London has got to be one of the best places in the country to keep children entertained. Even if the summer holidays seem to stretch endlessly into the future, the city is bursting with new, family-friendly experiences.

Whether you are travelling to the UK capital for a day out, or live in the city and have a spare afternoon, London has something for tots to teens, no matter what their latest fixation is.

From dinosaur crafting sessions to immersive theatre, London’s attractions often host events, workshops and activities that are perfect for whiling away the hours.

Families can explore some of the world’s best museums, zoos and play areas, but narrowing down the right one is another matter.

Thankfully, we’ve done the work for you to ensure you have the best trip this summer. Forget Madame Tussauds: we’ve selected some of London’s most weird, wonderful and awe-inspiring experiences to ensure both you and your little ones are entertained and inspired by everything this marvellous city has to offer, whatever your budget – and whatever the weather.

Best things to do with kids in London this summer

1. Ride the world’s longest and tallest slide

Whizz down The Slide at the ArcelorMittal Orbit, the world’s tallest (76 metres) and longest (178 metres) slide. Designed by artists Anish Kapoor and Carsten Höller, and architect Cecil Balmond, to mark the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, this iconic landmark is located in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, east London. Composed of 12 twists and turns, including a tight corkscrew known as the bettfeder (“bedspring” in German), it climaxes with a thrilling 50 metre straight run to the ground. Expect to reach speeds of up to 24km on a journey that takes 40 seconds from beginning to end. Visitors can either take the lift to the viewing platform or tackle the 455 steps. There’s also a glass floor to peer through, for those brave enough.

Tickets from £14; a supervising adult is required for under 18s, and there is a minimum height requirement of 1.3 metres

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2. Visit a city farm

London’s 12 city farms are educational and fun green spaces aimed at serving the local community, and home to a plethora of creatures, from the curious to the cuddly. Mudchute Park and Farm covers 32 acres in the Isle of Dogs, making it one of the largest inner city farms in Europe. It’s home to over 100 animals and fowl, including llamas. In south London, Vauxhall City Farm is London’s oldest, and home to alpacas, ferrets, goats and more. Visitors can also enjoy animal experiences, including being a farmer for the day, or simply just enjoy petting their furriest residents. Vauxhall City Farm also has a riding school, which is currently closed for renovation until September 2025. Other city farms can be found in Hackney, Spitalfields, Kentish Town, Stepney and Crystal Palace.

Mostly free, but donations are encouraged to keep these important spaces operational

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3. Watch a film on the UK’s biggest cinema screen

Towering at an impressive 20 metres by 26 metres, the BFI Imax cinema in Waterloo is the UK’s biggest cinema. A 12,000-watt digital surround system makes a visit here the ultimate immersive experience for film lovers, with the sheer scale of this film experience certain to widen young eyes.

From £14

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4. Take a dip

From lidos to leisure centres, there are plenty of places to stay cool in London over the summer. Some of the best places to take a dip include Finchley Lido Leisure Centre in Barnet, where kids will enjoy hours playing in the leisure pool that is complete with a wave machine, jets and water cannons. The leisure centre in Leyton is also a brilliant choice for an afternoon of splashing about, with its fast water flume and aqua play area complete with waterslides and tipping buckets.

If you are keen to give your kids a boost of confidence in the water, many leisure facilities also offer swimming lessons, such as the London Aquatics Centre in Stratford, used for the 2012 Olympics. The large training pool here offers a place for kids to learn to swim with their families.

Leyton Leisure Centre costs from £5.60 for non-member adults, and £2.60 for kids. Finchley Leisure Centre costs from £8.30 for non-member adults, and £5.20 for kids. Family swimming at the London Aquatics Centre costs from £7.30 for adults and £4.50 for kids.

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5. Discover London’s world-class museums

London is blessed with some of the world’s most illustrious museums, many of which offer a whole host of activities and experiences to engage young minds, particularly during school holidays, from zine-making to sculpture, collage to finger painting. While some are entirely devoted to children and young people, such as Bethnal Green’s Young V&A and Stratford’s Discover Children’s Story Centre, there are plenty of things on offer at practically all museums to entertain young people and children. From an earthquake simulator at the Natural History Museum, to a now permanent computer games exhibit at the Science Museum, museums are a great – and often free – way to inspire children. Bowling around the cavernous space at the Tate Modern never gets old, either.

Many of London’s museums are free to enter, but if you want to skip queues or fancy booking an audio tour for when you visit, it’s worth checking out Viator’s selection of museum tickets and passes.

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6. Take a stroll through a treetop canopy

Situated 18 metres above the ground, Kew Gardens’ Treetop Walkway is a great way to get closer to its world-renowned collection of flora and fauna. Climb 118 steps to discover a complex ecosystem teeming with birds, insects, lichen and fungi that live in the trees’ uppermost branches. At ground level, sculptures carved from tree trunks illustrate microscopic elements of trees to explain how they grow. There’s also a Children’s Garden, which is a fun and interactive space for little ones to climb, run, jump and explore, complete with trampolines, stepping stones, periscopes, hammocks and a living bamboo tunnel.

Children under four go free; tickets for those aged 4-15 start from £6

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7. Jump on the Harry Potter bandwagon

The magical world of Harry Potter continues to resonate with children of all ages – and there’s plenty to explore in London for Muggles and magical folk alike. The big hitter is undoubtedly the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter. Here, fans can see sets, props and costumes from the hit film franchise and step inside film locations such as Dumbledore’s office, the Great Hall, Diagon Alley and the Forbidden Forest. Buses travel regularly to the site from the centre of London, while trains take 20 minutes from Euston to Watford Junction, with regular shuttle buses. And if that’s too pricey, head to Platform 9¾ at King’s Cross station, where you can cosplay as your favourite character and bag a fun selfie.

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter tickets from £56; free to visit Platform 9¾ at King’s Cross station

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Whatever your age, getting lost in the Hampton Court Maze is an experience you won’t forget in a hurry. Commissioned around 1700 by William III, it covers a third of an acre and is known for its confusing twists, turns and dead ends. On average, it takes around 20 minutes to reach the centre. As it’s a multicursal maze – meaning a visitor needs to make decisions about which route to take next, rather than simply following a single path – it’s great for stimulating the grey matter and getting kids off their phones as they attempt to conquer this puzzle.

Children under four go free, tickets for those aged 5-15 start from £13.60, including entrance to the palace, maze and Magic Garden

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9. Take a street art tour

Score points with teenagers on a tour of London’s best street art. Hear the stories behind some of the city’s most fascinating artworks, from giant murals to tiny hidden sculptures, on a tour that takes in artwork by Roa, Shepard Fairey, Invader, Stik and Vhils. There’s also the option to add on a workshop, where participants can try their hand at creating their own artwork in the purpose-built studio. Art lovers on a budget should head to Leake Street Arches, where eight former railway arches beneath Waterloo station now form a public gallery of street art and graffiti for everyone to enjoy.

Tours from £30; Leake Street Arches, free to visit

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Soft play areas are a great alternative to the city centre attractions, especially if you have a toddler who just needs to blow off some steam. London is home to some of the most trendy and sophisticated options, from the inflatable indoor park Inflata Nation in Colindale to Bertie and Boo’s sensory adventure environment in Balham. Others are more low-key affairs attached to cafes, such as Sandscape in Finsbury Park, where your little ones can play in the sand pit while you catch up with friends over a coffee.

Inflata Nation costs £14.95 for adults and children, and £9.50 for under-fours.

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11. Discover dinosaurs

Despite dinosaurs going extinct 64 million years ago, they continue to have a hold on the young imagination. Kids will love these 16 life-size sculptures of dinos past and their fellow extinct creatures, which have been residing in Crystal Palace Park in south London since the 19th century. The models have their own unique history and were first unveiled in 1854. They have undergone extensive refurbishment several times since then. They can be found in the south section of Crystal Palace Park, near the Penge entrance. Check out the Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs website before your visit for downloadable information sheets and even an audio guide.

Free

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12. Take a ride above the city

A trip on the IFS Cable Car over the Thames is always a good idea, whatever your age, although sunset on a clear day brings megawatt views of iconic city sights such as St Paul’s Cathedral, the Millennium Dome, the Gherkin and the Thames Barrier. The 1km line runs between Greenwich and Royal Victoria Dock and forms part of Transport for London’s network, meaning you can simply tap on and off with your payment card. Consider the London transport box well and truly ticked by bagging the front seat of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) for your onward journey to feel like you’re in charge of your very own train.

A one-way ticket costs £6

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13. Shake your tail feathers

Notting Hill Carnival is a stalwart of London’s summer season, and 2025 is no exception. As Europe’s biggest street party, it’s a celebration of Caribbean culture and the diversity and vibrancy of this remarkable city. As well as some top-class music, food and drink, Sunday is family day, with a host of family-friendly activities, events and the children’s parade. Dress up to get down.

Sunday 24 August, free

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Budding astronomers will adore a visit to the Peter Harrison Planetarium at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. Get cosy in a reclining chair and prepare to be transported to distant galaxies, around our solar system, and close to the sun – and even witness the birth of a star. A combination of real images from space and CGI combines for an awe-inspiring experience. There are different shows every day, plus a special show for children aged seven and below during school holidays and on weekends.

From £6

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15. Hit the West End

London’s West End is home to some of the world’s slickest theatrical productions, plenty of which are created with children in mind. Award-winning shows that are certain to enthral include playwright Dennis Kelly and comedian and artist Tim Minchin’s musical of the classic Roald Dahl novel Matilda, the timeless spectacle of The Lion King, which continues to wow with dazzling sets and puppetry, and Wicked, the hit production that inspired the Tony award-winning film starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.

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16. Find your favourite animal at the zoo

If your little one is currently obsessed with anything that crawls, swims or flies, carve out a bit of time this summer to take a trip to one of London’s zoos. The most famous of these is undoubtedly London Zoo, where kids can get up close to thousands of animals through walkthrough habitats and underwater viewings. Learn more about the creatures in residence through talks throughout the day led by expert zookeepers or let loose at the Animal Adventure play area. However, the zoo can get very busy during the school holidays, so if you are in need of something a bit less chaotic, head to Battersea Park Children’s Zoo, home to over 100 animals from around the world. The zoo offers up close experiences with farmyard favourites to reptiles, while other wildlife can be spotted in habitats such as lemurs, wildcats and emus.

London Zoo costs £31.80 for adults and £22.20 for kids. Battersea Park Children’s Zoo costs £15.95 for adults and £12.95 for kids.

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17. Run wild at the London Wetland Centre

If the zoo animals don’t quite cut it for your youngster, why not a trip out to the London Wetland Centre in Barnes? This summer is particularly special if dragonflies are your kids’ current obsession, as until 22 September, the centre is hosting a series of workshops, events and scavenger hunts dedicated to the flying insect. Meanwhile, on the last two Thursdays of August, children can take part in junior bat walks using special bat detectors to seek out these flapping creatures in the dark. For daytime activities, head to the centre for its adventure play areas, complete with a zip line, climber and trail course, mid kitchen and splash pad water play area.

Prices start from £10.58 for kids, £16.29 for adults

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This unique place has its own solid reasons to make into this list. A destination widely famous for its roots being linked to Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore designed Shantiniketan as an open-air learning environment that blends education, culture, and nature. Known as the “abode of peace,” it follows the Gurukul-style system, encouraging children to learn through creativity, art, music, and interaction with their surroundings rather than rote methods. The serene, safe campus of Visva-Bharati University fosters holistic development, where festivals, folk performances, and craft workshops provide rich cultural exposure.Classrooms have a strong artistic atmosphere, making Shantiniketan an inspiring place for children to learn, explore, and grow.