London Travel Notes

Next summer, our family friends from the Netherlands are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary, and they invited us to celebrate with them in their darling town of Leeuwarden. Now that our kids are a little older, 10, almost 12, and 13, we figured this would be a perfect opportunity to plan a European adventure.  We have decided to add London and possibly Germany to our list.

I have been gathering feedback from various friends and family who have traveled to London with kids...

Possible Itinerary:

London

Day 1

1) AM - Tower of London - get there first thing to get a Beefeater Tour, specifically Yeoman Warder 409 Scott Kelly....Crown Jewels are very cool but visit this first thing since the line progressively gets worse as the day goes on.

Clare McCoy - highly recommended tour guide of Tower (i.e. 9a-1p) (Christine Young)

https://britainsbestguides.org/guides/clare-mccoy/

2) Lunch on the Thames - by boat. Per Rick Steves, can catch boat at Tower Pier
(Dawn Blair suggests Coppa Club - outdoor igloos in winter for dinner, surfer shacks in summer - need reservations WAY ahead)

3) Westminster Abbey - tour

4) Evening - dinner/show

Day 2

1) AM - Double-decker hop on-hop off sightseeing tour, Big Bus Tour? (Christine Young). From Victoria Station or Green Park.
(Dawn Blair used B Bakery bus tour for high tea service on tour)

2) 11am Hop off bus at Buckingham Palace for for the changing of the guard. Guards change at 11:30, alternate days Aug-Apr?, but get there early and stand near palace gates.

3) Walk through St. James Park?

4) Tour Churchill War Rooms - VERY COOL



Day 3 - options:

1) Tour National Gallery?
2) Victoria and Albert Museum - head upstairs to the 'Learning Station' grab a backpack tour, essentially a large scavenger hunt, also has a cool courtyard garden cafe spot for lunch, serves a variety of good food at decent prices...
3) St. Paul Cathedral - WALK UP TO THE DOME, COOLEST VIEW OF CITY (decent walk from the Tower of London)..."the Eye is cool but I think climbing the dome is cooler" (Katie Rummel)
4) London Eye - huge ferris wheel type structure w views of city
5) Tate Modern
6) Natural History Museum (S. Kensington) Free, so go early to avoid long lines...cool dinosaurs, fossils, geology
7) Science Museum (next to History museum) modern and interactive, awesome for kids, aviation, math, science, energy
8) British Museum - place is huge, plan what you want to see ahead, Egypt and Greece, etc...gotta see Rosetta Stone and Mummies (Katie Rummel), Christine Young Dungeon for her boys, fast pass?
9) Kew Gardens
10) Greenwich
11) Hyde Park - horse ride (Lucia arranged this, super fun!)
12) Tube to Leicester Square, Covent Garden, Soho, Regent Street
13) Other fav neighborhoods: Chelsea, Notting Hill, South Kensington (Ciao Bambino)
14) Shopping stops: Hamleys Toy Store, Harrods
15) Harry Potter Studio Tour - many people RAVED about this, but with limited time, we will not do.
16) Haunted bus tour
17) Milk Train ice cream place (Dawn Blair)
18) High Tea at Fortnum & Mason (Nina)
Climb the O2 - great views of the city and fun, active thing to do after day of sightseeing (B. Troy)

Other Travel Tips:

1) USE the underground Tubes for transport!
2) Have each child be in charge of getting the family to diff destinations, they will enjoy the challenge and learn about navigating through a new city
3) Find Airbnb with a kitchenette and possibly laundry (James Wrubel)
4) Take early morning flight to London, arrive evening. Have pub dinner then go to bed. Helps w jetlag (Nina)
5) Have kids take Malatonin to get to sleep when its 10pm local time, but 4pm body time. Wake at normal local time (even if middle-of-the-night body time)...will help reset their clocks right off the bat.
6) Check out Scavenger Hunt Books - makes sightseeing so much more fun for them (Karolyn Blumer) - they used, 'Mission London: A Scavenger Hunt Adventure' - also Kate Westerfield
7) Ciao Bambino - travel site for traveling the world w kids, Amy McMaken's friend from living abroad....
8) Backroads travel agent, pricey but awesome


Day 4 - Outskirts towns:

Day trip to Cambridge: Kings College Chapel, Wren Library
Oxford - Blenheim Palace?
Ringmer

Other tips: Download free app: Visit A City

HOTELS

Waldorf - near theatre district/underground station - saw Lion King (Nina)
Hilton London Bankside - really family friendly, next to Tate Modern where they had a big Lego project
St Ermin's - Christine Young LOVED hotel, great location
Yet to get Hotel suggestion from Barkley's...

Hotel 41 - Annie King Englesmann

To be continued!