Toddler in the UK

I have finally returned to a city where I have lived for so many years of my life, London! The only difference this time around is that my toddler at 20 months old comes along to experience the life in such a vibrant cultural city that never sleeps! A visit to London to see so many fascinating places that cater to my little one is well worth the journey.

Places to visit

 A child’s trip is never complete without a visit to Hamleys, the largest toy store in the world that has seven floors with an area size covering 5,000 square meters. You will find anything to everything in this marvelous toy shop! Its flagship shop located along Regent Street makes such an interesting place for both big and small!

 The next place to visit should be the Sea Life London Aquarium, a wonderful place for your child to see and experience thousands of sea creatures taken from all over the globe. With three floors and 14 themed zones, try to convince your child for a close encounter with some of the animals. That will surely be something to remember in the years to come. And if your child absolutely adores animals, a wonderful idea would be to visit the London Zoo for even more close animal encounters!

 Directly in front of the Sea Life London Aquarium is the massive London Eye, the world’s third largest observation wheel, where you and your child can comfortably experience a great view of London inside a glass capsule that takes half an hour for a full rotation. Do note that both the aquarium and eye tickets may be combined for a lower cost if you make the purchase in advance online. Children ages three and under are free of charge!

 Be blown away at one of London’s newest attraction — M&M’s world located in Leicester Square. A must visit for children! Adults can go crazy here, too!

 My next recommendation is the Diana Memorial Playground, an outdoor place for children under 12 to roam around freely and just be happy! Then there is the London Transport Museum, a collection of interesting history of London transport and a very interactive place for children located in Covent Garden. You can stay here all day if your wish, just hop in and out of the buses and play and wander around.

 If you wish to take your child sightseeing in a less boring way, I would recommend the London Duck Tour. It is a 75-minute fun tour around the city in an amphibious craft that travels in both land and water.

 One museum I would recommend is the Pollock’s Toy Museum. Here, you will find every toy kind of toy from different time periods. The museum has been open to the public since 1969.

 Lastly, the famous Big Ben. No one at any age who visits London should ever miss taking a photograph standing before this monument. This makes your visit complete.

 Family-friendly places to eat (these are my top 15, in no particular order)

 (1) Rainforest Café – a restaurant with a jungle themed decoration where you will see and hear the sounds of waterfalls, thunder, lightning and wild animals. What a perfectly exotic place to take your child! The food is great, too! And don’t forget to drop by the restaurant’s souvenir shop for exotic stuff to take home.

 (2) Ben’s Cookies – a gourmet cookie company that makes its products using the finest ingredients. Crisp on the outside but soft, chewy with chunks of melted chocolate on the inside. Oh, your child would love to keep coming back for more! Located all over London.

 (3) Diana Playground Café – a famous playground and café dedicated to the late Princess Diana of Wales located next to Kensington Palace. A place with wonderful entertainment including clowns, story-telling, teepees and an enormous wooden pirate ship (Peter Pan inspired) all catering to children. Changing facilities are excellent, as well!

 (4) Sticky Fingers – Bill Wyman’s (bass player to the Rolling Stones) legendary restaurant located in the heart of Kensington. Living up to its name, the restaurant serves a whole lot of finger food for the sticky little fingers! Adults on the other hand, who are up for a challenge, should order the Sticky Stack. But what is it? Find out for yourself. Vegetarians should stay away!

 (5) Hummingbird – Just like adults, any child would go crazy at this place! An absolute delish quality baking where you will find one of the best cupcakes in this city!

 (6) Belgo Central – serving Belgian food where you may find kids-eat-free offers, but times vary. It is a restaurant that also has a wide range of children’s menu together with a fun atmosphere and wonderful interior. No doubt that it is certainly a place that serves excellent moules and frites (mussels and chips). Yummy!

 (7) Masala Zone – an amazing but inexpensive Indian restaurant decorated with brightly colored Indian puppets that offer a special kids menu. The thalis (a traditional and complete Indian home food consisting of little bowls) are absolutely the best! A must-try! Located in different locations around the city.

 (8) Grenadier – a friendly pub that has and always been my long-time favorite that to me serves the best fish and chips in town! It is located in the heart of Knightsbridge only a few meters walk from Harrods, London’s famous and most exclusive department store.

 (9) Harrods Disney Café – Disney lovers would love it here! You will find Mickey-shaped sandwiches and ravioli here, thought that was quite interesting.

 (10) My Old Dutch – the perfect place to find both savory and sweet pancakes, Dutch style, of course. An old-time favorite of mine, which I think I may have passed on to my toddler as he seems to love it whole-heartedly!

 (11) Wagamama – a Japanese-inspired fastfood where you share tables with other diners makes a whole new dining experience. Children seem to love it!

 (12) Busaba – similar style to Wagamama, the only difference is that they serve Thai food. Very child-friendly.

 (13) Jamie’s Italian – founded by famous chef Jamie Oliver himself, this place is not to be missed as it is absolutely one of the finest in town! Catering to all ages, this restaurant serves excellent food, mainly European dishes. Best of all, it has a great family feel atmosphere.

 (14) Nando’s – a Portuguese restaurant but also designed for the Nandinos (children). Chicken is the main thing to order at this place, but do not miss trying out their frozen yoghurt. Making life easier, changing facilities are available as well. Nandocas (staff) are no doubt 100 percent child-friendly.

 (15) Harvey Nichols Fifth Floor Café and Restaurant – it just happens to be one of the best places to take your children to. Plus, it has an overall safe environment!

Places to stay

 There are thousands to places that can accommodate you and your family all over town so it all depends on what you are after. Best to look into serviced apartments as it has a kitchen/kitchenette, which might become useful if you check in with a child. If you opt to stay at a hotel instead, do check on the amount of room space for your child to move around comfortably. Also ensure that both the serviced apartment and hotel offers baby cots/cribs. This is normally free of charge. Note that the UK has implemented a ban on smoking indoors in public places but do confirm that with your chosen place of accommodation just in case. 

This is it, this is London for toddlers! Anytime is a great time to be here! Enticed for more of toddler’s travels? Read more in the next coming weeks!