3 Days in London with Harry Potter-Loving Tweens

If you are traveling from the US East Coast overnight as we did, there’s a temptation to take a nap on the first day. We opted to push through the day, so I chose some activities that would keep us moving.

We checked into the Savoy around 11 am. We booked a 2:30 to 4:30 pm Harry Potter walking tour. We took the tube from Charing Cross Station to Monument Station, then met the tour guide outside the Pizza Express in Leadenhall Market, so that’s a convenient place to have lunch. The Boom Bap Burger is another fine option in Leadenhall Market. The tour pointed out London locations that appear in the films or inspired the books, but we also got to see London landmarks like St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Millennium Bridge, and Australia House. It ended in Borough Market, where you can grab a gelato, a coffee, a pastry, or whatever you need to keep going.

Next stop was the Thames Rocket boat tour at the London Eye Pier. If you are up for it, it’s about a 30-minute walk. Otherwise, take the tube from London Bridge Station to Waterloo Station. I didn’t tell my kids anything about the Thames Rocket other than that it was a boat tour, and despite the fact it has "rocket" in the name and it looks like a racing boat, they had no idea. It starts off at a leisurely pace with a fun tour guide pointing out the famous landmarks along the river, but when they get of town, they hit the gas. The look on my kids’ faces was priceless.

Day two is jet lag day, so we slept in and ordered room service for breakfast. Now, this is where I need to say a few words about hotel choice. A lot of people think it’s crazy to take children to a luxury hotel like the Savoy when they would happily sleep at the Hampton Inn or a pillow fort in the living room. That’s true, but do they know and appreciate the difference between a good hotel and a great one? Absolutely. More importantly, I’m a better husband and father when I have a had a good night’s sleep and a fine breakfast.

That said, we scheduled the British Museum for day two. We did a one hour self-guided tour that you can find on the museum website. We chose this route for several reasons. First, you need to have a plan. There is so much stuff in the British Museum that you could literally spend months there and not see everything. Having 10 or 12 things that you plan to see creates a sense of mission, keeps everyone moving, and lets the kids know that they are making progress and the end is in sight. Second, with a self-guided tour, you can show up whenever you want, and on jet lag day, that gives you a lot of flexibility. Third, it’s free. And, finally, I have been to the museum many times, and I know that my kids and I will be back, so there was no pressure to see everything this time. It worked out fine this way. However, we left London for Paris, where we opted for a professional guide at The Louvre, and it was money well spent. It’s like this: I know all the words to "Purple Rain," but hearing me sing it is not like hearing a professional sing it. So, if this is your first and last trip to London, definitely get a Blue Badge guide to take you on a tour.

After the museum, we got on the Hop-on Hop-Off double-decker bus tour. The kids loved riding on the top deck and we got off and on several times. Then, it was time for dinner. The food is just okay and there’s a birthday every three or four minutes, but there’s just something about the Hard Rock Cafe London, so that’s where we ate. From there, we walked to the LEGO Store in Leicester Square, then back to the Savoy. We got a table in the American Bar and let the kids drink a mocktail and build their LEGOs.

Day three was a Sunday for us, so we got up early and attended the 8 am service at St. Paul’s Cathedral. I am kind of a church nerd, but whoever you are and whatever your relationship with Christianity, St. Paul’s, Westminster Abbey, and many other churches in London are cultural touchstones and architectural masterpieces worth seeing. Chelsea Old Church has a great children’s program and St. Martin-in-the-Fields has daytime concerts and a Cafe Crypt lunch spot with the hottest mustard you’ve ever had.

We so enjoyed the Hop-On Hop-Off bus tour that we did some more after church, and then walked to the Adelphi Theatre to see Back to the Future. My kids had not seen the movie, but they still enjoyed the show. We had dinner at the Ivy Market Grill in Covent Garden and headed back to the hotel.