20 Things to Do in London with Kids 2026 (Family Guide)

1. Free Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum is the single best free family attraction in London. The dinosaur gallery is the reason most children come, and it does not disappoint: real fossils, life-size models, and the roaring animatronic T-rex. Beyond dinosaurs, the blue whale skeleton in the main Hintze Hall is genuinely breath-taking, the mammal hall has a life-size blue whale model children can walk under, and the earthquake simulator in the Red Zone is a favourite with older kids. Free activity backpacks are available at the information desks for children aged 3-8. Free entry for the permanent collection, no booking required, but paid special exhibitions do get busy in school holidays.

2. Free Science Museum

The Science Museum sits directly beside the Natural History Museum, and pairing the two makes one of the most efficient full days in London. Seven floors cover space, flight, medicine, engineering, and communication. The Apollo 10 command module (yes, the real one that flew to the Moon in 1969) is on display in the Exploring Space gallery. The Wonderlab interactive gallery is paid (£12 adult, £10 child, book online) and worth it for children aged 7 and over: friction slides, a lightning bolt demonstration, and hands-on chemistry. Everything else in the museum is free.

3. Free British Museum

The British Museum holds more than eight million objects across every civilisation on earth. For children the three must-see galleries are the Egyptian mummies (Rooms 62-63), the Rosetta Stone (Room 4, front centre), and the Sutton Hoo Anglo-Saxon treasure with the famous helmet (Room 41). Pick up a free family trail booklet at the information desk on arrival, or download one from the museum website before you go. Best visited on weekday mornings before 11:00, weekend afternoons in July and August can be uncomfortably crowded.

4. Free Changing of the Guard, Buckingham Palace

The ceremony at Buckingham Palace runs from 10:45 to 11:45 on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday (subject to weather). Full military band, guardsmen in bearskin hats, and formal handover of duty between the New Guard and the Old Guard. Arrive at least 45 minutes early to get a place at the palace railings or, better, walk up The Mall from Admiralty Arch to catch the New Guard marching in from Wellington Barracks. Free, entirely outdoors, works even with a pushchair.

5. Free Hyde Park & Diana Memorial Playground

The Diana Memorial Playground in the northwest corner of Kensington Gardens is designed around a large wooden pirate ship marooned in white sand. Free entry, staffed by park attendants, and one of the most beautiful playgrounds in the world. Adults are only admitted if they are accompanying a child. Combine with a paddleboat on the Serpentine (£15 per boat for 30 minutes) and lunch at the Lido Café. The whole day costs less than lunch for one adult at the London Eye restaurant.

6. Paid, book ahead Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour

Consistently the highest-rated family day out near London. The Harry Potter Studio Tour is 20 minutes from London Euston by direct train (change at Watford Junction for the free shuttle bus, roughly 60 minutes door-to-door). Walk through the original Great Hall set, Dumbledore's office, the Gryffindor common room, Number 4 Privet Drive, and the full outdoor lot with the Knight Bus and Privet Drive. Diagon Alley at the end of the tour is the highlight for most families. Butterbeer costs £5 a cup and is worth every penny for the photograph. Book at least three weeks ahead for weekends, six weeks ahead for school holidays. Tickets sell out.

7. Paid, book ahead London Eye

Every child's first London memory. The London Eye gives a 135-metre view from the top: Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the Thames from Battersea to the Tower, and on a clear day as far as Wembley. Book fast-track online to skip queues that top an hour in July and August. Sunset slot (check the exact time in your travel month) is the most memorable but sells out first. The pod is enclosed and heated, so weather is irrelevant. Great for pushchairs and wheelchairs.

8. Paid, book ahead Tower of London

Nearly a thousand years of history in one visit. The Tower of London was a royal palace, a fortress, an armoury, a mint, a menagerie, and a prison. Children come for four things: the Crown Jewels (the Cullinan I diamond is 530 carats, cut from the largest rough diamond ever found), the free Beefeater Yeoman Warder tours that start every 30 minutes at the main entrance, the medieval armour and torture instruments in the White Tower, and the ravens. There is a legend that if the ravens ever leave, the kingdom will fall. Their wings are clipped. Book online, arrive at opening (10:00) to see the Jewels before the coach parties.

9. Paid SEA LIFE London Aquarium

Not the biggest aquarium in Europe, but perfectly sized for a 90-minute visit with young children before nap time or dinner. SEA LIFE London has a walk-through shark tunnel, a Gentoo penguin colony (feeding sessions 11:30 and 14:30), rays, seahorses, and Nemo-style clownfish. The location beside the London Eye makes this an ideal pair for a single half-day. Combined online tickets for London Eye + SEA LIFE + Madame Tussauds save around £20 per person.

10. Paid Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour (Big Bus / Original)

The single most efficient way to introduce children to central London on day one. The bus covers Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, St Paul's, and Trafalgar Square with multilingual audio commentary (available in Arabic, Mandarin, Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Russian). Children under 5 travel free. Two operators, Big Bus and The Original, are near-identical in price and route; Big Bus includes a free Thames river cruise and a walking tour with the 24-hour ticket. Sit upstairs at the front for the best view, arrive early at the first stop of the day for choice of seats.

11. Indoor SpyScape, Interactive Spy Experience

Part museum, part escape-room, part personality test. SpyScape was designed with a former CIA officer as consultant. Children complete a series of missions across seven zones (surveillance, encryption, lie detection, agility) and at the end receive a printed personal spy profile telling them which real-world role would suit them best. The lie-detector booth is genuinely funny. Older children and teens rate this one of the best paid attractions in London. Under-6s can enter free with a paying adult but will struggle with the missions.

12. Indoor Oxygen Freejumping Trampoline Park at The O2

When the weather is genuinely awful and the children need to burn energy for two hours straight, Oxygen is the answer. Interconnected trampolines, foam pits, ninja obstacle courses, a climbing wall, dodgeball courts, and a battle beam. Book sessions online in advance, they do sell out on rainy Saturday afternoons. The O2 complex around it has plenty of family restaurants (Wagamama, Nando's, Frankie & Benny's) so you can turn this into a half-day. Under-5s have their own dedicated Mini session.

13. Indoor West End family show

A West End show is the single most memorable thing you can do with a child in London. For 2026 the strongest family shows are The Lion King at the Lyceum (age 6+), Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge (age 5+), Disney's Frozen at Drury Lane (age 5+), Wicked at the Apollo Victoria (age 7+), and Back to the Future the Musical at the Adelphi (age 8+). Matinee performances are typically 25-40% cheaper than evening shows and start at 14:30, which suits younger children far better than a 19:30 start. Check the TKTS booth in Leicester Square for same-day discounted tickets or book fixed dates on the aggregator sites.

14. Free Hamleys Toy Store, Regent Street

The world's oldest toy shop, opened in 1760. Seven floors of toys with staff on every level demonstrating products: bubble machines, flying drones, remote-control cars, magic tricks, and a Lego master builder on floor two. Entry is completely free and no purchase is expected. The theatre-style demonstrations on the ground floor are entertaining enough on their own. Combine with lunch on Regent Street or a walk to Oxford Circus. On a rainy afternoon this is a legitimate hour of free entertainment.

15. Outdoor Thames river cruise

The Thames is best seen from a boat. For a full sightseeing loop with commentary, book a hop-on hop-off City Cruises ticket (£22 adult 24-hour pass) with stops at Westminster, Embankment, Tower, and Greenwich. For a cheaper commuter-style experience use the Uber Boat by Thames Clippers (single fares from £6, Oyster card accepted), same views from the same river, no live commentary but very fast and modern boats. For an adrenaline hit with older children (age 11+), the Thames RIB Experience high-speed powerboat from Embankment is £45 for a 50-minute ride and unforgettable.

16. Outdoor London Zoo, Regent's Park

The world's oldest scientific zoo, opened 1828. Over 750 species across 36 acres in the middle of Regent's Park. Highlights for children are the Land of the Lions (Asiatic lion enclosure), Gorilla Kingdom, Tiger Territory, the walk-through squirrel monkey enclosure, the penguin beach, and the touch-and-feed farm zone. Check the daily schedule on arrival for feeding times (penguins 11:00 and 14:30, meerkats 11:45, lions 15:00 typically). Book online for around 15% off. The zoo is a 15-minute walk from Camden Town Underground.

17. Outdoor Hampton Court Palace & Maze

Henry VIII's greatest palace, 35 minutes by direct train from London Waterloo to Hampton Court station, then a five-minute walk over the bridge. The famous hedge maze (planted 1690) genuinely takes 20-40 minutes to solve and children love it. Tudor kitchens with real cooking demonstrations most weekends, state apartments with dress-up costumes for children to borrow, an ice house, formal gardens, deer park, and a huge grape vine planted in 1768 (still producing grapes). Bring a picnic and spend the whole day. Cheapest month is January or February (30% price cut).

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