I caught a nasty bug over the weekend (colds in the summer should be illegal), but the silver lining (there is always a silver lining): I spent a full day researching for our upcoming trip to London. We’re visiting London before we head to Norway to spend a week with my brother and his family, who live in Trondheim — originally, we’d thought we’d stop in Copenhagen, but for very boring logistical reasons, it was too knotty to work out in a way that wouldn’t feel punishing. Though I was excited to visit Copenhagen, I’m thrilled with the London itinerary, having not spent much time there, and we’re actually spending quite a bit of time there, with four nights on the way out and two nights on the return home. We are uncharacteristically behind — or should I say, with a more positive spin, leisurely! — on organizing the trip because we have been uncharacteristically busy in every way over the past month or two, between wrapping up the book tour, end of school mayhem, a lot of really fun social plans, transitioning into camp/swim team life, which is not without its own up-front demands. Anyway, we are just getting to booking our hotel (gasp), but the good news with London: there are tons of fantastic hotel options. I already anticipate our only regret will be not securing reservations for dinners, as I understand London dining to be a scene approximating New York’s, but then again — we’ll be traveling with our kids, and I anticipate our vacation dining agenda will prioritize early and easy versus buzzy.
Starting this thread to share some of the research I’ve completed and to solicit input from fellow Magpies more familiar with The Big Smoke who have visited recently with children. I consulted a wide range of resources for this — travel influencers, Reddit threads, Substacks, Town and Country, Yolo (my top rec for travel planning) — and was mainly interested in surfacing commonalities, i.e., “there’s probably something here if multiple of these resources are encouraging it.”
Big caveat that this is research, not experience! Will provide a full recap post-trip of what we loved and what we didn’t both in London and Norway!
London Hotels for Families.
Not being too familiar with London, I started with identifying some of the activities we might be interested in undertaking, and then tried to figure out which neighborhoods were most congenial to those areas. This led me to mainly focus on the neighborhoods flanking Hyde Park, and specifically Kensington, Chelsea, Knightsbridge, Belgravia. A couple of the hotels that came up over and over again in these areas (some of these are very $$$$ — we are still determining what we’re comfortable with):
+The Emory
+One Aldwych
+Rosewood London
+Cadogan Gardens
+The Goring
+Beaverbrook Town House
+Langham (added to the list just because we had such a great experience at the one in NYC)
A few others came up a bunch but seemed to me better suited to a couple’s trip — The Beaumont, The Lanesborough, Claridge’s, The Connaught.
Finally, the Firmdale hotel family came up a number of times — a little less expensive than most of the options above but in great neighborhoods and design-forward/charming. I also saw some shining reviews for L’Oscar and Corinthia, but these were a bit fewer and further between so I have less to go on there.
One thing that I want to mention: hotels are challenging with a family of four! There are lots of options for three hotel room occupants but the suites get extremely expensive very quickly, and the alternate is booking two rooms and playing roulette as to whether you can have them adjoin or even be on the same floor, especially because we try to book through AMEX Travel, and this means making specific requests like that are difficult. (Does anyone have a work around?) The Rosewood is my current front runner because they offer “family rooms” to accommodate four sleepers, and my friend Sarah Tucker raved about the experience when she went with her two boys, but I’m deeply tempted by splurging on one of the more boutique / specific-to-London type hotels from the list above. I also have not fully exhausted the hotel scan so may come back and update this post with additional discoveries and thoughts. Landon is adept at this kind of research so I’m curious to see what his efforts surface and how well they map to mine.
London Activities for Families.
I’ve been generating a long list of activities all across the city. We’ll go through this and cull based on our kids ages and interests, and then group activities by day depending on geography. Landon and I are typically pretty leisurely on our vacations — we’ll schedule one big thing each day and then leave ourselves loads of time to explore, meander, enjoy slow-paced meals, sit by the pool, etc — but we discovered on our NYC trip that the kids have an appetite for a busier schedule, and I think it’s safe at this phase in our lives to plan one morning thing and one afternoon thing as loose tent-poles for the day, and wedge in other pit-stops depending on where the day takes us.
+Afternoon tea — Claridge’s, The Goring, Sketch, or the Mad Hatter’s Tea at the Sanderson. (The last one is kids oriented; it came up a bunch but this is not typically our — pun intended — cup of tea. We’re not big on, like, the Eloise tea at the Plaza type experiences. My hope is that we go to Claridge’s for the classic experience, but we’ll see.)
+Science Museum
+Tower of London — consensus is that this is better and more interesting than trying to catch a guard change at Buckingham; there is a free tour and you get to meet Beefeaters; afterwards, walk across Tower Bridge. There is a tower museum with a glass floor exhibit, and you can also time this activity with when the bridge lifts.
+The Diana Playground with the pirate ship
+Natural History Museum (the dinosaurs are famous)
+Specialty shops: L. Corenlissen for art supplies, VV Rouleaux for ribbons and headbands
+Art: the Young V+A / The Tate (apparently both have great children’s programming)
+Greenwich Park Playground
+National Maritime Museum (might be a little more toddler oriented based on photos)
+Take in a show: Matilda the Musical or the Harry Potter one (N.B.: this is like 3 hours long with an intermission so maybe a bit much)
+Secret ice cream parlor (The Fountain) at Fortnum and Mason
+Hamley’s Toy Store (a seven-story toy institution)
+Cable car over the Thames
+The Garden Museum — this came up a number of times as an off-the-beaten-track treasure, and apparently the restaurant in it is quite good; I could see this being a favorite, less-trafficked stop for us
+London Walks walking tours — all different themed walking guides of the city; this particular company gets strong reviews for its personable guides. These always seem so touristy but in my experience, end up fantastic. I’ve done these kinds of guided tours in a few cities — Berlin, New Orleans — and it really gives you a strong sense for the city and its history. I’m trying to figure out which path might be best for kids.
+Battersea Power Station — lots of shops / restaurants / stalls in a decomissioned power station, and then take a picnic to Battersea Park. Someone wrote, cryptically, “make sure to go up in the chimney” and I’m not sure what that means, but will absolutely find out.
+Daunt Books (Marylebone) — there’s also a kids bookstore that came up a few times called The Alligator’s Mouth
+The Wallace Collection — smaller art gallery that has more of a Phillips Collection vibe; would love to see this but not sure it’s as appropriate for the kids as the bigger museums with more kid-friendly programming
+Harry Potter train platform at King’s Cross Station. Honestly, this has the feeling of being very anticlimactic, but Emory does love the books and I think she’d get a kick out of this. Might fold in if we’re anywhere nearby.
+The London Eye — including because I have to but I am a hard pass on this after my sudden onset fear of heights in NYC last summer while visiting One Vanderbilt (lol).
+The London Zoo
+Harrod’s
+Still collecting more information on whether Big Ben or Buckingham Palace are worth visiting. Might be better at this age to just intentionally get good views (I’ve heard the Uber Boats are a great way to get around and also see the sights from the Thames).
This brings me to…
Getting Around London with Family.
+Have heard the Underground is the way to go! Fast, reliable, and free for kids under 10. You can also tap your credit card at the turnstile for access — no need to get a card. N.B.: lots of stations are NOT accessible so if you have younger kids and will be exploring with a stroller, buses might be a better fit.
+Uber Boat — fun way to see city and get from point A to point B.
+Citymapper app came up a bunch as the best way to navigate the subway system.
+The FreeNow app is like an Uber for the black cabs, which are apparently preferable because they can travel in the bus lanes.
Dining with Family.
Going to be leaning heavily on London for this category, as he follows lots of chefs and restauranteurs and will flag the places they mention / eat at on a Google Map. A couple of places that came up in my research, though, below. Not all are going to be great with family (next research phase will involve zooming in on these), although we’ve really evolved our perspective on this subject and try to have our children eat whatever we eat. (Can we officially unsubscribe from the kids menu? Our kids do not need chicken fingers everywhere they go! This declaration is met with the expected pushback from our children but it has led them to try a lot of new foods in the past year, and often they discover they like it.)
+The Pelican Gastropub — recommended so many times by so many people I lost count.
+Norman’s — traditional English breakfast, described as “the coolest cafe in London.” I anticipate we will eat most breakfasts at the hotel (included with Amex booking) but this could be fun.
+Quo Vadis
+Dishoom — an icon for Indian food (another Indian rec that came up: Gymkhana)
+Noble Rot — wine bar
+Chiltern Firehouse — might be TikTokky, can’t tell, but came up routinely in every single list; someone wrote “almost a cliche at this point, but still great.” (I also got this energy from River Cafe, another institution, but the common theme was: “go for the vibes, not the food,” which is definitely not our cup of tea. Apparently good people watching there though!)
+ABC Kitchens at the Emory — people are raving, but we’ve also already been to the ABC restaurants in NYC (and the Jean-Georges restaurant at Keswick in Charlottesville) so might be better to try something different.
+Hjem coffee shop — coffee/pastries
+Other coffee spots to consider: Farm Girl, Monmouth, Monocle Cafe
+The Wolseley — came up as a beautiful anytime-of-day venue — serves coffee through cocktails; sit and watch the world walk by
+For cocktails: the Lanesborough, the Connaught
+Any of the Ottolenghi restaurants sound like great standbys — a little less buzzy than they used to be, but reputable for great food. And Landon and I have so many of their cookbooks!
+The Park — for emergencies, ha! It’s an all-day, very-kid-friendly spot right on Hyde Park with pancakes, milkshakes, hot dogs, etc. I am hoping to avoid this as we’d like to eat London style but you never know…
+The Fountain (ice cream shop) in Fortnum and Mason
Shopping in London with Family.
We tend not to focus on shopping while traveling with the kids (there is no greater shopping buzzkill than a child harrumphing and whining around the store as you decide which color to get) but if we are in these areas, I’d love to meander down Merylbone High Street and Chiltern Street. These both feature more independent/small brands versus chains/stores available in the US.
I’d specifically like to visit these spots while there:
+L. Corenlissen for art supplies — been around forever; my artistically inclined daughter would get such a kick out of this
+VV Rouleaux for ribbons and headbands — just a cool concept
+Daunt bookstore — self-explanatory
+Harrod’s — how can we not?
+Anya Hindmarch — if close to where we are, so many cool accessories you can personalize
+Hamley’s — a toy store institution; the kids will freak out
+Alex Eagle — in Soho, but I’ve long admired this utilitarian brand; expensive to ship to the US; her hats inspired the design of my Magpie Birding Club ones
+Moukimou — was just admiring online the t-shirts at this Japanese boutique
Going to pause here and solicit input from Magpies who have visited London recently with children in tow! Thoughts? Suggestions? Impassioned reviews? What to skip versus not?
Post-Scripts.
+Magpies weigh in on how to plan a great family vacation.
+Magpie recs on the best family-friendly destinations.
+What to pack for Nantucket (and other New England summer spots), Italy, and Out West (Aspen, Jackson Hole, etc).
Shopping Break.
+OK, this fireworks cardigan! The Great vibes but under $200. Exactly what you want for a lakefront FOJ weekend.
+New colors in the Leset Kyotos! Of all the poplin pull-on pants I’ve tried this season, these are my favorite. The cut is perfect. Use code LESET10 for 10% off. Two great looks for less: these Gaps (under $100) and these Pistolas (more sizes here).
+Love this red-white-blue gingham athletic set for FOJ activities. (While you’re at Nordies: an extra 25% off these Westman Atelier Foundation drops I know many of you love!)
+Speaking of athletic wear: an extra 20% off summer sneakers at Zappos through 6/24 with code SAVEBIG20. If you are strength training / lifting, I cannot encourage you to try the Nike Metcon sneakers more. Super stabilizing on the ankle, good for lateral movement, but lightweight/breathe. I love them so much I got Landon a pair (select colors also 20% off). I recently shared my favorite summer sneaks for kids, and now a lot of those are additionally discounted! Don’t miss these Ons for kids. They velcro closed and are incredible quality. Great colors too.
+Seriously cute throw-and-go-dress, reminiscent of Doen, for $50. Love in the gingham or the stripe!
+Speaking of Doen: this gingham mini is 50% off and almost fully stocked in all sizes!
+Cutest personalizable toiletry bags. I transfer this from tote to tote with all my essentials — sanitizer, mints, spare contacts, eye drops, etc — but I also wore it as a clutch last week, and it is SO cute.
+For my tween/teen girl moms: two collabs to know about that your daughters will deeply respect you for (lol) — the LoveShackFancy collab with Stanley (launching today at 12 EST – high sell out risk) and the Hill House collab with Roller Rabbit.
+Two chic taupe staples I recently ordered: this RSVP dress (I also own in black — use code jenshoop) and these magic pants (use code JEN15), which I couldn’t resist. Both are in a very Hermes-coded color and I imagine pairing with brown leather accents.
+M. M. LaFleur saw how much we love these shorts and gave us an exclusive code: JEN15 for 15% off.
+Cute eyelet trim tank to throw on with shorts.
+We just had two sets of house guests in the past week and BOTH independently commented on our new guest bed set-up. One was raving about how cool she felt all night long — I have a sense this was because we added the “cool force layer” option (30% off right now…!) to the new mattress we put up there (maybe also the cooling pillows? — 20% off right now), but she seemed to think it was the sheeting! We just put these sheets (currently 30% off) up there. The sateen finish does have that cooling handfeel. The others were simply obsessed with the feel of the mattress! We bought a Saatva mattress for our primary bedroom when we moved here a few years ago and I’m kind of wondering if we should’ve gone Helix!!!
+CUTE pull-on shorts with a whimsical sea life motif.
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You are going to have the best time! I will send you some of the recs my kiddo liked the best when we were there this spring, but let me share the hotel rec now–the Intercontinental Park Lane. We booked through Amex, they double-upgraded (!!!) our room, breakfast was included for all of us, and the service was superb (kid-sized robe, slippers, and amenities! A stuffed corgi!) and the staff were so kind and lovely. Plus the location can’t be beat–right across the street from both Hyde Park and Green Park. We adored it. Oh, and the hotel food was SO fabulous we mostly ate there (!!!)