Have you done the National Portrait Gallery yet?
Well, that’s the Monument ruled out then - 311 steps up a tiny spiral staircase inside a concrete column, with a narrow balcony at the top. Acrophobia presumably rules out the viewing platform at The Shard as well (which I haven’t been to as it’s freaking exorbitant).
I love the Horniman - my daughter and I were there two weeks ago. If the weather is nice, a stroll around the garden is also recommended. I was underwhelmed by their current exhibition (the one you have to pay for) on “Dinosaur Families” so would probably give it a miss. Also, be aware that the aquarium is tiny - it’s good and worth seeing, but don’t be disappointed if you’ve seen everything in it thoroughly in 20 minutes tops.
I do particularly recommend the musical instrument collection. Best if you go at a time when the kids are all in school or it will be busy and noisy. Sadly the Horniman Cafe isn’t great - it’s not horrible, but it’s not great - and there’s nowhere else notable to eat nearby.
Food: I’ve recently discovered the Southbank Food Market, which is behind (i.e. streetside, not riverside) the Royal Festival Hall Friday-Sunday from noon onwards. If you’re looking for food in the London Bridge station area there’s Borough Market (what’s there depends on when you’re there); lots of good restaurants nearby including Brindisa (tapas), Katzenjammers (German food and lots of beer), and Bill’s Kitchen (assorted lovely food). Or there’s always Nando’s. 
Actually, while I’m on the area, the walk from LB station west along the river is one of my favorites - you go past Southwark Cathedral, the Golden Hind, Clink Prison, the Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern, the Millennium Bridge and some of the aforementioned restaurants.
I could babble on all day so I’ll throw in something north of the river:Sir John Soane’s Museum. Famous 19th century architect and collector of stuff. It’s quite near Holborn Station.
Yes, this is delightfully quirky! This Guardian piece has more about it.
Also, the Anaesthesia Museum. It’s just two rooms but packed with stuff.
If you like dinosaurs and extinct mammals you might like the Victorian ones at Crystal Palace. It’s not very central but is fairly easily reached. They’re the first dino sculptures in the world so some of their anatomy isn’t very accurate! And it’s where the Crystal Palace was moved to, so you can wander around where it was as well…
We were there a couple of years ago and enjoyed the little museum they have, too. Not sure if there are other attractions nearby, though, so you might not think it worth the travel time.
I’ve been to the site near Clifden where Alcock & Brown crashed (twice, for some reason) and I’d LOVE to see the plane they crashed!
SO many Americans think that Lindbergh was the first to fly across the Atlantic. What’s worse is how many Americans have never heard of Lindbergh at all. I think I’m one of about two or three hundred who knows about Alcock and Brown.
I assume the Science Museum is in Kensington, with all the other similar museums? Never mind, I’ll look it up.
<b>MrDibble:</b> NO! And it’s already on my list for this trip. The Ukulele Lady loved the National Portrait Gallery last year, but I was all “How good can the paintings be?”
Damn good. There’s a whole room of G.F. Watt, one of my favorite Symbolists. Lots of Augustus John – he did Dylan Thomas in 1944, god, he must have been a hundred years old. A self-portrait by Mervyn Peake, the great illustrator and author of the Gormenghast books. A DELIGHTFUL portrait of Uncle Al Crowley done in 1918, before he was the Wickedest Man in the World.
Yep, definitely going next week.
Well, if it won’t frighten me too much, I may eat my spinach and try it. Could I hire a burly Cockney to carry me up piggyback?
Gyrate: Thank you for the food tips! I’d be at the Horniman on a weekday, so I’d skip the kids…the musical instrument collection sounds fascinating. I play a wide variety of brass and woodwinds, and I always love displays of classic versions. Salivate over 1890s shepherd’s-crook cornets, pre-jazz era saxophones, wooden flutes, etc.
Sir John Soane’s Museum has always been on my B-list of options; I may get there this year.
Meurglys:. Having raised little Pianola and little Banjo to adulthood (they’re 25 and 21 now), I have seen more dinosaurs in my life than I really needed to. But thank you!
The dinosaurs are cool but unless you’re a serious dino fan I’m not convinced it’s worth a trip just for that (although the park is lovely in its own right). There’s nothing to see on the “site of the former Crystal Palace” apart from a bus station, TV antenna and (at the moment) a crappy funfair. Further down there are some broken statues and staircases. It is not what it was.
The museum is interesting but it’s one room, run by volunteers and not open much - again, unless you have a specific interest, I wouldn’t bother. And apart from the park there isn’t much to see locally (although you’re a short bus ride from the Horniman); the park itself is huge and features a good hedge maze.
Don’t forget to stop at the most famous crossing in the city.
I’d recommend a day trip or two in your situation. Oxford is only an hour away, as is Cambridge. Bath is about 90 minutes by train, and Windsor is closer than all of them.
Stuff in London:
The Imperial War Museum in Southwark (a bit south of the Thames) is freaking amazing, but you know that already. The British Army Museum in Chelsea is very cool, but not quite as cool as the IWM. HMS Belfast is pretty cool as well.
The National Maritime Museum/Royal Observatory in Greenwich is pretty cool as well.
You ‘avin’ a bleedin’ laugh, guv?
If you’re interested in musical museums you might want to check out the Kew, etc, music museum. http://www.musicalmuseum.co.uk/
They’ve got an excellent collection of automata, and a fully functioning Wurlitzer. Best experienced by timing your visit for the guided tours. They also put on old movies with live accompaniment from time to time.
C’mon, the city can’t keep me entertained for four lousy days?
“The man who tires of London is tired of the world,” – Sam Johnson or Sherlock Holmes or Ronnie Corbett or some other Brit
“…life” I believe.
I’ll admit to stopping by the doorway, on one Vienna trip, where Harry Lime was exposed to Holly Martins by a black cat and a shaft of electric light, but only because I was in the neighborhood.
The only way I’d travel to a damn traffic crossing in London is if Sir Paul meets me there, barefoot, holding a 28IF license plate. And sings me a song.
I will be staying in London for two days myself in a couple months and I’ll look back at this thread for art museum recommendations. I’ll be staying in south Mayfair so I’ll have plenty of green space to walk in as well. If I weren’t resting in preparation for a run in the Cotswolds, the Abbey Road crossing may have been irresistible since I would have easily been able to get to Regent’s Park as well and I may as well have seen it while I was there. (And it’s not worth a Tube ride :))
The Ukulele Lady LOVES to run in Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens. If you want a warm-up to stay in shape for the Cotswolds, try it!
Don’t miss the Tate Gallery north of the river (the trendy Tate Modern is on the south), especially the 19th century and early 20th century rooms. SO many great paintings per square foot…
Last week we finally went to see the Princess Diana fountain, having not bothered to wander in that direction previously. Fortunately the weather was grey and cool enough to keep the crowds away but mild enough to go wading. Rather lovely, and a short walk from the Royal Albert Hall/Albert Memorial.
When my sister last came to visit me she actually went horseback riding in Hyde Park. I don’t know which company she used but I believe there are a number of mews locally. She’s an experienced horseperson so it was fairly simple, but I believe one can do so with a guide even with minimal previous riding experience.
On a vaguely related note, you apparently can rent a kayak and paddle around the canals in East London. Why in God’s name you would want to kayak around the back of old industrial estates, dodging dumped shopping carts and trying not to let any of the ooze touch you, I have no idea. But it’s a thing you can do.