Family of Four Traveling to London in July Please Comment on Itinerary
 

Hello everyone... We are two adults and two children (ages 7 and 10) traveling to London for the first time next month. Just for some background, my kids are great travelers - they love it and they made their first overseas journey last summer on a family trip to France. We made a family decision to visit London and everyone is looking forward to it. That being said, I did try to pick one major attraction a day and then a less structured afternoon of walks, gardens, etc... Since our time is limited and there are so many museums, I tried to select the ones that had exhibits that would most interest my family. We are renting a flat in S. Kensington so we plan on eating breakfast at our "home" every day and taking advantage of the convenient Tube stop around the corner (Gloucester Road). As for dinners, my research suggests that we are well situated to family friendly restaurants within walking distance to our flat. If it works out it would be nice to come back to the flat after our day's activities and then stay local for dinner. So here is my plan. Any feedback is greatly appreciated : )

Arrive Sat am (red eye from Miami)
drop off bags at flat
lunch
tube to Westminster
explore Whitehall from Big Ben to Trafalgar Sq
ride London Eye
visit National Gallery (select exhibits)
return to S. Kensington
buy groceries
dinner by flat in S. Kensington

Sunday
tube to Victoria Station
Buckingham Palace Tour 9:30 (have tix already)
lunch
double Decker Bus Tour
tea at Orangery/Kensington Gardens
dinner by flat in S. Kensington

Monday
Tube to Tower Hill Tower of London
lunch
explore West End - Convent Garden, Piccadilly Circus
dinner by flat in S. Kensington

Tuesday
tube to King's Cross
British Library
free time
lunch
free time
dinner in Chinatown
Theater - We Will Rock You

Weds
day trip to Hampton Court Palace
return to S. Kensington

Thurs
walk to Victoria & Albert Museum
explore Harrods
tube to Borough Market
explore North and South Bank-
dinner
**British Museum is open until 8pm tonight -maybe if everyone is not too tired after dinner**

Friday
Stay local in the am -we leave this afternoon

Just a few comments:

1) National Gallery on arrival day is a bit much, esp with kids in tow. I suggest you go for a walk instead if the weather is nice - either along the S Bank (after the Eye); or Kensington Gardens.

2) You can fit in Nat Gallery on Monday, while you're at West End

3) on Tuesday, you can fit in British Museum after British Library.

You might want to consider day trips to Stonehenge/Bath and Windsor.

I was also going to say you could use a bit of your free time on Tuesday popping in and out of the British Museum; that way, hopefully, you and your kids won't get "museumed out."

If you are Harry Potter fans, Platform 9 3/4 is at King's Cross.

Lee Ann

You're not going to the Natural History Museum right by the Victoria & Albert?

Hi ILuvLexie - I think you've done a good job in not trying to do too much. Just a few comments, day by day:

Saturday - <i>explore Whitehall</i> - there's not terribly much to explore on Whitehall itself (though the cavalry troopers outside Horse Guards may be fun for the kids). Trafalgar Square will be fun, though. You could take the Piccadilly line to Leicester Square instead and start your walk there to avoid backtracking to get to the Eye.

Sunday <i>double Decker Bus Tour</i> - You're already going to see a lot of what's on the tour in the rest of your itinerary. This is my personal opinion, but it seems expensive and perhaps not worth your while. You can take a double decker bus to get from place to place and get that experience (though it won't be open top).

Monday: Just wanted to point out that it's Covent Garden, not Convent. I've never seen any nuns there. ;) The London Transport Museum is there; I haven't been yet, but have heard it recommended a lot as a great place for kids especially.

Tuesday: My personal preference would be to go to the British Museum over the British Library. The Library is GREAT, but there's so much to see in the Museum (things I would have liked as a kid) that it seems a shame to relegate it to "maybe after dinner." But that's just an opinion.

Thurs: If your flight doesn't leave until late afternoon Friday, maybe you could save the V&A for that morning and do something else this morning? I do love the V&A, though, and I'm glad it's on your itinerary!

Overall I think you've got a good plan. You'll have a great trip!

Thanks everyone for your comments. My son got a good giggle from your post jent103...sorry - I did mean Covent!

One other comment...We just visited the Natural History Museum in New York Carrybean so I didn't include it on my itinerary BUT its not that far from my flat so it is a backup. Thanks again!

'Covent' is a late medieval form of the word 'convent', and wiki says about the origin of the place name as:
'In this quadrangle the Abbey or Convent of St. Peter, Westminster, maintained a large kitchen garden throughout the Middle Ages to provide its daily food. Over the next three centuries, the monks' old "convent garden" became a major source of fruit and vegetables in London and was managed by a succession of leaseholders by grant from the Abbot of Westminster.'

I saw We Will Rock You, and it's a fab show. Big Ben is just a short walk across the Westminster Bridge from the London Eye, so consider taking your flight on the Eye first and then walking over to see BB. Then you can walk past BB and around the back of the Royal Treasury Building, and then you'll see the Churchill War Room Museum. It's worth a visit too.

BobbyPam means the Cabinet War Rooms, which would be great for the kids. The British Library has an excellent Henry VIII exhibition but for 10 and 7 year old halflings, it's probably a bit dry. The British Museum may be the better option.

If you're in South Kens, take the Piccadilly to Green Park on Sunday, not the Circle/District to Victoria. Green Park is closer to the Palace. Forget the bus tour. From where you will be, take the #9 bus into the West End and you'll see a LOT of London. Plus the #9 is one of two routes that still runs the Routemaster buses (the ones with the open backs) that were once emblematic of the London double-decker.

And check out this board for the 2-for-1 offer threads (there's a bunch of them). The Tower and Hampton Court are both covered and the 2-for-1 arrangements will save you 29 GBP on those sites for the tickets for you and your other half. I think the Cabinet War Rooms are covered too, which would be another 12-14 quid off -- so that's a nice dinner paid for.

Thanks for all the comments. I wish I were leaving tomorrow but three weeks to go!

Re British Museum. Evening openings on Thursdays and Fridays only have about a third of the galleries open. If you do want to do the evening, the website each week lists which areas are open. With children if you go into the Hamlyn Library they have trails and backpacks for children. You will just about hit school holidays so there may be activities for children taking place in the daytime. There is a shop specifically aimed at children near the main cloakroom, also has a good selection of small items and some of the books with a children's focus. If you know what you want to see with the children I would advise either getting a good guide book or checking details on the website before setting off. There are guidebooks specifically aimed at those with children.

Do you have a specific interest in the contents of the Victoria and Albert Museum? Like all the Museums it is quite large and so a bit of research beforehand could help you focus on the collections of interest and as stated above it is opposite the Natural History Museum and a few steps from the Science Museum. An outlier of the Victoria and Albert Museum is the Museum of Childhood. Central Line to Bethnal Green, a few steps from the station.

Weather in the 80s at the moment in London but could be colder or wetter in a couple of weeks time.

Your children would probably enjoy the Horniman museum:
http://www.horniman.ac.uk/

What about the Roald Dahl museum. My kids have specifically requested it... you know, the author of 'The Twits', 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory/Glass Elevator', 'The Witches', 'James and the Giant Peach'...

http://www.roalddahlmuseum.org/

My kids are reading and re-reading all of his books and learned that he lived in England and requested to go to his house... and they are the same age -

I think you can still pre booked seats on the London eye for a specific time. Saves waiting in lines in the summer. When at the tower be sure to get into one of the beefeater tours. They are particulary good with and for the kids. they make history come alive.

We did a Fat Tire Bike Tour in Paris and my kids *loved* it... they are now in London. Would you consider that ?

(I know, you probably aren't trying to ADD to your itinerary...)

Please consider the Imperial War Museum. It has plenty of "hands on" activities for your children. I agree with others...eliminate the National Gallery your first day, maybe add parks, (search for the Peter Pan statue?). I wish I had started taking my son when he was younger now he doesn't want to be seen with his parents. So if you see a couple with a sullen teenage boy walking several blocks behind, that will be us.