London Oct 2025 Itinerary- mostly final draft

Few thoughts.

Its an hour ride on the Piccadilly line from Heathrow to London. Where is your accommodation? Might be better and quicker to take the Elizabeth Line to Paddington and tube from there.

Lots of food / lunch options near the Natural History Museum. How adventurous is she food wise?

Why are you tubing to Wembley? Taking a tour?

Consider St Brides for Evensong

Slow down. London is a cacophony of sites, sounds and smells. Allow her senses to adapt.

Add some time in a park. Regents, Hyde, or Richmond parks are amenable to strolls. Pleasant for people watching and seeing dogs.

Want a different neighborhood to explore? Try Finsbury Park and a stroll along the Parkland Trail to Crouch End.

Great city. Have a wonderful time together enjoying together.

This sounds like a wonderful trip! The only things you may wish to add would be the London Eye and possibly tea at The Library County Hall which is right by Westminster bridge. We enjoyed both of those!

Possibly Friday after the Horse Guard parade, have tea at 12:00 at the Library County Hall which takes care of lunch, or after the Royal Mews. Monday might work for the London Eye since you will be heading back to Victoria to your hotel.

On Wednesday you will be near Kensington Gardens and may wish to take a walk there. Coco Momo is near the Natural History Museum for lunch if you like.

Wishing you a special time together!

There are several tube stations with Wembley in their name. You want Wembley Park on the Jubilee and the Metropolitan for Starlight Express. As you're going to Florence Nightingale first it's a straight shot from Waterloo on the Jubilee

I think as long as you are flexible in the afternoons, your plan sounds fine. My daughter and I did a similar 8-night trip just a few weeks ago, with some overlap and some different sights. My daughter is also neurodiverse. My trip report might be helpful--here is the link.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-8-night-mother-daughter-trip-to-london

My one thought is that the Natural History and V&A are both huge, and trying to do both in one day would be overwhelming for just about anyone.

I see that you are thinking of having afternoon tea instead of dinner one day--you will see that we did the same and it worked out fine for us. However, it does involve a lot of carbs and sweets.

Have a great time. London is ideal for a mother-daughter trip.

Just to say I took my daughter to see Totoro this summer and it was absolutely fantastic. I hadn’t seen the film (which really doesn’t matter) but if you’re already a fan then don’t miss it.

This sounds like a lovely trip. The only thing I think might be a bit much is visiting the Natural History Museum and V&A in the same day, that could be a bit exhausting. But everyone has their own pace and that might work for you.

There are lots of places to eat in Wembley, including around where Starlight Express is, if you want to stick around the area for dinner.

Sounds like a lovely trip! My Mama and I had a trip together to London when I was 16 and it was the BEST. Lots of bonding, tons of adventures… and such lovely lifelong memories.

That said, some days seem like a LOT. Since you have mentioned your daughter is ND, you might be attempting too much. With respect, I am just going to annotate two days.

“Tue-
London zoo (daughter's London must-do list)
After Zoo-If time/energy permits:
Primrose hill lovely area, but combining with Camden Market will be stressful
Camden market I love Camden Market, but it is A LOT. It’s also worth more than just a quick fly-through. It is a teenage person magnet, with tons of stalls and fashion and bric-a-brac to pore over. I suggest you not shortchange it.
and/or later:
Covent garden area lovely and beautiful! plenty to do without going on to…
Leister square ack! I would be tempted to avoid. It’s loud, ugly, touristy, and tacky. Also hella crowded and stressful.
Shopping - game stores, Duck world
Cecil Court and other bookstores
dinner at Punjab or Seven Dials Market or ?”

“Wed-
Depending on the weather these days could be swapped around
Natural History museum(daughters list) this museum is amazing - stunning - breathtaking. Combining it in a single day with the V&A (which is similarly impressive and crammed with treasure) seems like a recipe for a melt-down disaster. Either you or your daughter are likely to catch a rig trying to cram both - plus the Ceremony of the Keys! - into one day.
Lunch - suggestions?
V&A or back to hotel to rest
Dinner?
Ceremony of keys 9:30 pm- tickets purchased”

I am sure you catch my drift. London is huge. You will never run out of things to do. That there are so many stupendous, world-class things to do and see makes it easy to want to cram in a LOT each day - but it is also wonderful to take your time exploring, slowing your pace a bit, and enjoying the experience of being there without trying to fill every second with a “must see” sight. Like Rick himself says, “assume you will be back.” So endeth the lecture.

And now, enough philosophy! And on to the restaurant suggestion: The Golden Union.

The Golden Union is the best fish ‘n’ chips joint in London, IMHO. It beats the Mayfair Chippie. It beats Poppie’s by a country mile. The fish is blindingly fresh, the batter is light and airy, and the chips are chunky and proper. They conconct their own tartare sauce, which is delectable. https://goldenunion.co.uk/

It’s at 38 Poland Street, just about 4 blocks from Liberty, so is a perfect place for lunch if you stop at Liberty for fabrics. And bonus! The Golden Union is right across the street from an adorable local yarn and fabrics store called MacCulloch & Wallace, which is absolutely drool-worthy. https://www.macculloch-wallis.co.uk/

Wishing you the best of trips!

@Kay51, thank you for the restaurant suggestions, I am hoping to fit in time for a cream tea at least and there are sooo many lovely places to choose from!!

@isn31c, I did note that the tube to Wembley park connected from Waterloo so I rearranged the visit to Florence Nightingale museum to take advantage of that. You might have guessed that I am a nurse and I work in clinical data and Florence Nightingale is something of a hero of mine.

She was a pioneer in the use of statistics to improve healthcare services and was the first women admitted to the Royal Statistical Society. She was quite an amazing person!

@CatVH
Am starting to rethink whether we will feel like two museums, may save V&A for another time so we can enjoy it fully. If you have a thought for dinner near Wembley Park area, we will definitely be ready for dinner after the show....

@Helen
Not sure if we will feel like seeing another show while we are there but everyone says the theaters in London are the best and my daughter is a longtime anime fan, seems like she would really enjoy it:)

Barbara N , I read and enjoyed your trip report. Sounds like you had a good time and fit in quite a lot of adventures at your own pace.
We saw Six two years ago at our local theater and she enjoyed it enough that we have tickets to see it again in February with our Broadway season tickets package for this year. Hoping she will appreciate the connection to our visits to the Tower and Hampton Court.
My husband dislikes musicals so this is something my daughter and I enjoy together just us girls :)

Volvo
I appreciate your thoughts and suggestions. I am definitely going in with the idea that we won't end up doing everything on the list, but also we are the worst at deciding on the fly so having a list of options makes it easier as we go.
And of course I am interested in more yarn and fabric shops because you can never have a big enough stash of either :p

BA says we have 19 days and 23 hrs until we are on our way and I am getting super excited for us to be there!

There are memorials to Florence Nightingale at 90 Harley Street (external), I'm the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral and in the chapel of St Thomas' Hospital, also a statue as part of the Guard's Memorial at the junction of Regent Street and Pall Mall

For dinner in Wembley, if you'd like to try something a little different you can check out Boxpark: https://wembleypark.com/attractions/boxpark-wembley/

It's more like a market with lots of stalls with different types of food, and tables in the centre. It's right next to the theatre so very convenient after a show. If you want something more traditional, I like the White Horse pub which is a little further away closer to the stadium. There are also all the usual chain restaurants nearby.

One thing to caution on with Wembley is it can get extremely crowded when an event is on at the stadium. I see you are going the first week in October, but not sure if you mean w/c 29 September or w/c 6 October. If it's the latter, you should be aware that on Thursday 9 October, the day you would be going to your show, will be England v Wales at Wembley Stadium at 7.45pm. In that case, I would get out of the area as soon as the show is done, just because it will become unbelievably crowded. I don't see any events on Thursday 2 October, but you can always check here: https://www.wembleystadium.com/events

I share your admiration for Florence Nightingale and her pioneering use of statistics for public health- they do go into a bit of detail on this in the museum! Hope you both have a great time.

Sunday roast FOR SURE. Here is a list. My friend and I took the bus to Hoxton because we were able to get a last-minute reservation at William IV. We ended up sitting in the pub, which was fine by us and had a wonderful meal and great service. https://www.timeout.com/london/food-and-drink/londons-best-sunday-lunches
I could have spent all day in Liberty. It's much more than just fabric. If you're in the area, definitely check it out.
I am a big fan (and pusher) of the tea bus, which I have now done in 3 cities. Departures from Victoria Coach Station, so handy to your hotel. https://b-bakery.com

Isn31c
Crazy coincidence perhaps but the Harley Street Florence Nightingale memorial is across the street from several clinics that are owned by the company I have worked at for 26 years. I am marking it on my map so we can make our way there while we are exploring in the area. My team will get a kick out of a picture. I may even bring my tshirt for a cameo...it is a thing. :p

Thank you CatVH,
Luckily our show is on 2 October so we will miss the match crowd! In our town it is often that way with multiple events on the same day/evening causing crazy traffic, crowds and parking issues. I am looking forward to being able to take advantage of public transportation!!

I just had to jump on and say I saw Starlight Express in the West End with my (then) ten year old niece and her mother, in 1993. She and I LOVED it... and might have had to explain a bit to my sister!