3 nights in London with 7 and 5 year old

Not knowing what your interests are: WW2, history, shopping, art, architecture, theatre, music, etc rather inappropriate to recommend what to see.

Having 2 young children with you may also define your itinerary.

Take some time to either stop in a bookstore or order the RS GUIDE to London online. Get a sense of what’s important for you and your family to experience during those 3 days.

My response to your Paris question also covered London.

Tower of London, Natural History Museum, British Museum(short visit to see Egyptian mummies and the Assyrian human lions)-our daughter enjoyed these when she was 4.

For areas in London, with two small children, I would stay in an area that is close to attractions (on a tube line) and in a neighborhood where you can have easy access to more fast casual dining. One of my favorite areas in South Kensington. It is a short hop from the Natural History Museum (which your kids will enjoy) and a five minute walk to the tube. There are plenty of parks and local eateries. My favorite place to stay is Aster House off Old Brompton road, a lovely English B&B run by Leoni and her husband. They have a back garden and an ample breakfast.

For places to visit, for the little kids, I would suggest you look at the following:

• Natural History Museum
• London Eye (they will like the big ferris wheel)
• Tower of London
• Harry Potter Warner Brothers Studio (if they like Harry Potter)
• British Museum: see the family recommendations https://www.britishmuseum.org/visit/family-visits
• V&A: imagination station, pop-up events and special exhibits: https://www.vam.ac.uk/info/families

Hope this helps. Fall is a lovely time to visit London.

Sandy

I would have hated the British Museum as a 5 or 7 year old! Ditto the V & A.

Take a walk in Hyde Park and visit the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. Watford for Harry Potter if they are interested. Walk through Green Park to Buckingham Palace.

I would have hated the British Museum as a 5 or 7 year old! Ditto the V & A.

Same here, although the mummies would have piqued my interest.

My kids loved (and still do) The Natural History Museum and The Science Museum next door, lots of fun interactive displays there.

If you Google, you will find lots of articles on “traveling with kids in London” or Paris. Travel sections of newspapers love to write up these kind of articles, so you should find lots of them to get the ideas flowing.

Also as Frank mentioned, Rick’s books have sections about traveling with kids at the various destinations. Worth going to your library and checking out, or purchasing.

I would stay near a park such as Hyde Park.
Princess Diana Playground is nearby, near Kensington Palace. They need time to decompress and run around. Also the walkway along the Thames would also give them a place to run and be kids. Changing of the Guard, Horse Guards, St. James Palace(?) Our kids loved the Tower of London. Adapt it for your kids’ ages( Skip the beheading history of course) but it s a castle and you do seeCrown Jewels. Buy a children’s guide to London like I did for my grandkids when we took them there.
It was the size of a coloring book, easy to explain London to kids using it.

Hey!
It's a great idea visiting London with kids,
I would recommend you to visit the next places:
1 Battersea Park Children's Zoo. This zoo is designed specifically for children.
2 Children's Garden at Kew Gardens.
3 Diana Memorial Gardens – Kensington Gardens.
4 Emirates Air Line – Cable Car.
5 Holland Park & Kyoto Garden.
Enjoy your trip!

I took my 6 and 10 year old daughters to London this summer. One thing they enjoyed that I didn’t see mentioned yet was a boat ride on the Thames. We went all the way to Greenwich and saw the Cutty Sark tea clipper there, but you could just ride from Westminster to the Tower (or vice versa) if you want a shorter ride.

They also really liked riding on the top of the double decker buses, seeing the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London, and watching street performers in Covent Garden. And the Princess Diana playground is a must-do with kids, mine both loved it.

I think a full museum visit can be too much for young children, myself included, I'm often interested in only one or two sections in the large free museums.

Children can be fascinated by normal things, like riding the underground and using the long escalators and ticket gates.
I agree with suggestion of riding top deck of a bus, use the proper public buses not a hoho, your children will ride free with you.

Agree about a river ride, take the faster Thames Clipper river bus, not a tour boat.
Take them for a ride on the front seat of a driverless DLR docklands train, a rear seat view is good too. There is a foot tunnel under the Thames between Island Gardens and Greenwich near the Cutty Sark.

The London Transport Museum Covent Garden has stuff for youngsters.
A walk in St James's Park, this has lots of wildfowl, lakes and small bridges, a cafe too.
London Eye too, What's different is you ride in a large glass capsule, you are free to move around.

The kids would probably like the Tower of London. And Hyde Park has boats that you propel using foot pedals. My kids enjoyed them very much. And lots of ducks and other birds.

I’m glad someone mentioned Kew Gardens - I enjoyed them a lot when I was nine. Also really liked the lion sculptures in Trafalgar Square.

One spot not yet mentioned is Mudchute Farm on the Isle of Dogs.

From London take the London Bridge Thameslink train to Greenwich and from there Use the DLR
( Docklands Light Railway). Kids will enjoy this railway.

Exit at Crossharbour. Cross the road and walk through the car park. In the back on the right is an entrance to Mudchute Park and Farm.

A great adventure for the entire family which provides a different POV of London that few first time visitors have on their radar.

Can be muddy.