London lodgings for grandma and grandchild

He will be 10 at the time of the trip, yes.

Where does a 9 year old learn about Hampton Court? Impressive.

Research the Premier Inn website for accomodation.

There are wonderful parks with playgrounds to enjoy like the Princess Diana play ground which reopens in 2026. https://www.royalparks.org.uk/visit/parks/kensington-gardens/diana-memorial-playground

Would he want to watch the feeding of the pelicans in St James Park, walk in Richmond park and see the Fallow deer or enjoy the green parrots near the Peter Pan statute in Kensington Gardens? Watch motorized mini sail boats in the Round Pond near Kensington Palace.

As you’ll be in Westminster and I’m going to assume walking by Buckingham Palace make note that if the Royal Standard is flying it means the King is in residence. If the Union Jack is flying it means he is not there.

Any interest in farm animals? Could visit Mudchute Farm. Does he like horses? If yes, then watching the Horseguards mount up to proceed to the palace for the Changing of the Guard is fun. That way you can avoid the masses who want to witness the ceremony.

If not afraid of heights the London Eye or the Tower Bridge Experience. Speaking of Tower Bride, upload the lift schedule.

The Imperial War Museum is interesting. Museum of Science as well.

Lastly, does he like dinosaurs? An outting to see Crystal Palace Dinosaurs might be fun. https://cpdinosaurs.org/

Unless he’s an urban kid and is use to riding a metro the London Underground will be something new. I’ve found boarding after 10am and before 4PM helps to avoid commuter travel. Also if train is crowded wait for next one. I always get a seat in the second to last car.

There are numerous food halls &
street markets. If his palate is agreeable try the Nandos, Bill’s, Dishoom, and Pret a Manger chains. Countless pizza restaurants as well.

Hi, k.sherwood, I took my 11-year-old granddaughter and 15-year-old grandson to London in March of this year and can tell you some of the things we did. They both really enjoyed the Tower of London, and I noticed you have on your list. They also enjoyed Hampton Court, and they toured a football stadium as well. If he's a Chelsea fan then I can see him wanting that but I can tell you that we went on the Tottenham Spurs Stadium tour and that was amazing. It's a brand new stadium and huge with all kinds of interesting things to see. They loved it. But I'm sure Chelsea would be good, too.

How many nights are you going to be staying in London? Just wondering how much time you had. Have you considered the Warner Brothers Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour? I took my two grandkids on that and they absolutely loved it. They're big Harry Potter fans and they really enjoyed their time there. It is expensive and you have to book way ahead but it was pretty amazing. It is almost a whole day event though so that's why I was asking about your time frame. It's about 30+ minutes outside of London by train, which is why it really would be considered a full day trip. But it was really impressive.

One other thing they enjoyed in London which honestly I didn't even think about were two optical illusion museums. I think my 15-year-old grandson was prepared to poo-poo it but he got into the spirit of things and the two of them just had a blast. My granddaughter was the one that found out about them and asked to go. I would imagine your 9-year-old grandson would really like it and they're not that expensive. There are two of them: the Twist Museum (on Oxford Street) and the Paradox Museum (near Harrods). We wound up going to both and they were both different but if I had to pick one, I think I would go with the Twist Museum. It would definitely be a good rainy day activity but even if not it was still fun.

Here is a copy of my trip report from that time if you'd like to read it: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/london-and-paris-and-grandkids-oh-my-march-and-april-2025-trip-report

You don't mention a budget for hotel planning so if you're looking for something on the lower-end, I would definitely check out Premier Inns. They are scattered all over London, are very reasonable in price, and the hotels are very consistently good, very clean and the beds are very comfortable. You really can't go wrong with them. You won't find anything that is quaint or interesting but if you're just spending time to sleep there, they can't be beat. Just keep in mind that the earlier you book, the better. Their price does not include breakfast although they do offer breakfast while you're there.

You will see this in my trip report but we actually stayed at the Resident Inn Victoria which all three of us loved. I needed a larger room because I had two kids with me and that fit the bill but they do have regular standard rooms. I really liked it because it was in a wonderful location; it was only a few blocks from the tube station, there were hotels, cafes and restaurants all over the place, Buckingham Palace was only a few blocks away and yet the hotel itself sits on a quiet little side street so we didn't have any noise or traffic near where we were. It is pricier than Premier Inn but it was worth it for me. I did become a member which gives you 15% off the price and membership is free. I especially liked the social hour which got me out of the room so my grandkids could have some alone time. I went down to the lounge at 6 p.m. every evening to have a complimentary glass of wine and talk to some of the other patrons who were there. It was a lot of fun and it was good for all three of us to spend a little bit of time apart.

So those are two options but of course there are many many more. It would help if you gave us more details on what you're looking for.

Here are some additional suggestions, from when we took our 10-year-old on her first European trip, which included London (she's now 30).

She was very much into spies, so we took a London Walks walking tour on spies and spymasters. I think we also went to the Churchill War Rooms.

We went to two shows, one was Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap. The other was at the National Theatre, and the part I remember was returning to our hotel afterward, riding the top level of a double-decker bus on a bridge across the Thames, and enjoying all of the city lights.

We did a light version of an afternoon tea, at a chain called Valerie's, not sure if it still exists. It wasn't fancy, and spouse could get "regular" food while we had scones and cakes for a late lunch.

We made sure to have the typical London fish and chips. On later trips, we ate at Dishoom and other Indian restaurants.

Just two quick things:

If he’s a Chelsea fan, take him to Stamford Bridge. Seeing where Spurs play would be sacrilege!!! ;-)

Best fish and chips in London, IMHO (and also per several lists) is to be found at The Golden Union, at 38 Poland Street. The food is superb, and the decor is fun and child friendly. Staff are all delightful. https://www.timeout.com/london/news/two-london-fish-and-chips-restaurants-have-been-named-in-the-top-10-best-in-britain-100125 The Golden Union is off Oxford Street, near Liberty London and Carnaby Street, so very central for other tourist stuff - and it is also a 7 minute walk from a GIANT Hamley’s, which is a terrific toy store. Might be a nice spot to visit if he is getting “museumed out.”

Thank you all! We've been to London several times, but our kids were 11 and 14 the first time we went and they enjoyed the British Museum and even the British Library. He will still be 9, which I know is young, so this will be a different approach. That being said, he's flown cross country to visit family, is an adventurous eater, and has lots of stamina, so I think we'll be fine. Going to let him call the shots about how much he's able to do and take time for frequent breaks.

Definitely going to hit Wagamama's for ramen (his favorite thing), and we'll be sure to try The Golden Union, as Hamley's will be fun for souvenir shopping. He has to have fish and chips! I'm sure Nando's, Pret, and Bill's will go over well too.

As for Hampton, my husband and I were in the Loire Valley in September and I sent him pics of a couple of the chateaux. One had a maze, so he decided he wants to see a castle with a maze as they fascinate him. I think at this age the Buckingham and Windsor tours would be too dry for him. Hampton (which I've never seen either) has a kids' audioguide tour, the maze, and a huge adventure playground. Food on the premises, and families are welcome to picnic. Plus he's never been on a train so he'll enjoy doing that to get there. (He'll love helping decipher the Tube maps too.) I'm going to feed him some age-appropriate history before we go so he'll understand the historic sites better.

Will look into Premier Inns and the Resident, as I think a "standard" hotel in a good location is our best bet. And I'm already researching playgrounds (even found one on the river near the Tower). Kensington will be a definite. Also have the Eye, the Tower Bridge Experience, and the horse guards on the list. And yes, Stamford Bridge. He and dad watch Chelsea every week.

Again, thanks for all the recommendations. As I said, been to the UK a number of times, but not with a kid this young.

If he likes ramen he might enjoy eating at Shoryu
https://www.shoryuramen.com/
There are a few branches in the centre of town and the food is very good.

I know it probably seems like the pedantry of a local but don't shorten place names, it can lead to confusion. and potentially getting lost. 'Hampton' is near Hampton Court Palace but it isn't the same place. There is a Hampton Station and a Hampton Court Station.
Make sure you get a train to the right one when visiting the palace. :-)
Similarly Buckingham Palace is never shortened to 'Buckingham'. We have a lot of addresses with very similar names so the endings of addresses, the 'street', 'circus',' road', 'square' etc all matter.

Thank you. That's important. I was just being lazy.

A few things that might interest you/him:

IFS Cable Car

Post museum

Transport Museum