Summer in London with kids is the absolute best – brilliant park days, open air theatres, and family-friendly festivals. The capital is really alive! If you’re looking for things to do in London with children over the summer holidays (July / August) then you’ve come to the right place.
I’m London mum of two boys (aged 6 and 2) who loves finding fun things to do with kids, days out and activities. My USP is that I only give recommendations that I think parents with truly enjoy as well as kids.
Read this post for the best interactive museums, immersive exhibitions, shows festivals, free days out plus hidden gems. This guide brings together the very best things to do with children in London for summer.
Events and Festivals
Hamleys – Fun activities at London’s biggest toy shop.
Battersea Park in Concert – A weekend of open-air picnic concerts in London’s Battersea Park. Interactive activities for kids at Tipiland
Date: 28th – 31st August
Price: Adult £118.25
Summer Time at the Southbank – Summer is always fun at the South Bank! With fountains, a Roof Garden, street food andshows and art for everyone.
Dinosaur World Live – Enter a prehistoric world of remarkably life-like dinosaurs. Meet the Tyrannosaurus Rex, alongside a Triceratops, Giraffatitan, Microraptor and Segnosaurus at Wembley Park Theatre.
Date: 28th July – 6th September
Age: 3 +
Price: £10
Historic Attractions and London Icons
Many of London’s top historical attractions will be running special summer events. Check back here for updates.
Tower of London – A Tudor To-Do featuring five performers in costume. It will run as a series of lively, entertaining short scenes in various locations throughout the day.
Date: 8th June – 14th August
Age: All ages
Price: Included in admission price
British Library – Fairy Tales, an interactive exhibition which explores enchanted lands, magical creatures, iconic characters and timeless tales, through books, costumes, puppets, pop-ups, artwork and illustrations from some of the UK’s most beloved writers.
Date: Until 23rd August
Age: 3 +
Price: £13.50 (peak) and £11.50 (off-peak)
The London Eye – One of London’s most iconic attractions! The world’s largest observation wheel at 135 metres high. It takes about thirty minutes and you can book various other experiences to enjoy including afternoon tea. Skip the queue by buying fast track tickets.
Location: The Southbank
Price: Starting from £29
Buckingham Palace – There’s is only a short period of time in which you can visit Buckingham Palace and the Summer opening is here! With standard admission you can visit Buckingham Palace and explore the magnificent State Rooms. There is also the option to book a Royal Day Out ticket. The ticket gives access to the State Rooms, the Royal Mews and The King’s Gallery with a 10% off saving on the ticket prices.
Date: 9th July – 27 Sept
Age: Under 5s are free
Price: Standard ticket adult £33, child £16.50. Royal day out adult £65.70, child £32.80
HMS Belfast – Life at Sea: Seek the Seahorse. HMS Belfast invites families to discover the origin of the Belfast’s crest by seeking out hidden seahorses. Plus create your own HMS Belfast crest in the family activity room.
Date: Weekends until 16th July
Price: Included with admission
Golden Hinde – Sleepover! Step aboard The Golden Hinde for an unforgettable overnight adventure. In the 30th anniversary year, board London’s iconic full-size Tudor galleon for a truly immersive Elizabethan experience.
Date: 31st July
Age: 5 – 10
Price: £47
Outdoor Attractions
London Zoo – Disney’s Lion King is coming to London Zoo with a showcase of masks, puppets and costumes in a special exhibition. Step inside the world of The Lion King with a chance to see items up close and learn about the artistry behind the show’s designs.
Date: 6 June – 31 August
Age: All ages
Price: Included with admission
Vauxhall City Farm – Dads Kids Club free Saturday activity sessions and workshops at The Farm for primary school-aged children (aged 3 -11)
Date: 25th July
Ages: 3- 11
Price: Free
Kew Gardens – Tom Gates Epic Adventure – Create, roam and play in an activity hub inspired by the adventures of Tom Gates book and his fun friends and family. There’s also a ‘Totally Terrific Tree Trail.’
Date: 18th – 31st August
Age: All ages
Price: Included with entry
Also at Kew Gardens, an outdoor production of Wind in the Willows. Set against the backdrop of the lake, this performance is filled with colourful characters, music, song and laughter.
Date: 18th – 23rd July
Age: All ages
Price: From £18.90
Indoor Attractions and Immersive Experiences
Paddington Bear Experience – Step into Paddington’s world with an adventure through London and Peru! Explore interactive sets with live performances, and themed activities inspired by everyone’s favourite bear.
Location: County Hall, Westminster Bridge Rd, London SE1 7PB, nearest tube Waterloo
Opening: Open daily from 10am
Duration : 70 mins
Age: All ages, under 2s are free
Cost: Adult £34, children £24.
Shrek Adventure London – An interactive walk-through experience where visitors join a live fairy-tale journey with characters like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and of course Shrek and Donkey. There’s storytelling, actors, and themed sets to create a full 4D expereince and fun, immersive journey for kids. Oscar and Noah loved it!
Location: Riverside Building, County Hall Westminster Bridge Road
Opening: Open daily times vary
Duration: 60 mins
Age: All ages under 2 are free. Recommended for age 6 plus.
Cost: From £24 for adults £18.50 for children
Bubble Planet Experience – an immersive, multi-sensory experience where visitors walk through 11 glowing, colourful rooms filled with bubbles, lights, and playful installations. It’s both magical and surreal and great for families, photos, and interactive fun! The best bit is the huge ball pit!
Book using my the discount code BubbleLon15.
Lcoation: Near Wembley Park tube 22 Fulton Rd, Wembley
Duration: 60 – 90 mins
Age: All ages, under 4s are free
Cost: £13.90 for children and £17.90 for adults
Babylon – A theme park that is entirely indoors with a fun space theme. There’s lots of attractions such as an indoor roller coaster (thrill seeking Oscar loved this!), bumper cars, video games plus a soft play. There’s lots for toddlers too and Noah liked the carousel.
Location: 8 Castlehaven Road, Camden
You can pay as you go or buy time-based passes for unlimited access.
Age: All ages.
Price: Park entry is free but you pay for the attractions.
SeaLIFE – London’s Biggest Aquarium is always a great choice if spring weather doesn’t go as planned!
Age: all ages
Price: From £36 per adult
Museums and Galleries
Discover Children’s Story Centre – Join Luna and friends for a very special trip to a very big city – in a brand new immersive exhibition. This is one I’m really excited to go to as I love this museum and I’m excited to see it reopen.
Date: Opens 25th July
Age: All ages
Price: £5.50
Young V & A – One of London best museums for children is currently running a brilliant exhibition.‘ Inside Aardman: Wallace and Gromit and Friends‘ goes behind the scenes of the famous stop motion show casing how the classic characters are bought to life.
Date: Until 15th November
Price: From £11
Hornimann Museum – New exhibition ‘Voyage to the Deep – Underwater Adventures.’ Inspired by Jules Verne’s ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Seas’, families are invited to board the legendary ‘Nautilus’ submarine and discover on an underwater adventure. Includes an Octonauts adventure trail.
Date: Until 1st November
Price: Adult £9.80, £7 child (under 3s are free)
Science Museum – The Space Show, a free family spectacular. Science Museum Mission Control has a problem and only you can help us solve it!
- Time: 11.30, 12.30, 13.30 and 15.00, weekends and school holidays until Sunday 12 July 2026 (excl. Saturday 27 June when performances are at 14.30, 15.15 and 16.00)
Please arrive 10 minutes before the performance starts. - Duration: 20 minutes
- Age: 5 – 12
Also Helen Sharman’s space suit (first British astronaut to travel to space) can be seen for free in the museum’s Space gallery.
Join the Science Museum’s Explainers for brand-new show Bubble Explorers, an interactive live show designed especially for young children and their families. Watch bubbles drift, stretch and shimmer as little ones learn how they form, move and change.
Date: 23rd May – 12th July 2026 Daily, various times
Age: Recommended for ages 7 and under
Price: £4.50, ages 2 and under go free.
Postal Museum – Jolly Postman exhibition – interactive exhibition celebrating 40 years of Janet and Allan Ahlberg famous children’s book.
Date: Until Jan 2027
Price: Included in museum ticket.
Maritime Museum – Astronomy LEGO brick club – Explore the history of astronomy with your family through an interactive LEGO® and DUPLO® brick workshop. Dates vary check website.
Royal Navel College – Pirates Takeover. Spend the day with a crew of mariners and discover life during the ‘Golden Age of Piracy’.
Date: 4th and 5th of July
Price: Adults £19, children free
London Museum of Docklands – Various activities. Tots at the Docks is a monthly on going play session. We love Mudlarks softplay.
RAF Museum – Little Swifts fun and lively sessions for pre-school children (aged 2-5 years) including arts and crafts, games, stories and songs all linked to the museums collection.
Date: Second Tuesday and last Thursday of each month, 14 April 2026 – 14 July 2026
Price: Free
Also at the RAF Museum – Pillows and Pilots is unique after-hours experience at the RAF Museum. For organised youth groups with young people aged 6–15, an immersive sleepover combines discovery, entertainment and hands-on fun in an extraordinary setting.
Date: 25th July
Age: 6 +
Price: £15-£50
London Transport Museum – Summer holidays, Electric pioneers. Family activities exploring the electrical innovations that have powered London’s public transport for more than one hundred years.
Create your own light-up tram
Take an imaginary journey on the first electric railway
Try your hand at coding a mini railway
Date: Check website for dates
Age: All ages
Price: Included in museum ticket.
Natural History Museum – Adventure babies, various dates next one is 28th July. A host of activities designed specifically to engage babies and encourage their development.
Age: 0 – 4
Price: £20
National Gallery – Check back to find free events.
Age: All ages, best for 5+
Price: Free
Portrait Gallery – Check back for free events.
Date: 26th May
Age: 3+
Price: Free
Dulwich Picture Gallery – Mini masterpieces. Sessions for under 5s with each session beginning in the Art Play Pavilion and then on to the Gallery to discover the different people, places and animals in the paintings including.
Age: Under 5s
Price: £16
Tate Modern – UNIQLO Tate PlayMake Studio: Memory. Explore memories through playing, chatting and creating.
Date: Wednesdays and weekends from 28 February 2026 – 22 July 2026
Age: All ages (Wednesdays are for under 5s)
Price: Free
Theatre and Shows
Southbank Centre
Dog Man: The Musical – This is hugely anticipated by Oscar who is a big fan! It is a hilarious new musical based on the worldwide bestselling book series from Dav Pilkey,
Date: 29th July – 16th August
Age: 5 +
Price: £27 plus £4 booking fee
Little Angel Theatre
The Flying Bath – Julia Donaldson and David Roberts’ playful story comes to life in this adaptation featuring catchy songs, fun bath toys and everyday heroes.
Date: 2nd May – 12th July
Age: 2 – 5
Price: £15.50 Adult £13.50 Child (age 1-17)
Toto the Ninja Cat and the Great Snake Escape – Based on Dermot O’Leary’s best-selling children’s book.
Date: 17 May – 19 Jul 2026
Age: 5 +
Price: £15.50 Adult £13.50 Child (age 1-17)
Polka Theatre
The Rapping Princess – Shiloh is a Princess with a love for music. She’s got one problem though, she can’t sing.
Date: 16th May – 21st June 2026
Age: 3 – 6 years
Price: £11
Unicorn Theatre
Planet Omar – Following the chaotic world of Planet Omar, the adventures of an 8-year-old with a wild imagination.
Date: 21st May – 7th June 2026
Age: 7+
Price: From £10
Royal Albert Hall
Comedy Club 4 Kids
Date: 27th May
Price: £12.50
The Lyric Theatre
The Gruffalo – Join Mouse on a daring adventure through the deep, dark wood in a magical, musical adaptation.
Date: 17 Jul – 6 Sep
Age: 3+
Price: £13
Greenwood Theatre
In the Night Garden Live – Igglepiggle searches for his friends in this gentle, music-filled adventure.
Date: 16th – 19th July
Age: 0 +
Price: from £24
The Lyric Hammersmith
The Enormous Crocodile – A musical based on Roald Dahl’s Book.
Date: 29 Jul – 22 Aug
Age: 3 +
Price: from £10
St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden
The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny – A new adaptation of two of Beatrix Potter’s best-loved Tales, The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny.
Date: 29 Jul
Age: All ages
Price: £22
JW3
One beach, three languages: Families will dive into a world of beachside adventures, water wonders, and acts of kindness through three unique storytelling sessions – English (12.30pm), Hebrew (2pm), and Russian (3.30pm).
Date: 12th July
Age: under 7
Price: £8 child, £6 adult
Family Beach Party – Kick off the summer holidays with Richie Rich Parties and an hour of non-stop seaside fun at JW3 Beach.
Date: 26th July
Age: Under 8
Price: £7 child, £5 adult
Family Disco on the Beach – Led by JW3 fan favourite Ilana Banana, the Lanaland Family Disco creates a happy space where everyone’s welcome on the dance floor
Date: 9th August
Age: All ages but geared towards under 7s.
Price: £7 child, £5 adult
Theatre Royal Haymarket
The Tiger The Came to Tea – The doorbell rings just as Sophie and her mummy are sitting down to tea. Who could it possibly be?
Date: 22 Jun – 5 Sep
Age: 3 +
Price: from £13
The Globe
There’s is also Ghosts & Ghouls Family Tour, a special family-friendly guided tour of the Globe Theatre which brings to life the ghosts, spirits and scary occurences in Shakespeare’s most chilling plays.
Date: 14th March – 31st October
Price: Adult £28, under 16, £21
Royal Ballet and Opera House, Covent Garden
Family Sundays at the Royal Opera House fun, relaxed and creative sessions perfect for families with children aged 3 to 10. Until 14th June.
Price: £20
Cadogan Hall – Zog: Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler’s classic, feel-good story is brought to life in this musical for children.
Date: 2nd August – 23rd August
Age: Most suitable for 3+
Price: From £19.50
Regents Park Open Air Theatre – Anansi The Spider A Unicorn Theatre and Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre Production classic West African and Caribbean folk tales.
Date: 15th August – 6 Sep
Age: 4 +
Price: from £18
Restaurants and Dining
The Ice Cream Project – A High summer concept store, The Ice Cream Project is back for a fifth year in a row. Serving an all new line up of our unexpectedly delicious ice creams and sorbets.
Activities Less than Two Hours From London
Legoland Windsor – LEGO festival! Make magical memories as LEGO® Festival arrives, where imaginations will run wild, creativity knows no bounds, and fun is always the top priority!
20th July – 30th August
Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour – It’s really easy to get to from central London as you can catch a train to Watford Junction from Euston which only take 20 minutes and then there’s a free shuttle right outside the station. Otherwise you can book a package with a coach transfer. It’s really important to book in advance as tickets sell out really quickly. Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone with a new feature entitled, First Year at Hogwarts with new shows and challenges. On 7th May to 7th September.
Chessington World Of Adventures: World of PAW Patrols open on Sunday 3rd May the May Bank Holidays. The immersive experience will include three themed play areas where fans can immerse fun inspired by their favourite pups plus themed dining inspired by Adventure Bay. These include:
The Flounder Boat Play – help Captain Turbot on a high-seas adventure aboard the Flounder Boat
Rubble & Rocky’s Play Zone – the hands-on, climbable construction zone will see guests slide, climb, and explore alongside their favourite construction pup, Rubble.
Alton Towers: – Bluey the Ride: Here Come the Grannies at CBeebies Land at Alton Towers Resort! Ride the world’s first Bluey junior coaster!
Hampton Court: Beano Havoc Dennis, Minnie, Harsha, Rubi and Gnasher were late for their Bash Street School trip to Henry VIII’s palace.
Date: 25th July – 23rd August
Price: Included with entry.
Also at Hampton Court, Henry VIII’s jousting. For two weekends only, step back in time and watch fearless knights clash in a tournament at the home of King Henry VIII.
11-12th and 18-19th July – included in admission.
Finally, annual Hampton Court Palace Food Festival, the best summer bank holiday weekend celebrations for all the family in the beautiful palace gardens. 29th – 31st August
See the following blog posts for London’s best ongoing Activities:
Best Things to Do in London with Babies and Toddlers
Best Museums and Attractions in London With Play Areas / Soft Play
Best child-friendly afternoon teas
Best child-friendly restaurants
Best child-friendly hotels in London
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