4 Days In London With Kids
It’s been busy getting back to two blog posts a week. But, you can expect content, every Tuesday Thursday moving forward. We are hoping that starting in September to a YouTube video every other week. This is a lofty goal as we don’t travel that often, and both of our girls are starting year around softball this year. So, all my sports parents know what that means. Not only do we have sports and school, we are also taking on a huge yard renovation. So, some of our content may be home instead of away. For today, I am sharing our 4 Days in London With Kids.
If you are new here, I want to start by directing you to our About page. We are a unique travel blog in that we still live a conventional life. We go to public schools, our children play sports, and Chase and Megan both have jobs. So, check out our about and then come back to enjoy some travel tips for London With Kids.
Day 1
Hop-On Hop-Off Bus
We decided to do London differently than Paris. You can see our Paris guide HERE. We started our first full day with a Hop-On Hop-Off Bus. It was perfect. We got the lay of the land and saw a ton of sites. We also purchased a Go City Pass for London. Our stops included St. Pauls Cathedral, Kensington and the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey. We did have a big protest occur while we were there. Which messed up this first day and we only made it about half way. So, we called the Go City helpline and they were able to reinstate our Hop-On Hop-off Ticket and we used it again a different day.
St. Paul’s Cathedral
This cathedral was gorgeous. We did see so many churches while we were in Paris and London. Megan really loves seeing the history in churches. She was born and raised as a child in a catholic home. So there are memories tied to mass and service that she enjoyed sharing with the girls. St. Paul’s is filled with art from the dome ceiling to etchings throughout. Be sure to take the audio tour, visit the underground crypts and take the stairs to the top of the church. This is probably the church we spent the most time in. The views, the history and the people buried here is just amazing.
When planning your visit remember the church is closed on Sundays and visiting hours may change. Be sure to check the website for details.
Westminster Abbey
This is always the top of everyones travel list. Another stunning church to visit. Similar to St. Paul’s Westminster Abbey is closed on Sunday’s for mass. During the summer months or high peak travel times this church can be very crowded. So, be prepared to stand in line outside and also dodge crowds inside. This church is stunning and has so much history, hosting the coronations and royal weddings, but we were a little burnt out on church tours by this time. Unfortunately, we rushed through and quickly moved on.
Tower Of London
The Tower of London is a must when visiting London with kids. The guards, the history and the variety of things to see make it worth the trip and time. You can see the history of the tower, the crown jewels, and the ravens that guard the tower. You can also join the yeoman warden tour also known as a ‘beefeaters’. The tours are included in your admission and start every 30 minutes near the entrance. We listened in on a couple of them and it was really cool and entertaining.
Day 2
Churchill War Rooms
This was at the top of Chase’s list and since we were in London on Father’s Day we chose to visit the Churchill war rooms to celebrate. Megan has studied WWII and watched almost every movie about it so these war rooms were fascinating. We spent about two to three hours underground with the audio tour. In these underground bunkers you can view all the rooms that helped the allies win WWII. This includes communication rooms to the places that they slept. They spent so much time in these bunkers to overthrow Adolf Hitler and the axis countries.
Warner Brothers Studio Tours
When traveling to London with Kids we highly recommend the Warner Brothers Studio Tours. Getting in can be challenging so be sure to book your tickets well in advance. Our family loves Harry Potter and we wish we would have planned better. We booked our tickets very late so we were only able to get a time slot close to closing. Which meant we had to rush a little bit. The closing hours are great because we do feel that the crowds were very small. however, be sure to give yourself at least four to five hours. They do serve food and butter beer about half way through the tour which is a nice spot to take a break.
Transportation was super easy, we took a train out and then rode the shuttle from the train stop to the park. This is probably the best way to travel and all the information is listed on the Warner Brothers Studio Tour site.
Day 3
Changing of the Guards
This was not on our list, but we accidentally stumbled upon it. Which made us wish we would have been there for the start. It begins at 10:45am and there are multiple locations that it occurs. So you have of options to view. You can view the detailed schedule of the changing of the guards HERE. Since we came across this event, we don’t have a ton of detail on the best spots for viewing. You can hire guides and do it up right or you can just walk up to the front of Buckingham palace like we did and see it. Choice is yours.
Afternoon Tea
Obviously, we needed to enjoy afternoon tea while in London. We researched options and decided that The Wolseley afternoon tea was the right choice for us. The location and price are great. You will leave full and the space is beautiful and unique. The girls loved it and all of the food was delicious. We chose the champagne tea for Chase and Megan and the classic tea for the girls. We had reservations, but they do have a handful of tables open for walk-ins. As with everything else we recommend reservations so that you can be sure you aren’t messing with any of your other plans waiting for a table.
Day 4
Hop-On Hop-Off Bus attempt #2
Luckily, we had a day that was open to redo our hop-on hop-off bus. This day we headed out to Kensington enjoyed the park and the quaint streets. We wish we would have seen this part of town earlier. London was not on our list of favorite cities and we believe it was because of the protests and location of our hotel. We were close to the London Eye in the waterloo district which was walking distance and close to a lot of the tourists spots, but it didn’t have the London charm we were hoping for.
A Play in Piccadilly Circus
This is an absolute must. We saw Mary Poppins which is no longer on stage. However, if it comes back, I highly recommend going to see it. Piccadilly Circus is such a great part of town and the night life has the energy of Times Square in NYC.
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