We are in London for a week in mid April.

This is our first trip so we plan to do all the Touristy things which I guess would take 3-4 days. On the 5th day we plan to do a road trip to Stonehenge/ Bath/ Oxford.

Any ideas on what we could do the other 2 days?

Please keep in mind that we are traveling with 2 kids (aged 10 &7) hence pl suggest accordingly.

Thanks!

The kids would probably really like the Imperial War Museum, lots of things to see and the Children's War exhibit is excellent.

With two kids ages 7 & 10 I would do the following:

The Tower of London Beefeater tour & then tour of the grounds.
The London Eye
Trafalgar Square
A stroll through St. James park, Buckingham Palace, the Imperial War Museum & underground bunker where Sir Winston Churchill spent WWII.
Day trip to Windsor Castle or Hampton Court.
How about taking in a show at night?
Covent Garden and/or Picadilly Circus (great for people watching)
Near Big Ben you can catch a boat and take a ride down the Thames to Greenwich. The commentary provided by the pilots during the ride is pretty interesting & will keep the kids attention.

Take a look at London Walks:
http://www.walks.com/London_Walks_Ho...L/default.aspx
They have some off-beat types of walks like <i>Beachcombing Along the Thames</i> that kids might enjoy.
They have a Westminster Tour too, so if you plan to visit Westminster Abbey they might bring that particular sight to life.

Would they be interested in the Treasures at the British Library? Or spending a little time at the British Museum?

Other great day-trips out of London are Dover, Portsmouth, Cambridge (kids can 'Punt on the Cam' while you relax...)

Yes, Portmouth is a great suggestion for kids. We spent the day there earlier this month and had a great time, crawling over the Victory, visiting the museums, you can take a harbour cruise.I doubt if Bath, Stonehenge or Oxford will interest the children much. It was about a 2 hour train ride from Waterloo/

Also check out HMS Belfast in London

The V&A museum is great. And so is Fortnum & Mason for taste testing. We always come home with lots of little treats from there.

I think children aged 7 & 10 would be bored by the Victoria & Albert Museum - but you could try it and if they are then head across the street to the Natural History Museum.

And if you're in this area of London, you all might like wandering through the Food Court at Harrod's - it's quite a sensory experience.

We recently took our 5 year old the Science Museum. It was excellent and he loved it. And it was very near Kensington Gardens so we got in a squirrel hunt as well.

That one day trip to Stonehenge, Bath and Oxford, is that by rental car? Or guided tour and bus? Because I think it barely possible to drive to and park at all those places in one day, let alone see anything of Oxford and Bath, in particular. And it's bound to be too long a day for children.

You've had some good alternative suggestions for excursions with kids. Maybe just one destination, not 3. When traveling with children, one needs to adapt to their needs.

Some days the V&A even bores me. I suggest you skip it. The Science Museum and the Natural History Museum would be better options. Also the London Museum is a popular place for kids and families and offers hands-on projects. I think your children are a bit young to appreciate the British Library. A better choice would be a short trip to the British Museum.

You mentioned on another post an interest in Harry Potter. London Walks offer a Harry Potter tour which would be easier than a day trip to Edinburgh.

Posted too soon. Forgot to add a visit to the Tower of London. If it's a nice day, take one of the boats down to Westminister.

The V&A is one of my very favorite museums anywhere, but unless your kids are into art/jewelry/sculpture/performing arts, I think they'd get bored pretty quickly. Aside from the natural history & science museums, the Museum of London is good, and the British Museum has some "wow" items that the kids might enjoy. I doubt they'd want to spend hours in there, but they could see things like the Rosetta Stone and the big Easter Island statue.

Agree that Stonehenge + Bath + Oxford is either a long or very, very packed day trip, if it's even possible. You've gotten some good alternative suggestions. If you want to stick with Bath/Oxford, just pick one. There's also Legoland in Windsor, if that interests you, or Windsor Castle (or Hampton Court) if you'd rather stick with something historic. However, I'd think about waiting till you get there to decide on day trips. It's hard to fit all the "touristy things" into 3 or 4 days, especially with kids who are adjusting to jet lag and being in a foreign place. I would suggest having some ideas of what you want to do, but leaving things flexible and not overplanned.

The exception to "wait till you get there" is if you want to do an overnight in Edinburgh (and as PatrickLondon said on your other thread, if you decide to visit Edinburgh, I would NOT do so as a day trip). Those train tickets will be very expensive if you wait till the last minute.

I would not underestimate the appeal of the great museums in London for kids. The V&A, Natural History, British Museum, Tate, Museum of London are all free which means you can go for 20 minutes then leave if your kids are not enjoying it and not feel bad about it. They all have activity kits for kids. (Ask at information.) Pick one or two things that might appeal to them (dinosaurs, jewels, Egypt, armour, Matisse, whatever) and target that.

Also, I meant to mention the local magazine Time Out London has a special section for kids activities. You can pick up a copy there or check in advance on the online version. http://www.timeout.com/london/kids/

"<i>This is our first trip so we plan to do all the Touristy things which I guess would take 3-4 days. </i>"

Even just a few of the major 'Touristy things' in London would take much more than 3 or 4 days.

Stonehenge/Bath/Oxford is more than one day's trip. Even if you drive yourselves, Stonehenge and Bath would take a full day. Oxford is a day trip by itself. At very <u>minimum</u> Bath and Oxford would each take half a day -- and that doesn't include the hours of driving and doesn't include Stonehenge.

And I see from your other thread you are even considering a day trip to Edinburgh.

You are being much too ambitious -- especially w/ young children.

Either spend all your time in London -- OR -- plan one day trip to either Bath or Oxford. And Hamptron Court Palace would be a better day trip for kids than Bath IMO

I think your children would enjoy Hampton Court more than Bath and probably more than Oxford. And probably more than a Salisbury/Stonehenge trip all day. And yes, do NOT try to combine Stonehenge/Bath/Oxford! Unless you just want to wave at them as you drive/are driven by.

I'm agreeing with Janis -- 3-4 days can cover a lot of touristy things but certainly not all.

London is not Paris, Rome, or Madrid -- it's more than twice the size of any of them and the "touristy" things aren't really all stacked together in one place.

There are tons of museums/attractions, many of which are free, others are well worth the money (Cabinet War Rooms, Tower), others are places where tourists flush money down the toilet (Madame Tussaud's, London Dungeon). One word: prioritize. Go to londontown.com for help.

You should also get one-week paper travelcards (NOT OYSTER CARDS) at a national rail station like Charing Cross and print as many 2for1 vouchers from the Days Out Guide (google it) as you want. The Tower is much nicer to visit at 17 quid per two adults than 34 quid per two adults. Hampton Ct. Palace was covered by that discount last year too.

Your kids may like Windsor Castle. If you go, get vouchers from Waterloo or Paddington ticket office (you take national rail train from one of those to Windsor, no tube service), which will give you discounted admission and will shoot you past the admission line to the "ticket-holders" line. We went about the same time of year that you'll be in London and the line for the non-ticket holders stretched for a couple of streets.

You also cannot do a "day" trip to Edinburgh from London and expect that your kids will take care of you in your dotage. It's a four-hour train ride each way. England may be small, but it's not Delaware small.

Thanks for all the replies...very informative...actually Oxford/ Bath/ Gloucester cathedral was suggested by a friend based in Reading & we plan to do an overnight trip with them so more like a 1 1/2 day thing. that's probably doable i think.

We are skipping Edinburgh...right, its too ambitious for this trip!

Are there any free/ cheap shows that kids might enjoy too??

Are there any free/ cheap shows that kids might enjoy too??>>>>>

As said above Time Out is your Bible. But in terms of general advice you might like to take a walk along the South Bank. It's kid-friendly and there's often a lot of stuff going on.

They might also like the street performers at Covent Garden.

ps For a day trip think about Winchester. It's easier to get to than any of you other choices (one hour from Waterloo) and will give you that "Olde Englande" feel.

If you're feeling ambitious, Paris is a perfectly doable day trip.

Actually I am confused about tube tickets versus National Rail tickets & Paper TravelCards Vs Oyster Cards & hoping someone can clear that up for me!! Probably basic stuff in London but I am LOST!

Could you please tell me what type of tickets we would be needing if we are planning to do the following -

Landing in Heathrow & taking a cab to our rental apt in Chelsea - tube's probably hard with luggage & kids & stuff.

We will be mainly sightseeing in London for 5 days using tube/ bus.

Day 6 evening we will be taking a train to be with friends in Reading & Day 7 & 8 plan to drive to Oxford/ Bath or Stonehenge.

Leaving London on Day 8 evening.

Earlier some people had recommended Oyster Cards but bigRuss says NOT oyster cards!

So I am TOTALLY Confused!