Discover the best things to do in London with kids. Whether you are looking for child-friendly restaurants, free attractions for kids, places to go with kids or ideas for your day out in London, family days out in London are easy to plan with our top tips!
Start out with Shreks London Adventure!
It’s all about audience participation – from the moment you enter the attraction you are thrown into the experience as you wait to enter the ‘departure lounge’ to Far Far Away. The staff are great at getting everyone into the mood and their enthusiasm was infectious. Get stuck in, especially with the sing song of I’m a Believer before you get on the bus (it won’t start without it!) With little features like the stream of different funny messages over the tannoy, the X-ray Machine, Lost & Found and even a surprise appearance from everyone’s favourite biscuity friend on the lift journey up to the first floor, and plenty of surprises on your journey, there is never a dull moment!
Take a Harry Potter Walking tour with London Top Sights!
Our Harry Potter walking tours are one of the top things to do in London for all Potterheads! Children under 15 go free. This family-friendly 3 hour London guided walking tour unfurls the movie set locations of Harry Potter. You will see over 10 movie locations and several locations that inspired JK Rowling. We will visit actual filming locations in London!
- The the Changing the Guard ceremony outside Buckingham Palace.
- Be wowed by the street entertainers in Covent Garden.
- Climb aboard a tank and play at soldiers at the National Army Museum.
- Go on a journey through London’s past at the Museum of London.
- Learn about the history of the river Thames at the Museum of London Docklands.
- Stoke the boiler of a steamship at AHOY! Children’s Gallery at the National Maritime Museum.
- Sit in a reconstructed Victorian classroom at the Ragged School Museum.
- See Tower Bridge open from the bank of the river Thames.
- Soar above the river Thames in the Emirates Air Line cable car and enjoy great views of London.
- Sit at the front of a driverless Docklands Light Railway train to pretend you’re driving it!
- Rest your feet while getting an eyeful of the city’s top attractions aboard a hop-on, hop-off bus tour.
- Cruise along the river Thames on a City Cruises boat.
- See how many of London’s family-friendly attractions you can check out in one visit, with a money-saving pass: choose from the London Pass, the five-in-one Merlin Magical London Pass or the London Explorer Pass.
- Take a ride through underground tunnels on the Mail Rail train at the Postal Museum.
- Step aboard Europe’s largest preserved WW2 warship, HMS Belfast.
- Discover what life was like on board the legendary sailing ship Cutty Sark.
- Hop aboard a miniature railway in Brockwell Park (every Sunday from March until October).
- Sit in the driver’s seat of a red bus at the London Transport Museum.
- Explore The Golden Hinde, a full-scale reconstruction of Sir Francis Drake’s famous sailing galleon.
- See cars from the James Bond films at the London Film Museum.
- Climb aboard a classic Concorde and enjoy a virtual “flight” at the Brooklands Museum.
- Enjoy a refreshing dip in one of London’s gorgeous lidos.
- Explore ancient woodland in Epping Forest.
- Go bug hunting and pond dipping at Camley Street Natural Park.
- Get lost in Hampton Court Palace’s legendary maze.
- Stroll along a soaring treetop walkway at Kew Gardens and learn all about plants in the new Children’s Garden.
- Go rollerblading or hire a pedalo or a rowing boat on the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park.
- Race to the top of Primrose Hill where you’ll be rewarded with panoramic views of London.
- Climb and play at one of London’s fun-filled adventure playgrounds.
- Have hours of fun at Coram’s Fields, a seven-acre park and playground in Holborn.
- See one of Roald Dahl’s most celebrated stories brought to life at Matilda The Musical.
- See a puppet show in a watery setting at the magical Puppet Theatre Barge.
- Be wowed by one of these top London shows for kids.
- Learn all about the Bard on a tour of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
- Enjoy a show in one of the city’s family-friendly children’s theatres.
- Whizz down the UK’s tallest public artwork with a 40-second ride on the tallest and longest tunnel slide in the world at ArcelorMittal Orbit.
- Enjoy an exhilarating ride down the river Thames on a speedboat tour.
- Take a trip to one of London’s theme parks for an adrenaline-packed day out.
- Go on a zip wire treetop adventure at Go Ape Battersea.
- Swim and dive in the wake of champions at the Aquatics Centre, one of the venues of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
- Take part in an exhilarating expedition over the roof of The O2 with Up at The O2 (for over-10s).
- Have a thrill-a-minute water adventure at Lee Valley White Water Centre (for over-14s).
- Climb a skyscraper at Chelsea’s Clip n’ Climb (for over-fours).
- Take a ride on the Coca-Cola London Eye for spectacular 360-degree views of the capital.
- Stand astride two hemispheres on the Prime Meridian Line at Royal Observatory Greenwich.
- Scare yourself silly by delving into the capital’s dark and bloody history at The London Dungeon.
- Head down into the underground headquarters that sheltered Churchill and his wartime government during the Blitz at Churchill War Rooms.
- Explore the history of surgery at the Old Operating Theatre.
- See Napoleon’s toothbrush and Darwin’s walking stick at the Wellcome Collection.