There is so much to do in London with kids but lots of activities are super pricey and super busy because every other family has the very same what to do in London with kids itinerary.
So what can you do to give your London trip or day out the wow factor?
Well, the great news is there are loads of hidden gems in London you can add to a unique bucket list for your kids that combines their personal passions with London's very best attractions.
And in this guide I will give you the top picks to match your kids interest PLUS extra ideas for teenagers, London in the summer, London on rainy days and the best free things to do London with kids.
It really is a big old guide to the best things to do in London with kids so do bookmark or save to come back to.
Table of Contents
London For Transport Lovers
The London Transport Museum in Covent Garden is a delight for kids of all ages who love trains, buses and more. But if they've been there and done that, visit instead :
- Epping & Ongar Steam Railway : vintage engines running on a branch line near Epping Forest.
- Brooklands Car Museum : classic & racing cars at Britain's oldest racing track near Weybridge.
- De Havilland Aircraft Museum : wartime and commercial aircraft made by De Havilland just up the M1 in London Colney.
- Postal Museum : the old post office museum in Farringdon with its own underground railway.
- Walthamstow Pump House : a Victorian pump house with working steam engines plus vintage fire engines, railway carriages and a model railway.
- Whitewebbs : another Victorian pump house with fire engines, tractors, ambulances, motorcycles, cars, buses and a model railway.
- Acton Train Museum : all the exhibits that won't fit in the London Transport Museum including a miniature railway.
Or for even more ideas for check out this guide to 10 other steam and miniature railways in London.
London For Wannabe Soldiers
The Imperial War Museum is a must visit in London for kids who want to be soldiers or are fascinated by battles and warfare but there are great alternatives which get far less busy :
- RAF Museum : over 100 years of RAF aircraft in Henley.
- Gunpowder Mills : huge 300 year old woodland museum site in Lee Valley Park covering history of rockets & explosives.
- Tilbury Fort : Thames side base used to fight the Armada and host WW2 anti-aircraft guns.
- Battle of Britain Bunker : WW2 operations bunker which coordinated British air defence.
- Army Museum : history of the British army from the civil wars to the current day in Chelsea.
- Apsley House : home to the Duke of Wellington just off Hyde Park.
- Wallace Collection : world famous collection of medieval swords and armour off Oxford Street.
- Cabinet War Rooms : bunker from which Churchill fought WW2.
- Guards Museum : 500 year history of the guards regiments that defend Buckingham Palace.
London For Young Scientists
The Science Museum is a no-brainer if your kids love science and engineering but again it gets busy. Luckily London has a big bunch of science museums of all sorts where kids can see amazing inventions and discoveries in action :
- Royal Observatory Greenwich : everything space & astronomy including rockets and telescopes.
- London Museum Of Water & Steam : an awesome collection of huge working steam pumping engines in Brentford.
- Brunel Museum & Thames Tunnel : dedicated to the Brunel brothers and the world's first tunnel under a navigable river that they built.
- Downe House : home to Charles Darwin and everything evolution in south London countryside.
- Welcome Institute : rotating exhibitions on the science of health and medicine.
- Hunterian Museum : the Royal College of Surgeons weird collection of body parts!
- Thames Barrier Information Centre : a small but fascinating centre explaining the hydraulics of holding back the North Sea.
- Bletchley Park : the museum of the WW2 code breakers is outside of London but is just 45 minutes from Euston station.
London For Dinosaur Fans
The Natural History Museum is amazing if your kids love dinosaurs, fossils and bones but it gets painfully full. So for alternative dinosaur and natural history days out in London with your kids check out :
- Grant Museum : tiny gem off Tottenham Court Road crammed with fossils & bones and barely changed since the 19th Century.
- Horniman Museum : a lovely old natural history museum in south London by Sydenham Woods.
- Crystal Palace Dinosaurs : have lived in Crystal Palace Park since the 1850s and are just 30 minutes from Horniman Museum by bus.
- Abbey Wood Fossil Dig : you can hunt for fossils in Abbey Wood at the end of the Elizabeth Line. If you turn up with a sieve and a little bucket and spade you will find angel shark's teeth galore.
- World Of Dinosaurs : 30 huge animatronic dinosaurs at Hertfordshire Zoo just north of the M25.
In the summer look out for Dinosaur World Live which tours a number of London theatre venues.
London For Historians
London truly is a living museum for kids who've got hooked on history and there's huge amounts to see for children who are super obsessed with :
- Romans
- Medieval
- Tudors
- Victorians
The London Museum takes kids through the whole timeline from before the Romans rocked up to the Victorians and beyond but there are also must-see specialist sites and collections.
London Roman History
The British Museum holds most of the best finds from Roman Britain. They are upstairs and less hectic than the Egyptian galleries. For real Roman sites in London or just outside check out :
- Roman Amphitheatre : interactive recreation on top of amphitheatre ruins under the Guildhall.
- Mithraeum : temple of Mithras with soundscapes & Roman finds close to the amphitheatre.
- Billingsgate Baths : a Roman house with baths just a short walk from the Mithraeum.
- Lullingstone Villa : ruins of a large Roman Villa in a beautiful valley just beyond the M25.
- St Albans : just 20 minutes from St Pancras, St Albans has some of Britain's best Roman remains including a theatre, museum, hypocaust & mosaics.
London Medieval History
The Tower Of London is a stand-out visit for any kids fascinated by early English kings and queens and their never ending battles. But London has other amazing medieval buildings that still ooze the atmosphere of the era :
- Charterhouse : a priory founded in 1371 that still operates as alms houses.
- Guildhall : built in 1411 as the great hall of the City of London and home to historic trials including that of Lady Jane Grey.
- Temple Church : built in 1163 as a copy of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem by Crusaders it was where King John negotiated the Magna Carta in 1215.
- St Barts Church : built as a priory in 1123 the main church is almost unchanged.
- St Ethelreda's : dating from the 1280s it is one of just two churches remaining from the reign of Edward I.
London Tudor History
Hampton Court is a must visit if your kids have got interested in Tudor history from school or Horrible Histories but there's lots of other cool Tudor locations to visit in London :
- Sutton House : a Tudor merchants house in the heart of Hackney.
- Eltham Palace : Tudor royal palace with moat converted into a luxury 1920s mansion in South London.
- Hall Place : lovely Tudor house with pretty grounds near Joydens Wood in south London.
- Tilbury Fort : the riverside location for Queen Elizabeth's famous speech before the Armada.
- Queen Elizabeth Hunting Lodge : a royal hunting lodge in the woodlands of Epping Forest.
- Copped Hall : join the ongoing archeological dig to uncover the Tudor mansion - in the grounds of a Georgian house - in which Queen Mary lived and Midsummer Nights Dream was first performed.
London Victorian History
Kensington Palace - the childhood home of Queen Victoria - is the best place to start for kids into everything Victorian but then check out :
- Vestry Workhouse Museum : local Walthamstow museum in Victorian workhouse.
- Ragged School Museum : opened by Dr Barnado for the poorest children in the Victorian east end.
- Sambourne House : perfectly preserved Victorian family house near Holland Park.
- Charles Dickens Museum : the Bloomsbury home where Dickens wrote OIiver Twist and more.
London For Animal Lovers
The London Zoo and Aquarium are world class if your kids love animals and wildlife but expensive. However there are other brilliant ways kids can get up close with animals and wildlife in London including :
- City Farms
- Zoos & Sanctuaries
- Birds Of Prey
- Wetland & Marshes
- Horse Riding Stables
- Seal Colonies
You'll find these all over London so it is easy to add them to a day out visiting other sites and attractions.
London City Farms
London has over 10 small farms scattered across the city so whatever else you are doing with your kids in London there is almost certainly a city farm nearby to visit :
- Kentish Town City Farm
- Mudchute City Farm (Ilse of Dogs)
- Vauxhall City Farm
- Crystal Palace Park Farm
- Hackney City Farm
- Stepney City Farm
- Spitafields City Farm
- Woodlands Farm (Greenwich)
- Deen City Farm (Merton)
- Belmont Farm (Mill Hill)
- Hounslow Urban Farm
- Welgate Farm (Romford)
- Foxburrows Farm (Hainault)
Zoos & Wildlife Sanctuaries
London has three small zoos which are home to smaller animals such as monkeys, meerkats, otters and lemur plus reptiles, birds and spiders :
Hertfordshire Zoo is a mid-sized zoo just north of the M25 which is also home to Dinosaur World.
There are also wildlife and animal sanctuaries just beyond the M25 that wannabe vets will love visiting :
Birds Of Prey
For a hands on birds of prey experience there are three big centres again just beyond the M25 :
Willows is very close to Charles Darwins House and Eagle Heights to Lullingstone Roman Villa so. you could combine the two.
London Wetlands & Marshes
London was built on marshland and there are still wildlife and bird sanctuaries along the Thames and its tributaries including :
London Horse Riding Stables
There are lots of opportunities for horse riding in London's great parks and it is easy to combine a ride for animal lovers with other activities close by that kids will love :
- Richmond Park : Stag Lodge Stables plus Ham House, Strawberry Hill or Marble Hill
- Epping Forest : High Beech with Epping & Ongar Steam Railway or Walthamstow Pumphouse Museum.
- Hyde Park : Hyde Park Stables just over the park from the Science, Natural History and V&A museums.
- Lee Valley Park : Barnfields combined with Gunpowder Mills
- Trent Park : Trent Park Equestrian then Whitewebbs Transport Museum, Forty Hall or the Go Ape Zip Wires.
Seal Colonies
If you want a wildlife focused day out from London there are actually seal colonies near London on the Essex and Kent coast you can visit by boat.
The seal colonies are all close to sandy beaches you can reach by train so can be added into a good old fashioned London day trip to the seaside.
London For Harry Potter Fans
The Harry Potter Studio Tour is not cheap but is amazing for Harry Potter Fans. The train from Euston takes 20 minutes and the studio bus another 15.
The Harry Potter play - the Cursed Child - is just as brilliant as the studio tour but unfortunately just as pricey.
However for ardent Harry Potter fans there are also lots of film locations you can visit in London for free including :
- Platform 9¾
- 12 Grimmauld Place
- Flying The Ford Anglia
- Leaky Cauldron
- Film 6 Bridge
- Divination Staircase
- Diagon Alley
- The Snake At The Zoo
- Gringotts Bank
As a Harry Potter fan in a family of Harry Potter fans I reckon the best way to visit the film locations is to weave them into other trips in London so in the mini-guide below I'll flag other great places for kids to visit close by.
Platform 9¾
Platform 9¾ is of course at King's Cross station. You can take an iconic photo pushing your trolley into the wall. If you get there before 8 you can take your own photos, after that you will need to queue for official photos.
Other places to visit close by include :
- St Pancras Station (another Harry Potter location)
- Grimmauld Place (see below)
- Postal Museum
- Foundling Museum
12 Grimmauld Place
Grimmauld Place was filmed outside 23-27 Claremont Square N1 9LX which is just 10 minutes or so walk east along the Pentonville Road from Platform 9¾.
Flying The Ford Anglia
In film 2 Harry and Ron actually fly the Weasley's Ford Anglia over St Pancras station - next door - rather than King's Cross itself. It is a stunning building and you are walking distance from
- British Museum
- Grant Museum of Zoology (has a real Harry Potter vibe)
- Welcome Collection
- Charles Dickens Museum
Leaky Cauldron
The Leaky Cauldron entrance was filmed at 7 Stoney Street, Borough Market in film 2 and onwards (see Diagon Alley for film 1). 8 Stoney Street was used for the Third Hand Emporium where Harry meets Gilderoy Lockhart.
Borough is a food market with loads of great stalls you can eat at or buy from. It's also very close to the bridge that comes a cropper at the start of film 6.
There are loads of places to visit with kids near the Leaky Cauldron including :
- HMS Belfast
- The Golden Hinde
- Clink Museum (very Azkaban like)
- Old Operating Theatre
- Southwark Cathedral (used as a Dr Who location)
- The Font Climbing Centre
Film 6 Bridge
The bridge that gets turned over by Voldemort at the start of film 6 is the Millennium Bridge very close to the Leaky Cauldron location (see above).
The bridge runs between the Tate Modern and St Paul's Cathedral (another HP location) and is less than 15 minutes walk from :
- St Barts Church
- London Museum (reopening 2026)
Divination Tower
The Divination Tower stairs to Sybil Trelawney's rooms are actually in St Paul's Cathedral. They are not the main stairs to the dome - an amazing thing to do if you like heights - but a hidden set to the beautiful Triforium library.
You need to take the Treasures Tour to see the stairs, the library and a stunning view over St Pauls. St Paul's is close to both the Film 6 Bridge (above) and Diagon Alley (below).
Diagon Alley
Diagon Alley was filmed in beautiful Leadenhall Market in Film 1. The entrance to the Leaky Cauldron was 42 Bull's Head Passage.
Leadenhall is at the heart of the old city of London and very close to :
- The Monument (to the great fire)
- Sky Garden (stunning free views)
- Tower Of London
- Roman Mithraeum
Leadenhall is just a 15 minutes walk from the Divination Tower and Film 6 Bridge locations and you could easily combine it with the Leaky Cauldron plus other non-HP sites along the way.
Gringotts Bank
The stunning marble interior of the Australian High Commission on Aldwych was used to film Gringotts. As an embassy it is not typically open to the public but you can visit in the Open London festival every September.
If you do visit Gringotts these museums are very close by.
The John Soanes and Hunterian have a Harry Potter vibe. And if you walk on through Covent Garden you can visit Cecil Court and Goodwin's Court believed to be Rowling's inspiration for Diagon and Knockturn Alley.
London For Teens
Most if not all the attractions in this guide are great for older kids and teens but if you want to add in some extra London activities that are definitely for teens check out these :
London On Rainy Days
All the big London museums offer somewhere to go on rainy days but get even busier that usual so checkout instead these cool underground London sites and mid-sized museums that aren't usually rammed.
And don't forget to build into your day opportunities for your kids to burn off energy indoors in between the museums and historic sites with :
London In Summer
London isn't if I am honest the best prepared city on hot days with an almost complete absence of air-con but there are cool things to do with kids that help you escape the heat :
- London Palaces With Gardens
- London Lidos
- London PYO Farms
- London Woods
- London Beaches
London Palaces With Gardens
London has over 30 big historic houses with big gardens that are perfect for summer as they let kids combine a bit of culture and history inside with lots of running around and exploring outdoors.
World famous palaces like Hampton Court are certainly worth a visit but are not cheap, so check out the guides below to find cheaper alternatives - many of them free - all over London :
- West London Historic Houses
- North London Historic Houses
- South London Historic Houses
- East London Historic Houses
London Lidos
In the summer when you need to cool down as well as burn off energy, London's outdoor pools and lidos are a godsend. Some of the best lido locations you can combine with visiting museums and other attractions are :
- Serpentine : in Hyde Park just 15-20 mins walk from Kensington Palace, Science Museum, V&A, Natural History Museum.
- Oasis : between Covent Garden and Bloomsbury barely 10 minutes from British Museum, London Transport Museum, John Soanes Museum, Hunterian Museum.
- Hampton Pools : on the edge of Bushey Park a quick bus ride from Hampton Court.
- Hampstead Pools : walking distance across Hampstead Heath to Kenwood House, Burgh House and Fenton House.
- Parliament Hill : 20 minutes over Parliament Hill to Keats House.
- London Fields : less than 20 minutes walk to Sutton House, Hackney Farm and Young V&A.
For details of all the others check out this guide to London's Lidos.
London Woods
There is woodland and forest all over London and its a great place to get outdoors in London in the summer and especially when it is very hot.
This big guide to London Woods will help you find woodland near you but I especially recommend these that you can again combine with other activities :
- Epping Forest : east London's huge old royal forest is great for cycling and horse riding and combines well with Gunpowder Mills, Epping & Ongar Steam Railway, Copped Hall and Waltham Abbey.
- Petts Wood : a National Trust wood in south London close if driving to Chiselhurst Caves, Charles Darwin's House, Lullingstone Roman Villa & Eagle Heights Sanctuary.
- Sydenham Wood : a lovely wood for little kids walking distance from the Horniman Museum.
- Oxleas Wood : a mid sized wood close to Woodlands Farm, Thames Barrier, Eltham Palace and the fossil dig at Lesnes Abbey.
London PYO Farms
The pick your own farms in London make a lovely day out in summer with kids of all ages including teens. Check out this guide to London PYOs for farms in London and just outside the M25 plus other things to do close by.
London Beaches
On scorching hot days in London the best thing to do with kids is actually to get out of the city and hit a nice sandy beach nearby.
There are over 15 sandy beaches near London that are easily day trippable and most of them can be done by train in as little as 50 minutes. For the best days out check out this London beach guide covering sandy beaches in :
Free Things To Do In London
Lots of London's big attractions - whether it's the Harry Potter studio tour, the Eye or the Tower of London - are worth the money. But if you do more than a few with the kids, you will - believe me - go broke fast!
So fill up your London itinerary with plenty of ideas from this guide to free things to do in London which includes all the best FREE London :
And there you go, a huge guide to things to do in London with kids that will help you plan itineraries featuring all the things your children best. Enjoy.
Do bookmark or save for later.
For more ideas check out my other guides to fun things to do in London and follow me on Pinterest.
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