London Travel Forum

First of all thanks to everyone who helped with previous questions.
Now here is what we'd like to do with our 2 12 year olds..duck tour, canal ride, greenich observatory, docklands train, zoo, Madame Toussand, Ripley"s.
science Musuem, Natural History, Imperial War, London Tower,Camdon Market, Covenant Garden, Harrods, BBc tv tour, British Museum, Oxford Street,Musuem of Royal Institution, V. & A. Museum of Childhood, Piccadilly at night, What is near what and what can be done each day?
What is the most economical way? What most worthwhile? Any other ideas?
We have a week. We also are looking for reasonable tickets for Lion King.
Can you see and hear from the back section of the theater? Suggestions?

You can go to Greenwich on the DLR, so that's two - it is an interesting trip through the new developments around Canary Wharf plus you get a super view up the river. It's a nice walk but a goodly one through Greenwich Park from the DLR station to the Observatory. The Maritime Museum is well-worth a visit, as is the old Royal Naval College.
The Science Museum, the Natural History Museum and the V & A are all within spitting distance of each other but I think you would need more than a day for all three. These are all free.
I personally wouldn't waste my money on Madame Tussauds.
I should imagine that Camden Market and a canal ride could be combined in one day.
Tower of London will need most of one day.
You haven't mentioned the London Eye?
Piccadilly at night, with 2 12 year olds, will take minutes. Combine it with the visit to The Lion King.

I wouldn't bother wuth Madame Tussauds either.expensive tourist-oriented tat imo...but I do know that children like it.

I suggest the Natural history and V&amuseum on one day, the Science Museum plus something else on another, the British Museum plus soething else on another. Too many museums in one day will bore even the most intelligent kids. They need a bit of space and 'fresh' air. Combine an indoor activity with an outdoor one wherever possible.

You should probably cut down on the museums a bit and take in some of the parks as well. http://www.royalparks.org.uk/ They are not too old to enjoy the Diana Memorial Playground, for example...... http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/kensington_gardens/diana_playground.cfm
.....and a game of football somewhere (just buy a cheap small ball) will allow them to let off steam.

Exploring the Tower will take a long time....... I suggest you combine this with your theatre evening, allowing time for an early meal/freshen-up/rest before going to the theatre.

Piccadilly at night is nothing special, imo. Better to go on the London Eye (expensive though www.londoneye.com )...or just combine your Oxford Street explorations with a meal somewhere and a quick look at Picadilly on the way back to your hotel. Remember it won't be properly dark until around 9/10pm in the summer months.

The British Museum (also free) is close to Oxford Street, so you could easily combine them. It's only a few minutes walk from Tottenham Court Road Station to the Museum. This station is at the tackier end of Oxford Street - the best shops are at the Marble Arch end, though. To get from one end to the other, take the bus, or the central line tube. Covent Garden is also not far from the Museum - a couple of stops on the Piccadilly line from Russell Square tube if you don't feel up to walking.

I agree that Madam Tussauds is not really worth it, and I think the same might be the case with Ripley's, though I haven't been.

Hawkhead is spot on. I would merely add that you are trying to cram a lot into a week. I really think you should knock out a few of your least favoured options or you will spend a week running about like mad, getting exhausted and not really taking much in.

Just a few other pointers.

The Museum of Childhood is a bit off the beaten path (near where I live actually) and not easily combined with any of the others although close to Bethnal Green tube (Central Line).

Camden Market is best / busiest at the weekend but can get extremely crowded. It is walking distance to the zoo so they might combine, and the canal is nearby.

Similarly, the Imperial War Museum is not really near any of the other things mentioned.

Oxford Street and the British Museum are a short walk apart.

Travelling, all the places mentioned are served by public transport, and the best way to do that is to get either a travelcard or an Oyster card (a sort of credit card thing you can top up if it runs out). The Transport for London website is absolutely invaluable for travel here. Here is the link.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/

You do not say what time of year you are coming but I would check on the availability of canal tours. I have a feeling they are only generally available at the weekend except possibly in high summer.

If I can be of any further ssistance, please feel free to VT mail me.

Hope this assists,

fergy.

Let me just add that shows like "Lion King" are miked, so you'll hear well even in 'the Gods' (high up in the theatre).

Having raised 4 children ourselves and taken them on many vacation/holidays pay heed to what leics and let the kids just run around in one of the parks periodically. I would also think that if you are going in the summer months part of a day in the water somewhere would be a nice break.

Otherwise a few other notes after having been to London ourselves for the first time last year. The Tower of London will take most of the day, after that you could walk over the Tower Bridge and go over to the South Bank and just walk around and have dinner.

The 12 year olds might also enjoy climbing up to the top of St Paul's Cathdral, its only 500 some steps to the top (HA HA). There are some great views up there and once you pay the admission to get in going to the top is included. You also might have fun in the Whispering Gallery also.

Check VT member DABS pages as well, as she brought her niece and nephew to London last summer also and she has some kid activity tips.

I heartily agree with Leics and riorich, don't overload the kids on museums, I can still remember the pained expression on my niece's face as we dragged her through the V&A, the one activity that we planned for the adults. You don't say whether you have boys or girls, we split up the day we did the V&A, girls went there and boys went to the Imperial War Museum.

The things they liked the best were the Tower of London, Hamley's, the Science Museum which has a great interactive section called the Launch Pad and walking down the row of mansions just to the west of Kensington Gardens. If you've got a warm sunny day you and your kids are probably not going to want to spend it inside museums all day, enjoy the parks and the outdoor markets.

Two things you can combine are the canal tour which starts in Little Venice and goes up to Camden. Also if you want to take a ride on the Thames you can do that by the Thames Clipper up to Greenwich and then take the DLR back.

One of the cool things that we took the kids to was a rugby game out in Twickenham, it was a sport they had never seen and they got to hang with the locals.

I've never been to Madame Tussaud's but it seems that most people find it overrated and not worth the wait. London Dungeons was definitely not worth the wait, pay the extra for a fast pass should you be talked into that one. The London Zoo was a huge disappointment to me as was the London Aquarium (it's been 4 or 5 years since I've been though), if you live somewhere with a good zoo or aquarium, you might give those a pass.

Don't overschedule yourselves, I found that even with a modest itinerary (by my standards anyway) that we only hit about 3/4 of what I thought we could do in a day and the 1st day was more or less lost to jet lag. And I had a plan a and plan b for the day, depending on the weather we could do this or that.

One more thing, since the adults have travelcards, the kids traveled for £1 off peak (after 9:30am on weekdays, all day weekends). I bought the cards the night before and told them it was for the next day.

If the adults get paper travelcards from a rail station, not a tube station, you can utilize the 2 for 1 offers, good at places like the Tower, the Thames Clipper and many other places.

http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/

Check my 3rd tip on this link for how to get discounted theater tickets in advance, I've got a few links there that might have Lion King, I don't believe that TKTS carries that show.

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/411f2/4b7ec/4/

The duck tour will be fun. Make sure you book ahead and arrive early.Those sitting at the windows make get wet, but that's part of the fun,especially for children.

Something all the children I took to London loved is the maze in Hampton Court. It's not on your list, but you may want to do a google search and read about it.

The Museum of Childhood was not a favourite among the children, but the adults loved it. I suppose you need to look back on your childhood to fully appreciate the museum. The dinosaurs and the creepy crawlies in the Natural History Museum were a big hit.

Sorry, one thing I did forget to add. A musician friend of mine plays in the orchestra for the Lion King sometimes (he deputises in several West End shows which is a common practice) and he never made any mention of any problems hearing in the theatre.

For "Lion King" tickets, try http://www.lastminute.com/site/entertainment/theatre/event-product.html?eventID=346955163-1&source=crmuk090515month