All places in this area
35 places in this part of town
The Langham Children's Afternoon Tea
Can this seriously five-star luxury hotel really welcome kids? Absolutely yes. When ours visited they were welcomed with a beaming smile, with the live pianist even doing the occasional segue into the Peppa Pig or Traitors theme tune, to make the kids smile. Expect jigsaw-cut sandwiches, popping candy delicate treats, and an adult menu that's equally spectacular. Eats are unlimited and everyone leaves with a going-home goodie bag. This is a once-in-a-lifetime luxury afternoon tea. Themes change seasonally, but have included Hamleys-themed teas with kids taking a very huggable bear home with them.
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Somerset House Courtyard & Fountains
Iconic neoclassical courtyard where 55 dancing water fountains shoot straight out of the cobblestones all summer. Kit tip: pack a [puddle suit](https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=kids+puddle+suit) and a [wet bag](https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=wet+bag+for+swimming) — both earn their place on a splashy day out. More ideas in our [family kit list](https://kidsfun.london/guides/what-to-pack-family-day-out-london).
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The Crystal Maze LIVE Experience
The TV show, for real. We loved battling the puzzles and challenges - they really are just like the show, with the countdown clock and fear of getting locked in bringing back nostalgic memories! The setting itself looks a bit run down in some areas, but that didn't stop us having a really fun evening, especially when the golf rains down inside the snowglobe and you try to snatch as much as possible. A Maze Master leads your team through Aztec, Medieval, Industrial and Futuristic zones grabbing crystals, before that confetti storm of the Crystal Dome. Older kids and teens love it - be aware that you may be mixed in with other people if your group isn't large enough to run solo.
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Biscuiteers
Biscuiteers is a fun rainy-day treat for children who like making things almost as much as eating them. It's not cheap, but ours loved the biscuit icing session, where provided equipment is such good quality that you can't fail but to make a lovely-looking biscuit! Adults can settle in with a hot drink and let everyone decorate edible works of art to take home. Book ahead, and leave a little room in the day for browsing the beautifully decorated shop afterwards.
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Le Petit Chef
One for mini gourmands.. And big budgets. Le Petite Chef is an immersive 3D projection-mapping dining experience where a tiny, animated French chef 'cooks' your meal right on your dinner plate. There's mind-blowing visual magic (the tables are basically screens) which keep kids (and adults) mesmerised between five courses as the mini-chef battle sea monsters and cook directly on their table setting. Menus are viewable on the website ahead of time.
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Finnegan's World
Set inside a converted former bank on West Ealing Broadway, this lovely, independent soft play café is designed for babies, toddlers, and young children. The venue focuses on imaginative play with miniature shop setups, soft climbing ramps, and sensory toys - it’s far more than the usual blocks and slides. Parents can sit back with decent coffee and a slice of cake while keeping a direct line of sight on their kids.
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Little Hatter's Tea at The Sanderson
Tumble down the rabbit hole at Sanderson London (50 Berners Street) for what we've found to be a really special, whimsical afternoon tea. It brings Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland to life with menus hidden inside vintage books, teapots featuring kings and queens, plates decorated with ticking clocks, and cakes and savouries themed around characters like the Cheshire Cat and Tweedle Brothers, complete with Drink Me potions and buttery scones. Adults are £75 per person, so there's really no getting around the fact this is a really luxury treat! The Little Hatters Tea (Ages 4–11) is £45 per child. You can take leftovers home (and should!) There are also dedicated vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free menus. If weather permits, ask for a table in the lush inner courtyard garden - you won't believe you're still in cnetral London. Don't hesitate to ask for extra sandwiches or scones, it's all included! Smell the loose-leaf teas first: the tea selection features blends named after Alice characters (like The Mad Hatter green tea or Cheshire Cat marmalade oolong) - our waiter bought the sniff-tins to the table so kids and adults can pick their favorite aromas before brewing.
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Prince Charles Cinema
Tucked just off Leicester Square in the West End, the Prince Charles Cinema is London’s legendary independent repertory cinema. It's known among movie buffs for cult marathons and classic re-runs, but we also think it's a also a secret weapon for families looking for an alternative to overpriced multiplexes. From rowdy Sing-A-Long-A screenings (think Frozen, Matilda, or The Sound of Music where audience participation and dressing up are actively encouraged) to classic 80s and 90s family movie retrospectives on the big screen, your kids will remember this cinema trip! Financially it's often worth joining as a member before booking tickets, at just £15 for a year (or £60 for a lifetime membership), the steep ticket discounts mean it practically pays for itself on a single family outing. When selecting your screening, double-check the age rating and performance style, as family-friendly classics often run alongside late-night cult marathons or uncensored interactive shows. Opt for seats near the aisle in the Upstairs Screen if you’re bringing younger kids; the auditorium is cosy, and aisles make loo breaks easier! The Sing-A-Long specials are pretty interactive, complete with vocal warm-ups, prop bags, and lyrics so you never have to shush your kids for singing along.
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Matilda The Musical
Witty, slightly dark (it is Roald Dahl, after all!), and incredibly clever - with a brilliant score that'll stick in your head forever - Matilda is a brilliant first West End experience. Kids will be mesmerised by the staging and adults will actually enjoy the jokes. A West End triumph... I've been three times with each of my kids and loved it every time.
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The National Gallery
The National Gallery is one of London's absolute heavyweights, housing over 2,300 Western European masterpieces from Van Gogh to Da Vinci. Taking children into a grand art institution can sound daunting, but the National is surprisingly brilliant for families, provided you go in with a strategy rather than trying to see all 60+ rooms. Start at the Roden Centre for Creative Learning, the dedicated family space inside the Gallery. It gives kids of all ages the chance to connect with world-class art through hands-on play, texture, light and sound, packed with artist-designed playboxes, interactive installations and sensory studios. It's completely free to enter, with no advance booking required for weekend and school holiday family drop-ins, making it one of the absolute best low-stress family spots in Central London. The Keeper of Paintings Game - a free augmented reality game called Canvas Quest works on your phone, so kids aged 7+ can turn exploring the main gallery into a brilliant hide-and-seek adventure, tracking down hidden details in famous paintings. General entry costs nothing, making it easy to pop in for 45 minutes to spot a few famous artworks without feeling guilty about ticket prices. You might want to focus on the ones they've looked at in school, maybe including Van Gogh's Sunflowers, Rousseau's Surprise! (the tiger in a tropical storm), and Stubbs' Whistlejacket (a massive, life-sized rearing horse). Try the 'Angel & Animal' game for younger kids: turn gallery-walking into a scavenger hunt by asking younger kids to count how many flying cherubs, dogs, or horses they can spot hidden in the classical paintings.
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Peppa Pig Afternoon Tea Bus Tour
Sightseeing on a classic Route-master bus while eating Peppa Pig cookies - this is proper toddler heaven! Each table has a tablet showing Peppa episodes, which coincide with the sights as you drive past them (the Queen episode hasn't been updated yet though!) and you get to keep cute big-and-little travel cups. Expect lots of singalongs, and surprisingly delicious food - with a range of hot and cold drinks, colouring/activity books to take home, and boxes for leftovers too.
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Chinatown, Leicester Square & movie magic
Sensory overload, West End-style. Start at the two big Leicester Square anchors: the four-storey M&M'S London, with its life-size photo-op characters, and the LEGO Store, home to a giant brick-built Big Ben and London Underground display. Then head through the Chinatown gate off Wardour Street for lanterns, bakery windows piled with bun art, bubble tea, bubble waffles, taiyaki soft-serve, and the area's cheap buffet-style Chinese restaurants for a low-stress lunch. On the way, we love to visit the West End Arts Library (westminster.gov.uk/arts-library), a short walk from Leicester Square tucked between the square and the National Gallery on the site of Isaac Newton's former home: it's free to enter and has a cute kids' corner packed with hundreds of brand-new artist-related books and a little sofa to curl up and read (open Mon–Fri 10am–8pm, Sat 10am–5pm, closed Sundays). If there's appetite for more walking, Trafalgar Square is five minutes south with lions to climb, fountains, and street performers, the National Portrait Gallery just off it offers free entry with family trails and activity sheets, and Covent Garden with the London Transport Museum is 10–15 minutes away and a big hit for kids who love trains and buses. Wrap up the day with a film at one of Leicester Square's cinemas, or check the TKTS booth in Leicester Square for same-day discounted family show tickets. This stretch is always heaving with tourists, so brace for crowd navigation, especially around M&M'S World and the LEGO Store on weekends and school holidays.
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Museum of Illusions London
Rooms that tip you sideways, a vortex tunnel that scrambles your balance and a whole wall of holograms — an hour of proper "how did they do that?" fun just off Covent Garden. Endlessly photogenic, and small enough not to melt anyone down.
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Waterstones Piccadilly Free Storytime
Europe's largest bookstore hosts free weekly storytime sessions right in the heart of London. Up on the second floor of Waterstones Piccadilly you'll find a dedicated children's department packed with thousands of books, toys and reading nooks, and every Sunday at 2pm families gather in the cosy children's section for a free drop-in story reading session. No booking is needed, which makes it a perfect budget-friendly stop during a family day out in Central London. Even without storytime it is a lovely rainy-day wander - the children's floor is made for small people to browse and flop down with a book, there's a café on the same floor for hot drinks and treats, and the top-floor 5th View café gives panoramic rooftop views over Central London. Pop in before or after a walk along Piccadilly or a trip to the nearby shops.
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Frameless Immersive Art Experience
Four galleries of interactive, giant projection-mapped art, where masterpieces by Van Gogh and Monet move across the walls and beneath your feet.
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Absurd City
Step into a wonderfully weird world designed by the creators of Wake The Tiger! This brand-new immersive art maze takes families on an imaginative journey through secret passageways, surreal rooms and interactive art installations. Every corner hides something to poke, press or crawl through, so kids get to be explorers rather than spectators. Having had an early sneak peek, we can confirm this is a must-add for your London itinerary — especially if you're exploring with hard-to-impress older kids and teens. Being inside Westfield London makes it an easy rainy-day plan: no long walks in the drizzle, plenty of loos and lunch options on the doorstep, and Shepherd's Bush station just across the road.
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Monopoly Lifesized
Immersive 80-minute walkthrough on a giant Monopoly board, guided by actors through dice-rolling, property buying and escape-room style challenge rooms.
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Twist Museum
This Oxford Street attraction claims to explore how our brains interpret the world through over eighty interactive exhibits - we found it more of an Instagram/Snap hub, full of kids and teens snapping mind-bending photos. But they enjoy doing so - and so will your older kids: you step inside illusion rooms, test sound and perspective tricks, and walk through colour-shifting corridors, everything’s heavily interactive and there are loads of photo opportunities.
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Sandbox VR Covent Garden
Full-body virtual reality where your group moves around a room together and becomes the heroes of the game. Players wear a headset, haptic vest and motion trackers, then team up to fight pirates, survive zombies or face dinosaurs, with your real movements tracked in the game. It is a brilliant treat for older kids, teens and birthday groups, and parents tend to love it just as much. Every game ends with a replay video of your group in action to watch back.
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Oxford Street & Piccadilly Circus shopping and viral pics
The ultimate teen and child pop-culture trail - start at Oxford Circus and stop wherever your kid wants to - there's 7 floors of toy magic at Hamleys, visit Selfridges to check out viral food trends and social media popups, walk down to Piccadilly Circus to sit under the iconic Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain (aka Eros). Football fans will love Fanatics, and there's always some street performers and freebies along the route.
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Swingers Crazy Golf (West End)
The West End branch of Swingers, a 1920s-themed indoor crazy golf venue with street food and bars. Children are welcome at family sessions only, so check the venue website before booking.
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Royal Institution Family Science
The Royal Institution in Mayfair is where the famous Christmas Lectures began, and it still runs family science days, holiday workshops and shows with explosions, liquid nitrogen and plenty of audience participation. Families can watch science happen in the historic lecture theatre where Michael Faraday once demonstrated electricity. The free Faraday Museum downstairs shows his original lab and equipment, so even a quick visit can tie in with what kids learn at school.
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Wizard Exploratorium Afternoon Tea
Not officially a Harry Potter tea, but magic fans will love this experience. Set in a multi-storey converted Soho house, you use wands to brew colour-changing teas and unlock puzzle boxes to get your cakes. It's hands-on, highly interactive, and tasty too - but not accessible for buggies or wheelchairs.
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West End Arts Library - our favourite free central chill spot
West End Arts Library is our favourite hidden London gem — and our favourite free, calm spot in central London. Tucked behind Leicester Square, walk in and head to the back left-hand side of the library, where you'll find a gorgeous kids section with hundreds of brand-new books, all themed around art. There's an entire Little Dreams section — and books for tots to teens, all immaculate, beautifully illustrated, alongside loads of practical art guides for older children who want to learn to draw, paint and design. Most of the books are brand new. Music lovers are covered too: the Westminster Music Library lives upstairs, with instruments you can borrow and play on the spot, from ukuleles to digital pianos. The setting is remarkable as well — this is the street where Sir Isaac Newton once lived, and the library is a quiet, elegant refuge just steps from Leicester Square and the National Gallery. Best of all, everything is completely free. Every Thursday from 3pm to 4.30pm there's a free Little Painters drop-in, where babies and toddlers get stuck into painting activities. On a rainy day it's hard to beat: stock up on books, then take your pick from the galleries, Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly all within a few minutes' stroll.
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The Traitors: Live Experience
If your family - like mine - spent the winter shouting accusations at the TV screen, this live Covent Garden theatrical event lets you step right into the velvet-draped drama. Guided by deliciously West End actor hosts, you take your place around a giant physical Round Table before secret roles are assigned. You will compete in hands-on mental and physical team challenges to build a prize pot, interspersed with hushed corridor side-chats, backstabbing, and explosive banishment votes. It's never the ones you expect who'll win - even if that's your own son or daughter! Family-friendly afternoon slots cater specifically to kids aged 12 and up, making it an absolutely perfect day out for teenagers who love a good poker face.
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Disney's The Lion King
The ultimate 'first West End show' experience... Kids and adults alike love this music-filled spectacle: the opening sequence with the animals coming down the aisles is guaranteed to give you goosebumps - look out for deals on 'Disney Mondays' but book when you can - the Lion King is worth every penny.
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Hunterian Museum
Located inside the Royal College of Surgeons, this historic museum features thousands of medical specimens, skeletons, and anatomical preparations. Kids obsessed with biology or gross facts will be spellbound by the weird and wonderful clear jars of specimens... But be aware, this must be London's most macabre museum so check your kids are OK with its contents first.. It's ideal for older kids, teens, and families with an appetite for medical history, anatomical oddities, and science. At its core is the 18th-century collection of pioneering surgeon and anatomist John Hunter, featuring thousands of anatomical and pathological specimens, surgical instruments, and historical medical artifacts.
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BaySixty6 Skate Park
Undercover skate park under the Westway offering beginner Saturday morning sessions, lessons, and a free skate club.
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National Portrait Gallery
The world's largest collection of portraits also has family spaces, galleries, and interactive art trails. Kids will love spotting famous faces (from royalty to footballers), using interactive digital portrait stations, and joining weekend drop-in art workshops.
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The Wallace Collection
Behind the grand townhouse façade lies one of Europe's greatest collections of arms and armour - there's kids trails and some mesmerising suits of armour, ornate swords and dagger displays. Start off on the basement level where you pick up the free family trail maps and interactive activity backpacks. The courtyard café inside is covered with a glass roof, making it a bright spot for lunch or tea after exploring.
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British Museum
Houses millions of historic artifacts, including ancient Egyptian mummies and the Rosetta Stone. Grab a free family activity trail map at the Information Desk in the Great Court to turn your visit into an engaging scavenger hunt. Book your (free) ticket online first, you'll probably still have to face a short queue but it moves quickly.
See details★ 4.2
Ikea
Hear me out for a second here... DO NOT GO ON A WEEKEND OR BUSY PERIOD. But for an easy morning out with a toddler, there's lots to recommend about Ikea. Surprisingly fun for kids who love exploring the miniature room setups, playing in the toy section, and picking out plants or new room decor. And you can conclude the extravaganza with a decent, cheap children's meal that you don't have to make (or clear up).
See details★ 4
London Transport Museum
This super-interactive museum lets children truly explore. It gets very busy (go early) but kids of all ages can experience what it's like to drive a train, learn about London's changing transport, go on old buses, follow an informative trail, get involved in workshops and more - it's an in-depth day out for kids who are obsessed with how things move. There's a cafe, and tickets are valid for a year so you can revisit as much as you like. It's in Covent Garden with lots of entertainers, shops and cafes to visit too.
See details★ 4.4
Lewis of London Ice Cream Farm
This popular spot serves up dozens of handmade ice cream and gelato flavours, made directly from farm-fresh milk. Every year they're also expanding the entertainment options: playgrounds, hay bales, pony rides, sand pits, tractors to climb on, and mazes can often be found here. Expect a queue on warm weekend afternoons, but it moves quickly. Free entry, large car park, but you'll want to buy an ice or two.
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West End Toy Shop Trail
This is the ultimate West End retail safari... the kind of shopping kids actually love. Start at Selfridges, in Marble Arch, where on the fourth floor you can gawk at eye-watering £750 giant Jellycat stuffed moons (we saw someone actually buy one) and the fish and chip store, watch the life magic demos and let kids test retro arcade games and futuristic robots on the tech floor in the basement. Probably a good time to set a budget so they can pick one toy from one store for the day - or whatever your budget is. It's worth taking a gander at the food hall too. Next, continue down Oxford Street. Your Big Game safari stops include Build-A-Bear, the Disney Store, and the children's department at John Lewis, with lots of sit-ons and a few games to play. In Liberty London on Great Marlborough Street you can visit its whimsical, beautifully curated children’s section filled with heirloom wooden toys, craft kits, and dress-up gear. Next, on to the mothership: Hamleys and its seven-story temple of live product demos and interactive play zones on Regents Street. You'll be here for a WHILE. There's a LOT to see and buy and play with! When you're free, if you've still got energy, options include: walking 10/15m to Leicester Square's flagship Lego Store to build custom minifigures and see giant brick installations. Or Waterstones Piccadilly - if you have book lovers in tow, take a short detour south to the massive children's department at Waterstones Piccadilly, which also has cosy reading nooks and play spaces. Alternatively, hit up Kingly Court for a snack or dessert in the open-air courtyard at Kingly Court off Carnaby Street. For the truly hardcore, push on to Leicester Square/Covent Garden to watch street performers and explore Benjamin Pollock’s Toyshop—an iconic vintage shop packed with classic puppets, theatrical shadow boxes, and wind-up novelties.
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