My kids are about the same age and we are going in a week. Could you share some tips about the trip? What things from your daily program were absolute hits and what activities/places to visit would you beter have left out because they were boring/too crowded/not worth the money? Did you find some kids friendly places to eat lunch or have a snack in the center? Did you feel safe with kids in all the places you have visited? Thank you in advance for all the useful information you can share.
First of all, I was shocked at the prices 
And that’s coming from someone used to Swiss prices! 30£ is the cheapeast entrance price for most activities, and kids aren’t much cheaper.
We booked a hotel in South Kensington: it’s not a cheap area, but a very safe one. Globally, I felt much safer in London than where I live here in CH. And be ready, you’ll get security checks (bags, airport-type gates, etc.) absolutely everywhere.
Here are the activities we did:
- Natural History + Science + British + Army museums. All free, but book your tickets in advance (online) otherwise you’ll have to queue for ages. At the British museum, you can ask for a free ‘Quest’ brochure at the family desk to help your kids enjoy the visit. We chose the Egyptian one.
- Madame Tussaud + London Eye: you get a special price if you book both at the same time. Expensive, but worth it.
- one day free riding in the Big Bus tours: booked through Viator. Quite nice, kids loved it. Don’t forget to download the Big Bus app to track your buses live and find the stops. You also get a free ride on the Thames (Tower → Westminster, or the opposite way)
- HMS Belfast warboat. Expensive but worth it.
- London Tower. We spent 4-5 hours there to make sure we saw everything.
- Shopping on Oxford Street (my daughter visited at least 10 different Boots, also they seem to all sell similar products…)
- Harry Potter museum. We had to book VERY expensive tickets through Viator as it was otherwise booked solid for ages. My youngest loved it. Personnally I’m not sure it was worth it…
- M&M’s and Lego shops
We bought a lot of snacks from Prêt à Manger. Museums’ eating spots were also nice. We ate only once in a ‘real’ restaurant: 80£ for three in a simple creperie, I still haven’t recovered from that one…
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There are also lots of quirky museums which might engage your children depending on their interests. When my kids were young we did all the big museums and some odd ones associated with Universities and Hospitals. This one for example Grant Museum of Zoology | UCL CULTURE - UCL – University College London and the London Hospital Museum if you want to avoid the crowds.
Russell Square, that will start with the postcode WC1.
The Tube underground station is on the Piccadilly line.
It is in zone 1
It is a tad out of central high price, popular with tourists, large chain hotels, and also some small family Italian Hotel that offer Bed and Breakfast. Crescent Hotel, 49-50 Cartwright Gardens London WC1H 9EL tel: · 020 7387 1515 , email [email protected]. One that my friends used a few years back.
Restaurants in the area, some are more reasonable that other central parts of London
I would avoid Oxford Street, gone very downhill. Apart from if you wish to visit Selfridge’s department store. When I take friends in there, we go up by the escalators and down by the escalators – large inside. It is expensive, designer now. Worth visiting the food area. Many tour operators tell their visitors to go to Oxford Street… I would prefer Regent Street, New Bond Street – fun to see in the shop windows, more up market than Oxford St.
China Town has expanded much over the years.
Don t forget the open Street Markets or possibly car boot sales. Tend to be on a weekend. The one near Vauxhall at Nine Elms is a combined open Street Market and car-boot, open on Sunday, closes around 2pm. Youngsters tend to head to Camden Town for many markets of varying fashions and trends
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We will live in Nine Elms. Where exactly is the market and what is worth to buy there? Is it like flea market?
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Walk Directions to the Sunday market, Nine Elms
facing Nine Elms Tube station on the left and large new Sainsbury’s supermarket on the right, in between small road, walk down.
At the end turn left and walk ahead, follow the people sight right, then left and eventually you come to the main entrance for this large open air market and car boot.
(ca 8 minutes walking)
If you come further away, take either train tube or bus to Vauxhall station. Change to a short bus ride, the lady on a tannoi speaks which bus stop to go to for the Sunday market. It will take you to the stop opposite Sainsbury’s and Nine Elm tube station.
Remember to bring cash with you, if you intend to buy anything, small notes or change are good.
ATM outside Nine Elms tube station and inside Sainsbury’s supermarket on ground floor, but does not open before 11am on Sunday.
If you get there early you might find bargains in furniture for your home. Otherwise a number of food stalls cooking. One bread stall, a few fruit and veg. Lots of copy clothes. Second-hand clothes. As some stall specialise in house clearance, will vary. Some specialist stalls. Work tools new and second hand. There is the odd antique type stall. It is a mish mash, not sure how long it will remain in that site. One photo to take on your way out, the overhead trains with Tall buildings behind. More and more skyscrapers being built. Kind of search a tree area. Can be windy between the buildings.
You might take a few wet wipes or hand gel to clean your hands along the way.
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Regent street was quite nice for shopping as well. And China Town is indeed nice and very lively. We visited what - according to my daughter who found it on Instagram - was THE place to have a Bubble Tea in London (Boba Tea, on Shaftesbury Av.). The place was packed, so it must be true 
Has anyone created account for Oyster Card using a Swiss phone number? I do not receive SMS, that they are sending me, so I cannot finish registration.
I think I read on their website that you can’t create an account if you’re not a resident.
I’m also shocked by the prices but in a positive way. Lots of free attractions. The brand closing costs next to nothing. Even the prices at H&M are twice lower (the kids jeans that cost 19.95 CHF are sold here for 9.99 GBP). Food is much better here with a lot of options to eat tastier, healthier and cheaper. Breakfast menus available all day long. We ate crêpes for 7 GBP, which are twice thicker and twice bigger than in France and have twice more filling.
The transport is also quite cheap. We live on the south bank and used trains/subway a lot during two days and I paid just 13 GBP for two days. In Switzerland it’s a daily ticket for Zurich + one zone, if you don’t have a half-fare. The return trip to Oxford for a family is 82 GBP. It would be about the same in CH with half-fare and junior cards, but would cost much more for tourists.
The choice of the food in supermarkets is impressive. We buy half ready meals for the oven: spaghetti carbonara, moussaka, Mac and cheese etc. The benefit of living in the apartment. There are also so many healthy snacks like fruits or veg cut in sticks and packed. If the weather was warmer, we would eat picknicks in parks for lunch instead of going to the cafes.
So far our only huge expense was renting an apartment, but if you compare with Switzerland, for the average price of a basic apartment in Swiss resorts we are renting a modern 3-rooms apartment with two spacious bathrooms (no problems with pressure or temperature of water), a washing machine and a kitchen with built-in coffee machine, microwave and even wine fridge. The house is in the first line on Thames.
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Well, don’t forget that the pound is worth more than 1 CHF… I compared Primark with the Portuguese prices, and British Primark is significantly more expansive. I bought New Balance trainers for my daughter, and they were just a few francs cheaper than in CH.
I agree with the choices though: we’re terribly limited in Switzerland!
It’s only 1 to 1.14 (I calculate 7 to 8, it’s very easy: 14 GBP is 16 CHF, 21 is 24 etc). So the difference is not big.
Kensington is a great choice—central, safe, and well-connected by public transport. Consider Heathrow for convenience, and British Airways or easyJet for flights. Definitely get an Oyster card for easy travel. Kids will love the Harry Potter Studio Tour! Enjoy!
I think you’re misunderstanding what proper Breton crêpes are supposed to be here!
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