Guides With children 2026 Any time Updated 9 Sep 2026
Things to do in London with kids: free, indoor, half term
What actually works with children in London, what it costs, and the indoor options for the day the weather turns.
London is unusually good with children and unusually expensive with them, and the gap between those two things is mostly knowing which places are free. Almost everything on this page is.
Free, and genuinely good
The Natural History Museum is the obvious one and the busiest museum in the country at half term. Go on a term-time weekday afternoon, or go at five when the day trips have left, or do not go at half term at all.
The Science Museum next door is free, and the Wonderlab gallery inside it is ticketed and worth it. London Museum Docklands has a free under-fives area and is never busy. The Horniman in Forest Hill is free for the museum and gardens, with an aquarium that is not.
City farms are free and underrated. Hackney City Farm, Mudchute on the Isle of Dogs, Vauxhall City Farm, Kentish Town City Farm. Real animals, no ticket, and a café at most of them.
The Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens is free, has a pirate ship, and caps numbers, so there is a queue at weekends and none at ten on a weekday.
Indoor kids activities in London, for when it rains
Every museum above is indoors, which is the honest first answer. Beyond those: Discover Children’s Story Centre in Stratford is a paid indoor world for under-elevens and is the best wet-day option in east London. The Young V and A in Bethnal Green is free, entirely aimed at children, and purpose-built for exactly this.
Soft play and swimming are borough-run and cheap, and your local leisure centre is almost always the better call than a branded play centre at three times the price.
Half term, and how not to hate it
Every London museum runs a half-term programme and most of it is free but ticketed, released a fortnight ahead. That release date is the thing to diarise, because the sessions are gone within days.
The rule that saves the week: go early. Museums are quiet from opening until about half eleven and then they are not. A ten o’clock arrival and a one o’clock exit is a better day than eleven to four.
Our month guides carry the half-term dates, and the seasonal guides cover what runs in the holidays.
Best things to do in London with kids, and what is worth the ticket
The Tower of London, and go in the first hour. Kew Gardens, which has a treetop walkway and a children’s garden. Hampton Court, which has a maze and, in late October, a daytime Halloween trail included in admission rather than a scary after-dark one.
Cutty Sark and the Royal Observatory in Greenwich are ticketed, but the National Maritime Museum between them is free, which makes a full day out of one paid entry.
Getting around with children
Under-elevens travel free on the Tube, DLR and buses with a fare-paying adult, and up to four of them at once. That is a significant saving nobody tells visitors about.
Buses beat the Tube with a pushchair, every time. The Elizabeth line is step-free at almost every station and is the easiest line in London with a buggy.
More things to do with kids in London
Free things to do in London with kids is the full version of the free section above, including what the free museums still charge for once you are inside. Half term covers the weeks when all of this is booked, and things to do in London is the same question without the children.
With children: what is on
Sat 24 October to Thu 31 DecemberSaturday
24 October-
Exhibitions Free
Free entry: the Natural History Museum
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.
-
Exhibitions Free
Free entry: the Science Museum
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.
-
Sport From £12
Public skating at Queens Ice and Bowl
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.
Sunday
25 October-
Free
Big Story Festival at IWM London
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.
Wednesday
11 November-
Seasonal Adults from £13, children from £11, plus a £1.50 fee
Skate at Somerset House
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.
Friday
13 November-
Seasonal From £25.50
Christmas at Kew
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.
Thursday
19 November-
Pick Seasonal From £1 off-peak
Hyde Park Winter Wonderland
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.
-
Exhibitions Ticketed separately
Winter Wonderland: Magical Ice Kingdom: Neverland
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.
-
Seasonal No extra charge, park entry booked separately
Winter Wonderland: The Elves’ Workshop
Until 3 Jan 2027
Puzzles, giant cogs and hands on toy making for small children. Free beyond park entry.
-
Seasonal Ticketed separately
Winter Wonderland: The Ice Rink at Winter Wonderland
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.
-
Seasonal No extra charge, park entry booked separately
Winter Wonderland: Winter Wonderland Parade
Until 3 Jan 2027
Santa's elves see the sleigh off, on selected days only. Free, and worth checking the day before you go.
-
Seasonal No extra charge, park entry booked separately
Winter Wonderland: Santa’s Grotto
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.
Saturday
21 November-
Seasonal From £15
Pantomime at Hackney Empire
Until 3 Jan 2027
The best regarded panto in London and a fraction of the west end price, in a Matcham theatre that was nearly lost twice. Book early: locals get in first and it deserves them.
Tuesday
1 December-
Markets Free
Greenwich Market in December
Until 31 Dec
The covered one, open every day 10am to 5.30pm and shut only on Christmas Day. Craft and antiques from actual traders, and the naval college two minutes away.
Saturday
12 December-
Seasonal From £25
Pantomime at the London Palladium
Until 11 Jan 2027
The biggest panto in the country in a house built for variety, which is what panto actually is. Matinees are the ones with children in; evenings are louder and funnier.
Free
All free events-
Exhibitions Free
Free entry: the Natural History Museum
-
Exhibitions Free
Free entry: the Science Museum
What is coming up
All guides-
On now
Activity bars in London: darts, shuffleboard, mini golf and bingo
Competitive socialising, which is the industry's word for a bar with a game in it. What each one...
-
On now
Afternoon tea in London: the prices, the sittings, and the one that runs into the evening
The Ritz serves it at half past seven at night. What the grand rooms charge, and which of...
-
On now
Things to do in London at night: after work to 3am
What to do in London at night, hour by hour: the things that start after work, the ones...
-
Tue 19 to Sat 30 January
Canary Wharf Winter Lights: free light art in January
Free, after dark, and the best reason to be in London in January. Dates, the three main sites,...
-
Sat 5 to Sun 6 June
London Open Gardens 2027: private gardens open for one weekend
A June weekend when more than a hundred gardens that are normally locked open to ticket holders. Formerly...
-
On now
Date night in London: ideas that are not just dinner
Cheap, late, indoors and outdoors, sorted by what kind of evening you are actually trying to have.
London month by month
Twelve guides, one a monthThings to do in January Things to do in February Things to do in March Things to do in April Things to do in May Things to do in June Things to do in July Things to do in August Things to do in September Things to do in October Things to do in November Things to do in December
What is on right now
All 2207 listingsThis guide is rewritten each year before the dates come round. For what is actually happening this week rather than what happens every year, the listings below are dated, checked against the venue and carry the venue's own link.
Next up
Or pick a part of town
Soho Covent Garden Islington Bloomsbury Camden Shoreditch Dalston Battersea Fitzrovia Crouch End
Questions people ask
What free activities are there for kids in London?
The Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, the Young V and A, London Museum Docklands and the Horniman are all free. So are the city farms at Hackney, Mudchute, Vauxhall and Kentish Town, and the Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens.
What indoor activities are there for kids in London?
The free museums are the first answer. Beyond those, the Young V and A in Bethnal Green is free and built entirely for children, and Discover Children's Story Centre in Stratford is a paid indoor world for under-elevens. Borough leisure centres are cheaper than branded play centres.
How do I do half term in London without queuing?
Book the free ticketed museum sessions the day they are released, about a fortnight ahead, and arrive at opening. Museums are quiet until roughly half eleven and busy after it.
Do children travel free in London?
Under-elevens travel free on the Tube, DLR and buses when with a fare-paying adult, up to four children per adult.
Which London museum is best with young children?
The Young V and A in Bethnal Green is designed for them and free. London Museum Docklands has a good free under-fives area and is rarely crowded.
Is the Natural History Museum busy at half term?
It is the busiest museum in the country during half term. Go on a term-time weekday, or arrive at opening, or leave it for another week.
Every listing on this page is checked against the venue's own page and the page is rewritten each year, usually six to eight weeks before the dates. Times and prices can change on the night; the venue link on each event is the one to trust. How we choose what goes in.