London with Kids: A Guide by Age

London is a wonderful city for families, packed with parks, free museums, and the pure magic of Harry Potter. Here is how I plan it by age.

Little ones (under 5)

Head to the parks: Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, the Diana Memorial Playground, and the Peter Pan statue, plus a ride on a red double-decker bus or a boat on the Thames, and the animals at London Zoo.

5 to 10

The free museums are a gift: the Natural History Museum (dinosaurs) and the Science Museum are made for this age. Add the Tower of London (Crown Jewels and ravens), the London Eye, and a family West End show like Matilda or The Lion King. Harry Potter fans: Platform 9¾ at King’s Cross.

10 to teens

Now the whole city is open, including the big one for many kids: the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, The Making of Harry Potter, plus more museums, shows, and history. In December, Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is a highlight, see my London at Christmas guide.

Where families get caught out. The studio tour releases its tickets months ahead and sells through for weekends and school holidays, the big West End shows and timed museum entries go the same way, and crossing the city at rush hour with a stroller and the tube’s patchy step-free access can turn a short hop into an hour. None of it is hard with a plan, and all of it unravels without one, which is exactly where I come in.

Why plan London with kids with me

The studio tour, top shows, and timed tickets book up, and I base you somewhere central and family-friendly. See my full London guide for the city, and my family travel guide for kids at every age. In English or Español.