Visiting London with kids

The wait was finally over. A couple of weeks ago, my nephews came to visit me here in London. Along with their dad (aka my brother). It was the first time the boys (5 and 7) visited, and they had a long list of all the things they wanted to see in London. Visiting London with kids (especially on a budget) requires some preparation. To help you along, I’ve put together a list of 15+ fun things to do when visiting London with kids.

Before I start telling you about all the things you can do and see when visiting London with kids, let’s start with the basics.

What ticket do kids need when visiting London?

Good news. Until kids are 11, they don’t need any ticket at all to use the London transport system. Under 5s are completely free, and kids aged 5 to 11 are free if accompanied by an adult.

If you are visiting London with older kids, you can still save on tube tickets.

For those aged 11 to 15, you can get a ‘young visitor discount rate’ on any Oyster. The discount means they will only pay half the adult price for any journey. You can buy a new Oyster card with the discount at tube stations or visitor centres. Or if you already have one from a previous London visit, you can get the ‘young visitor discount rate’ applied, which will be usable for up to 14 days.

Once the kids turn 16, they will need to pay full adult prices. There are 16+ Zip Oyster photocards available, but these are only for those living in London.

With that sorted, let’s move on to the fun stuff. What is there to see and do when visiting London with kids? Especially, when visiting on a budget?

Visiting kid friendly museums in London

One thing I always loved about London museums is how child friendly they are. So, if you are visiting London with your kids, ensure you pop into one or two. Bonus: a lot of the big museums in London are completely free, perfect if you are doing London with kids on a budget (and even if not, city trips are rarely cheap, so let’s not blow the entire budget on day one).

Natural History Museum

This was very high on my nephew’s list of things to do in London. As he is obsessed with dinosaurs (like his dad was at that age), there was no way we could not go to the Natural History Museum in South Kensington. After all, it is famous for its large collection of dinosaur skeletons. Unfortunately, Dippy (the museum’s famous Diplodocus skeleton) is no longer on display in the central hall. But the museum still has around 80 million other items to see. Including the skeleton of a large blue whale that is now hanging from the ceiling in the central hall.

The museum is free, but it is recommended to pre-book an entry slot. Something we weren’t aware of, so we ended up queueing (after a short minute of panic when we noticed that there were no more tickets available online for the rest of the week). Keep that in mind, especially if you are visiting during school holidays.

Science Museum

Right next door to the Natural History Museum is the Science Museum. Spread over two buildings, it houses a variety of scientific exhibits, such as steam engines, the oldest surviving beam engine, a V-2 rocket, full-sized helicopters and airplanes. It also has an interactive gaming gallery where you can play on more than 100 different gaming consoles from the last few decades. Now tell me that isn’t worth seeing, when visiting London with kids. Or come to think of it, probably also when visiting with hubby.

Same as the Natural History Museum, the main exhibition of the Science Museum is free, but it is recommended to prebook entry slots to avoid waiting times.

Transport Museum

If your kids are interested in trains, tubes and busses, I would recommend a trip to the Transport Museum in Covent Garden. Whilst the museum is free for children under 17, adults will unfortunately have to pay. Entrance fee is currently 25GBP, however this gives you access for an entire year, not just the one time. Which might not necessarily be much use to you if you are only in London for a weekend.

Housed in an old Victorian iron and glass building (that was originally part of the Covent Garden market, housing the flower market), the Transport Museum shows memorabilia of the London Transport system: early versions of the iconic London tube map, roundels and old tube signs, old advertising posters, a variety of busses and tubes, staff uniforms. Pretty much anything you can think of transport related.

And as the collection is much bigger than what they can fit into their Covent Garden site, the Transport Museum also has a big depot in Acton, that can also be visited a few times a year.

Exploring public transport

Whilst we are on the topic, even if you don’t go to the Transport Museum, experiencing the London transport system is an absolute must-do when visiting London with kids (or even without). Just riding on those iconic double-decker busses or going down to the tube were some of the most memorable moments of us visiting London as kids.

Personally, I would not waste any money taking hop on hop off busses. Just use the regular public transport instead. Much cheaper and more variety.

Ride the top deck of a double-decker bus

An absolute favourite of mine. Head upstairs and sit in the first row, if it is available. But even if not, just sitting up there and looking down at the roads and people as you go through London is just something. And you get a great view of the London sights as you drive past.

Docklands Light Railway

If you are heading to the Docklands (or maybe fly into City Airport), there’s a good chance you’ll be on the DLR at some point during your London trip. My advice, try and get to the front of the first carriage. The DLR trains operate driverless most of the time. Therefore, you can sit in the front row and pretend to be the driver. As my brother and the boys landed into City Airport, the DLR was the first thing they experienced in London. And they loved to ‘drive the train’. TFL have recently added a dashboard (i.e. a sticker with controls) to the front row for even more fun.

Go on the London Cable Car

How about going on a cable car across the Thames? If you are in Docklands, go and check out the IFS Cloud Cable Car, spanning between the Greenwich Peninsula (right next to the O2 Arena, aka the Millenium Dome) and the Royal Victoria Dock. The entire ride is about 1km long and costs 6GBP for adults and 3GBP for kids.

See the movie statues at Leicester Square

Another fun thing to do when visiting London with kids is seeing the movie character statues around Leicester Square. Sit with Mr Bean, take a bite out of Paddington’s marmalade sandwich, see Harry Potter take off on his Nimbus 2000 and try and spot Batman, Spiderman and Wonder Woman on nearby buildings.

Must see shops when visiting London with kids

OK, how much shopping a kid might want to do probably depends on the age and gender. No worries, I am not going to list all the shops teenage girls might want to visit when in London. That’s a whole separate topic. I am more talking about the kind of unique shops that even kids under the age of 10 would love. I can assure you; these were all big hits with my nephews.

M&M World

When you are in Leicester Square, you can’t fail to see the big yellow M&M store. Opened in 2011, M&M World London is the biggest candy store in the world. Spread over four floors, you can meet all the M&M characters, buy all kind of colourful merchandise and stock up on M&Ms in a myriad of colours.

M&M World gets very busy at times, so it might be best to arrive early, if you want to avoid a long queue outside the door.

Lego Store

Directly opposite M&M World is the world’s largest Lego store. Another one that shouldn’t be missed when visiting London with kids. See London landmarks built out of Lego and snap a photo of you inside a Lego built Tube carriage.

Hamley’s Toy Store

As we are talking superlatives here, London is also home to the world’s oldest toy store. You see, London really has a lot to offer for kids.

Hamley’s is an absolute must-visit when in London. It is spread over seven floors and holds over 50.000 toys. When the boys were visiting, we spent over two hours in there, without them getting bored. Aunty was a different matter though; I was very tempted to throw myself on the floor and scream like a toddler by the end of it (just kidding… or am I?).

See Platform 9¾

For all Harry Potter fans out there, a trip to King’s Cross station is an absolute must. Go and see platform 9¾. Arrive early, if you want to take a photo of you and the luggage trolley without too much of a wait.

Watch street performers

If you find yourself in Covent Garden or down by the Southbank, look out for the magicians and street performers.

Visit Paddington Bear

Head to Paddington Station to see where Paddington Bear first meet the Brown family. Head to platform 1 and you’ll find a Paddington bench with a commemorative plague, as well as a statue of the famous bear.

Paddington Station also has a cute Paddington Bear gift shop.

See Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace

If you’ve never seen the changing of the guards, it is certainly worth adding this to your itinerary one morning. Check the website for the schedule, outside the main tourist season, the changing of the guards is only held every other day.

Arrive early to secure a good spot (and don’t forget your water bottle and sunscreen).

Diana Memorial Playground at Kensington Gardens

In all honesty, I was probably as excited as the boys to finally go and see the Diana Memorial Playground at Kensington Gardens. See, unless you bring a child, you aren’t allowed in (which is a good thing obviously).

The playground is free to visit, and you don’t even need to book entry slots, just show up. It is completely fenced in and has security guards at the entrance, minimising the risk of the kids just wandering off.

Feel free to bring a picnic and either have it in the playground or have it in Hyde Park or Kensington Gardens beforehand.

For easy access to the playground, use Queensway tube station. As you enter the park opposite to the station, you are only a few steps away from the playground entrance.

If you have time, Hyde Park has loads more to offer (not just for kids).

Obviously, this was only a very small extract of all the things you can do when visiting London with kids. There are also all the standard London sights, that you might want to add to your itinerary (after all, parents might also want to see something and not just entertain the kids).

When I asked the boys at the end of their stay, what was the best thing of the trip, the answers were fast. The dinosaurs for the seven year old, the playground for the five year old. And even though I didn’t ask, I suspect that Camden probably was the least favourite.

Tell me, do you have any recommendations of things to see when visiting London with kids?