Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The key to a successful family trip to London is making everyone happy, including the
parents. My family-tested recommendations have this objective in mind. Consider these
tips:
• Take advantage of Time Out London's frequently updated website, which includes
handy kids' calendars listing activities, shows, and museum events, all searchable by
date and location (
www.timeout.com/london/kids
)
. Their annually updated guidebook,
London for Children
(
£
12, available in bookstores and many newsstands), is chockab-
lock with ideas for the serious parent tour guide in London.
• Give each of your kids business cards with your hotel's address just in case they make a
wrong turn and get lost.
• Eat dinner early (around 18:00) to miss the romantic crowd. Skip the famous places.
Look instead for relaxed cafés, pubs (kids are welcome, though sometimes restricted to
the restaurant section or courtyard area), or even fast-food restaurants where kids can
move around. Picnic lunches and dinners work well.
• Public WCs can be hard to find. Try department stores, museums, and restaurants, par-
ticularly fast-food places.
• Follow this topic's crowd-beating tips. Kids get antsy standing in line for a museum. At
each sight, ask about a kids' guide or flier.
• Most of the big museums—such as the Tate Modern, Tate Britain, and National
Gallery—schedule children's activities on weekends. Some museums also offer “back-
packs” with activities to make the visit more interesting. Ask at museum information
desks.
• Many museums—such as the Science Museum and Museum of London Dock-
lands—have play areas for children under age seven. (The Army Museum will, too,
when it reopens in the summer of 2016.)
• Hamleys is the biggest toy store in Britain, with seven floors of toys (daily, 188-196
Regent Street, Tube: Oxford Circus,
www.hamleys.com
)
. It's also included in the
at Heathrow and Stansted airports, and at St. Pancras International Station.
