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London with a toddler?

pink_gerberapink_gerbera
in Toddler
Have any of you been to London with your toddler how did u find it? Any recommendations of places to go with a toddler? Is it a silly idea to think of takin lo there she will be 2 when we're planning on going.

or does anyone have any suggestions of places to go for a 2 day break that are easily accesible from Gatwick.

Thanks

Replies

  • LadyTottingtonLadyTottington Regular
    Yes, we've done London with a toddler a few times - we recently went with our 2yr old dd (along with her 2 big brothers).

    We decided not to take a pushchair - there are pros and cons to this one: Obviously pro is you can keep lo contained, and it's somewhere for them to go when they get tired. Hubby ended up carrying her on the way back.

    Cons are that obviously you have to lug it around with you, fold it up if you get the tube etc.

    We have done a lot of the attractions with our lo's - but I would highly recommend the London Aquarium - dd absolutely loved it! Just loved watching all the fish. We did the London Eye at the same time (as they are right next to each other) and she loved that too - she could just run from window to window.

    If your lo is into animals the Natural History museum is great - and free lol!

    Hope this helps. xx
  • TheHistoryGirl1TheHistoryGirl1
    The Natural History Museum, The Science Museum and the Museum of Childhood are all really, really child-friendly and the last two have lots of hands-on activities to keep those with short attention spans occupied.

    Peter has been to London a couple of times but he was only 6/7 months at the time. The Tube might be a bit of a struggle with a toddler, although some stations do have wheelchair (and hence pushchair) access which might make things a bit easier.
  • pink_gerberapink_gerbera
    Thanks for the tips ladies and least I now know its manageable!

    The aquarium sounds fab my lo would love it!

    Did you just go for the day or did you stay over? If you stayed over any recommendations plz?
  • Rhian2-50156Rhian2-50156
    If you are staying near Gatwick, you could take the Gatwcik Express into London. It goes to Victoria I think. My advice would be to get a cab to where you want to go from there. You can wheel a buggy into a London cab, so no need to collapse it. Lo really enjoyed the Science Museum and Aquarium too.
  • hushpuppyhushpuppy
    We've been before as my oh's family live in Herts and Poppy loved it. We didn't do anything like the aquarium, we just had a picnic in Hyde Park and wondered around for the day.
    We're going this weekend too as my hubby is running the London Marathon so we're going to watch, this time we're going on the London Eye and generally mooching around while her daddy runs!
    I can't wait!
    xx
  • sooky2-61896sooky2-61896
    There is no need to colapse a buggy on the underground.The only pain u get are the escalators as not all the stations have got lifts,and then quite a few stations have old fashion steps as well,but you will be swamped by strangers offering to help carry the buggy up and down the stairs.Maybe try to avoid a rush hour and then u have a stress free underground trip guaranteed.Buses on the other hand can be a nightmare as def not enough space for buggies so avoid if poss.Black London cab is fantastic if u can afford it-u really can take whole puschchair inside with no probs.My lo loves the aquarium and the nearby St.James Park,she loves anything to do with Thames even if just watching the boats go by,Greenwich is lovely on a warm day,Zoo of course...there should be a huge dinosaur exposition now near oxford circus,but dont know if its not finished yet...Have a nice day
  • SuzMcH1SuzMcH1
    We were in London with an 18month old just a couple of weeks ago.

    Tube was fine with a buggy. And actually so were the buses but we were never anywhere near Oxford St or Covent Garden so not the realy busy bits.

    We went to the Aquarium and lo enjoyed it. Also went on London Eye which was good.

    We were staying with my sister and there are two parks near her house so we spent a lot of time in the parks so keep him happy as he's spent a lot of time in buggy being pushed around places.

    If you go to Aquarium and are on the South Bank go to Giraffe for lunch. It was fabulously child friendly and it is the first time lo has sat in chair for our entire meal and not been a stresshead dying to get out. Was so busy and loads of kids there was plenty for him to look at and crayons to play with.

    Have a fab time. S x
  • pink_gerberapink_gerbera
    Thank you for all the advice ladies, certainly lots to think about.

    Suz i love giraffe food is yummy!
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