# London with kids



## Purple (11 Apr 2012)

I'm bringing my two boys to London for the weekend. They are 13 and 9. They want to go the Imperial War Museum and the Tower of London. Can anyone suggest anything else to do and somewhere good to eat?
We are staying near Hyde Park.


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## Sue Ellen (11 Apr 2012)

Hi Purple,

This post although not giving recommendations may be helpful.

Are you going to Madame Tussauds or London Eye?


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## athens2004 (11 Apr 2012)

ripley's believe it or not is very good


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## phoenix (11 Apr 2012)

My boys loved the London dungeons as I did myself also the London eye (I was terrified)
We went to the show Warhorse which they both loved.  For cheaper entertainment we walked along the south bank and watched the street theatre which was excellent.

Phoenix


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## phoenix (11 Apr 2012)

Meant to say they enjoyed bella Italian for reasonably priced food and also cafe rouge for the bread sticks and melted garlic butter as a snack.  After that good old McDonald's kept the food bills down along with dropping into supermarkets and chains like pret a manger to pick up a sandwich to eat in a park.


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## TreeTiger (11 Apr 2012)

I brought mine to the Science Museum once, the intention was to go on somewhere else later but they enjoyed it so much we ended up there for the full day!


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## millieforbes (11 Apr 2012)

Strada at More London is a nice cheap Italian with a view of the Tower of London & Tower Bridge

[broken link removed]

You could take the Jubilee line from London Bridge to Stratford to check out the Olympic Stadium (from the outside, not sure you can get inside). 

A bus tour might be fun so they can see the big sights, Buckingham Palace, Westminster, St Pauls etc.

It might be nice to show them Canary Wharf - you can get the DLR from Tower Bridge (beside Tower of London), its about 10 mins. They might be interested in seeing the tall buildings (my nephew is nine and was really impressed), there's the Docklands museum there too which they might like.  There are plenty of food options like Nando's, Milanos (Pizza Express), Waggamamma etc


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## browtal (11 Apr 2012)

The science museum is wonderful. I took my 12 year old grandson there, he wanted to go back the next day too. Everything is interactive, nice for adults too.
London eye is good. Enjoy


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## Sunny (12 Apr 2012)

If they like Harry Potter, have heard this is pretty cool

http://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/?utm_...m_term=harry+potter&utm_campaign=harry+potter


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## Shawady (12 Apr 2012)

Purple, I read about a thing the Natural History museum does where you can sleep overnight and do some 'Dinosaur related' stuff. Sounds like they are piggy backing on the movie, Night at the Museum.
Hav'nt done it myself as my kids are too young (have to be at least 8) but it might be something worth looking into anyway.

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/dino-snores/index.html


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## Sunny (12 Apr 2012)

Shawady said:


> Purple, I read about a thing the Natural History museum does where you can sleep overnight and do some 'Dinosaur related' stuff. Sounds like they are piggy backing on the movie, Night at the Museum.
> Hav'nt done it myself as my kids are too young (have to be at least 8) but it might be something worth looking into anyway.
> 
> http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/dino-snores/index.html


 
Never heard of that before. Actually sounds cool. Must find myself some kids!!


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## Shawady (12 Apr 2012)

Read about it somewhere last year and was more disappointed myself that the minimum age is 8. Have to wait a couple of years until my kids are old enough.


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## niceoneted (13 Apr 2012)

Second the Natural History museum and science museums, both will keep you occupied for hours and are free. 
Don't forget the likes of the changing of the guard at buckingham palace - also free.


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## Purple (13 Apr 2012)

Thanks for the replies. 
We flew in this morning and went to the Tower today; very good.
We are going to the imperial war museum tomorrow and will go to the natural history museum on Sunday. I'm splashing out a bit on eating, going to Simpsons on the strand tomorrow night. Booked a french place near where we're staying for tonight.


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## venice (14 Apr 2012)

Don't forget the science museum which is beside the history museum. The kids really will love it and its free. Better than the history museum in my opinion.. some nice kiddy friendly restaurants in China town if the kids like Chinese food.. worth a trip either way..


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## browtal (14 Apr 2012)

Purple,
 have a wonderful time. I would be grateful for your tips when you return, I am taking my 12 yer old grand-daughter there to Closing Ceremony of Olympics in August.
Regards Browtal


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## Purple (19 Apr 2012)

browtal said:


> Purple,
> have a wonderful time. I would be grateful for your tips when you return, I am taking my 12 yer old grand-daughter there to Closing Ceremony of Olympics in August.
> Regards Browtal



Thanks Browtal. I stayed in a small hotel beside Paddington Station (£120 per night for a room for 3)so we walked through Hyde Park in the mornings to get towards the tourist areas. Beautiful walk.

We went to the Tower of London the first day, Friday, after we arrived. The guided tour was brilliant. We only got to go to the Crown Jewels half an hour before closing time but by then the queue was gone and we were nearly on our own. There is a charge to get in. On Saturday we went to the Imperial War Museum the second day. We took plenty of breaks so that my youngest boy who’s 9 wasn’t tired. In the afternoon we walked around The Mall, Buckingham Palace, Westminster and Tower Bridge.  That night we went to Simpsons Restaurant and it was great. It’s expensive (around £50-£60 a head) but it’s a memory for the kids. Sunday we were at the Natural History Museum when it opened and stayed ‘till around 2. When we were leaving there were over a thousand people queuing to get in. We went down Carnaby Street after that and had our lunch in a gourmet burger place before getting a taxi back to our hotel to collect the bags and walked to Paddington to get the Heathrow Express back to the airport.

The flights are expensive, well over €100 each, but you can buy the train tickets at Dublin Airport at a discount (beside the departure gates). Adult return is £25ish and children were around £15 each. 
It really is a great city; lots to do, easy to get there and really nice people.

BTW, we went to Legoland in Windsor last year and that was fantastic as well. I preferred it as a holiday to Disney World in Florida.


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## Protocol (19 Apr 2012)

Yes, London is great.

I'd say that the Heathrow Express is the most expensive train in the world, on a fare per minute basis.


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## elcato (19 Apr 2012)

> I'd say that the Heathrow Express is the most expensive train in the world, on a fare per minute basis.


Yep - but they do have the cheapest way fo getting into London fairly efficiently also i.e. the tube for about £5 using an oyster card.


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## Sunny (19 Apr 2012)

Purple said:


> Thanks Browtal. I stayed in a small hotel beside Paddington Station (£120 per night for a room for 3)so we walked through Hyde Park in the mornings to get towards the tourist areas. Beautiful walk.
> 
> We went to the Tower of London the first day, Friday, after we arrived. The guided tour was brilliant. We only got to go to the Crown Jewels half an hour before closing time but by then the queue was gone and we were nearly on our own. There is a charge to get in. On Saturday we went to the Imperial War Museum the second day. We took plenty of breaks so that my youngest boy who’s 9 wasn’t tired. In the afternoon we walked around The Mall, Buckingham Palace, Westminster and Tower Bridge. That night we went to Simpsons Restaurant and it was great. It’s expensive (around £50-£60 a head) but it’s a memory for the kids. Sunday we were at the Natural History Museum when it opened and stayed ‘till around 2. When we were leaving there were over a thousand people queuing to get in. We went down Carnaby Street after that and had our lunch in a gourmet burger place before getting a taxi back to our hotel to collect the bags and walked to Paddington to get the Heathrow Express back to the airport.
> 
> ...


 
Sounds great Purple. Hope the kids enjoyed it. I try and do the guided tour of the London tower every time I am over there. They are great characters. Really is an amazing city which understands the importance of history.


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## browtal (19 Apr 2012)

Hi Purple, 
Many thanks for all your information. 
We will try Simpsons for sure. London must be the most exciting city and never run out of things to do. Regards Browtal


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## Bronte (20 Apr 2012)

Hi Purple, 

This is a great thread, nice to see someone enjoying themselves with all the doom and gloon on here. Absolutely adore London.  Just curious about Simpsons on the strand, what did your kids like about it?  Is it beautiful?

Also was your bedroom tiny or nice?  It's difficult to swing a cat in many London bedrooms.


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## flattea2 (20 Apr 2012)

Probably a bit late for the OP but

HMS Belfast is really great. The Imperial War Rooms and Churchills Museum are very well done too, though maybe kids of that age would like more excitement!


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## millieforbes (20 Apr 2012)

flattea2 said:


> Probably a bit late for the OP but
> 
> HMS Belfast is really great. The Imperial War Rooms and Churchills Museum are very well done too, though maybe kids of that age would like more excitement!



I think the HMS Belfast is still closed - supposed to open again in autumn


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## Purple (20 Apr 2012)

Bronte said:


> Hi Purple,
> 
> This is a great thread, nice to see someone enjoying themselves with all the doom and gloon on here. Absolutely adore London.  Just curious about Simpsons on the strand, what did your kids like about it?  Is it beautiful?
> 
> Also was your bedroom tiny or nice?  It's difficult to swing a cat in many London bedrooms.


The hotel room was ok, nothing special. Tea/Coffee, a fridge, beds were ok, bathroom was very small. Breakfast was very basic.
Simpsons was great. Formal decor and staff uniform etc but they were really friendly and knew how to make it an occasion while putting us at our ease. Their speciality is roast beef which was excellent. The wine ranges from very reasonable to very expensive (I don't know enough about wine to say if it was good value or not). 



flattea2 said:


> Probably a bit late for the OP but
> 
> HMS Belfast is really great. The Imperial War Rooms and Churchills Museum are very well done too, though maybe kids of that age would like more excitement!


I haven't been to HMS Belfast and last I heard it was closed still. I was in the Churchill war rooms before and while it's very historic in itself I didn't find it that impressive.


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