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London or Edinburgh for family with 7-year-old boy?

London or Edinburgh for family with 7-year-old boy?

Old Jun 19th, 2012, 07:05 AM
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London or Edinburgh for family with 7-year-old boy?

Hi all - We're looking ahead to next year's vacation, and trying to choose between London and Edinburgh with our 7-year-old. I've been to London before, but I was solo and childless then, so it'll be a different experience.

A few points of reference as far as interests, etc:

All of us are interested in history, and our son has a pretty good tolerance for museums as long as the content appeals to him (e.g., he's fascinated by science, technology, industry and natural history but would be bored in an art museum). He's not terribly excited by things like cathedrals, but would do OK for a little while.

At the top of his wish list: a medieval castle with all the trimmings that kids imagine when they picture castles (moat and drawbridge, suits of armor, dungeon, battlements, weaponry, etc.). We've visited Hohensalzburg Fortress in Salzburg, Austria, which he loved.

We all like outdoor activities such as hiking, biking and boating.

We'll be getting around exclusively by public transport. I know the Tube in London is fantastic; I'm a little fuzzier about how extensive Edinburgh's system is.

After a week in either London or Edinburgh, we'll be flying to Munich, Germany, which we have already visited and loved. So ease of getting there from the UK is a consideration.

Thanks for any advice you can offer!
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Old Jun 19th, 2012, 07:25 AM
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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.
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Old Jun 19th, 2012, 07:43 AM
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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.
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Old Jun 19th, 2012, 07:46 AM
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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.
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Old Jun 19th, 2012, 07:50 AM
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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.
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Old Jun 19th, 2012, 08:01 AM
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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.
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Old Jun 19th, 2012, 08:10 AM
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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.
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Old Jun 19th, 2012, 08:47 AM
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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.
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Old Jun 19th, 2012, 08:49 AM
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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!
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Old Jun 19th, 2012, 09:43 AM
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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.
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Old Jun 19th, 2012, 11:01 AM
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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.
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Old Jun 19th, 2012, 11:43 AM
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Thanks for the recs, Mimar and VirginiaC. I'll check those out.
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Old Jun 19th, 2012, 12:24 PM
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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.
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Old Jun 19th, 2012, 12:33 PM
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bigruss, what is wrong with homeaway? i use a fair bit-should i be worried!?!
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Old Jun 19th, 2012, 03:16 PM
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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?
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Old Jun 20th, 2012, 12:23 AM
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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
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Old Jun 20th, 2012, 04:30 AM
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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.
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Old Jun 20th, 2012, 05:54 AM
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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.
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Old Jun 20th, 2012, 06:24 AM
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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.
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Old Jun 20th, 2012, 06:32 AM
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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.
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