5 London attractions for children

Traveling to London on a family holiday? Here is a list of 5 must-see attractions to keep your boys occupied.

An international metropolis hustling and bustling with high-powered business types, serious-minded government officials, fashion-conscious shoppers and the masses of humanity drawn to such a frenetic world hardly seems like a playground for little boys, but London is exactly that.

Youngsters of the male persuasion from two to twenty can be kept happily steeped in the stuff of boy dreams for days on end with little more than a Tube ticket and the occasional entrance fee.

• The London Zoo

Although a young man might choose to begin a London adventure on a more gruesome note, parents may decide that the London Zoo is a reasonable starting point. Boys will be especially impressed with the Bearded Pigs, and Mom and Dad will be sure to notice similarities between their charges and the chimpanzees!

• The Natural History Museum

An interesting follow-up to the Zoo, one providing just the right touch of the morbidly fascinating to grab a little boy’s attention and hold it for hours, is the Natural History Museum.

Have your cameras ready to capture the look on your son’s face as he first gets an eye-full of dinosaur in all its boney glory. It is a moment he will never forget, and one that may color his perception of the sciences for the rest of his life.
(What do you want to be when you grow up, little boy? … I want to be a paleontologist!)

• The Horse Guards Parade

Introducing people as interesting London sights may not sound like a great idea to boys, but people on horses? Well, that’s okay.

The Horse Guards Parade, a daily duty of the Queen’s Life Guards, is pomp and ceremony and spit and polish, and every little boy’s dream of cool. These guys have swords! And the ring of horses’ hooves on pavement, along with the heady aroma of horse, drives straight into the heart of kids full of dreams of fighting dragons and rescuing princesses.

Throw in a little history … and the history of England certainly offers enough in the way of blood and gore to grab the interest of any boy … and you have managed to educate and entertain at the same time.

• Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens

Because boys will be boys, no matter how thrilling hours of standing around and absorbing the impact of dinosaur bones and uniformed and mounted soldiers can be, some amount of running around must be done.

Heading over to the Serpentine, the lake whose bridge divides Hyde Park from Kensington Gardens, will provide the perfect venue for letting off steam while adults enjoy some peace and quiet and pay respects at the Holocaust Memorial and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain.

• The Tower of London

If some sadness over recent history brings a cloud over the day, the bloody horrors of ancient England might be just the ticket to brighten a boy’s mood, and where else to get the full dose of that than the Tower of London?

From posing on the very spot that saw Ann Boleyn separated from her head, to measuring up against suits of armor, to learning the legend of the royal rooks, to plotting just how they surely would have managed an escape, the Tower offers an endless path through a boy’s imagination that will keep them thinking and understanding history for years to come. And all this while the adults take to counting the facets in the Royal Jewels and letting their own imaginations run wild.

Yes, London may be a city of global importance in finance, culture and government, but it is also a heck of a lot of fun for little boys.

Photo of the British Royal Guard originally posted by Jon’s pics

Topic:  Travel with kids | 0 Comments
Tags:  family, London

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About the author

Although always a traveler, Sandra Hanks Benoiton now spends most of her time writing the world from the veranda of her home on the Indian Ocean island of Mahé in the Seychelles. Well known and respected for her advocacy on behalf of the world's children, she also authors works of fiction. A collection of her short stories, "Papaya ... and other seeds", is to be released this year and will include "Beggars Would Ride", the tale from which the short film "Wish" was adapted.”