First trip to London - any and all advice appreciated!

[mc2]

Hello!
We are a family of 5 (kids are 4, 8, and 9) who will be traveling from East Coast Canada to London and Paris this August. We are spending 2 nights in London, then a week in Paris, a night at DLP, a night back in London (near Heathrow), then home again. Hubby spent a month in London for school 15 years ago, but that is the only experience we have for London travel. We're looking for any hints, tips, suggestions, etc... that you can offer. We fly in at 9:30 on a Sunday morning, and will be departing for Paris by train at around 9-10 Tuesday morning. We take the Eurostar back from DLP on a Wed night, and fly out at 1 pm on Thursday. Any recommendations for a family of 5 with 3 younger children would be greatly appreciated - accommodations, food, sights, sites to find discounts on trains/activities, best train/bus/tube tickets to buy, anything to absolutely book well in advance, etc..

The only thing we have booked at the moment are tickets to Les Miserables on Monday night, and our train tickets from DLP to London. Other than that, we are wide open for travel plans. We're quickly realizing that hotels for a family of 5 are virtually impossible to find for decent rates in high tourist areas, but if you know of any "hidden gems", or great family hotels that have decent rates for 2 adjoining rooms, let us know!

There is an overwhelming amount of info online, but figured the local experience/perspective was my most reliable source of info!

Thanks in advance for your time and assistance!

 

[Dimplenose]

Gosh, what a lot to fit into a week and 2 days!

If you land at 9:30 by the time you get to central London it will be lunchtime.

A bus or boat tour might be a good idea.

If you want to see a lot in a short time the Westminster area is interesting. You can see Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral. Maybe not enough time to go into any of them but Westminster Cathedral (early 20th Century I think) has a viewing tower that doesn't usually have a queue - it's about £5 each and a fairly good view over London.

St James' park has a children's play area.

You will need to check in at St Pancras about 30 minutes before your train - but maybe extra security checks at the moment.

I've only visited Paris as an adult - remember that France is 1 hour ahead of UK time.

If you are near 8 Rue des Halles keep your eye open for Auroze pest control shop - it's a bit gruesome but just like it is shown in Ratatouille.

Have a look at the Louvre website for ideas for self guided tours. Paris boat trips are very good.

Try to get to DLP early on your first day - August is a busy time and you will probably need 2 days to do everything.

 

[mc2]

Thanks so much for the helpful info! It will certainly be a busy trip, but the fact that we have 3 younger kids with us will also mean we have to prioritize things and take a more relaxed pace. For sure we will miss some activities - just means we'll have to come back another time!

 

[pampat]

If you are looking for a show that will appeal to the children as well as you, try Matilda. It's absolutely wonderful, not like the film, but full of magic and humour. However, we took some Canadian friends and one of them couldn't understand the very posh accents of the children! We didn't think the accents were posh, but there you go!

Pam

 

[mc2]

If you are looking for a show that will appeal to the children as well as you, try Matilda. It's absolutely wonderful, not like the film, but full of magic and humour. However, we took some Canadian friends and one of them couldn't understand the very posh accents of the children! We didn't think the accents were posh, but there you go!

Pam

Thanks for the tip!

 

[maclondon]

ok you're really not going to have much time on the return from paris - stick to a wander around southbank or something - get some food etc.

Heathrow is A LONG way out of town, allow at least an hour (more like 1.5 hours) to get to your hotel from central london. Use public transport as cabs will be as slow. Heathrow express is only 15 minutes but VERY expensive and you still have to travel to paddington then wait to get it - often its as quick to justt get the Piccadilly line.

if you're looking for kids places to eat - giraffe is always a hit with kids - as is nandos or pizza express - they are chains and everywhere.

if you kids are a little more adventurous try wagamama - out kids LOVE the mini chicken katsu with amai sauce there.

if you want something more 'disney' there is a rainforrest cafe just off Picadilly Circus.

avoid some of the more obvious tourist traps - they tend to be a bit rubbish.

If youre kids are big into harry potter - i can highly recommend the studio tour - it will eat most of a day - as you'll need to get a 20 min train to it from euston - then theres shuttles to the studios - but its the REAL sets you'll be in.

its more a meusuem type set up - but has a few surprises and its the only place you can get butter beer other than universal studios. You book a time slot arrival - it takes about 3 hours to go around. so if you go early you will be back in london by 5pm.

Legoland is close to heathrow - but again you need a whole day really.

 

[maclondon]

http://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/your-visit/getting-here#public

is the harry potter site

re hotels - living here i dont use them - but premier inn is always good value - they have sites in town and out of town - they only have rooms for 4 - but they turn a blind eye to the 4 year old being in bed with you - thats what we do - with our 7 year old!!!

http://www.premierinn.com/ they are great value and always comfy and clean.

they do good value breakfast buffets too - and the kids eat free

mac