Exploring London with Kids: Family-Friendly Tips and Sights đ´ó §ó ˘ó Ľó Žó §ó ż
Jul 17
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Joe has been to London before, but it has been at the top of Liz's bucket list for a very long time. So, since we just moved to Spain, we had to make this one of our first trips, and it did not disappoint.
How We Got There
Flying from Spain on Ryan Air we flew in to London Stansted. Most london airports are 45-60 minutes away from the center of london. I'd make sure to have your mode of transport worked out before hand or know what the plan is. Both Stansted and Heathrow have trains that are directly inside of the airport that will take you to the heart of the city.
From Stansted- Take the Stansted Express to Liverpool Street
about 50 minutes, ÂŁ10 if you book ahead
kids under 5 are free, and 5-15 are discounted
From Heathrow- Heathrow Express to London Paddington
about 20 minutes, ÂŁ15 booking ahead
kids 15 and under are free
Transportation
To us the public transportation is one of its greatest features and a big reason we would go back, aside from loads of other things. Its one of the easiest to navigate and pay for which is huge when traveling to a new place especially with kids.
Apart from longer distance trains, like those airport transfers or going from one city to the next, their train, bus and even boat system is just tap on tap off with any credit card you have or tap payment on your you phone, watch, etc.
There is also a daily and a weekly cap in how much you pay. As long as you are using the same card their system will only charge you a cap of ÂŁ8-12 on the tube (train), ÂŁ5 bus. So once you hit that cap on the day you are no longer carged (depending on your zone), but you still have to tap on and tap off.
That makes public transport so much easier so you don't have to find a kiosk, figure out the stop, or how to purchase your specific ticket. You just walk up, tap, and go. Their maps are also easy to figure out.
BIG TIP- download the City Mapper app. This is extremely helpful when navigating any city and using public transport. Just plug in where you want go to and it will list your transportation options, time, duration, etc. Makes getting around that much easier.
Once we had the public transport down we used that as an activity and attraction on top of getting around. Our todder loves all modes of transportation be it train, bus, boat, cable car, etc. Well whats better than sitting in the front row on top of a double decker bus going through a city?
There are several routes (9, 11, etc.) that will take you through lots of the top sights and even the same routes as the more expensive hop-on-hop-off tourist buses, but you will be paying a fraction of the cost.
We used the busses to our advantage because Landon loved them, it gave us a rest from walking around and got us to where we wanted to.
Where we Stayed
I'd say there isn't really a wrong answer to where to stay. With so many options and London so large, I won't get into all of the areas because I've only stayed in two, and there are plenty of other people that have much more experience and can cover it all.
So instead ill share where we stayed and why.
We stayed in South Bank/Southwark. This put us close enough to plenty of public transport (Waterloo station, Bankside) and places like Borough Market, but not in the tourist center where things are a bit crazier and more expensive.
Our Highlights
Greenwich
The top excursion/activity I will recommend to everyone visiting london, espeically families, is a day-half day trip to Greenwich. Its a bit out of the city center but that was another oppertunity for some fun riding their Uber boats, which are tap on tap off. We went first thing in the morning, got there early so we could go up to the observatory and gave Landon plenty of time to play at the awesome park playground there.
Then the Greenwich market opens for lunch and you can walk around it and get lots of great food. From there we took the boat back BUT you can cross the river and that takes you toward Canary Wharf. there is also an underground tunnel you can walk under the river.
We took the boat all the way to Westminster, did the obligatory seeing of Big Ben and Parliament all while shoulder-blocking the other tourists and observing absurdly long lines to take a picture with a red phone booth when just 50 yards away there were ones with nobody.
Bus Rides
Another day we hopped on the number 9 bus and rode it all the way to Kensington. Got breakfast, walked and played through that park.
Then we got on hopped on the tube and headed to Kings cross and from there walked all along the canal. Stopped at Camden Market and proceeded to Hyde Park where we found another playground.
This was great because we covered a ton of ground and saw many parts of London that a lot of people don't see. The canals are really cool, and Camden has two markets. One is a brand new food hall, and a little bit further down is more of the classic food stalls, which were absolutely popping on a Monday.
Exploring
This isn't a specific highlight more of a general approach to how we travel.
i did a ton of research before going to lonon, probably enough for at least five trips. Watched a lot of YouTubers and bloggers and put pins all across my google map so if we headed out in any direction i had something near by. I think we also averaged 25K+ steps a day.
Typicaly that "something" was a pub, but you cant not go to the UK and full embrace Pub Culture. That in and of itself, especially coming form spain, was a HUGH highlight. Its so simple and nice to walk up to the bar, order your drinks and what food you want, tell them your table number, pay and just chill. No waiting for somebody to come by to order or pay. Much preferred.
But pub hopping was awesome; It always feels so at home and unique.
My London Google map of pins:
Biggest Tips
Grocery stores are plentiful and great in London. Pop in and get snacks, mostly for the kids. They also actualy do a lot of full fat yogurts with protein which is great to have for Landon.
He was also on a serious bean kick while there, so great timing on his part. We travel with collapsable containers and picked up pop top beans and carried those around as well.
Everyone is going to tell you bring layers and rain gear so just another reminder on that. We actually brought the sun and heat from Spain and only saw rain once all week.
City Mapper app, tap on tap off public transport.
Go to all the parks. Seriously, the UK has some of the best playgrounds in all of Europe, they were consistently great and kids need to play.
Explore in all directions. Dont get hung up on the big sights too long. I think oure favorite places were the less crowded ones.