London with kids

The Tiger Who Came to Tea is on at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket - and Little Angel Theatre is a great puppet theatre with short shows.

My children liked the Cutty Sark at that age but obviously that was years ago. I'd be fairly confident about it though.

Young V&A, the Science and Natural History museums would be top of my list.

Some great suggestions here....for when they are older. I would bookmark this thread. Many of these things would be suitable in 5 years time.

At the age they are now I would keep it simple as I suggested before. Natural History Museum is good, open top bus ride (if fine), London Bridge and Horse Guards. Those guards on horseback will thrill them. More than enough for a 5 year old I'd say.

Some good suggestions here.
I've taken several school trips into London. If you want to link the visit to your grandkids' learning at KS1, then obvious choices would be The Tower of London, Big Ben, and something to do with the Great Fire of London. If not, the museums are excellent. The sight seeing bus trip gives a taste of the landmarks, so do that early on.

The Transport Museum is great for younger children, not too big, lots of interactive games, real trains and buses they can sit in, and an infinity platform - which impressed me too.
The sightseeing bus trip is also good for children, they like sitting upstairs on the bus and having their own earphones, and it’s a more fun way to travel round London than the underground.
Mine also really enjoyed Madame Tussauds and the planetarium at that age.

A second vote here for the Postal Museum - last year I took a 7 Yr old and 3 year old and it was enjoyed by both - you can ( and should!) book a session in the postal themed play area which is only for under 8s and was a great hit ! I also often go back to the Canal museum on the Regents Canal - small but lovely - my 7yr old granddaughter loves it . Save the big expensive visits eg Tower of London for when they are older - these small places are great for little ones ( and grandparents too !!)

I took our granddaughter when she was 9, NH museum, Science then Hamleys, lunch in between, we used the hop on/hop of bus, that was enough for the day. We went on the train too, which was also a novelty.

Science Museum
Transport Museum
London Eye
Tower Bridge experience
Harry Potter Studio
The parks in London are lovely, and I think worth a visit.
Hamleys.

I took DGD to the Lego art exhibition and the Van Gogh exhibition in Brick Lane, East London with lunch at Spitalfields Market recently. The VR at the Van Gogh was extra but was her highlight.

The Museum of Childhood is now the Young V and A, recently renovated. I often taken children round and about in London as we live there. They do like the museums but at your little ones’ ages weren’t interested in sightseeing . Covent Garden is good for street entertainers and the Transport Museum. I agree just have a relaxed itinerary and factor in some time for the kids to have a play

A couple of suggestions from an Inner City kid that are not in central London.

The Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green was fascinating for my GD when she was about 6. Lots of old games, dolls, clothes and loads of other things to see. It was also great for me as I saw some stuff there that I had played with as a child! It's very near the tube station and easy to get to.

In Shoreditch there is the Museum of the Home, which has various room settings from different ages. We used to visit it from Junior School (by foot!) so it may not be as good for a 5 year old, but it is very child-friendly - and free!

I agree with the Coram's Fields suggestion if you want a safe, secure park. Adults are only allowed if accompanied by a child and it is a lovely space for them to run around and explore.

what about Buckingham Palace, see changing of the guard at Horse Guards Parade! aswell as museums.

The Museum of London has moved and will not be open until 2025.
The Science museum is always good .Greenwich is very interesting.You could visit St Paul's and go up to the whispering Gallery. If they are keen on History there's the Tower, followed by a walk on the South Bank and then perhaps hop on a boat. a trip on the DLR is fun as is walking under the Thames at Greenwich or Woolwich.
It depends how old they are. I would avoid Oxford street, especially the lower part and especially the rip off sweet shops. I took my grandchildren all over, but we live quite near the centre and so we could do it in bits.If they are interested in armour the Wallace is a quiet museum .I'm sure you'll have a great time.

Elusivebutterfly

When mine were small they loved the Science Museum.

I agree, it’s more child friendly than it sounds

I would second the Lego store near Leicester Square but it does get very busy. They have some amazing constructions, I 9could not get my grandson out of there. He also loved the Horse Guards and chasing pigeons in St James’s Park. If you go to the Science Museum there are often very long queues in school holidays. We had to wait over an hour but that was quite a few years ago.

My granddaughter lives in Kew and I have been taking her to various places in Central London since she was around three. She loves the V&A and the Science Museum. I did the same with my own children. I have a memory of taking them on the tube when my youngest was still in a push chair! OH was often away on business so we just got on with it. I even took them to Harrods once. Just be sure to have plenty of breaks.

Can I come? 😆

Thank you all. A wealth of useful information as always! Very much appreciated.

Personally would wait two or three years before taking them. Parks , water fountains and aquariums can be visited in many parts of the country. Can't imagine anything worse than taking a 5 year old round London - however if I did I would plump for the Natural history museum. So much to see in London and it is an amazing place , but a 5 and a 7 year old would be a no from me.

Boat trip to Greenwich then the museum. My GS loved it.
The Travelodge at Covent Garden (a short walk to the Lego store) is a convenient spot or the one near the Aquarium (which is excellent).

Our 5 year dgc old was there a couple of days ago. Amongst other places, they visited Pudding Lane ( turns out that they had done a project on it at school last year), the Sky Garden skygarden.london/ and Paddington Station, and had a fantastic time!

I would second the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum and a ride on an open-top sightseeing bus. My son also loved the Planetarium when he was about 7. It’s next to Madame Tussaud’s but they are a bit young for MT I think.

NB, you may well need to book the London Aquarium, especially in school holidays - Gdcs were very disappointed when we found it sold out the first time.

The Maritime Museum at Greenwich has gone down well, esp. when combined with a riverboat trip to get there, so you pass the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.

We haven’t taken Gdcs yet (it’s def. on the list) but the Postal Museum is IMO very interesting for children (as well as adults!) - history of post (started with Henry VIII) inc. an old stagecoach etc., and there’s a ride on a mini underground train - it was formerly used to transport mail quickly across the capital.

They also enjoyed the Transport Museum at Covent Garden - lots of very old buses inc. horse-drawn etc. that they can sit in. Plus there’s always a lot to see in CG anyway - Gds in particular loved the people dressed up very convincingly as robots, etc.

And the London Eye - they were dying to go on that (at maybe 6 and 7) and TBH we thought they might find it a bit boring - just going round so slowly - but they loved it. Pricey, though!

Have a look at the Youth Hostels Association. I haven't used them but friends have who recommend them. There;s on at St Paul's for example.

If it's raining you won't want an open top bus. Have a look at the bus routes before you go and buy bus passes. That way you can hop on and off whenever you want.

The Museum of London should be interesting - I went when I was little - about 70 years ago - when it was in Kensington Palace and enjoyed it very much.

Enjoy yourselves. London has much to offer, but it will be busy and is expensive. I suggest you take a picnic. We took our grandsons to the Cutty Sark by boat, but ‘they’re sure to love the National History and Science Museums , if you have time to do both. Have fun!

If the children love dinosaurs, The Natural History Museum's your place, my kids made me spend hours there when they were young, I'd be begging to sit down, long before they'd had enough! I wouldn't be too over ambitious in trying to squash loads in given they're still quite young children can get overload fatigue, as indeed adults can too.

I'm inclined to agree with other suggestions here, foot slogging can be hard on children, the tube can be unpleasantly crowded at rush hour times. I would look into a double decker tourist bus trips or a down the river excursion where maybe the main sights can be viewed easily. What London has in abundance are parks and green spaces where the children might like to run around in to let off some steam,the more central ones are Hyde Park, St James's Park, Green Park, Regents Park, or you could head off to Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath which has a great views over London, good for picnicking if you don't want to spend a fortune in restaurants. I think there's a lido up there somewhere too. Also there are swimming ponds on Hampstead Heath which are very popular.

Hope you have a nice break however you decide to spend your time there.