Favorite Places With Kids- London

The girls and I met my sister and her two boys in London for a long weekend getaway in June. We lived in London before moving to Zürich, so we know it well and were very excited to see all our favorite parks, shops, and eat all our favorite things.

Favorite Places With Kids

The Parks

St. Jame’s Park

No city has better parks than London. They are easy to get to, perfectly flat, and easy to navigate. I love St. James Park the most, as a touristy person it has the best playground to watch the changing of the guards, the trooping of the color, the horses, and the military band. It’s a one stop shop for all the royal things, while the kids are fully entertained at the playground. The swing set has a perfect view of Buckingham Palace. It’s truly a gem.

Hyde Park

Even on the busiest day in London, you can always find a quiet hidden area in Hyde Park to relax. Of course, if you stay on the main high streets and shopping streets, it will feel crowded and busy. But just step into one of London’s amazing parks and it’s like a world away. And with kids in London, it’s absolutely vital.

During our weekend away, we spent two of the days at the Princess Diana Playground. It’s a must with kids in London and well worth spending a few hours, then wandering around Kensington Palace, and the Italian Gardens. We also spent time at the Lido at the Serpentine Lake for breakfast on the morning we left as it is a close walk from there to Paddington Station to take the Heathrow Express to the airport. PS, the Heathrow Express is really nice, like a first class train with free WiFi. Totally cheaper than a cab, as we took a cab when we arrived.

Battersea Park

I usually spend time in Battersea Park when I’m staying with friends in our old neighborhood. A few years ago Battersea Park got a new restaurant and Tree Top walk, both are definitely worth visiting with kids in London.

The Museums

We love spending time in South Kensington. It has everything, all in one spot. We ate at Carluccio’s between visiting the Natural History Museum and playing in the wading pool at the Victoria and Albert Museum. We also popped into the Science Museum. All these museums in London are free and amazing. The Museums are an absolute must with kids in London.

Shopping

Of course there is great shopping in London but we really missed some of our favorite foods, so every morning we went to the M&S next door to our hotel and filled up on all the ready-made and ready to eat food they have. Whole Foods on High Street Kensington was a must on our list and we loaded up our cart and took a black cab back to our hotel, hoping it would all fit in our suitcases.

But of course there is plenty of clothes shopping and whatever else kind you want on the busy high streets like Oxford, Picadilly and Regent Street. We didn’t go to those this time. There’s just never enough time in London.

Where We Ate

OK, so I have to confess that after living in London and eating all the fabulous food, we mainly just ate at chain restaurants on this holiday. I feel a bit silly saying that, but I don’t regret it for a second. First of all, our hotel was surrounded by chains. I, being tired and pregnant, was so thankful for these easy kid friendly chains for our nightly dinners after full days out on the town.

Carluccio’s– South Kensington- So easy to eat here before or after a day at the museums.

Le Pain Quotidien– We started our mornings off across the street from our hotel here.

Wagamama– We ate here every night as it’s just too darn easy not too as it’s directly across from the hotel.

Cote Brasserie– Typically French, and connected to our hotel.

YO! Sushi– Harvey Nichols- One night we ate here for their conveyor belt sushi, although we ordered 99% from the sushi chef instead of the belt. My sister and I ate here while we were living in London and we wanted to go back here as we had great memories from last time.

Harrods– Last time my sister visited, we had tea at Harrods, which was so much fun. But this time we had 4 kids, so we wandered the food hall and grabbed a few different things and let the kids explore instead of having a sit down meal. The highlight was the kids bought the Harry Potter jelly bean game and spent an hour back at the hotel laughing and playing together while my sister and I caught up.

China Town– This was the highlight of our culinary excursions over the weekend. We loved trying food from all the little take away shops like buns, ice cream served in a fish-shaped waffle cones, and a quick detour to the Shake Shack on the corner. My daughter found the Peking Duck shop where we spent her 4th birthday. My sister and I would have loved to sit down for some Dim Sum, but again, with 4 kids we were on a different kind of tour of London this time around.

Hotel

We usually stay with friends when we visit London. But our weekend was during a school holiday and so many of our friends were in Cornwall enjoying a beach break, so we stayed at Club Quarters Hotel next to St Paul’s Cathedral. I wanted to find a place in South Kensington, but the price and accommodation we found at Club Quarters Hotel was just too good. The location was right next to our corporate housing we had at the Kings Wardrobe when we first moved to London. So we lived next to St. Paul’s for 2 months while waiting for our container to arrive and move into our house 4 years ago this week. I love staying with friends of course, it is the best way to travel. Staying with friends near our old house and our old high street is my absolutely favorite as we get to relive our little life in London. Plus a hotel is never as fun as being with friends.

There are far too many wonderful places in London to list them here. Have you been to London with kids? Where are your favorite places?