Exploring London - 2

If you are going for less than a week, focus your time on the West End and Central London. Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Parliament, the Tower of London, the shops of Covent Garden, the theatre district near Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, and the British Museum in Bloomsbury are all within a few tube stops of each other.

West End and Central London

Historic Sites

To get the lay of the land, and ride one of those iconic red double-decker buses, it is not a bad idea to take a hop-on-and-off Original Tour, which does a regular circuit through the major tourist attractions.

Your first stop should be Big Ben with its Westminster chimes and a visit to the Neo-Gothic Houses of Parliament. After paying your respects to the statue of crusader King Richard the Lionheart outside, it is worth pre-booking a visit for a tour of the House of Commons, available from August to September. When Commons is in session, you can also stand in line for tickets to see parliamentary debates, which are often fiery and involve lots of shouting and hubbub. For a shorter wait, visit the more sedate and ceremonial House of Lords.

• North entrance of Westminster Abbey.
• Anthony M.

Across Abingdon Street is Westminster Abbey, a Gothic abbey devoted to memorializing the great and good, including Charles Darwin, Rudyard Kipling, and Isaac Newton, whose tomb was featured in The Da Vinci Code. The Abbey is not much fun for pre-school age children, but older kids will like the Children's Trail, a guide available for free at the information desk, and the chance to dress up as monks with the help of Museum staff. Don’t miss the funeral effigy room, where you and your family can really see what past monarchs looked like. Death masks, wax figures, and original painted wooden effigies that were on top of royal coffins are displayed.

A short walk to the west leads you to the living monarch’s official residence at Buckingham Palace. The Changing of the Guard ceremony occurs daily at 11:27 a.m. from April to July, and on alternating days the rest of the year. Get there early for the best view. You also can watch the Horse Guard Parade, held every day at 11 a.m. (10 a.m. on Sunday), which is just as full of pomp and circumstance. Telephone +44 (0)171 839 1377 to book ahead, or you can get tickets from the Ticket Office at Green Park. The Horse Guards really will stand motionless, silently and patiently if kids want a photograph with them.

In the summer, when the gardens at Buckingham Palace are open, this is a great place to let children run off steam. For the adults, the Royal Gallery is worth a visit. It features some of the choice artworks from the Royal Collection.

St. Paul’s Cathedral, a Baroque masterpiece designed by Sir Christopher Wren in the 17th century, is the distinctive feature on the London skyline. A symbol of British patriotism for surviving the Blitz of World War II, the Cathedral contains the American Memorial Chapel to commemorate U.S. servicemen, as well as the tomb of Winston Churchill. The Whispering Gallery is worth the long winding stair climb for its unique acoustics and stunning view of London. Check out the education section of St. Paul’s Web site to print free booklets designed for self-guided tours with children.