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Fly by plane with a baby
If it is your first plane trip with a baby, there are some things that I would recommend. To begin with, I recommend that you bring a folding chair, and although it does not have to be an umbrella, in my opinion it can be an umbrella better. We bought a cheap folding seat for travel, since we did not want to spend a lot of money on a seat that we knew we were going to check in since you never know how it can get out of the plane…
The most important thing for me is that it is comfortable and that you can recline when you sleep. I have to say that the seat we use to travel is not the one in the photo, that is our stroller that we use at home and to go to the center of London. At the airport it is possible to take the seat to the plane itself and there just before entering you can fold it and they will put it in the hold. Upon arrival at the destination, there are times that the carts are taken out of the hold and left next to the plane or in a certain area in the case of having left the plane directly to a gangway.
It is best to ask, since sometimes they take them out to this specific area so that you can put the child in the seat before going through control, but there are times that you have to pick up the seat in the baggage claim area. If this is the case, you will see that in most airports they put baby seats through the normal baggage claim carousel, but at Stansted airport, for example, there is a specific area for baby luggage, including baby strollers. , next to the bathrooms, so take a good look at the signs just in case.
Baby luggage
Most airlines allow two pieces of free luggage for babies, such as a collapsible stroller and a car seat. But I definitely recommend that you check with your airline before you travel.
Liquids on the plane
As you already know, when you pass the airport control you will have to take out the liquids that you carry in your hand luggage and put them in a plastic bag. You cannot carry liquids in bottles of more than 100 ml. But when it comes to baby food, or milk for a baby, you can take more. The only thing is that they may ask you to taste some of the milk or food you bring. They usually take the baby food and check it before giving it back to you. We have even brought the food inside a cooler and they have let us pass without problems.
The flight itself
If your baby is under 2 years old, they will not have their own seat. If you want her to have her own seat, you will simply have to buy another seat, but the normal thing is to carry it with you all the way. You will be given a baby belt that attaches to the adult belt. To prevent her ears from hurting when taking off or landing, they recommend that you breastfeed her or that she is using the pacifier during takeoff or landing. If you breastfeed him when taking off with a bit of luck he’ll fall asleep!
Airports
To get from the airport to the center, if you fly to Heathrow you can take the tube directly to the center, but from any other airport you will have to go to the center by train or bus and it is more likely that you will then have to go by tube to your hotel. In our section airports in London we tell you about the different methods that there are to get from the different airports to the center of London.
Taxi in London with a baby
If you are going to visit London with a baby, it is not a bad idea to book a taxi and go from the airport directly to your hotel. With stroller, baby and suitcases going to central London from the airport by combining trains, buses or tube can be a bit stressful. When reserving the taxi you must ask for a car seat for the baby, since they usually have all ages. It is necessary for the baby to go in a car seat since the taxi will have to go out to the highway.
Instead, you can take a typical London taxi (black cab) to go from one place to another in central London carrying the baby (or child who would normally need a car seat) in your arms, as long as the taxi does not have to get out on the highway.
Public transport in London with a baby and buggy
If it is the first time that you are going to use public transport in London, be it the metro or public bus, it will surely cost you a bit to adapt and know how it works exactly, so if it is already a bit difficult in itself, then with a stroller As a baby, the questions multiply.
Well, to begin with, I will tell you that we and many parents who live in London use public transport with buggies a lot. The truth is that it can be very simple if you can choose accessible stations and routes. But sometimes this is not possible and the truth is that it is not very simple, but if it has to be done, it is done.
If you are going to visit London with a baby, you should know that children under 10 travel on public transport in London for free, as long as they are accompanied by an adult. If you are traveling with more children, you can check the rates when traveling on public transport with children in our article transport in London for children .
London public bus with baby stroller
Public buses have a special area for wheelchairs and strollers, but I have to mention that wheelchairs have preference, so if the wheelchair and the stroller do not fit together, you must allow the wheelchair. If there are already two buggies on the bus, the driver will most likely tell you that you cannot get on for safety reasons, you will simply have to wait for the next bus.
London underground with baby stroller
Traveling on the London Underground with a stroller is something we do almost every weekend, but it is something that can be very simple or it can be a nightmare, it all depends on the route you have to take, and if you go one or two adults. Not all metro stations have an elevator, so it is important to keep this in mind. If you two go, it is very easy because one can carry the baby in his arms while the other carries the stroller, up stairs or escalators. There are many people who go up the strollers on the escalators with the baby inside, but it is an art that must be learned! but the biggest problem is when there are no escalators or elevator, but there are a lot of steps…
The metro is also accessible as long as you go with the route well studied in advance, and I have to admit that there is a very useful map, with everything you need to know, but that at first it is a bit complicated to understand.
Most central London tube stations have escalators to get down to the platforms, but many of the stations still require going down a few steps after the first few escalators to get to the different platforms. Many of the stations also have elevators, but it is not necessarily possible to reach the platforms by elevator, as sometimes you also have to go down stairs afterwards.
London Underground Accessibility Maps
On the normal London Underground map accessible tube stops are marked with a wheelchair. If it is a blue circle, it indicates that they are fully accessible, that is, it is possible to go from the street to the same subway car without having to go up or down any steps, and on the platform there will also be a higher area for avoid unevenness between the wagon and the platform. If a station is indicated on the map with a wheelchair in a white circle, it means that there are no steps from the street to the platform, but there is some unevenness when getting on the subway car, but this is for the stroller not usually a problem.
In addition to the normal metro map, there is another map that explains in great detail what degree of accessibility there is at each metro stop and between different lines at those metro stops where there is more than one line in case you need to change. At first it is a bit difficult to understand, but once you get the hang of it it is very easy
If you need help just ask one of the station workers. If you need help getting the stroller up or down some stairs, for safety they will ask you to take the baby out of the stroller and carry the baby in your arms and they will walk up or down the stroller.
Public toilets in London with changing table for babies
In central London you will find that almost all restaurants have bathrooms with baby changing facilities, especially family restaurants, such as Prezzo, Pizza Hut, Café Rouge, Wagamama’s, Giraffe, Jamie’s Italian, Carluccio’s… Cafeterias too They usually have baby changing tables, such as Cafe Nero or Costa. Just check that this is the case before ordering a coffee, there are so many cafes that it is a matter of going to the next one if you see that there is no bathroom with a baby changing table and you really need it. Sometimes the bathroom with baby changing table is also the bathroom for the disabled, and sometimes it is necessary to ask for a key.
On the Southbank, next to the London Eye, the Royal Festival Hall has free public toilets with baby changing facilities, as well as a restaurant/cafeteria on the first floor overlooking the Thames, ideal for families as there is usually room, because many tourists do not enter. To enter you must go through the door next to the Foyles bookstore and go up to the first floor (elevator or stairs).
Waterstones Bookstore on Piccadilly Street, next to Piccadilly Circus, has a family room with a changing table and comfortable breastfeeding area. It is the largest bookstore in Europe and they have a whole floor with children’s books which is amazing. There are also a couple of coffee shops on different floors of the bookstore.
All museums have bathrooms with baby changing facilities.
On Oxford Street, one of the most important shopping streets in London, the John Lewis department store has a family room, a place with a changing table and a place to breastfeed. Other department stores on the same street such as Selfridges, Debenhams or House of Fraser also have baby changing facilities. The Peter Jones department store in Sloane Square also has bathrooms with baby changing tables.
Although I have never changed a diaper in one of the bathrooms of a subway station, it is good to know that there are subway stations with bathrooms and some have changing tables. To see which metro stations have bathrooms with changing tables, it is best to look at the map with bathrooms with baby changing tables.
In most of the parks you will find public toilets (although you have to pay 10 or 20 pence to enter) with baby changing tables. In Hyde Park there are several scattered around the park and in the restaurant on the Serpentine lake.
Where to eat in London with a baby
I would go so far as to say that all family run restaurants in central London have baby highchairs available, you just have to ask for one. So far we have never been to a restaurant without tables and finding a place to eat in London with a baby has never been a problem. To name a few: Wagamama’s, Ping Pong, Jamie’s Italian, Prezzo, Zizzi’s, Bill’s….
If you are looking for good English food, I recommend you try a gastropub such as Bumpkin, which is one of our favorites and where they also have high chairs.
Breastfeeding in London
Breastfeeding in an unknown city can be a bit of a rush at first, but I can assure you that in London there is no problem breastfeeding in public places. I usually find a corner on a sofa in a cafeteria, or in a park. There are also « family rooms »As I mentioned before where it is possible to breastfeed, but when our baby was very young, we had to give him when he wanted, not just when he was in a suitable place!
Buy baby food and nappies in London
In practically any supermarket in London you will find baby products, including jars and nappies. The supermarkets you will find will be mainly Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer. In the Boots stores, which are pharmacies where we find everything! We also find jars of different brands and diapers.
There are many brands of jars, but I recommend the Cow & Gate and Ella’s Kitchen brands, and you will find different textures depending on age. If you want to buy cereal porridge, you can find it in the same area as “porridge”. Depending on the age, it comes in different flavors, with fruit, etc.
As for diapers, the most famous brand here is Huggies (dodot in Spain) and you will find the usual diapers and panty diapers.
Visit London attractions with a baby
Next I am going to tell you a little about the different tourist attractions in London when visiting London with a baby. We always usually carry a baby carrier, since sometimes it is necessary to leave the stroller somewhere and it is more comfortable to carry the baby.
Buying tickets in advance online will save you a lot of queues, which in my opinion is quite important when you go with children!
London zoo
London Zoo is one of the best places to take children and is fully accessible by pushchair. There are playgrounds, a restaurant with a children’s menu and children can go out with the face painted of an animal. You can also rent a stroller (so it is not necessary to take one if you only want it to walk inside the enclosure) or a trike.
London aquarium
The London Aquarium is also one of my favorite places to go with children. We took our one year old son and he loved seeing the fish and the lights. You can go from start to finish with a cart, and the restaurant and bathrooms are designed for families.
London parks
Walking through any park in London is a perfect plan if it’s a good day. This summer we have gone a lot to spend the day in Hyde Park. Sometimes we go for a picnic and sometimes we eat at the restaurant that overlooks the lake (they have high chairs) and then we walk to see the ducks and go to the wonderful Diana Memorial playground in Kensington Gardens. But in addition to Hyde Park, I would also recommend Regent’s Park, St James Park, Holland Park…
London eye
If it is the first time that you travel to London, you will surely consider getting on the famous London Ferris wheel. It is possible to go up the London Axis with the stroller folded, so if you take an umbrella, better!
Tourist bus
It is possible to get on the tourist bus with a stroller without any problems, and the truth is that there are many families who decide to use the tourist bus when they visit London with children. If you have a stroller, you will see that at the bottom of the bus there is a hole to leave it. But in our experience, you can even carry it upstairs folded up if you don’t want to leave it downstairs. That’s what we did when we used the tourist bus in Paris.
As a recommendation when boarding the tourist bus with a baby or with children, the beginning of the second floor of the bus is usually a part that is covered and a little more protected from the air and the sun. It is an area that I consider safer if you have a baby who already moves a little, since I was a little scared to go upstairs with a child moving when there are no windows!
Tower of London
The Tower of London is one of the most famous tourist attractions in London and there are parts where you can walk around with a buggy, but to enter the different exhibitions or buildings it is necessary to leave the buggy in a special area for buggy: the Buggy Park .
San Pablo’s cathedral
Saint Paul’s Cathedral has an accessible entrance to enter with the stroller without the need to climb stairs, but once inside the Cathedral if you want to go up to the galleries, as the accesses are so narrow, you will have to leave the stroller behind and I would recommend carrying a baby carrier .