A Long Weekend in London with Family

We recently took a spontaneous long weekend trip to London with family — a bit of a bold move, considering we have two kids who had never been on a transatlantic flight before. The opportunity arose unexpectedly when family members temporarily relocated there, so we decided to make the most of it. We flew overnight on Wednesday, arrived for three full days of sightseeing, and then flew back home on Sunday. While I’d definitely recommend a longer visit, a quick trip is absolutely doable. Our time in London was filled with activities, exploring the city’s highlights with our 8- and 11-year-olds and extended family.

The Practical Takeaways

• Getting through this first day with kids was not nearly as bad as I expected. We landed at Heathrow at 7 a.m., then headed to our apartment for a 2-hour nap. By 11 a.m., we were out exploring and kept going until 8 p.m. The only major meltdown occurred around 5 p.m., but I had a stash of candy in my pocket to help ease the exhaustion and keep things moving. We pushed through and made it.
  
• To avoid overdoing it, I recommend structuring the day around one ticketed activity and one meal reservation. Stay flexible on everything else and be ready to adjust your plans as needed. We also worked in parks and public spaces to our itineraries, allowing some breaks and fun people-watching. This included rests at Trafalgar Square and Russell Square.
  
• We anticipated that taking the underground would be easy. We were pleasantly surprised to find that riding the bus was even simpler. A 30-minute bus ride from the British Museum to Spitalfields Markets turned out to be one of my favorite moments of the trip. We rode on the top deck and my daughter had a conversation with two girls her age visiting from Germany.

Things to Do

Harry Potter-lite: Given that we only had 3-days, we did not go to the Harry Potter Studios (which may be blasphemous to some that are visiting London with kids!). We decided that the full day excursion would take precious time away from experiencing the City. Instead, we did what I would call “Harry Potter-lite.”

• Mina Lima is a very cool gallery and shop owned by the graphic designers for the Harry Potter movies. Harry Potter items are sold all over London, but since Mina Lima is owned by designers of the movie sets, it felt much more authentic than other stores. It carried completely unique items displayed in a fun and quirky way. It’s also very centrally located and easy to visit.

• The Wands and Wizard Exploratorium: UPDATE: Sadly, I’ve heard this place has closed since our trip. It was so fun and I hope it reopens! Our kids loved following a potions recipe book and pouring concoctions into a cauldron.

London Transit Museum: This museum is incredibly convenient to visit if you’re in Covent Garden. It’s almost a no-brainer to stop by if you have kids given its prime location. We spent about an hour there, making it a quick visit. The kids had fun climbing on and off buses and learning about the evolution of London’s transit system. Surprisingly, our favorite exhibit was a quiet room filled with posters that have been displayed in the transit system since the early 1900s. Although we initially thought the exhibit might be dull for the kids, a museum employee offered us a guided tour. She shared fascinating stories about her favorite posters and their artists – her enthusiasm made us appreciate the artwork in a way we never would have on our own.

Tower of London: Obviously if you’re in London, you must visit the Tower of London. Almost 1,000 years old, the site has served as a fortress, royal palace, and prison. It’s steeped with rich history and stories, from the sparkling crown jewels and Henry the VIII’s armor to the gruesome torture chambers. There is so much to soak in that your visit could range from 2 to 6 hours. With two kids in tow we were in the 2-hour category.

To make this digestible, we purchased the family audio tour in advance, which I would highly recommend. It takes you through the curated highlights with storytelling that kids can understand. Each time we veered off of the audio tour we regretted it because the kids got antsy or the content was too grim. The family audio tour is well curated while keeping in mind the limited stamina that families may have. Your ticker includes the iconic Beefeater tours – we did not partake since we had our family audio guide and anticipated a meltdown if we did both.

Sky Garden: This popular attraction offers 360-degree views of London from the top of the 37-story building. It is also filled with lush interior landscaped gardens from which you can sit and relax. While free to visit, tickets are required and become available online three weeks in advance of your desired date. It is located within blocks of the Tower of London. Personally, I would not suggest a visit unless you are also going to the Tower of London or have a reservation in one of the restaurants at the top (though they did not appear to be very kid-friendly). I saw many families bring packed lunches with them to eat at tables overlooking the view. In hindsight, this may have been what we should have done. It would have given us time to relax a bit after the Tower of London.

Leake Street Archway Tunnel: Visiting the Leake Street graffiti tunnels was definitely an unexpected highlight for us. Underneath the Waterloo Station, you’ll find walls covered in colorful and amazing graffiti art. It seems to evolve every day as new artists paint the “canvas.” We couldn’t stop taking photos and were in awe of the works. There were also a few restaurants and bars in the tunnel. 

Kids Toot Bus Tour: Since we only had three days, we took a bus tour to efficiently see the City’s highlights, including Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace. This was an easy way to see London with Family. I chose this bus because it was touted as being geared towards kids. I’m not sure the guide’s content was much different than what you’d get on a typical tour bus. But, it was only 45-min, which seemed like the right amount of time for our group to sit still.

British Museum: Half of our group wanted to go to the British Museum and half wanted to go to Afternoon Tea. We found the perfect compromise by making a reservation for the Afternoon Tea in the Grand Court of the British Museum. This was a great choice for tea, while also giving us a chance to enjoy the building and its architecture for a moment without having to push through crowds.

As for the museum itself, this is home to the Rosetta Stone, Egyptian mummies, and other incredible artifacts throughout human history. First, we stopped at the family desk to pick up scavenger hunt booklets for both the Greek and Egyptian exhibits. Honestly, I can’t imagine trying to make our way through the museum with kids without those booklets. The museum is so big and crowded but the guides kept us engaged, with a mission to complete the books.

Spitalfields Market: Having a dinner reservation at Dishoom Shoreditch gave us a great excuse to explore Spitalfields Market. After an easy and direct thirty min bus ride from the British Museum we found ourselves exploring stalls of artisan crafts and clothing. There were also aisles of international food stalls and well-known brand stores.

I also broke away from our group to explore Brick Lane on my own for a bit. Packed with 20-somethings, south Asian restaurants, graffiti art, and independent bookstores, Brick Lane is eclectic and lively. I also observed an insanely long line for a place called Beigel Bake. It piqued my interest and I can only guess how good it may be based on the wait to get in.

Food

Brother Marcus: This Mediterranean restaurant is conveniently in the heart of Covent Garden (though I noticed another location in Spitalfield Market). The food, served as mezze plates, was great and I’d particularly recommend the halloumi dish and grilled pork rib-eye. Note that the acoustics at this restaurant are challenging. I would suggest eating here when the weather is warmer and you can enjoy dining on the covered balcony where, I expect, you can hear one another.

Dishoom: Just about everyone we spoke to said we should eat here and that we should prepare to stand in line to do so. We were fortunate that because we had a large group we could make an advance reservation at the Shoreditch location. As expected, this Indian restaurant is worth the hype. I’d recommend starting with the addictingly good chota papad. Note that this particular location is difficult to find down a side street, but it gives a great excuse to explore the Shoreditch area.

Mother Mash: This was among our favorite spots. Located on a picturesque street in Soho, Mother Mash serves quintessentially British food. From the menu you pick one type of mash, one type of sausage or pie, and one type of gravy. It was simple and delicious. My kids had clean plates at the end of lunch (a rarity). If you’re in London with family and want to shop, this restaurant is just around the corner from Hamley’s toy store.

Pizza Express: These are on almost every corner and filled with tourists. We were hungry and getting cranky, so we just went to the one in Leadenhall Market after visiting Sky Garden. While I hate to visit a chain restaurant when on trips, it honestly hit the spot. If you’re walking around for too long and need to take a break to eat, it’s not a bad choice.  

Helpful Hints

• We stayed in London with family at an apartment near St. John’s Wood station. This is a residential area that’s just a 20-minute tube or bus ride from the heart of the City. The neighborhood has plenty of great restaurants, coffee shops, and pubs. We enjoyed a nice meal at Drunch and bagels from Panzer’s. If you’re looking for an Airbnb that is not in the middle of the crowds, I recommend this area. Bonus: Abbey Road is also nearby!

• If you’re planning to visit attractions along the Thames, Uber Boats are a convenient way to travel between destinations. We took it from the Tower of London to Westminster, and it was a smooth experience.
• Kids under 11 ride the Tube for free. Be sure to use the entrance designated for wheelchairs and strollers, as the doors stay open longer to give you and your child more time to pass through together.
• Taking the Heathrow Express from the airport to Paddington Station is an extremely easy way to travel – even with sluggish, jet-lagged kiddos. From Paddington we then took a 5 min cab ride to our destination.
• We bought these Camp Snap cameras for our kids just before this trip. They were a huge hit! The kids were fully engaged taking photos while sightseeing, but without taking out a phone and getting distracted by screens. When we got home we uploaded their photos to snapfish and they each made albums. For other ideas on packing practically, visit my post on travel products.

• For recommendations in other major cities, visit my posts on New York City, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.

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