London’s landmarks: a photo tour of the city
It was only when I was reading about the world’s most Instagrammed landmarks that I realised my daughter, born and bred in London, had never seen Big Ben. The last straw was when she insisted she had… on TV (CBeebies Go Jetters to be precise).
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So there was no time to waste – people travel for miles to see London’s landmarks. We have them on the doorstep and with blue skies forecast for the weekend (even if it was flipping freezing), there’s no time like the present.
It was a bit chilly for an open top bus tour but fortunately my husband (a) loves driving and (b) was also born and bred in the city, therefore has no terror of navigating the capital’s roads – so after picking our selection of London’s landmarks, breaking out a new puzzle and colouring book all about London and wrapping ourselves up in a lot of layers, we headed out.
After cruising past the museums, marvelling as ever at the detail on the Natural History Museum and Victoria & Albert Museum, we drove past Buckingham Palace, keeping an eye out for the royal standard – only the Union Jack was flying, so the monarch apparently wasn’t in, although the pelicans were at home in St James’s Park to make up for it.
If you’d rather see London’s landmarks on foot, check out my self-guided London walking tour with kids
Then we made our way to Westminster to show my daughter some of the city’s most iconic buildings in the flesh (brick).
And after years living in London, it’s amazing what you learn if you pay attention – for me at least.
While Minnie was confidently announcing that she already knew only the bell was called Big Ben and the tower was the Elizabeth Tower (thanks Go Jetters), I was spotting carved lions and looking more closely at the statues than any time before.
- Gaskell, Katja (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 108 Pages – 02/03/2025 (Publication Date) – Independently published (Publisher)
Despite the many monarchs in England and Britain’s long history – a large number of whom are buried nearby in Westminster Abbey – the only two I spotted were Richard the Lionheart, all legendary glory and valour but didn’t spend much time in England and all but bankrupted the country during his reign, and George V, a king who barely registers among some of his more colourful ancestors and relations.
Oliver Cromwell makes an appearance too, less surprisingly, although Minnie was not too impressed to discover he went about cutting people’s heads off.
The statues in Parliament Square are just as mixed – some of Britain’s most famous Prime Ministers and the world’s great leaders, including Churchill, Gandhi and Mandela, alongside an eclectic array of Victorian politicians (I had to look the Earl of Derby up) and Jan Christian Smuts… who I’m embarrassed to say I also had to look up.
Fortunately Minnie was distracted from any gaps in my knowledge by David Lloyd George’s impressively sweeping cape.
Crossing the river, we managed a very quick pitstop to take in the views from the other side (before being firmly asked to move from Lambeth Palace’s forecourt. Oops) for a closer look at the London Eye – the newest of London’s landmarks on our mini tour – between the buildings on the South Bank.
Then back across the river to gaze along the Thames – always the heart of the city for me – and along to the Monument.
At one point, I used to walk past the column every morning on my way to work and never got tired of looking over to see the flaming orb on top gleaming in the sun.
We decided to skip climbing the 311 steps until Minnie is a bit older, but she seemed satisfactorily impressed by the fact that if you laid the monument down, its 202ft would stretch to the place where the Great Fire of London broke out.
Meanwhile, I discovered that Fish Street Hill (the City of London has the best street names) would once have led to the first London bridge.
Today the church of St Magnus the Martyr is squashed between more modern buildings, but do stop in to see its great model of the old bridge – as it was Sunday, the bells were pealing out and we headed on.
To St Paul’s nearby, whose bells were ringing equally loudly as we stood and stared up at the dome, still one of the highest in the world.
Last on our list was the Tower of London – something Minnie has seen in passing from our Thames river boat cruise on the way to the Cutty Sark in Greenwich – until another famous London sight derailed our plan: a huge traffic jam.
But with jewels, ravens, more kings and a few blood-thirsty tales for her to look stern about, I think a trip to one of my favourite London landmarks shouldn’t be too far behind.
For my top free things to do in London with kids, including more unmissable landmarks, check out this post
PIN FOR LATER: A MINI TOUR OF LONDON’S LANDMARKS
Images copyright MummyTravels
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Lovely pics – especially the one of your little one at Big Ben #citytripping
Thanks! We snatched a moment when the traffic briefly stopped 🙂
Ah I never tire of London! Even though I’ve seen all of these sites a dozen times, every time I go, I still want one touristy day seeing the sights! #CityTripping
Absolutely – even when you live here, it’s lovely to stop and appreciate them rather than just let them blend into the background.
What a fabulous day out, and what an advantage that your husband knew the route. It’s not easy driving in big cities. I am sure you all had a great time! #citytripping
Thanks – definitely something you could do by bus/bike/on foot as well, although on a cold day with a four-year-old, I was very glad of our private chauffeur!
Who can ever tire of London’s great sights. Samuel Johnson put it perfectly when he said “when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life” (though he should have included women!) Funny that Minnie had never seen BB except on CBeebies!
Indeed! And I suspect she could have seen it on our boat trip, but I think she was stubbornly refusing to look out of the window at that point 😉
Great pictures and a lovely day to take them. London is such a beautiful city
Thank you – the sky was so blue at the weekend.
We love Go Jetters! You are so lucky to have London on your doorstep so you can spend a day exploring the sights. We are heading down in May to show our boys around and I hope to be able to show them Big Ben and Parliament too. Will get Go Jetters on the TV before we go too! #citytripping
It is teaching her a lot about the world – although I’ve had the theme tune stuck in my head for weeks! A good reminder to me to appreciate some of these iconic buildings as well.
beautiful photos! I can’t believe she hasn’t seen it before:) #citytripping
Thanks! I know – she’s seen a fair bit of London now but sometimes when it’s so close, I think I forget to set aside time to go (or forget that she hasn’t seen it countless times as I have)
It would be a person with a serious lack of imagination whose heart didn’t beat a little faster when those iconic buildings came into view. When we moved to London I insisted we live close to the action even though it meant compromising on a few other things… like space! I’m so glad we live close to everything as it makes me feel a lot more connected to the city. I must take my kids on a similar tour. Great idea! #citytripping
I agree – I do love how a lot of these buildings end up being part of my everyday life, like the Monument and the Tower which have both been on my walk into work in the past.
I’d never considered driving into town, but this is a great suggestion – we don’t live far out, only 20 mins out of Charing Cross by train, but having a car in the centre would make it so much easier to get around the landmarks with our youngsters. Did you manage to find parking without too many problems? #citytripping
It really did help – and was lovely and warm after wandering around in the cold. My husband seems to have a knack for finding parking spaces (maybe he’s lived here long enough to know them all?!) although on a couple of occasions, he just pulled over into a side street while we wandered around, ready to drive off if a warden appeared. The only place we really struggled was by Lambeth Palace and along the South Bank.
I’m mighty impressed with Minnie’s Big Ben knowledge! What a great tour and you certainly got the weather for it. Sounds like you all got something out of it. My daughter recently went on a school trip to Westminster Abbey…somewhere I have yet to go so she is certainly catching me up. #citytripping
Me too – I should let her watch more CBeebies, it seems! And she was very cross that we weren’t going into Westminster Abbey that day, although I suspect that’s somewhere she’ll appreciate more when she’s older. I quite fancy planning a day off and popping in myself sometime, haven’t been for ages.
Nice to see London’s landmarks under a blue sky. Such grand old buildings.
Thanks – the weather was definitely showing them off at their best.
I worked in the westminster part of London for about 8 years and never got to see the landmarks properly till after I stopped going and made a special trip. I think I could just wander about for days and days! Fab photos!
Haha, that’s always the way isn’t it!
I’ve lived in London and visit often but I never fail to get excited by all of London’s iconic sights – it always gives me a thrill to see them. My kids and I love walking around London and seeing so many of these along the way. Great to be back on #citytripping
Lovely to have you back – and I agree, I never get tired of seeing them, or the little thrill to think I live here.
Finally, she’s seen it! How iconic. I love the fact you can visit these buildings and see the business of the day unfold. I loved getting into the House of Lords and finding out what the chat was about that day. #citytripping
Definitely – also something I should make more effort to do: I’ve been into the House of Lords a couple of times through work, and stood in Downing Street (SO cold) but never properly visited Parliament. 2017 is the year that changes.
Its funny how often we forget to be tourists in our towns! Our family has been doing a lot of that lately, and we’re having the best time! Lovely photos on such a beautiful London day! #citytripping
Thanks! It is really fun, isn’t it – and no need for a hotel 🙂
This could be us at half term, we are planning a London day #citytripping
Have fun – you’re never short of options in London, although I do love exploring along the Thames especially.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen all the statues and I grew up in London!
Visiting from #citytripping
Absolutely – I was sure I must have walked around the square and looked at them but quite a few came as a surprise (and I was convinced Gladstone would be there, which he isn’t!)
London is so beautiful, it’s been years since I’ve been, and you’ve captured it so well. I think we can all relate to not taking our kids often enough to the iconic sites in our own backyard. Feel the same way about NY! #citytripping
Thank you – it’s lovely to set aside a bit of time to explore at home as you would on holiday.
So, your daughter thought she had seen the Big Ben because she saw it in a cartoon show (sorry, I am not familiar with CBeebies Go Jetters)? That is funny! Well, at least she saw it for real now. How she reacted when she saw it? Glad to know she was familiar with some features. #citytripping
Exactly – she’d watched the cartoon so for a four-year-old, that’s part of her life experience 🙂 She seemed pretty impressed by the reality (although the cartoon, which has mini superheroes and a unicorn flying around the world is still probably making more of an impact for now!)
Hahaha… the traffic jam was epic. What a cool idea to travel your own city and start paying attention to the details. It’s like how I would read people’s travelougues on Singapore and they find things I’ve never noticed as a local. What an interesting trip this must have been for your family! #CityTripping
Absolutely, it always fascinates me when I read people’s posts about London – what they chose to see, what they thought of something that’s often very familiar (or that I’ve never managed to get to!)
What a great idea to do your own sightseeing tour! Genius! You can go at your own pace and determine your own route i love it!
#Citytripping
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Absolutely – a definite bonus having a personal chauffeur 🙂
LOVE LOVE London!
Me too 🙂
Such gorgeous pictures – with that blue, blue sky! I will never tire of London; there’s so much to do and, as you’ve shown, to see.
Thank you – I agree, I can’t imagine ever getting tired of London.
I love London. I am married to a Brit so I go there often, and these landmark are added to my list of things to do next time I visit.
There’s so much to do, it’s easy to keep trying something new but I’m really glad we went back to some of the main favourites.
I lived in London in my 20’s and return often – I have a list for this year which includes the British Museum (never been – the Natural History Museum always wins!) Kew Gardens (after 21 years) and Hampton Court (after 12 years!) and thats the tip of the iceberg. Won’t be driving though – I remember my car being squished between two buses at the top of Oxford Street – eek!! #citytripping
Some of my favourites – I love the British Museum, easily my favourite, and Hampton Court is wonderful. I definitely avoid driving in the centre though…
It’s wonderful to read about your tour of London city with Minnie…yeah I understand what you mean, sometimes we forget about the popular landmarks right in our city. This past one year or so, I have started to be more observant and be aware of the places of interests and sites to visit in Kuala Lumpur, becoming a tourist in my own city 😉 I don’t think I have ever come across a negative remark about London historical and tourist landmarks – majority love the city and visiting it once is never enough! #citytripping
Absolutely – they’re always there to visit, so somehow they become background/we never do.
Beautiful pics, especially with such a wonderful, blue winter sky!!
Thanks! It was a beautifully clear day.
I did not know that about the tower and the great fire of London!! And that puzzle book sounds great – I shall await the post on it with anticipation (unless you care to share the name of it!?) #citytripping
I do love quirky facts like that – and the book is called My London: Colour, Draw, Explore (http://amzn.to/2l3JT7L) It’s not out until March, but is available for pre-order and my review will be going up this month too. So far, we love it 🙂
Beautiful photos of Big Ben and the statues at Parliament square. #CityTripping
Thank you!
Did city tour on my second time there. First time I ran around Oxford Street like a headless chicken 😀 Now I avoid it like the plague 🙂 #citytripping
Very wise…
Ah, beautiful London! So much to see and do and despite living there for several years I’m rediscovering it all with Pip in tow. Sounds like a lovely trip, we’ve never been close to Big Ben, will have to do that next time. Polly
I don’t think you can ever stop discovering London – there’s so much to see, and even if you think you’ve seen it all, you can always start again with kids 🙂
A wonderful place to be. Lovely pictures.
Thanks!
What beautiful photos! Whenever I try and take photos in London it fails terribly. You really have a talent for taking photos.
Thank you! That’s a lovely thing to read – and it was a gloriously clear (if chilly) day
Aww there really is nowhere like London! I miss it so much, and can’t wait to visit in July!
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I can imagine – I suspect you won’t be missing the grey skies quite as much!