CALLING ALL ENGLAND TRAVELERS

DrMom

Fri, Sep 25 2015, 6:25 am

We loved:

The City of London Museum

Cutty Sark in Greenwich (which also has a fun crafts market). We did not go to the Greenwich Museum where they explain about the Prime Meridian, etc., but it might be intersting.

the Victoria & Albert Museum

Hampton Court Palace (one of the palaces of Henry VIII, with beautiful grounds; a short train ride or boat ride (even more fun) from central London)

Tower of London

London Transport Museum

Imperial War Museum

Churchill War Rooms (little kids will be bored)

There are dozens of lovely parks and outdoor places if the kids want to blow off some steam. You could make a picnic in Hempstead Heath.

pond user

Fri, Sep 25 2015, 9:55 am

Don't go to trocadero as it has been closed for a couple of years now.

Isola Bella restaurant has now changed its menu and is also not worth your time or money.

Other than that places in London which cost money and are worth a visit:
'rileY's believe it or not' is amazing.(that's the name of the place) tickets need to be booked in advance.
The London Eye is lovely but only half an hour long. You get to see all important parts of London in one shot though.
London dungeons also great but small kids would be petrified.
Tower of London in very Londonish and the crown jewels are there.

Free places:
Covent gardens, excellent tourist attraction. Free shows, street art and even a gorgeous market. (Bonus for you you can shop there as well whilst kids watch shows).
Changing of the guards. If you're anyways planning to visit Buckingham palace do it in the morning on a show day you won't regret it.
Regents park, Hyde Park, Hampstead heath, clissold park all lovely and free.
Science museum was the only museum I enjoyed as a child. Fascinating.
The Queens pathway is along river Thames and you get to view tower bridge up close and have a nice stroll along river next to small bars and restaurants.

If you want classic British clothes shopping head to Oxford Street or bond street but if you want indoors then Westfield sheppards bush branch is the best mall.

Welcome to London.

Mrs Bissli

Thu, Oct 01 2015, 5:34 am

Belated suggestions from one of the locals. Good suggestion from Rutabaga, gummybear and DrIma.
Don’t bother with Madame Tussauds or Ripleys , unless you’ve got teenagers who are into pop culture/TV celebs or cheap trashy souvenir hunting. (If this is the case, you can also add Camden Town market and London Dungeon—def not for little kids).

Historical/Educational: I’d also throw in Globe Theatre (they do guided tour), Cutty Sark, Greenwich Observatory (where the famous date line lies, don’t miss planetarium), British Museum has treasure hunt-style activity packs for children. Tower of London—try to get there first thing in the morning, as the queue gets longer in the afternoon. London Transport Museum (near Covent Garden), if your kids are into aeroplane there’s RAF museum near Hendon (actually closer to Collindale).

Outside of London: my first choice would be Beckonscot model village as well. It’s a miniature but very detailed typical English village with model locomotives and other moving bits. Great for both little and big kids (and adults). You can take the train out of Paddington for about 30min to Beaconsfield. Other day trip ideas would be Windsor, Hampton Court Palace (Henry VIII’s residence, they have working kitchen and activities esp on weekends). Kew Gardens (lovely botanical parks you can also take the river boat ride nearby). Slightly further out but Hever Castle (home of anne Boleyn), Warwick Castle (you can combine with Stratford-upon-A von, about 1.5-2hrs out of London), Blenheim Palace (near Oxford, Churchill’s residence), Bletchley Park (famous for Enigma deciphering during WWII), , St Alban’s (Roman town, less than 1hr away). Stonehenge is a bit too far to make as a day-trip (also it’s not that convenient without a car or a coach trip).

Parks within London: Regents Park (probably my most favourite, don’t miss ‘Secret Garden’ near St Johns Lodge), Holland Park (roaming peacocks, well-manicured gardens, great childrens playground), Golders Hill Park (a small pet zoo, playground for children, sometimes Uncle Duvy’s kosher icecream truck). To be honest, I find Hyde Park to be a bit boring—just big green space. Though Lady Di playground.

If your children are into Harry Potter, there are a number of places within London featured in the novel. Obviously king’s Cross, Leadenhall Market near Bank (Diagon Alley), London Zoo, in addition to Harry Potter movie studio tour in Watford (need to book timed tickets).

If you have young children and stuck for ideas in rainy weather, there’re a number of indoor playgrounds, including one at Brent Cross (Topsy Turvey behind the main shopping mall) and Swiss Cottage leisure centre. Bowling alleys in Finchley and Bayswater. Also check JW3 along Finchley Road—they tend to have good assortment of activities, as well as a lovely kosher cafe. Large bookshops, esp Waterstones near Piccacdilly and O2 centre in Finchley Rd

All public museums are free of charge (though some do ask for voluntary contributions, eg Science Museum). London Transport Museum is a private museum so you’ll need to pay. Ditto for Tower of London, London Zoo, acquarium, most of the palaces I listed above—they can add up and get expensive, so check to see if you can book cheaper on-line (you’ll need to do it more than24 hrs before).

Mrs Bissli

Thu, Oct 01 2015, 5:53 am

If you have teenage girls who are into shopping, there’re pleathora of cheap/young fashion chains along Oxford St, starting with Primark toward Marble Arch, Forever 21 near Bond St, H&M, Next, Uniqlo etc. Superdrug and Boots for cosmetics etc.

Food: get/download a copy of Kosher Food Guide published by London Beth Din, esp as many foods do not bear hechsherim but are checked by rabbinates. You can def find Walkers crisps (only plain salted) or Kettle chips (salt or black pepper) Kingsmill baked goods (Sephardi hechsher, some are milky) in most newsagents/supermarkets. Some supermarkets (eg Tesco near Liverpool St Stn, Sainsbury’s near Green Park) carry pre-packaged kosher sandwiches by DD’s (a part of Hermolis). Food hall at Selfridge has a separate kosher counter (Adafina). The only 2 kosher sit-down resto in central London are deli-type Reubens near Baker St and expensive posh-dining Bevis Marks (which is confusingly not at the synagogue but close by). The kosher restaurant at Westfield Shopping Centre closed down a while ago. As for NW London, personally I really like SoYo, Pizzaza, Kanteen (at Brent Cross), MetsuYan, sometimes King George (if they have kubba soup).

During chol hamoed, there are a number of sukkahs in central London, one at Manchester Square Gardens near Marylebone, New Street in the City (they usually have shiurim but booked for events in the evenings), and another one in Canary Wharf. Mercifully this is one of the best weather we had in years over Succot.

You’re best off getting oyster cards for tubes/buses (plus discount on riverboats) for each adults. Children up to 11 travel free on tubes and buses accompanied by an adult. It’s a bit tricky in many tube stations with pushchairs because there tend to be stairs to/from platforms, though definitely manageable with two adults, very often passerbys help at stairs. Though try to avoid real rush hours at busy stations.