has now reopened, and kids seem to love going onboard and clamboring about.

Also, playgrounds are always important when traveling with little ones so that they can have some fun too. In Hyde Park, the Princess Diana playground is great, but can get crowded in the summer so they sometimes limit entry. Regents Park has some great play areas and paddle boats too (as does Hyde Park). Holland Park also has a fun 'adventure' playground, but may be a little off the beaten path for you.

Then there is the general walking around and soaking up the sights of London that you will need to do. Make sure you spend some time in Convent Garden watching some of the street performers and consider going to a theatre matinee while you are here - there are a bunch of kid friendly theatre shows on right now, Matilda, Lion King, Wizard of Oz... etc.

If you want to go further afield, we love taking people with kids to Warwick Castle. Someone on the forum said not to, as it is too touristy. It is run by the Madame Tussaud's group, so it is touristy, but in a good way, and especially for a seven year old, it will be fantastically fun. There are people walking around in period costume (including a rat catcher and musicians), he can practice archery, there is a falcon show, they do a fireball trebuchet once a day, the rooms are 'staged' with wax people, food, furniture so it feels alive, and there's loads of general castle interest - moats, portcullis, ramparts, etc. that he will learn a lot too. Besides, you can combine it with a quick visit to Stratford upon Avon which is nearby... (If you were to do that, I would do it as an overnight trip. Go to Warwick Castle in the morning, spend most of the day there, drive to SuA, spend the night in a B&B, wander around a bit the next day to see Shakespeare's house and Anne Hathaway's cottage then head back to London stopping in some of the cute Cotswolds towns on your way).

I have to say that when we go up to Scotland, we usually head straight out to the Highlands as it is so beautiful, so I am probably less helpful there, especially as regards kid stuff. If it were me, I would stop in Edinburgh for a day to wander around, see Holyrood and walk the royal mile and then I'd head out of town to some of the most stunning scenery anywhere, even for a day or two. If you want to do that, that is another itinerary (and reply ;P)

To HG001: homeaway offers no contingency if the listing proves to be a fraud or overbooked; VRBO has a better track record for honest brokers.

To the OP: do NOT do the hop on/hop off bus. You will have some transportation tickets for yourselves (get a paper travelcard for you and hubby, look up how in these forums b/c there are TONS of posts on this and go to daysoutguide.co.uk for big savings; the boy will cost less than an adult or nothing at places like the Tower or War Rooms because he's a hobbit and most museums are free for all of you) that will include bus and Tube in central London. The HOHO buses cost over 20 quid each ($32-35) and just play tourists for suckers. Just take the No. 9, 15 or 136 bus lines through central London and you'll see whatever you'd see on the HOHO.

Big Russ

I could be wrong but....vrbo and homeaway are the same company.

Besides ant rental experience will be a function of the landlord's approach not the advertising agent.

<<vrbo and homeaway are the same company>>

They're owned by the same company, operated differently, have different listings and marketing. Like Lexus and Toyota.

thanks bigruss

so is fraud on these sites where the frauds only post once, take their first booking and then run with the money? As once they have ripped someone off once surely the guests who have been cheated can let HA/VRBO know to take the advert down or even just post a bad review....what i'm getting at is, frauds can only do it once on a site i'm assuming??