London with kids is always a fun trip. We have been visiting London with kids since ours were babies and travel up every year in every season and just adore it. It is absolutely jam packed with amazing London attractions for kids, fun restaurants to eat in and gorgeous hotels to stay in. We thought it was about time we put together our guide for what kids activities London has to offer. Based on all of our many experiences. If you’re looking for activities for Kids London is amazing. We have the best kids days out London has including lots of free things to do in London with kids, all detailed here. You can use the headings below to jump to different sections or read through the whole thing for a big, blast of places to take kids in London inspiration.
👩💻 About the author – Nichola is a family travel expert and has written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, Lonely Planet Magazine and Wanderlust, amongst many others. She’s spent over a decade travelling the world with her children, finding the best places for you to explore too.
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Table of Contents
London for children – the best activities:
There’s so much to do in London you could spend a year there and not see it all so if you’re looking for where to take kids in London you’ll be spoilt for choice.
Check out our 50 things to do in London with kids before they grow up for lots of inspiration.
The big hitters of London are the Science Museum and Natural History Museum, both of which are wonderful for all ages. They have their fantastic reputation for a reason and are also brilliant free things to do in London with kids. The parks of London are perfect for burning off excess energy, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens are some of our favourites. And for under 10s you absolutely shouldn’t miss the Princess Diana Memorial Playground which has to be the world’s best playground (more below in our parks and playgrounds section).
The Cutty Sark over in Greenwich is an absolutely wonderful trip out and full of interactive fun for all ages.
One of our endlessly favourite places to visit is The Tower of London which we just adore.
Older children and adults will adore Dennis Severs House which is a spell-binding way to learn all about the history of London in a multi-sensory experience.
Read more:
A review of Ripley’s Believe it or Not, London
Where to stay in London with kids:
London can feel like an expensive city to stay in and in many cases it is but there are some budget options.
If you’re interested in the luxury experience our favourite hotel is The Haymarket or Flemings. We also really love the Marriott at County Hall on Southbank and the Sheraton Grand London Park Lane.
For self catering we also really love Cheval Residences in Knightsbridge for a luxury self-catering option.
A really good mid-budget option is the Hilton London Metropole which has some surprisingly well priced family rooms. We also enjoyed the Apex City of London hotel.
Budget options include the fantastic Premier Inn at Blackfriars and don’t discount the YHA hostel at St Pancras which has wonderful family rooms with en suite bathrooms (see a full review below).
Read more (all of these reviews are with children):
The best family hotels in London
Review of The Guardsman Hotel, London {Luxury}
A review of Taj 51 Buckingham Gate Suites and Residences, London {Luxury / option of Self Catering}
Review of The Dilly, Piccadilly {Luxury}
A review of The Hilton London Metropole Hotel {Mid range}
London with kids – Where to eat:
Eating out in London is always a pleasure and is full of amazing options. Franco Manca is a brilliant budget option if your kids are in to seriously good pizza and we are also big fans of The Spaghetti House which is always great.
For a splash out kids will love the Hard Rock Cafe Piccadilly Circus which is really great fun with huge portions and great quality food.
If you like Thai food then Rosa’s Thai at Westfield White City (and at other locations across the city) is amazing.
Read more (all of these reviews are with children):
A review of the Hung Drawn and Quartered pub, London {British}
Free things to do in London with kids
There are plenty of free things to do in London with kids from many of the great museums (including the Natural History Museum, Science Museum and The Museum of London) to the parks and playgrounds (see below).
Lots of the museums also have free activities for kids on at the weekends and holidays so look out for those too.
We love wandering in to Harrods, the amazing department store where the toy department is often full of great demonstrations. Or to Hamley’s Toy shop, the world’s oldest.
London parks for kids
London parks for kids are particularly good and one that should be top of the list is Kensington Gardens. Here you will find the Princess Diana Memorial Plaground which is our favourite playground in the world. Full of interactive play items and an amazing pirate ship it’s a safe place for children to play and we love it.
In the same park you can go boating on the Serpentine Lake and you will also find the Princess Diana fountains which are great fun in summer.
Regent’s Park is a beautiful space to run around and feed the ducks, you can hire paddle boats here and you will also find London Zoo. St James’s Park, flanked by Buckingham Palace has a great playground and is a beautiful green space to explore. And Coram’s Fields, has an amazing history and a policy of no adult without a child.
When you’re looking at the best parks in London for kids the site of the London 2012 Olympics, the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a definite contender with lovely space for kids with adventure playgrounds and fun bridges to cross.
London shows for kids
A trip to the city is the perfect time to take in some London shows for kids and there’s always so much variety.
If you’re visiting in the summer then definitely check out Kids Week. Here they have some amazing deals on theatre with kids in London and many kid’s go free options.
If you’ll be in London at Christmas then there are some fantastic festive treats on offer at the theatres. See the post below which has all the details of this year’s top ones (and you can’t beat a trip to see The Snowman).
If you love kids musicals London doesn’t disappoint and there are some amazing ones on. If you have the chance to see Matilda or Wicked they are particularly amazing.
The website London Theatre has details of everything that’s on in London.
Read more:
The best things to do at Christmas with kids in London
Afternoon Tea with kids
We absolutely love our Afternoon Tea with kids and there’s no better place to do it than London.
There are so many great experiences out there, some of which are really fun and unique. It’s a great way to spend an afternoon, especially following days of sightseeing which can be exhausting. We recently enjoyed the Twits Afternoon Tea on Southbank which was really good fun.
Be warned though, Afternoon Tea can be extremely filling so definitely plan on skipping either lunch or dinner if you’re going for one.
Indoor activities for kids London
When rainy days strike there are plenty of indoor activities for kids in London and rainy day activities in London.
Some of our favourites are Kidzania (currently closed), any of the museums, heading to Afternoon Tea or visiting Madame Tussaud’s.You could also enjoy a visit to Tower Bridge London and a walk along its glass floor.
London is particularly geared up for rainy weather so you shouldn’t have a problem finding things to do if it’s feeling a little cold or rainy.
London through the seasons – when to plan a trip to London:
We adore our trips to London in every season.
Winter is perfect for our Christmas trips to see Father Christmas and take in the lights and a show. Spring in full of promise for sunny days in the parks. Summer in London allows us to enjoy the most beautiful of days. And autumn with all the changing colours is the perfect place to embrace the changing of the seasons.
Read more:
The best things to do with kids in London at Christmas
London itinerary with kids:
Coming soon.
Top tips for London:
- We love the hop on and off bus which gives you a good overview of the city and is a great way to get around. Best of all if you book a London Pass you get free access both to the bus and to a number of London attractions including The Tower of London, Legoland and London Zoo so it’s great value.
- The London underground is great for easy travel across London (and children aged 10 and under are free).
- If you are planning to travel across the city extensively then it may be worth taking a baby carrier rather than a pushchair / stroller as there can be lots of steps.
- If you’re planning a lot of travel across the city then consider picking up an Oyster Card which with one tap will give you access on to the tube (London Underground). It will also allow you on to London buses which are a great way to travel around the city and offers vastly discounted travel. You can also use your debit card for this.
- Always look online for deals to attractions, you can nearly always get discounted prices by booking in advance.
London with kids – Extra features:
We have a few extra features to help you fall in love with London as much as we have.
Read more:
8 locations in London inspired by Paddington Bear
Theme Parks near London for kids
If your children are into theme parks there are some great parks near London.
Read more:
Chessington World of Adventures review
Top tips for visiting Chessington
Day trips from London with kids
There are lots of easy day trips from with kids that all the family will enjoy. Our favourites are to Bath or Bristol in the Southwest, to Stonehenge, Brighton on the south coast or to Oxford.
Read more:
10 things to do in Bath with kids
10 things to do in Bristol with kids
On the hunt of Harry Potter in Oxford
We hope you’ve enjoyed our guide to London with kids and are ready to start your own adventure. Do let us know if you have any questions, if anything in the guide is out of date or just to let us know how you get on with your own trip. Pin this post for later here:
