Traveling to London with Littles

Since we relocated to England last year, we’ve taken the kids to London twice. Both trips were long weekend stays. While you can certainly have an amazing experience in London no matter what you do, I think the key to success when traveling with littles is balancing your itinerary so that everyone gets a little something out of each day.  I like to plan bigger kid-focused activities for the first part of the day then have lunch and something a little more “nap-friendly” and adult-focused planned for the afternoon.

Below are my thoughts on what we’ve done with our kids there so far. I imagine this will be an ever-evolving blog post. At least, I imagine it will be while we’re living in England!  Know that anything I share about here is from my first-hand personal experience traveling with my family.

1. Tower of London

This is a big and epic thing to do in London for anyone, but we found it very engaging for our kids (ages 4 & 2).  Seeing the crown jewels is something that the whole family will enjoy. You can spend the better part of a day here exploring all it has to offer or do a quicker visit if the little ones are tired. There are a lot of stairs and you can’t use your stroller in certain portions, so know that going in. I recommend getting there when they open and getting in line to see the crown jewels before the line gets too long. While you’re waiting to get in line, perhaps you will see them change out the guard, it’s quite a thing to see!

2. Hamley’s Toy Store

We went to the one on Regent Street on a Sunday morning at the end of half-term break. Probably busier than usual, however, there was a queue of at least 200 people forming outside before they opened at noon. Just be advised that I hear that this is often the case, and for good reason. One of the most magical toy stores for kids.  7 floors of toys, “demonstrations, events, and elaborate displays”!

3. The London Eye

I think everyone should do this at least once.  Our 4-year-old niece and our 4-year-old son thought it was pretty cool. Our 2 year old slept through the whole thing. They won’t let you use your stroller/pram on the eye, so we had to carry our 2-year-old. It’s a great view, even better if you get a sunny day. Perhaps a good thing to do if you’ve just arrived in London from the States and are jetlagged?

4. The Natural History Museum

In my opinion, the best Natural History Museum is the one in LA, but I’m biased. However, this one is quite impressive. Admission is free however, I do recommend booking tickets in advance because they do book up for time slots and you can end up waiting upwards of an hour. That’s not going to be a good thing for your littles. We were there during half-term break (school was out) and it was insanely crowded.  Going during a normal time would probably be more enjoyable. I really thought the presentation of the information was very well done and there’s quite an impressive entrance into the museum. The Blue Whale fossil in the historic Hintze Hall is absolutely fantastic too.

5. The Victoria & Albert Museum, South Kensington

We really enjoyed this museum. Like many of the Museums in London, admission is free. We found it to be much less crowded than other museums during the half-term and as it’s an art history educational museum, we found there was so much for the kids to learn and absorb. My son really enjoyed the collection of Japanese swords. After some well-behaved time in the museum, they have a lovely enclosed courtyard with a lawn for the kids to run around and play on.

6. The London Zoo

As far as zoos go, I’m not much of a fan, however since I became a Mama I frequently find myself at them. The London Zoo is actually quite good. Nothing compared to the San Diego Zoo, but I’d say possibly better than the LA Zoo. We particularly enjoyed the tigers, the insect exhibit and these two enormous pelicans were quite entertaining to hang out with. This is one of those activities that can take up the whole morning and spill into the afternoon, then hop in a cab and head someplace more adult-focused, while the kiddies have a snooze. 

Up next on our list are:

• Covent Garden
• London Transport Museum
• A Tour of Buckingham Palace
• Oh, and I want to go to the Whole Foods I saw in London because I miss shopping there! 
• …and too many other things to list

What are your favorite places to visit in London?  If you live in the UK, what do you recommend doing in London with Littles?

Happy travels!

xo,

Katie