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London 5-day family itinerary (with kids)
London is the easiest big European city to do with children and the easiest one to exhaust yourself in. The wins are enormous: the world-class museums are free, kids under 11 travel free on the Tube and buses, and the Thames is a genuine transport route that happens to be the best sightseeing in the city. The trap is the map — central London looks small and is twelve miles across. This plan gives each day one district, one ticketed anchor, and a park. Five days, four nights, ages 5–14.
Day 1 · MondayArrive, Southbank, and the city from the river
Jet lag day. Nothing ticketed, nothing indoors, and get everyone outside in daylight until at least 8pm — it is the only thing that actually fixes a westbound time change.
| Time | Stop | What to wear |
|---|---|---|
| 11:00 | Arrive and drop bagsSouth Kensington or SouthbankSouth Kensington puts three free museums and Hyde Park at the end of the street and is the best area with younger kids. Southbank is more central and better with teenagers. Either way you want a Tube station within five minutes and a kettle in the room. | A waterproof layer per person, every single day, regardless of the forecast. This is not a cliché; it is operational advice. |
| 12:30 | Lunch: Borough Market8 Southwark StA thousand-year-old food market under the railway arches. Everyone picks their own lunch, which is the trick for feeding a family in central London without a 45-minute wait. Closed or reduced on some days — check before you build the day on it. | |
| 2:00 | Walk the South BankThames Path, Southwark to WestminsterPast Shakespeare's Globe, the Tate Modern, and the skateboarders at the Undercroft, with the whole city on the far bank. Free, flat, and relentlessly interesting — the best two hours of walking in London. | Comfortable shoes. This is a three-mile afternoon at a child's pace. |
| 4:00 | Tower Bridge and the Tower from outsideTower Bridge, SE1 2UPWalk the bridge and look at the Tower from the north bank — you are coming back tomorrow, so today is just the view. | |
| 5:30 | Sky Garden1 Sky Garden Walk, EC3M 8AFA free public garden on the 35th floor with the best view in London and no ticket price — you just have to book a free slot in advance, which is the single best-value reservation in the city. Airport-style security at the door. | |
| 7:00 | Early dinner and an early nightA pub with a family licence, or anything near the hotel. Everyone in bed by 9 local time, and nobody naps at 4pm. |
Day 2 · TuesdayThe Tower at opening, then a boat to Greenwich
The single best day in London with kids, and it depends entirely on being at the Tower when the doors open.
| Time | Stop | What to wear |
|---|---|---|
| 8:45 | Tower of LondonSt Katharine's & Wapping, EC3N 4ABBook online for a cheaper, faster entry and be at the gate for opening. Go straight to the Crown Jewels before anything else — by 11am that queue is 45 minutes and at 9:05 it is nothing. Then the White Tower, the armoury, the ravens, and a Yeoman Warder tour, which is free, funny, and the best history lesson your kids will get on this trip. | Layers. Stone fortresses are cold in July and colder in April, and much of this is outdoors. |
| 11:30 | Snack on the wharfSit by the river, eat something, and reset before the boat. | |
| 12:15 | Thames Clipper to GreenwichTower Millennium PierA commuter catamaran, not a tour boat: faster, cheaper, and the kids can stand outside at the back. Contactless works, and it is the best sightseeing-per-pound in London. Twenty-five minutes downriver past Canary Wharf. | A windproof layer — the open deck is where every child wants to be and it is genuinely cold out there. |
| 1:00 | GreenwichCutty Sark, King William Walk, SE10 9HTThree things, pick two: the Cutty Sark (a tea clipper you walk underneath), the National Maritime Museum (free), and the Royal Observatory up the hill for the Prime Meridian line and the planetarium. The hill is steeper than it looks on a map. | Real shoes for the observatory climb. |
| 3:30 | Greenwich Park and the marketThe best view in London from the top of the park, and a covered market full of food stalls at the bottom. | |
| 5:30 | Boat or DLR backTake the Docklands Light Railway back for a change — it is driverless, and the front seats are the best free ride in the city if your kids are under about ten. |
Day 3 · WednesdayThe free museums, Hyde Park, and a show
Three world-class museums are on one street in South Kensington and they are all free. Pick one. Two is possible; three is a mistake.
| Time | Stop | What to wear |
|---|---|---|
| 9:45 | Natural History MuseumCromwell Rd, SW7 5BDFree, and booking a free timed ticket online saves you the long queue on Cromwell Road. The blue whale in Hintze Hall, the dinosaurs, and the earthquake room — two and a half hours, then stop. | Layers, and a small backpack rather than a big bag: the cloakroom queue is its own attraction. |
| 12:30 | Or instead: the Science MuseumExhibition Rd, SW7 2DDAlso free and next door. The Wonderlab gallery is paid and genuinely worth it for kids 7–12. If your children are in that band, this is the better of the two museums — do not feel obliged to do both. | |
| 1:00 | Lunch on Exhibition RoadStep out of the museum to eat. Cheaper, better, and everyone sees daylight. | |
| 2:15 | Diana Memorial PlaygroundKensington Gardens, near Black Lion GateA pirate ship, a teepee village, and the best free playground in central London — with a strict rule that adults must be accompanied by a child. Ninety minutes here buys you a cooperative evening. | Play clothes and a spare pair of socks. There is water and there is sand. |
| 4:00 | Hyde Park and the SerpentineWalk east across the park. Pedal boats on the Serpentine in season, and the Italian Gardens at the north end. | |
| 6:00 | Dinner in the West EndCovent Garden or SohoEat at 6 if you have theatre tickets. Covent Garden's piazza has free street performers, which is a better pre-theatre show than most pre-theatre menus. | Nothing formal. London theatres do not have a dress code, whatever you have heard. |
| 7:30 | A West End showTheatreland, around Shaftesbury AveThe family-reliable long-runners — Lion King, Matilda, Wicked — and matinees are easier with younger kids than an evening curtain at 7:30 that ends past 10. |
Day 4 · ThursdayThe Warner Bros. Studio Tour — a whole day, properly
Do not try to combine this with anything. It is out of town, it takes four hours inside, and it is the highlight of the trip for most families with kids over six.
| Time | Stop | What to wear |
|---|---|---|
| 8:30 | Train from EustonLondon Euston to Watford JunctionTwenty minutes on a fast train, then the branded shuttle bus from outside the station to the studios — roughly an hour door to door. Tickets must be booked in advance and they sell out weeks ahead, often months in school holidays. There is no ticket desk on the day. | Comfortable shoes and a light layer. Most of the tour is indoors and the outdoor backlot is not. |
| 10:00 | Warner Bros. Studio Tour LondonStudio Tour Dr, Leavesden, WD25 7LRThe actual sets from all eight films: the Great Hall, Diagon Alley, the Hogwarts Express, and the castle model at the end. Budget four hours minimum — it is self-paced with no exit route halfway. Children four and under are free but still need a booked ticket. | |
| 2:30 | Late lunch and the butterbeerEat in the backlot cafe. Yes, buy the butterbeer; no, it is not good; yes, it is the photo. | |
| 4:30 | Shuttle and train backBack at Euston by 5:45. Do not schedule anything for this evening. | |
| 6:30 | King's Cross, since you are next doorPlatform 9¾, King's Cross StationA five-minute walk from Euston and a ten-minute stop: the trolley in the wall, the queue for the photo, and the shop. Then dinner in the station's upper concourse. |
Day 5 · FridayWestminster, the guard, and one last park hour
| Time | Stop | What to wear |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 | Westminster and Big BenParliament Square, SW1A 0AAWalk out of Westminster Tube station and the clock tower is directly above you — one of the genuinely great reveals in any city. Westminster Abbey next door is paid and magnificent and a hard sell under about ten. | Travel clothes if you fly today. |
| 10:15 | Changing the GuardBuckingham Palace, SW1A 1AAIt does not happen every day and the schedule changes by season and weather — check the official Household Division listing the night before. Be at the Victoria Memorial by 10:15 for an 11am ceremony, or watch the guards march down The Mall instead, which is a better view and no crowd. | Nothing you mind standing in for 45 minutes. There is no shade and no shelter. |
| 11:45 | St James's ParkThe prettiest park in London, with pelicans, and the Blue Bridge view back to the palace. A perfect last hour. | |
| 1:00 | Last lunch, then the airportAllow 60–75 minutes to Heathrow on the Piccadilly line or 15 on the Express from Paddington; 60–90 to Gatwick; and more than you think to Stansted or Luton. | Bulkiest shoes and heaviest layer on the plane. |
Questions families ask about London
How many days do you need in London with kids?
Five days and four nights. That is one district a day with one ticketed anchor each — the Tower, the studio tour, a museum, a show — plus a park every afternoon and an arrival day that does nothing. Four days works if you drop the studio tour, which is the thing you would be dropping a whole day for. Seven days lets you add Windsor, Hampton Court, or a day at the seaside.
Do kids travel free on the Tube in London?
Under-11s travel free on the Tube, DLR, London Overground, Elizabeth line, and buses when accompanied by a fare-paying adult, with up to four children per adult, and they do not need their own card. Under-11s ride London buses and trams free at any time, even unaccompanied. For 11 to 15-year-olds, ask staff at a Tube station to add the free Young Visitor discount to an Oyster card, which halves their fares for up to 14 days. Adults are better off tapping a contactless card or phone than buying an Oyster — identical fares and caps, without the non-refundable card fee.
Is the Harry Potter studio tour worth a whole day?
For a family with kids over about six who know the films, yes, and it is usually the highlight of the trip. It is also genuinely a whole day: about an hour each way via a train from Euston to Watford Junction plus the shuttle, and four hours minimum inside, self-paced, with no halfway exit. Tickets must be booked well in advance and sell out weeks or months ahead in school holidays — there is no walk-up. If your kids do not care about Harry Potter, skip it entirely and spend the day on Greenwich and a second museum.
Where should a family stay in London?
South Kensington with younger kids: the Natural History Museum, Science Museum, and V&A are on one street, Hyde Park and the Diana playground are a walk away, and it is quiet at night. Southbank or Bloomsbury if your children are older and you want to be closer to the theatres and the British Museum. In all cases pick a Tube station within a five-minute walk, and expect London family rooms to be smaller than the equivalent price buys anywhere in America.
What is the best time of year to visit London with a family?
May, June, and September: long daylight, mild weather, and the school-holiday crowds either side of them. July and August are busiest and most expensive, with museums and the studio tour booking out furthest ahead. Winter is genuinely fine for a museum-heavy trip and much cheaper, but you get sunset before 4pm in December, which shortens the day more than families expect. Bring a waterproof layer whenever you go.
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Check these before you go
The times and prices above were accurate when this page was written, and the rules that matter most here are exactly the ones that change. These are the official pages to confirm against:
- Transport for London — free travel for under-11s — the exact child-fare rules and the Young Visitor discount
- Warner Bros. Studio Tour London — booking windows, how far ahead it sells out, and getting there
- Historic Royal Palaces — Tower of London — opening times, online prices and Yeoman Warder tour times
Verified September 2026. Nothing on this page is sponsored and none of these links pay us.
Disclosure: TripSanity is our product — this template exists so you can try it with a real plan. The itinerary itself is free to use anywhere, credit or no credit. It was assembled from local advice threads, operator and park websites, and traveler field reports rather than from one trip of our own, so treat every time, price, and address as a starting point: hours, menus, ticket rules, and schedules change, and you should confirm anything load-bearing before you travel.