EKG1

Got many helpful replies about whether to stay in London or by the airport for our 2 day short trip with two children ages 1 and 3 -- Now my question is -- what is the best neighborhood to stay in -- Seems like we have affordable choices near Victoria Station, Bloomsbury,Paddington/Bayswater and Earls Court

Any suggestions?

WillTravel

Of those choices, I'd choose Bloomsbury, because it's most convenient for getting to tourist sites, at least if you choose the right location in Bloomsbury.

alanRow

For getting to tourist sites wihtout having to change Tube trains, Earls Court is hard to beat as many of London's major sights are within a couple of hundred yards of a District Line Tube

janisj

IMHO for sightseeing the most convenient of those would be Victoria or Bloomsbury, worst would be Earls Court and Paddington. But Paddington is MOST convenient for getting back to the airport quickly.

Victoria is on Circle/District/Victoria lines and one stop from the Piccadilly line. The Russell Sq/Bloomsbury area is convenient the Northern/Piccadilly/Central lines depending on which stations you use.

For sightseeing I'd probably choose Victoria since besides the good tube links, is walking distance from Buckingham Palace, the river, Tate Britain, Westminster Abbey, St James and Green Parks.

WillTravel

One other thing you might want to consider are the bus lines available near where you stay. For very young children, the buses might be easier than the tube. There are a huge number of bus lines that run near Russell Square, in Bloomsbury. I'm sure there may be other places with a high number of bus lines.

W9London

Agree Bloombsbury would be the most centrally located. Paddington is not bad--convenient for Heathrow and good bus/tube links. Less keen on Bayswater which is slightly further, though it's close to Hyde Park. Victoria is high traffic big terminal.
You should be able to find smallish supermarkets like Tesco Express or M&S Food in any of these neighbourhoods. The other question is if you'll need to use a buggy. If so, you might find buses easier to use than tubes because not every station has escalators going all the way down to/up from the platforms.

HVH

I would definitely go for Bloomsbury. It's very central, pretty and one of my favourite parts of London.

Earls Court is really out of the way and a bit characterless. I don't really know Paddington but Victoria is totally charmless and a bit dodgy in the evening. I wouldn't want to be steering kids round there late on.

Hope you have a great time here!

HVH

Tulips

If the Bayswater property your are looking at is close to Kensington Gardens that would not be bad; nice park for the children, playground. And lots of buses along there. I found at that age that buses were easier than the underground, and the 3-year old will definitely enjoy the bus more.

Shalott

there are a number of suggestions on this thread
http://tinyurl.com/gtz3y

I vote for any of your ideas except Earls Court which has no advantages I can think of.

KidsToLondon

If you do stay in Kensington/Bayswater area--or maybe even if you don't--be sure to take your children to the Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens. It is one of the most elaborate playgrounds in the city.

Dave
[email protected]

ma23peas

I would say to plan to be near Holland Park or Hyde Park...stroller distance...they can enjoy themselves for long bouts at parks of either...

Enjoy!
Tara