London advice

[AhoyShipmates]

We’re doing the Harry Potter tour and have decided to have a couple of nights in London beforehand. We’ll be seeing family and friends who all live in Clapham and Brixton, but want to stay in a central hotel so we can do some touristy things as well.

Can anyone recommend a hotel or area in easy reach of the Victoria and Northern lines?

Also what do you recommend we do with our son, 10? We may visit some Potter locations and I was thinking the Tower of London as he likes Gangsta Granny. He’s very active and isn’t a big fan of museums or galleries but there may be some interactive museums that would appeal?

Has anyone taken the boat to Hampton Court?

Thanks in advance!

[babbymint]

Wherever you are in London, you're likely to use the tube. As you mentioned Brixton, I absolutely love the Premier Inn there - its cheap and located great for the tube, and there's a great vibe there, loads of interesting places to eat and a nice cinema very close by. If not, I would do Premier Inn maybe Tower Bridge or Leicester Sq. However, I'm cheap but you can't beat their prices and they are always spotless with a good quality breakfast too.

Depending on what your son is into, mine have enjoyed The London Dungeon, Mme Tussauds, The Eye, The Clink (jail museum), Imperial War Museum, walking tours - take in Buck Palace, Trafalgar Sq, Westminster etc. Chinatown is good for a wander too and a cheap lunch!

[DFussy]

if it is open you might like this if you are looking at hp sights

minalima/

not far from cursed child theatre, i took my dd there and we loved looking at the pictures and picked up a few lower value souveniers too (fantastic beasts poster for her room and wanted picture post cards). there are lots of lovely things for a bigger budget than we had.

another non hp thing we have done that you might enjoy is skygarden at fenchurch street

[jim jehosofat]

From memory its about 3 hours from Westminster Pier to Hampton Court by boat. I'd imagine a 10 year old would get bored very quickly!

[di5ney]

We stayed in a travelodge at waterloo in october and we visited harry potter studios. We also went to the sealife aquarium, madame tussauds & london eye. My dd is 6. She also enjoyed the lego store & m&m store too.

[mickeyspal]

Although you say hes not into museums, the natural history museum is great for kids and its free

[WhereIBelong]

Mine loved the tube, Westminster Station with its space age, high tech look was a highlight, and as they got older and into action films, they see it in the films and say "we've been there"... same with the Millenium bridge and Harry Potter etc

And Hamleys... always Hamleys...

[babbymint]

Oh yes, and don’t forget King’s Cross platform 9 3/4 for a free photo opportunity!

[duchy]

It’d be cheaper to stay at the Brixton Premier Inn and hop on the tube for the touristy bits which is really quick. Brixton is very vibrant and you won’t get ripped off eating out there either.

[duchy]

Originally Posted by jim jehosofat

From memory its about 3 hours from Westminster Pier to Hampton Court by boat. I'd imagine a 10 year old would get bored very quickly!

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We came to the same conclusion so got the train from Waterloo to Kingston , got the boat from there to Hampton Court and then took the train back from Hampton Court to Waterloo.
Best of both worlds.
Another time we drove to Kingston parked there and got the boat and had the choice to either boat it back or hop on the train.
Hampton Court looks amazing arriving by boat . It’s one of my favourite places to take visitors.