Michaelmanson

My children, wife and I are staying in London for three nights next month. It will be the first visit to London ever. Could you suggest any places to visit with family? I think museums will be boring for children, but I will be happy with any help!

UKtravelbear

whilst I welcome you to FT can I politely suggest you have a scan down the first few pages of the board to see the many other threads asking the same question.

Ans museums certainly aren't boring to children (what ages are they) if you pick the right museum and the right exhibition to take them too!

JBord

Tower of London, Harrod's, age-appropriate play, changing of the guard. Now, go look at the other threads as suggested above.

WorldLux

• Go to Museums that are fun for children: Transport of London Museum, The Tower, Tower Bridge, Natural History Museum, Science museum, etc.
• Ridding in the front seat on the upper deck of a Routemaster
• Changing of the guards
• Do the classic boat ride from Westminster Pier all the way to Greenwich (and the DLR+tube back)
• Other stuff that you, your wife, and children like (shopping, eating, sightseeing, ...)

Giggleswick

Sorry to rant, but the assumption that museums are boring for kids (unless you're talking about tiny kids--and maybe not even then) is one of my pet peeves. In London, in addition to those already named, the British Museum, especially the Egyptian collection, and the Victoria and Albert always have plenty of kids who are anything but bored. Many kids even like art museums--shocking, I know. I've seen kids totally absorbed at the National Gallery or Tate Britain, for instance. I could mention the armo(u)r collection at the Wallace Collection or, for kids old enough to understand it, social history of childhood at places like the Ragged School Museum or the Foundling Museum. And many museums now have "treasure hunt sheets" or similar things to involve kids. I'm so thankful that my parents took me to museums as a kid and fostered my curiosity. Lecture over.

Ldnn1

I'd add the Museum of London to the list above. Plenty of interesting topics for kids like the Great Fire, the Plague, mock-ups of Victorian streets, a medieval hut, the Blitz, the Olympic cauldron, etc...

ILuvParis

and London Eye.

Ldnn1

If they like football, a tour of the Emirates or Stamford Bridge could be good too.

AlwaysonBA663

Emirates Cable car over the Thames is fun on a clear day but there’s not a lot to do at either end of the Cable car!

Swiss Tony

I beg to differ on that point. There's a load of exhibits in and around the O2, whilst on the north side there's the Crystal which is a very kid friendly museum with lots of interactive exhibits that looks at things like sustainable cities and the environment. A short ride further north on the DLR and you're at the Olympic Park, which I thought was very well done (with plenty of space for the kids to run around, too).

CrazyJ82

Surely it depends on the ages of the children and their interests. Questions thus vague are impossible to answer when theres literally something for everyone of any age in London. The more info OP can offer the better the advice he or she will get.

WorldLux

I would imagine that the OP knows his kids and that they may not be overly excited to see either special or permanent art exhibitions. The Tate modern is IMO the exception as the turbine hall currently features swings with three seats. That should be fun for kids. Then there's the nice (and free) view from the Switch house. I agree that the British Museum can be fun for children as it offers so much to see (including mummies). V&A, Tate Britain, RA, etc. are likely to be the type of museum OP thought off and if the children will indeed be bored, there's no point in going there.

The beauty about museum in Britain is that most are free. You can go inside, see if the kids like it and decide to stay/leave depending on the "feedback" from the kids.

It can be combined with the river cruise and/or Greenwich quite nicely.

Another museum that may be "not boring" is the HMS Belfast. I haven't visited it so can't say whether it is worth it. If the kids are into big boats, then that may be another option. BTW The London Film museum still runs the Bond in motion exhibition. Probably not as big as other car related museum (e.g. the BMW museum in Munich) but that's something the kids may like.

Catweazle

You could always play hide and seek in the British museum...

But on a more serious note, is there anything on at the theatre? London is world-renown for showing some wonderful theatrical productions (and no, it doesn't have to be Shakespeare if you think that sort of old-timey stuff bores the kids to death).

stut

There's a Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green, which is rather fun:

V&A Museum of Childhood Victoria and Albert Museum

The Aquarium is always a favourite (make sure and get the 2 for 1 offers):

https://www.visitsealife.com/london/

To blow off some steam there is the Princess Diana Memorial Garden:

https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/...ial-playground

and, next to the Coram museum, Coram's Fields (with its little 'zoo'):

https://www.coramsfields.org/

Talking of which, there's a city farm on the Isle of Dogs (npi):

https://www.mudchute.org/

and there's nothing better than jostling for the front seat of the DLR (it's driverless) to get there. You can then walk through the (rather eerie) foot tunnel to Greenwich for all the stuff there (excellent street food at the market, the Cutty Sark, river boats back to central London, etc, etc).

Of course, there's London Zoo as well:

https://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo

Then there's the Harry Potter sights: platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross, Leadenhall Market near Liverpool Street (aka Diagon Alley) and, of course, the Warner Studios tour near Watford:

https://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/tickets

Time Out, as ever, has an excellent guide:

https://www.timeout.com/london/kids/...ndon-with-kids

NeedstoFly

Regents Park Zoo