Planning for London is like planning for Paris: There is more to see and do than you could ever dream to fit into one (or two or three) visit. We unabashedly prioritized some of the biggest must-see yet kid-friendly tourist attractions in our London itinerary.
Here’s the itinerary we used for four days in London:
- Day 1 – Kensington Gardens (including the Princess Diana Memorial Playground), Kensington Palace, Notting Hill
- Day 2 – Westminster Abbey (via Buckingham Palace), Big Ben, National Gallery, Leicester Square, Covent Gardens (including the Apple Market and Jubilee Market)
- Day 3 – Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Natural History Museum
- Day 4 – Science Museum
As you can see, we packed in as much as possible during our trip. Our fourth day was only a half day as we had an afternoon train departure. If you have a full fourth day, I would add Hyde Park or a tour at Buckingham Palace which aren’t too far from the Natural History Museum and Science Museum.
Many London attractions come with a hefty price tag. Depending on your budget, you may want to pick and choose the ones that interest you most. It could also be worth buying The London Pass. This provides 1-day up to 10-day passes (the more days, the more you save) to more than 90 attractions in the city. Buying a pass that provides access to multiple attractions can be cheaper than paying for each attraction separately. But it does mean that you need to squeeze as many of these attractions as possible into as few days as possible, in order to see a cost savings. For us, when we mapped out our ideal London itinerary, the London Pass just didn’t help.
At the time of our trip in April 2022, nearly all attractions required advance ticket reservations as a Covid precaution. This seems to have diminished since then, but is something to double check for each attraction before you go.
Where we stayed: Like many things in London, hotels and Airbnbs are expensive. At the recommendation of a friend, we rented a standard one bedroom apartment at the Nell Gwynn House. It’s a bit south of the most touristy areas of London, located in Chelsea which is a quieter area close to many boutique shops and restaurants. It’s also within walking distance to some great spots like the Natural History Museum and Buckingham Palace. The apartment itself wasn’t 5-star quality and felt a bit outdated, but it had enough space and all the basics for our family of four.
Transportation: We like to walk most places, especially in a city like London where there is something worth seeing around every corner. That said, I know we had a lot of walking on this trip. Alternatively, it’s easy to take advantage of London’s various transportation options. The city is famous for its double-decker buses, black taxis with rows of seats that face each other, and its underground Tube – all of which are part of the London experience! Plus, they are all fairly easy to navigate and can help you move around the city if any of your little ones have little legs that need some extra rest.
Day 1
We took the Eurostar train from Brussels to London, which is much easier than flying – same goes for travel to London from Paris or Amsterdam. The Eurostar arrives at St. Pancras International train station. St. Pancras is huge and has plenty of shops and restaurants if you need grab food upon arrival.
Directly across the street is King’s Cross station with national rail services. More recently, King’s Cross has become famous as the location of Platform 9 3/4 from the Harry Potter series. If your family is a fan of the books or movies, it’s worth a visit, but only if you have a bit of time. I have been through King’s Cross a few times and never not seen a lengthy line waiting to get pictures.
Kensington Gardens
After dropping off our bags at our hotel, we walked to Kensington Gardens. The park is full of green space for kids to burn off energy after a train or plane ride. It also features the grand and ornate Albert Memorial, commemorating the death of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband; a bronze statue of Peter Pan; and the Italian Gardens created in 1860.
Notably, Kensington Gardens includes the Princess Diana Memorial Playground. The memorial playground opened in 2000 as a “tribute for a princess who loved the innocence of childhood.” It is a fantastic space featuring a wooden pirate ship, teepees, and sand and rock areas. It’s also a very busy spot with strict hours of operation. There was a quite an entry line when we first passed it in the late afternoon. However, when circled back about 45 minutes before closing, the kids were able to go straight in. Alternatively, if you’re looking for a more low-key playground, there is one near the southern edge of neighboring Hyde Park, on South Carriage Drive. We didn’t make it to this playground, but it seems like a fun, queue-free option.
Kensington Palace
After wandering around Kensington Gardens, we made our way to Kensington Palace, located on the western edge of the park. The palace is the birthplace of Queen Victoria and has been the residence of the British royal family for over 300 years. It is now the official London residence of the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children.
We had booked tickets in advance to secure our spot. They offer family pricing to make it more affordable (2 adults and 2 children were 55 GBP when we went). We also purchased the Tales from Kensington Palace Kids Guidebook with our tickets. It’s a fairly detailed book, so was less of a guidebook for use during the museum visit and more of a cute souvenir for later.
There are a lot of fun and unique rooms in Kensington Palace. Our favorites were the games room where you can sit down at a table and play a traditional game (such as Hazard or Court) and the Jewel Room with gems commissioned for Queen Victoria. Outside you can walk around the perimeter of the Sunken Garden, which features a pond surrounded by lawn, paving stones and flowers. At the far end of the pond, a bronze statue of Princess Diana was added in 2011 after being commissioned by her sons to memorialize their mother.
We spent about 1.5-2 hours visiting Kensington Palace. We were also there over Easter when they offered a Lindt gold bunny hunt that the kids loved. Each child received a map to find the bunnies in and around the Palace and received a small Lindt chocolate bunny at the end. It was a great addition to an already fun attraction.
Notting Hill
I’m a sucker for colorful buildings and romantic comedies, so a walk through the beautiful and eclectic Notting Hill district was a must. While it’s in the opposite direction of most London tourist attractions, it’s a pleasant 20-30-minute walk north of Kensington Palace through serene neighborhoods.
We walked to the start of Portobello Road, which basically runs the length of Notting Hill. Before getting to the busier parts of Notting Hill, you pass Animal Farm author George Orwell’s former house on the right – a pastel blue house with a plaque on it. Continuing up Portobello Road to the next block, you immediately know that you are in Notting Hill. Rainbow colored buildings and people are everywhere. We walked along Portobello Road for a bit before turning right onto some of the quieter and picturesque side streets. After a few blocks we made our way back to Portobello Road to visit the famous Portobello Road Market. The street market is full of stalls with everything from antiques and clothing to produce and street food. We grabbed some delicious Chinese food and chicken nuggets for dinner, but the cuisine options are endless.
There are a number of streets lined with the quintessential rainbow-colored houses that Notting Hill is famous for. The street we visited is just off Portobello Road – turn right onto Lancaster Road and go one block over. While many buildings in Notting Hill are charming pastels, the houses on Lancaster Road are bold and bright. Just remember that people live there (i.e., don’t be the people who sit on the houses’ front entrance steps).
If you’re a fan of the movie Notting Hill, you can of course see the two most notable landmarks. First that you’ll pass walking north on Portobello Road is the storefront used for the exterior of the Travel Bookshop. It’s at 142 Portobello Road and called the Notting Hill Gift Shop, as it’s no longer a bookshop. Second, a couple blocks further is the famous blue door that leads to Hugh Grant’s character’s apartment. It’s a little underwhelming, but easy enough to pass while you’re in the area. The location is 280 Westbourne Park Road, and you can literally search for “blue door” on Google Maps.
There’s obviously plenty of shopping to be done in Notting Hill, whether at the antique market or in the various boutiques. Otherwise just wandering around the charming streets was enough for us.
Day 2
We started with breakfast at Daylesford Organic, a beautifully decorated cafe with delicious food from their organic farm. They have a few cafes around London, and the Brompton Cross location in Chelsea was closest to our hotel. They also open at 8 am, which is great for getting an early start to the day.
Buckingham Palace
On our way to our first destination, Westminster Abbey, we stopped by Buckingham Palace. You can only tour Buckingham Palace for 10 weeks in the summer, and since we were there in April, we settled for seeing it from the outside. Which is actually still pretty cool, knowing it’s the official royal residence in London and a working palace. Between the ornate gate, the guards and the palace itself, it’s a important sight worth a stop. There’s also the famous changing of the guards every Monday, Friday and Sunday at 11:00 am, though it didn’t quite work out with our schedule. But be prepared if you go – I’ve passed by on a separate trip to London, and it gets very crowded with onlookers.
Westminster Abbey
A 15-minute walk from Buckingham Palace and we were at Westminster Abbey, where we had tickets for 9:30 am. It’s definitely the most expensive church we’ve visited at 27 GBP for one adult + one child. Honestly, we originally planned to skip it, as there are many reviews that stress how overwhelmingly crowded it is inside (and it was). But we also couldn’t imagine going to London and not visiting the famous church. Westminster Abbey has been the coronation church of the British monarchy since the 11th century as well as the venue for Prince William and Princess Kate’s wedding, among many other things.
As soon as you enter the church, they provide you with a audio guide, which our kids always love. We found it particularly helpful at Westminster Abbey since there is so much history packed into its walls. We spent about 1.5 hours in the church, which is genuinely beautiful. I’m sure that we didn’t see all of it, with so many nooks and crannies to peer into, but after that time the crowded space became too much.
Big Ben
The Palace of Westminster, which houses the Houses of Parliament and is home to the Big Ben clock, is just to the east of Westminster Abbey. We could easily see Big Ben while we were waiting in line to enter the church. The clock tower, officially named Elizabeth Tower, was under renovation from 2017-2021. Luckily, most of the scaffolding had been removed in the weeks before our visit in April 2022. Tours were closed however due to the renovations. Big Ben is such an iconic structure, similar in my opinion to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, so seeing it in-person is an experience – tour or not.
You can see Big Ben nicely from Parliament Square Garden, across the street from Westminster Abbey. However, for the most spectacular views, you really need to go on or even across Westminster Bridge.
Next to Big Ben is Whitehall, a road known for its government buildings . The prime minister’s office at 10 Downing Street intersects with Whitehall. Horse Guards Parade is also on Whitehall, where the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment ride from Hyde Park Barracks for a changing of the guard each day at 11:00 am. The timing didn’t quite work out for us, but our kids still liked seeing the mounted guards out front.
National Gallery
From Big Ben, we walked straight up Whitehall, toward the National Gallery, only 10-15 minutes away. Whitehall runs directly into Trafalgar Square. It’s a popular space with various statues and dual fountains. We grabbed sandwiches for lunch at one of the cafes around the square and then enjoyed them outside. Just be cautious of the costumed figures walking around the square charging tourists for photos (our kids were particularly interested in Pikachu…).
Just across Trafalgar Square is the National Gallery, one of the most visited museums in the world. Entrance tickets are free, but it’s recommended that you reserve them in advance to secure a time. We had tickets for 1:00 pm and were able to go straight in without any wait.
While we skipped art museums earlier in our travels, our kids are now old enough (6 and 8 years old at the time) to spend a couple hours (1.5-2 hours, in this case) viewing paintings without getting bored or antsy and disrupting the experience for others. We found the museum well laid out and sign posted, making it easy to maneuver through the various rooms. As a fan of impressionist painters, seeing masterpieces by Monet and Van Gogh was a thrill for me as well as for the opportunity for our kids to see them in person.
Leicester Square
Just behind the National Gallery is Leicester Square, which plays host to film premieres in London. Because of this, they have a fantastic film-themed statute trail that our kids loved. Launched in 2020, Scenes in the Square contains 10 bronze statues of beloved film characters from the last 100 years.
They provide a map that helps you locate each of the statues, most of which are in the park. Mary Poppins, Harry Potter and Clifford – all of which our kids love – are in a row along one side of the park. But then the statues of Batman and Wonder Woman are on nearby buildings, making them a bit trickier (and more fun!) to find. After being inside the National Gallery, the statue trail was a perfect outdoor, kid-friendly follow-up activity.
Covent Garden
Less than a 10-minute walk from Leicester Square is Covent Garden, a district known for its shopping and restaurants. This includes the Apple Market and Jubilee Market.
The two markets are located across the road from each other and contain a myriad covered stalls selling handmade goods and antiques. It’s a fantastic place to get a unique souvenir or gift from London, or just wander around browsing. After an hour of exploring the markets, we walked away with a painting and some fossils. The area around the markets is filled with retail stores and restaurants as well as the London Transport Museum.
Also located in Covent Garden is the hidden gem of Neal’s Yard (blink and you’ll unknowingly pass right by this small side street). From Short’s Gardens, we turned right onto Neal’s Yard. At first the non-descript brick-lined alleyway had me questioning our destination. But then it opened up into a small colorful square full of trees, cafes and shops. It’s like you’ve entered a different and magical world. You can then take the road through what feels like a secret passage of more colorful buildings until it drops you off on Monmouth Street. Conveniently located a block away is Beso Restuarant, an Italian restaurant where we stopped for some delicious sourdough pizza. We were there a little before the dinner rush so were seated right away, otherwise it might require a reservation.
Day 3
Our first destination for the day was the Tower of London, where we had 11 am tickets. Since that gave us plenty of flexibility in the morning, we decided to walk there from our hotel. Now, the Tower of London is located much further east than most of the other things on our itinerary, so this could also have been a much faster and less strenuous taxi or Tube ride. But we opted to enjoy a leisurely, hour-long stroll along the walking path on the south bank of the River Thames.
Our route took us back across Westminster Bridge for beautiful views of Big Ben. The walking path along the river passes the London Eye. While I love the whimsicalness of ferris wheels, I’m not a big fan of heights, so we didn’t stop for a ride. It’s also fairly expensive at 32 GBP per person. There are combination tickets available with other attractions that make it a better deal, such as the Sea Life Aquarium, located just next door.
Tower of London
The Tower of London is a 1,000-year-old fortress and UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has been a royal palace, prison, armory and treasury, which has stored and displayed the Crown Jewels since 1661.
Included with your admission ticket is a 30-minute tour of the fortress given by a Yeoman Warder, or Beefeater. We found the tour helpful to understand the history of the Tower of London. The only downside was that the groups are quite large. We usually stand near the outskirts of the group in order to talk to our kids about what we’re learning without being disruptive to those around us. But at times, this made it hard to hear what the Yeoman Warder was saying because we were so far away.
After the tour, we got in line to see the Crown Jewels, part of the Royal Collection. Expect a wait of at least 15-20 minutes. The Crown Jewels are comprised of more than 100 objects, including those used during the coronation ceremony, and 23,000 gemstones. It’s sort of surreal to enter into the vault, the Jewel House, to see the collection, and no photos are allowed to be taken inside.
With the tour and Crown Jewels under our belts, we spent time exploring the rest of the Tower of London. In total we were there for about 2.5 hours, and some people recommend setting aside up to 4 hours.
Tower Bridge
Next to the Tower of London is Tower Bridge, another iconic London sight and our next stop. Compared to many other London attractions, the bridge is more affordable and offers a variety of family ticket options. Tower Bridge was, surprisingly, also one of our favorite activities. Upon arrival the staff gave our kids small booklets, The Tower Bridge Cat Trail. Questions in the book corresponded to activities and stamps throughout the attraction. Who doesn’t love a scavenger hunt!?
While the panoramic city views and engine rooms of Tower Bridge are pretty cool, the highlight for us was the glass floors in the high-level walkways. We loved the thrill of walking onto the glass floor and seeing down to the road and river below.
After finishing at the Tower Bridge engine rooms, take a few minutes to go out through the souvenir shop to Potters Fields Park along the River Thames. It’s a nice green space with seating and cafes that also provides beautiful views of the bridge.
Natural History Museum
There wasn’t much on our list near the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, so we decided to head back in the direction of our hotel and give the kids a treat by spending the remaining afternoon hours at the Natural History Museum. Because we had done so much walking that morning and wanted to save some time, we opted for a taxi for the nearly 30-minute ride to the museum.
Our kids love animals, dinosaurs and rocks, so natural history museums are one of their favorite things. Unsurprisingly, the London museum is no exception. And it’s free, so any amount of time there is worth the visit. We spent about two hours in the museum, until closing at 6:00 pm. That’s when we had to drag our kids away from the huge Earth’s Treasury section where they would have happily spent more hours looking at minerals, gemstones and rocks.
For dinner we walked 15 minutes south to a Mexican restaurant called Mezcalito. The food was quite good if a little pricey for the portion size, and the staff was very welcoming and friendly toward our kids. There are also sombreros at the tables to wear, which was a hit with our group.
Across the street is St Luke’s Gardens, which was peaceful and beautiful to walk through in the evening. The park also has a nice playground as well as St Luke’s & Christ Church, where Charles Dickens was married. On our walk back to the hotel, we stumbled upon Godfrey Street, which is lined with bold rainbow-colored houses that stand out from the brown brick townhomes throughout much of Chelsea.
Day 4
On our last day, we had an afternoon train departure back to Brussels. We wanted to stay near our hotel so that we didn’t need to carry around extra bags. So we decided to go to the Science Museum, which is located directly next to the Natural History Museum.
Science Museum
Like the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum is also free to visit, though pre-booking tickets is required. And there are a lot of exhibits in the museum that do cost money, which we found a bit disappointing.
The first room in the museum is Exploring Space with really fun displays on the planets and outer space travel. This was by far our kids’ favorite room. Most of the museum felt less interactive and kid-friendly, at least for younger kids, in my opinion. We went through rooms with old types of transportation (trains, cars, airplanes) and communications (phones, TVs, radios), which was a bit more interesting to the adults. I probably wouldn’t prioritize a visit to the Science Museum unless it’s raining and you need an indoor activity. It however was a low-key way to spend a bit of time on our last morning.
The list of things to do and see in London is long. Here are some of the ones we had considered when putting together our London itinerary:
- Sea Life Aquarium
- ZSL London Zoo
- Hyde Park – next to Buckingham Palace, it has among other many things the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain
- British Museum – the first national public museum in the world, dedicated to human history, art and culture
- Tate Modern – UK and international contemporary and modern art
- St. Paul’s Cathedral – the location of the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, the funeral of Winston Churchill, among other historic moments
- Piccadilly Circus – often compared to Time Square for the electronic billboards that adorn the buildings
- Hatchards – a wonderful bookstore dating back to 1797
And this surely doesn’t scratch the surface of all that London has to offer!