Activities & Days Out / 13 August, 2026 / Ellie Thompson

All Aboard! We Put City Cruises’ Thames Lunch Cruise To The Family Test

Lunch with a view takes on a whole new meaning aboard City Cruises’ Thames Lunch Cruise. We hopped aboard with the kids for an afternoon of sightseeing, good food and plenty of fun on the upper deck.

There’s something about seeing London from the water that never gets old. Add lunch into the equation, give the kids an open upper deck to explore and suddenly sightseeing in the capital becomes a whole lot more appealing.

We recently tried the City Cruises London Lunch Cruise on the River Thames as a family, and it turned out to be a brilliantly easy way to spend a couple of hours in London – particularly if you want to show the kids the sights without clocking up several miles on foot.

The experience combines a two-course lunch with a 1 hour 45 minute cruise along the Thames, departing from Tower Millennium Pier. From there, the route takes you past some of London’s most famous landmarks, with views of the Tower of London, London Bridge, Big Ben, the London Eye and the South Bank along the way. Exact routes can vary depending on the tide.

Lunch With One Of The Best Views In London

Once aboard, you’re shown to your table inside the boat’s heated saloon, where large windows mean there’s plenty to see even while you’re eating.

Lunch is included in the experience and currently consists of two courses. The main is roasted chicken with Lyonnaise potatoes, seasonal vegetables and a creamy leek, tarragon and mushroom sauce, followed by baked cheesecake with white chocolate garnish. There’s also a vegetarian option available, and dietary requirements can be added when you book.

Drinks are available separately, while the children were very happy with the orange juice in a champagne glass presented to them on arrival!

The food was good, and the whole setup felt relaxed enough that we didn’t have to spend lunch repeatedly telling the children to sit perfectly still. Always a bonus.

Our one suggestion would be the addition of a dedicated children’s menu. The current lunch menu is very much geared towards adults and, while families are absolutely welcome aboard, a couple of simple child-friendly options would make an already lovely family experience even better.

Head Upstairs For The Real Fun

For the kids, however, lunch was only part of the adventure.

The real excitement began when we headed up to the open upper deck.

This was easily one of our favourite parts of the experience. Being outside on the Thames gives children a completely different perspective on London. Suddenly they’re spotting bridges, boats and buildings rather than being dragged between them.

It also gives them the freedom to move around a little after lunch, which is always welcome on a family day out.

There’s something quite magical about cruising beneath London’s bridges and seeing landmarks appear along the riverbank. Even if your children have visited London plenty of times before, seeing it all from the Thames makes the city feel new again.

Sightseeing Without The Sore Feet

One of the biggest wins for parents is how effortless the sightseeing feels. London with children can be brilliant, but it can also involve a lot of walking, Tube journeys and negotiations about how much further everyone has to go. Here, you simply sit back and let London come to you.

There’s recorded commentary during the cruise, which scored 10/10 for the comedy, so you can learn a little about what you’re passing along the way with a few laughs thrown in. Equally, if the children are more interested in counting boats or racing upstairs to see what’s coming next, you can simply enjoy the views.

The cruise lasts long enough to feel like a proper experience without becoming too lengthy for younger attention spans.

A Lovely Addition To A Family Day In London

What we loved about the City Cruises Lunch Cruise is that it combines two things you’d probably be doing anyway – having lunch and sightseeing – and turns them into an experience in their own right.

You could easily make the cruise the centrepiece of a day in London or combine it with another attraction nearby. It departs from Tower Millennium Pier, with Tower Hill Underground, Fenchurch Street and Tower Gateway all within easy reach.

For us, the upper deck was the star of the show. The kids loved being outside watching London pass by, while we could actually enjoy the views rather than worrying about where we were going next.

Shop The Experience

Ready to see London from a different angle? City Cruises’ London Lunch Cruise combines a two-course lunch with 1 hour 45 minutes of sightseeing along the River Thames.

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