Best “must do” London tours

We really enjoyed our Thames River Cruise. It was very reasonable price wise and we were fortunate to have the ability to sit on top of the cruise boat on a beautiful day. Not sure how comfortable that would be in December, though. There was a nice enclosed area below as well.

We were surprised that the cruise included a “guide”, although the chap sharing tidbits about all of the sites said he was a boatsman and not a professional guide. He was wonderful, funny and very informative. He accepted tips upon departure. There are various routes/ lengths you can take. We boarded at Westminster Pier and went to the Tower Bridge pier.

London Walks gets a lot of love on here. Their website has the calendar for when various walks are held. Some of the walks may be of more interest to the kids if you check them out. Walks.com is the site address I
believe. Sounds like a wonderful family trip you will have!

https://www.walks.com/

Website for the wonderful London Walks tours.

Over the years I’ve done guided tours of the British Museum as I find the collection quite overwhelming. One of my guides was a scholar of Egyptian hieroglyphics and thus was able to read the Rosetta Stone! Highly recommend their tours.

I would say do a Verger’s Tour of Westminster Abbey.

Definitely see theatre. Maybe Harry Potter and the Cursed Child or The Witches or Mrs Doubtfire or Wicked. Nothing like London theatre.

Reserve early admission tix for the Churchill War Rooms.

Visit the Horseguards Museum.

See if this tour is of interest…
https://www.towerbridge.org.uk/your-visit/whats-on/tours.

Agree with Thames River cruise. A highlight of our 11 day visit!

hey hey heather828
everyone is so different with "must see sites", especially with kids. it will be busy with so many people traveling during holiday time, seems not a shoulder season anymore. how many days are you in london and what area are you staying in? gotta woory what the weather will be like, do dress warm.
we do like some guided tours to learn about the history and what we're seeing, so informative and if great tour guide your kids will like it more. one thing we had pros & cons was changing of guard at buckingham palace. go early, waiting so long, so so so many people moving around to get in front of you, if a tall person, can't see, some very rude some really nice, being behind the fence, guards/bobbies keeping it under control (move it move it) it was a gorgeous pompous show seeing it all. you don't want to wear you kids out, cranky with tired feet, lots of walking, always think about them. when needed we just caught a cab
discoverwalks.com/londom
check out the free tours/walks they do
withlocals.com/london
click if you see something interesting for the family
londonbicycle.com/christmaslightstour
canopymarket.co.uk
theenglishrosecafe.co.uk
have afternoon tea in the cafe
wowcher.co.uk
register with email, look under london, more+ with 2 for 1's for teas and other activities.
freetoursbyfoot.com
search for fish & chips, walk thru picadilly circus, chinatown, regent street. people watch
londontheatredirect.com/discounts
look and see what shows/plays are around
horse guards parade at whitehall has less crowds can see the horses and guards close up
b-bakery.com
double decker red bus tours around the town seeing attractions and having afternoon tea. christmas lights, paddington bear and peppa pig christmas tours that the kids may like.
so much to see and do in london. have a great trip
aloha

Highly recommend the street art tour by Alternative London. They are fantastic. Everyone I know that has been on this just loved it. It’s also a look at a side of town you might not otherwise visit. Your kids will think you’re super cool. All outside of course, so weather might be a concern.

The Thames River cruise was my least favorite thing I've done in London, which I have visited 6 times. I loved the boat from Westminster Pier to Kew Gardens. I have not been in Dec, but I understand Kew Gardens will be decorated for Christmas. Definitely a tour of Westminster Abbey-your kids will probably love the idea of people being buried in the floor! Let them look at the Walks of London website and choose a walk that interests them.

If there’s a Beatles fan in your group, I recommend the London Walks Beatles tours with Richard Porter. We did the ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ and were impressed!

We also did the London Walks Westminster Abbey Tour and also liked it. Not sure how it compares. With the official Verger tour, though.

I don't think anyone has mentioned the Tower of London. Take one of the free tours provided by the Yeoman Warders which are suitably gory enough that a 12 and 14 year old will enjoy them, lol!! It's outdoors except for the last little bit that winds up in the chapel so you'd want to try for a day with no precip.

While I love the Churchill War Rooms, I'm not sure that would be my first choice with a tween and teen unless they are very interested in WWII history.

I would go with Westminster Abbey because there are so many famous people buried there including Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawking.

Kew Christmas would not need a tour but you'll want to check and see if there are still tickets left for your time frame. Hyde Park Wonderland is also some place that looks fun which would not need a tour either.