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Planning to go to London in October half term to do some sightseeing with the kids, probably staying for 3 nights max. Just need somewhere to crash in the evening, think Travelodge etc. but would consider anywhere under £100 a night.
Also any recommendations for places to visit - Kids are 11 and 14. We have our own plans but would be interested to hear what other people recommend, or even would definitely avoid.
Lastly - we are travelling down from the North West, anything on the way/way back to break up the journey?
Cheers.
It can sometimes be worth getting an overnight apartment when in a family group rather than a hotel room.
Premier Inn at Euston is where we've stayed last few times.
i love the cablecar over the thames. much better than the london eye i recon. get the river boat down to it.
obviously if its pissing it down its probably less good! haha
We regularly use the Lee Valley YMCA for work - it is a train ride out of London centre, but an easy one. They have family rooms.
https://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/yha-london-lee-valley
We've stayed at Heathrow Premier Inn a couple of times. Kids loved the adventure of bus, then tube into London centre itself, plus Fazzini Jnr-Snr would sit out the back of the hotel for hours just watching the planes coming in to land.
Premier Inn is our go to with Travelodge as a second choice. I would look for an apartment though, we managed to get a 2 bed place near Tower Bridge for a decent price the last time we went.
Travel lodge Covent Garden is peerless location-wise, and the rooms are massive as it's ancient. I stay there with work when it's available.
Probably made out of RAAC though 😀
Our go-to for family stays is Premier Inn Blackfriars: https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/england/greater-london/london/london-blackfriars-fleet-street.html. Decent location. Tesco Express <1min walk from hotel. Rail/tube station within 5min. MaccyDs nearby if that's your thing. Easy to cross river and walk along south bank to London Eye area and beyond.
On a budget, then definitely head to the Natural History and Science Museums in Kensington, if they've not been before. While they are free, since Covid you do need to book via the websites. British Museum and Tate Modern are also great (and free) if they like a bit of culture.
Free/cheep things to do:
You can walk between the Palaces, Downing Street, Westminster, Big Ben*, Whitehall etc and see all the bits you see on the news.
Head to the museums in Kensington, a lot of them are free and the only exhibits you pay for are the touring ones.
The markets, I absolutely cannot stand crowds, or shopping, yet I'll quite happily mooch and eat myself into a food coma at Borough Market or Covent Garden.
Not Cheap:
Go see a show, doesn't need to be something worthy like Hamlet or an Opera that'll bore the kids, go see Back to the Future, or if they're older there might be something they're studying for GCSE/A-Level like To Kill a Mockingbird.
*and yes you can inform them that they can't actually see Big Ben, just the QE tower.
Driving down or public transport?
Anyway, the museums are world class, my favourites are the Natural History museum complex and across the road the V and A. Then there are the parks, Kensington Gardens is great but so are all the others.
The walk along the South Bank from eg Tate Modern to Tower Bridge is fantastic , loads of history, architecture, quirky stuff and great places to visit.
Download the TodayTix app for cheap show tickets.
Walking/bus loop/tour thingy bob ... (its circular so can be started anywhere around it.... tube stations on/close to the route include; Charing X, Embankment, Bank, Tower Hill, London Bridge and Westminster)
Number 11 bus from Traf Sq east, (goes down The Strand, past StPs) get off at BoE, walk through the City to Leadenhall Market then onto ToL (you'll see "famous" high rises... Gerkin, Walkie Talkie, Cheese Grater, Lloyds Building etc), Im not sure ToL is worth going into so over Tower Bridge then head west along south bank past City Hall. Loop round/through Borough market then carry on past The Globe theatre to Tate Modern (at least stick your head in here to see the Turbine Hall). Keep walking west onto the South Bank "proper" past the NT and finally reaching the London Eye (which is alright) over Westminster Bridge to HoP... Throw a right down White Hall past Downing St and then walk through Horse Guard Parade to get into Hyde Park, walk up through the park to Buck House and then down The Mall back to Traf Sq.
Have fun
I asked something similar'ish earlier in the year but we were there for the day only but managed to cram in/see a lot.
Premier Inn is our usual go-to - decent breakfasts and comfy rooms.
We taxi'd from KX to St Pauls and then did:
- walk over the bridge to the Tate Modern (overall was rubbish but glad we went)
- wander all the way down the South Bank. Happened to be Charlie's birthday weekend so got to see the fly by etc. Stopped for lunch at Limin in Gabriel's Wharf near the Oxo Tower. Absolutely brilliant food and service. Huge crowds of people as we approached the Eye and the Houses Of Parliament etc so didn't hang around there too much - took the usual photos etc and carried on.
- stopped at Downing St for a look and then walked through, past the Imperial War Museum and into St James Park. Ice cream etc there and up for a shufty at Buck Palace and then walk down the middle of the Mall (was still closed to traffic from Charlie's birthday do earlier in the day) to Trafalgar Sq.
- wander all the way back to KX through Covent Garden, past the Shaftesbury Theatre, the British Mueseum, Russell Sq and up Marchmont St, stopping at a few places for coffee and some food before the train home.
Would do it again - weather helped though... was absolutely scorchio. For all the hustle and bustle of the mega tourist bits, it was really nice to take our time and have a really relaxed day walking but see a load of the sights and apart from food and a taxi, hardly spent a penny.
There is a relatively new free viewing point in the City. See here. The linked site also features some quirky places and events.
St Pauls then cross the Milennium bridge to the Tate Modern, nice places to eat on the Embankment.
If driving down, take bikes and use Cannock Chase as a midway break?
Coincide the walking/bus tour already mentioned with the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. Bit of pageantry / errant horses can be fun to watch.
I stay in London a couple of days a month. Travelodge and Premier Inns are both ok. Think strategically about location. Obvs Covent Garden is best, but if you aren't going to stay there, thinks about tube connections.
For example, last week I stayed at Bethnal Green Travelodge which on the face of it is a bit out of the way, but there is easy access to the Elizabeth Line at Whitechaple which opens up easy access to the west end via Tottenham Court Rd.
Only because I don’t think they’ve been mentioned;
Free only in terms of you need to use underground to get about but my kids enjoyed travelling this way. Interesting stations include Covent Garden when you take the 193 step spiral staircase up (though Hampstead has more), Baker Street for art deco, Angel has longest escalator, Westminster quite modern and has not so secret entrance to the Houses of Parliament. DLR for (some) views.
Buckingham Palace mentioned but also Trafalgar Square / Horse Guards.
Hamleys Toy Shop but also Harrods and Liberty of London – you don’t have to buy just take in the free ambiance!
Princess Diana memorial maybe they are letting you paddle in it again?
Sky Garden in Walkie Talkie building.
Greenwich Foot Tunnel, I quite like Greenwich too.
The Southbank walk that DavyBoyWonder suggests goes past loads of interesting places, e.g. the Globe theatre, Golden Hind, interesting streets by The Clink museum, Southwalk cathedral and Borough Market, HMS Belfast finish at Tower Bridge.
Second the Emirates, (?) cable car, same price as a tube journey so definitely cheap/good value. Have a mooch round Canary Wharf while you're around that part of the city and get the DLR back.
I like the river buses, if you stay out west like Kew or Chiswick, if the tides good you can get the boat all the way in.
Govindas just off soho square for cheap eats, it's run by hare Krishna but they don't bother you. There are outdoor table tennis tables in Soho square.
Just riding on buses to places you have never been to, I usually take visitors to the blue plaques of people they are interested in.
The famous shops if they haven't seen them.
British Museum - but don't try and do too much. You'll bore the kids. Pick 1-2 specific rooms and then leave. It's free.
Food court at Seven Dials Market - easy to cater for all tastes, relatively reasonable prices by Central London standards.
Princess Diana memorial maybe they are letting you paddle in it again?
Memorial fountain is open but weather is a little cooler now.
The Princess Diana playground in the NW corner of Kensington Gardens is brilliant - but OP's kids are probably a bit old now.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Sa54cZydHscyNjqG9
I haven't been to V&A Children's Museum yet but it's brand new, free, and looks amazing.
If kids like fashion and food, then Brick Lane market on Sunday and Spitalfields (any day, clothes and food court) is worth a wander. Don't get a curry on Brick Lane, they're all rubbish now. Do have a beigel-off where each kid buys a bagel from the two neighbouring bagel shops (Brick Lane Beigels and the other one), and argues about which is better.
Camden Lock Market etc is all just t shirt stalls and takeaways, and a bit grubby imo...but to be fair kids do love t shirts and takeaways...
Older kid doing psychology GCSE? Freud Museum.
If there is time and they are eligible, get Zip Oyster card for free or discounted transport. It adds up!
South of the River; Imperial War Museum is free and small enough for kids not to get too bored, the WW1 exhibition is pretty cool, couple of tube stops to Borough Market for lunch and then the Golden Hind round the corner at Mary Overie Dock, or HMS Belfast If you've still got energy after that, over the river on London Bridge and the Tower?
Covent Garden when you take the 193 step spiral staircase up (though Hampstead has more)
Sadist 😀
The Design Museum has an exhibition on skateboards coming up if your kids are into that sort of thing.
https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/skateboard
Teach them to pick pockets on Oxford street.
Lots of good stuff above...
Also:
There are tons of mostly free museums depending on what the kids are into. For example The Hunterian is gruesome but fascinating (best to book though).
Monument is cheap and still has good views.
DLR to Greenwich for the Maritime museum, Meridian & Cutty Sark.
Lots of stuff already covered, but;
- If you happen to have Tesco clubcard points they are good for using to cover accommodation.
- London probably the best city in the world for free museums - but just cos they are free doesn't mean you don't need to book.
- Use buses/feet over Tube as much as you can. For kids nothing beats the front row seats of a bus on upper deck.
Less obvious stuff (or if you've done the big tourist things):
- quick train to Maze Hill (from London Bridge), can walk up through Greenwich Park for some ace views and up to the observatory if you fancy it. Then either head past the Maritime Museum or to the NW corner of the park, short wander through Greenwich, past the Cutty Sark and to the riverboat pier for a scenic ride back.
- https://novelty-automation.com/ by the wonderful Tim Hunkin is tucked away on a backstreet by Holborn.
- 120 Fenchurch St ( https://www.thegardenat120.com/ ) has a free garden terrace on the roof, it's not as high as the Sky Garden but way less busy and still has great views.
- https://markethalls.co.uk/ are in Victoria, Oxford St, Canary Wharf - they're big bar spaces with several street food vendors at each, order food and get a buzzer to collect when it's ready. They open early for breakfast and tend to not be too busy at lunchtime too. Victoria one has a nice roof terrace.
Also,
If kids like swimming there’s a heated outdoor pool in Covent Garden. Council owned so reasonably priced too.
I’d look at lee valley yha. It’s loads of wooden huts. Short train ride into town.
Things to do:
Science Museum
Natural History Museum
South Bank walk with lunch at Borough Market. Quality food with a great vibe
Starting Covent Garden - and dependent on weather - Trafalgar square - national gallery , move round sharpish and don't dither on pictures horses- big renaissance stuff. That was free, assume still is. Then, down the Mall to Buck Pal, then round to Big Ben- better to go Big Ben first but Birdcage less impressive than the mall, then up to Hyde Park
Things to do. The Natural History Museum. Also wandering around Greenwhich by the river.