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The Late Edition

London's evening edition. Independent, updated daily.

AnswerChecked 4 Sep 2026

What can you do in London with children for free?

The big museums are free and most have a dedicated children’s floor. So are all eight royal parks, the city farms, the Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens and the fountains at Granary Square. You pay for very little of what is worth doing.

Museums that are built for it

The Natural History Museum has the dinosaurs and the earthquake room. The Science Museum has Wonderlab, which is the one thing there you pay for, and several free floors that work just as well. The Horniman in Forest Hill has an aquarium, a taxidermy walrus and a hill to run down, and is far quieter than South Kensington.

Outdoors

The Diana Memorial Playground has a pirate ship in sand and a queue at weekends. Hackney City Farm, Vauxhall City Farm and Mudchute on the Isle of Dogs are all free and all have animals a child can get close to. Mudchute has the towers of Canary Wharf directly behind the sheep.

The practical bit

Under elevens travel free on the tube and the bus with a paying adult, and children under five are free everywhere on the network. That is often the biggest saving of the day.

What is on

15 listings

  1. Exhibitions Free

    Free entry: the Natural History Museum

    10:00 Natural History Museum, South Kensington

    Free, permanent, and busiest between eleven and three. Go at opening or after four and Hintze Hall is almost yours. Timed tickets are free but worth booking at the weekend.

  2. Exhibitions Free

    Free entry: the Science Museum

    10:00 Science Museum, South Kensington

    The permanent galleries cost nothing. Making the Modern World runs the whole length of the ground floor and is the one to see if you only have an hour.

  3. Sport From £12

    Public skating at Queens Ice and Bowl

    18:00 Queens Ice and Bowl, Bayswater

    A full size rink under Queensway, open sessions most of the day and into the evening. Skate hire is included in the session price. Book ahead at weekends, because it fills with birthday parties.

  4. Free

    Big Story Festival at IWM London

    10:00 to 18:00 IWM London, Elephant and Castle

    Until 26 Oct

    IWM's first Big Story Festival: free family drop-ins, drawing with Will Hughes and a 1940s sing along, plus paid author talks.

  5. Seasonal Adults from £13, children from £11, plus a £1.50 fee

    Skate at Somerset House

    10:00 to 22:00 Somerset House, Covent Garden

    Until 10 Jan 2027

    The courtyard rink with the tree and the arcades lit around you. 11 November to 10 January, confirmed by Somerset House. Tickets are not on sale yet and no price is published.

  6. Seasonal From £25.50

    Christmas at Kew

    16:20 to 22:00 Kew Gardens, Richmond

    Until 3 Jan 2027

    A mile of lit trail through the gardens after dark, ending at the Palm House. Ticketed separately from general Kew admission, and last entry depends on which gate you booked.

  7. Pick Seasonal From £1 off-peak

    Hyde Park Winter Wonderland

    10:00 to 22:00 Hyde Park, Mayfair

    Until 3 Jan 2027

    Closed on Christmas Day only. Book a date and an arrival hour before you go. Entry is free if you spend twenty-five pounds in a single online booking.

  8. Exhibitions Ticketed separately

    Winter Wonderland: Magical Ice Kingdom: Neverland

    Times vary Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, Mayfair

    Until 3 Jan 2027

    Five hundred tonnes of ice and snow carved into Peter Pan. Well done and genuinely cold, but you are inside for about twenty minutes.

  9. Seasonal No extra charge, park entry booked separately

    Winter Wonderland: The Elves’ Workshop

    Times vary Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, Mayfair

    Until 3 Jan 2027

    Puzzles, giant cogs and hands on toy making for small children. Free beyond park entry.

  10. Seasonal Ticketed separately

    Winter Wonderland: The Ice Rink at Winter Wonderland

    Times vary Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, Mayfair

    Until 3 Jan 2027

    The largest open air rink in the country, built around Hyde Park's Victorian bandstand. Sessions are timed and the evening ones go first.

  11. Seasonal No extra charge, park entry booked separately

    Winter Wonderland: Winter Wonderland Parade

    Times vary Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, Mayfair

    Until 3 Jan 2027

    Santa's elves see the sleigh off, on selected days only. Free, and worth checking the day before you go.

  12. Seasonal No extra charge, park entry booked separately

    Winter Wonderland: Santa’s Grotto

    10:00 to 18:00 Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, Mayfair

    Until 3 Jan 2027

    Free to visit once you are in the park, and it closes at six rather than ten, which catches people out.

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