Please review final draft of itinerary

Is Day 1 the day you arrive in London after an overnight flight? If so, I absolutely would not plan on Madame Tussaud's that afternoon. One or more of you are likely to be far too sleepy to enjoy it, and it's always best to spend your time outdoors on your arrival dayul

Thanks. I am Going back and forth on that. What day would you move it to? I think I can ask them to switch it. I thought of it as a non thinking thing to do to keep us up and my son can’t wait to go. Didn’t want to do long walls or too much else that day.

1. When is this trip? As in what month?
2. If you must go to the Wax Museum move it to the day you return from Paris.
3. Day 1 after checking in to wherever you are staying, head right back out, get your pounds from a bank ATM, then at the nearest tube station get your Oyster cards for the machines and put 20 pounds on each then use it to get to Westminster station.
4. Mind the Gap and exit Westminster station out onto Parliament Square. Loads of photo ops ( Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Bridge with the London Eye across the Thames) very easy walk about.
5. And then you can easily enjoy pub grub at the Red Lion, or St Stephens or Westminster Arms or the 2 Chairman.
6. Then if everyone is up for it either stroll through St James Park for your first look at Buckingham Palace, or walk along the Thames Path or walk up Whitehall past number 10 Downing Street and the Horse Guards to Trafalgar Square.

Honestly these are easy walks and a great first day to expose the 12 year old to some of London’s most iconic sites.

Have you arranged for early check-in at your hotel? I asked because we once wound up sleeping on a park bench in Hyde Park when we arrived at the hotel at 11 am and our room wasn't available until after 4 pm.

And I agree that Madame Tussaud's might be rushing it on the first day. Last time we visited there we had timed admission tickets and still stood in line for a good 40 minutes. That's a tough wait when you're jetlagged.

I don't know why people think they have seen Paris well on a day trip from London.
Save Paris for spending a week there and really enjoy that city.

We don’t think we will see a lot in Paris in a single day. We are doing that because 7 days/nights in london is a lot in one city and we have an almost 12 yr old who we want to expose new things to and this way we can book a new trip in the future with a taste of Paris. We don’t have the vacation time to have gone longer or I would have spent more time there too.