London · With kids

London with kids: things to do

By Ramya ChinnaduraiPublished 13 October 2026Updated 13 October 2026

Start in South Kensington, not at a paid landmark. Two national museums sit a short walk apart, both free if you book a timed ticket, and both write an adult rule on the door. That is the cleanest first morning in London with children: no queue for a paid hall, and a picnic on the steps if the weather holds.

This page is a first-visit shortlist. Every price and age band below comes from an official page opened on 13 October 2026. If a figure was missing or two pages disagreed, it is left out.

Free indoor hours in one neighbourhood

The Natural History Museum lists daily opening 10:00 to 17:50, last entry 17:30, closed 24 to 26 December. Galleries are free. Book a free ticket. Children under 14 must come with an adult. Hintze Hall and the dinosaurs are the obvious start. Leave before anyone is hungry enough to pay for a second ticket they did not need.

Next door, the Science Museum also asks you to pre-book free general admission. It is open daily 10:00 to 18:00 except 24 to 26 December, last entry 17:15. Children under 12 must be with an adult aged 18 or over. The museum says an average visit is about two hours. That is enough. Do not add a paid Wonderlab session on the same morning unless you already know the age band wants it.

Those two buildings are the rain plan and the first-day plan. You can walk between them. You do not need a bus.

How children ride TfL

Children under 11 travel free on buses and trams. Up to four children under 11 also travel free on Tube, DLR, London Overground, Elizabeth line and some National Rail services when one fare-paying adult is with them. That is the rule that makes a zoo afternoon or a Kew day cheap to reach.

Visiting children aged 11 to 15 are different. TfL staff can add a Young Visitor discount to a Visitor Oyster card at most Tube stations and Visitor Centres. The child must be there. The discount is half the adult pay-as-you-go rate for up to 14 days. Do not assume a 12-year-old rides free. They do not.

A Visitor Oyster card is bought before you arrive, not in London. If you already have contactless bank cards, those work for the adults. The child rules above still apply.

Pushchairs are normal on buses and on step-free Tube stations. Not every station is step-free. Check the station before you commit to a change with a sleeping toddler.

One paid morning: the Tower

If you want one paid historic site, pick the Tower and skip a second castle. Historic Royal Palaces listed 38.00 pounds for adults aged 18 to 64 with no donation, and 19.00 pounds for children aged 5 to 15. Those children must come with an adult. Under 5s go free and need no ticket. Young people aged 16 to 17 were listed at 19.00 pounds.

The Crown Jewels queue is the part that breaks a family morning. Go early, or treat the walls and the ravens as the visit and leave before anyone melts. There is no picnic culture inside the walls. Eat after, on the river path.

The outdoor day: zoo or Kew, not both

ZSL London Zoo sits in Regent's Park. Children under 3 enter free. Child tickets cover ages 3 to 15. Under 16s are not admitted without an adult. From 3 September to 23 October 2026 the zoo listed opening at 10:00, last entry 16:00, close 17:00. From 24 October 2026 to 12 February 2027 last entry moves to 15:00 and close to 16:00. Build the day around that last-entry time, not around a second attraction.

Online advance tickets bought before 10:00 on the visit date, without donation, listed the child (3 to 15) from 19.40 pounds on an off-peak weekday. Gate prices after 10:00 were higher. Book the night before.

Kew Gardens is the other full outdoor day. The Children's Garden is written for ages 2 to 12 and needs no extra booking. From 2 September 2026 a child aged 4 to 15 was listed at 2 pounds online or 4 pounds at the gate. Under 4s are free. Everyone 16 and under needs an adult. The Treetop Walkway is 18 metres high: fine for some eight-year-olds, a no for a wary five-year-old. Kew Palace, the Pagoda and Queen Charlotte's Cottage were listed closed from 28 September until spring 2027, so do not promise those.

Do not do the zoo and Kew on the same day. Each is a walk, a lunch and a sit-down.

A first two days that stay sane

Day one: South Kensington museums in the morning, a playground in Hyde Park or Kensington Gardens after lunch, early dinner. Day two: either the Tower plus a river-path walk, or London Zoo, or Kew. That is the whole city for a first visit. The rest is a second trip.

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