London is a wonderful place to visit with children, there are so many sights to see and fun places to go. Of course some experiences such as The Tower of London and London Eye are worth shelling out for but you don’t always have to spend to enjoy amazing places in London.

From museums to top sights to play opportunities in one of the world’s most famous memorial gardens, these things are all free to do and go to.

The Memorial Garden for Diana, Princess of Wales, has a wonderful playground dominated by a huge pirate ship and is based on the Peter Pan story. Make sure you stop by and visit the The Pan Statue, also known as Rush of Green, a bronze statue depicting a family and their dog rushing eagerly towards the park, urged on by Pan who is playing pipes. It is located by Edinburgh Gate on the south side of Hyde Park.

The Park is also fabulous for strolling around and seeing all the birds on the Serpentine. You can also rent rowing and pedal boats to enjoy the water. Bring a picnic and you’ll easily spend a few hours on a nice day.

“It’s a fab place to spend a couple of hours. There’s a lovely cafe and is very safe with security on the gate who won’t let single adults in or kids out.” Cliodhna H

Any of the London museums are great to visit with children, here are four free ones to start off with on your visit that kids will definitely enjoy:

1. The Natural History Museum London full of amazing exhibits all about the animal and natural world, and of course, famous for its dinosaurs.
2. The Science Museum London, get hands-on with science
3. The original Victoria & Albert Museum is at South Kensington stuffed full of amazing objects and treasures, and Young V&A at Bethnal Green will open in Summer 2023 as a museum where children, young people and families can imagine, play and design.
4. The Imperial War Museum is another top free place to take children with interactive displays and lots of family activities and events taking place regularly.

“The Imperial War Museum is excellent for kids, very interactive with lots of tanks/planes/medals etc on display” Carmel C
“We visited the Science Museum on our last trip to London and spent 2 hours in Launchpad, the hands on space, never mind the rest of the Museum. We’re definitely going back.” Jill H

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Greenwich is a lovely place to visit with kids.You can wander around the market there too and browse the stalls and little shops nearby. Or pick up the makings of a picnic and enjoy lunch in the park. It has a big open park space perfect for kids to play and run, and chase the pigeons.

The National Maritime Museum and The Queen’s House and are all free to visit at Greenwich. (You do have to pay to visit the Meridian Courtyard which is part of The Royal Observatory but it is good fun to see the Time Ball, one of the world’s earliest public time signals, drop every day around 1pm, and you can also stand astride the Meridian Line in the Courtyard.)

“Our nearly 3 yo had a great time and didn’t want to leave”, Dee N

One of our favourite places in London, don’t miss a visit to Covent Garden to see the buskers, take in the shops and enjoy wandering around this pedestrian friendly area.

There are oodles of shops to browse, plenty of places to eat and drink, and they also have fun seasonal events such as their Halloween Pumpkin Market and the Let it Snow experience in the run up to Christmas with daily snow showers.

The M&M Store in Leicester Square could well be the largest candy store in the world, it will definitely take you a while to take in the 4 huge floors of M&M fun.

(Obviously be prepared for some pestering from the kids to buy some merchandise!)

If you have a Harry Potter fan, then make a stop to Kings Cross Station part of your visit. They have built a special wall into platform 9 and 3/4, and you can take your own photo with a trolley that is disappearing into the wall. The trolley is accessible at all hours, and you don’t have to pay to take your own photographs.

There’s also a nice list of other things to do with kids in the Kings Cross vicinity which you can find here.

Trafalgar Square is well worth a visit to see the fountains, Nelson’s Column and make sure to pose for a photo by one of the 4 famous great lions.

It’s a great place to sit for a while people watching as so many nationalities visit this famous square.

“We enjoyed feeding the pigeons :-)”, Tracey T

Crystal Palace Park is a large park in South London which is fun to visit with kids. At the top of the park is the site where the large glass Crystal Palace exhibition building stood between 1854 and 1935.

The park is also home to some full-size dinosaurs – models built by the Victorians which lurk between the trees. You can find out more about the exhibition and dinosaurs at the Crystal Palace museum in the park.

There’s also a children’s farm and playground, an outdoor concert stage, national sports centre and plenty of green space.

Enjoy some free art as well as activities for kids either at the National Gallery filled with classic and famous paintings or Tate Modern, London’s free national museum of modern and contemporary art. Both hold regular events and workshops for kids which are free.

You’ll also get great views of some of London’s most iconic buildings and landmarks when you go over the Millenium Bridge to Tate Modern.

The Wallace Collection is just off Oxford Street with a great art collection as well a big collection of armour and swords – if your child is into Horrible Histories they will be in their element here.

They have audio guides for kids (and adults) and fun family activities such as Trails to follow around the Museum or you can try on armour in the Conservation Gallery.