Family stay in London

Emmia

madlyn said:

daveyjp said:

You are looking at attractions which are very spread out so as you will be travelling around location may not be priority over price, but buses can take a long time if you need to cover long distance.

NHM/Science Museum are in Kensington, west London, IWM is in Lambeth, south London, Buckingham Palace is Westminster and requires a walk from public transport whether tube or bus.

Hamleys is on Regent Street and you may feel overwhelmed very quickly!

Plenty of chains such as Travelodge, Premierinn if you want basic, but for a better experience there's Hilton, Holiday Inn, etc.  

Google maps is a good resource for finding hotels in an area.

We are planning on spending 2 maybe 3 full days there, so the distance between things is not a problem.

Honestly, the buses are great, but for getting about quickly (if you're not familiar with London) I'd do the tube. 

tower

Can I suggest a visit to the Sky Garden, it’s has great views of the Tower of London, Tower bridge and the Shard (it’s free) but you need to book. While you’re there (Tower hill tube) check out St Katherine’s dock for boats, Tower bridge itself which you can go up, Borough market. Then walk along the South bank towards the London eye and Parliament or you could get a Thames clipper boat (Uber now) for a cheap river trip. 

baser999

Relatives use Premier Inn when they travel from Switzerland - they stayed in the ‘new’ one in the Paddington area when they were here in August, family room for them and 5 yo son, 15 yo daughter insisted on own room 😄 Said it was ok, usual PI room and amenities, although receptionist had an attitude. And of course you have the option of whether to take the breakfast. 

PI are ideal if you’re intending to be out during the day, wouldn’t want to stay in the room on a rainy day

p00hsticks

Some of the Imperial College student accomodation is in South Kensington, which makes it a handy location for the Natural History Museum, Science Museum and V & A.

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/visit/summer-accommodation/

As with others, I recommend a trip up the Thames on the Clippers as a good way to see a lot of the sights, especially if the weather is less than ideal. I also agree that if you are only spending a few days you want to try to avoid walking or using busses as much as possible because it will really eat into your time - decide where you want to go and plan your itinery carefully to do things that are close together as far as possible.

For something a bit unusual try booking to see the ceremony of the keys where they lock up the Tower of London every night.

https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/whats-on/ceremony-of-the-keys/#gs.ddfidy

onashoestring

Plan to arrival at Buckingham Palace in time to see the Changing of the guard which is at 11am Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday.

Some bus routes take you past the famous landmarks : https://www.tripsavvy.com/london-bus-routes-for-sightseeing-1582177

macman

madlyn said:

daveyjp said:

You are looking at attractions which are very spread out so as you will be travelling around location may not be priority over price, but buses can take a long time if you need to cover long distance.

NHM/Science Museum are in Kensington, west London, IWM is in Lambeth, south London, Buckingham Palace is Westminster and requires a walk from public transport whether tube or bus.

Hamleys is on Regent Street and you may feel overwhelmed very quickly!

Plenty of chains such as Travelodge, Premierinn if you want basic, but for a better experience there's Hilton, Holiday Inn, etc.  

Google maps is a good resource for finding hotels in an area.

We are planning on spending 2 maybe 3 full days there, so the distance between things is not a problem.

It is if you are intending to walk or bus between sites. Buses are a great way to sightsee, but as point to point transport, they are extremely slow in central London, averaging barely 9 miles an hour. Some of the sights you list could be an hour or more apart by daytime bus travel. So I suggest you use the tube for at least some of your journeys. To state the obvious: London is big. Even the area within the Circle Line, which defines many of the 'sights', is about 12 sq miles.

zagubov

This site shows where the shops are. I'd take them to Hamley's.

When you're in central London you can find most attractions near tube stations using this tube map.  The underground's rubbish for kids compared with being upstairs on a bus.

Trust me when I was a kid, my relatives took me round the central London shops at Christmas, and the memories are still with me. We must also have travelled on the underground but that didn't stick in the memory.

Plus, you can go a long way on the underground without getting very far, IYSWIM.

And for buses, these are some of the ones that show you the touristy bits (they're just ordinary buses so you use your Oyster card), and maybe use this website to find stuff to do.  I'd recommend Chinatown for good eating but many of their best deals are for two or more and I don't know if your kids appetites are  equal to your own.

I'll recommend the Duck Tour.

For accommodation, maybe consider a hotel in the suburbs. There's a Premier inn in Tolworth ext to the train station for example, but your last train from Waterloo to the hotel would be 11PM.

Hope you have a great time!

Emmia

zagubov said:

This site shows where the shops are. I'd take them to Hamley's.

When you're in central London you can find most attractions near tube stations using this tube map.  The underground's rubbish for kids compared with being upstairs on a bus.

Trust me when I was a kid, my relatives took me round the central London shops at Christmas, and the memories are still with me. We must also have travelled on the underground but that didn't stick in the memory.

Plus, you can go a long way on the underground without getting very far, IYSWIM.

And for buses, these are some of the ones that show you the touristy bits (they're just ordinary buses so you use your Oyster card), and maybe use this website to find stuff to do.  I'd recommend Chinatown for good eating but many of their best deals are for two or more and I don't know if your kids appetites are  equal to your own.

I'll recommend the Duck Tour.

For accommodation, maybe consider a hotel in the suburbs. There's a Premier inn in Tolworth ext to the train station for example, but your last train from Waterloo to the hotel would be 11PM.

Hope you have a great time!

The Duck Tour hasn't operated since 2019 

I also don't think you've been to Hamleys lately... I agree it was magical, but sadly it is now very shabby and touristy, its really trading on it's past /nostalgia.

zagubov

Emmia said:

zagubov said:

This site shows where the shops are. I'd take them to Hamley's.

When you're in central London you can find most attractions near tube stations using this tube map.  The underground's rubbish for kids compared with being upstairs on a bus.

Trust me when I was a kid, my relatives took me round the central London shops at Christmas, and the memories are still with me. We must also have travelled on the underground but that didn't stick in the memory.

Plus, you can go a long way on the underground without getting very far, IYSWIM.

And for buses, these are some of the ones that show you the touristy bits (they're just ordinary buses so you use your Oyster card), and maybe use this website to find stuff to do.  I'd recommend Chinatown for good eating but many of their best deals are for two or more and I don't know if your kids appetites are  equal to your own.

I'll recommend the Duck Tour.

For accommodation, maybe consider a hotel in the suburbs. There's a Premier inn in Tolworth ext to the train station for example, but your last train from Waterloo to the hotel would be 11PM.

Hope you have a great time!

The Duck Tour hasn't operated since 2019 

I also don't think you've been to Hamleys lately... I agree it was magical, but sadly it is now very shabby and touristy, its really trading on it's past /nostalgia.

Sadly a lot of attractions in London disappeared in 2019 and after.

I'd like to think more might be restored by next summer when the OP will visit.

From Tolworth you can access London's centre and its theme park in Chessington.

OP when you come to London, check what the health warnings are about masks and distancing. Stick with the most cautious ones.

The age range of your family makes this of paramount importance.

We're nowhere near the end of this.

Emmia

zagubov said:

Emmia said:

zagubov said:

This site shows where the shops are. I'd take them to Hamley's.

When you're in central London you can find most attractions near tube stations using this tube map.  The underground's rubbish for kids compared with being upstairs on a bus.

Trust me when I was a kid, my relatives took me round the central London shops at Christmas, and the memories are still with me. We must also have travelled on the underground but that didn't stick in the memory.

Plus, you can go a long way on the underground without getting very far, IYSWIM.

And for buses, these are some of the ones that show you the touristy bits (they're just ordinary buses so you use your Oyster card), and maybe use this website to find stuff to do.  I'd recommend Chinatown for good eating but many of their best deals are for two or more and I don't know if your kids appetites are  equal to your own.

I'll recommend the Duck Tour.

For accommodation, maybe consider a hotel in the suburbs. There's a Premier inn in Tolworth ext to the train station for example, but your last train from Waterloo to the hotel would be 11PM.

Hope you have a great time!

The Duck Tour hasn't operated since 2019 

I also don't think you've been to Hamleys lately... I agree it was magical, but sadly it is now very shabby and touristy, its really trading on it's past /nostalgia.

Sadly a lot of attractions in London disappeared in 2019 and after.

I'd like to think more might be restored by next summer when the OP will visit.

From Tolworth you can access London's centre and its theme park in Chessington.

OP when you come to London, check what the health warnings are about masks and distancing. Stick with the most cautious ones.

The age range of your family makes this of paramount importance.

We're nowhere near the end of this.

The Duck Tour is never coming back, it's launch point was taken for development of crossrail 2/or the new London sewer, and there isn't an alternative.

There are almost no warnings about masks, social distancing etc, and very few people wear masks in London now.