With the summer holidays in full flow, the kids may have exhausted a lot of their ideas and plans already and now be starting to get restless, looking for something else to do. But for those of us in London, we are really lucky to have so many great options on our door step, and you can always find something interesting to do to entertain the kids and make some great family memories.
Here are 8 fun ways to make life less boring with your kids in London, with ideas of places to go and things to see, whether London is your home town or if you are just here visiting during the holidays.
Take a tour. Even if you are London born and bred, often you don’t make time to see all of the things that tourists would see in the city – so taking the chance to go on a bus tour, or a boat ride along the Thames can be a fun way to spend the afternoon. It’s great to remind the kids of all the sights of our city. There are walking tours of the city that you could consider too.
Try eating somewhere new. Luckily in London you can easily find cuisine from any country in the world making it easy to experiment with new ideas. Afternoon Tea would also be a special treat: take a look here for deals
See a show. If you want to splash out a bit, there are plenty of family friendly shows on the West End (for older children around 7-8+) like the Lion King or Charlie and the Chocolate factory, or for the younger ones – try one of London’s children’s theatres like the GaGa theatre in Hammersmith, Finchley, Chelsea or Richmond
Get out into the country. There are gorgeous places just an hour or so out of London, or on the city’s edges. We love to take the kids to see country parks (Aldenham country park, or Black Park – both not far out from the West of London are great) or to visit old ruins and it gives them a great opportunity to run around and use up their energy in these wide open spaces.
Do the museums. It’s always a popular suggestion – and for good reason. We’re lucky to have so many free museums in London, which are all great quality. If you have not visited the Bubble show at the science museum, that’s a great one to take part in – or go to East London and try the Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green. Many of the museums will have special programmes and events on for families during the holidays.
Visit the animals. With ZSL London Zoo, the SeaLife aquarium, and many many city farms in and around London, animal loving kids are spoilt for choice. There will be a Lego exhibit with London Aquarium this summer – we’re planning to stop by and check that out in the next couple of weeks.
Shopping. Take the kids to Oxford Street and Regent Street and let them spend some time exploring all the floors of Hamleys. My kids always enjoy it there! Or try Brent Cross, since they have an artificial beach open this summer.
Theme Parks. Make a day of it and get out of London to visit Thorpe Park, Chessington or Legoland Windsor, all of which are only a short trip by car or train. We would recommend Legoland if you have younger children. Chessington for Tweens and Thorpe Park for teens (although Legoland is my personal favourite, since I’m not massively a thrill seeker, and I love the Lego theme)
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Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.