5 Fun Family Days Out in London

London is famed for its West End musicals, fascinating museums, red telephone boxes, and high-end fashion. Unsurprisingly there is also an incredible amount of fun, family activities to enjoy.

England’s capital is the home of Mary Poppins, Sherlock Holmes, Paddington Bear, and Harry Potter. It’s a magical place which is full of opportunities for adventure. Kids absolutely love it (as do their parents!).

Here are the five best places in London for fun-filled days out. They are all entertaining and will provide unforgettable memories (and plenty of photo opportunities).

Before traveling to the UK, it’s essential to make sure your family has all the correct documentation. Visitors from the US and Canada can currently enter without a visa. Visitors from other countries may need to apply for an electronic visa waiver UK  in advance.

The Harry Potter Tour

Looking for a magical day out in London? What better way than jumping into J.K. Rowling’s world where kids can transform into witches and wizards. The new Warner Bros. Studio Tour showcases the sets and costumes from the popular films and shows how they created the special effects.

There are also a host of family-friendly activities. You can explore parts of Hogwarts, including the Great Hall, Dumbledore’s office, and Hagrid’s Hut, as well as Diagon Alley (which features the shop fronts of all the other magical stores including Ollivander’s Wand Shop). Platform 9¾ at King’s Cross Station, where young wizards have to run through the wall, provides the perfect funny-photo opportunity.

Madame Tussauds

The world-famous wax museum has evolved into much more than a collection of dummies. Visitors can still take snaps with their favorite movie stars, singers, celebrities, and historical figures, but there also numerous new rides and features such as ‘The Sherlock Holmes Experience’. It offers a live, theatrical, walkthrough adventure for smart, young detectives.

Kids can also experience how if feels to have superpowers in the ‘Marvel Secret Command Centre’ and Star Wars fans can explore Dagobah, Jabba’s Throne Room, and fly the Millenium Falcon. One of the family favorites is the ‘Spirit of London’ ride which takes you on a journey through time in one of the iconic black cabs.

The Science Museum

The Science museum ticks all the boxes: it’s fun, educational, and free! It features 7 floors of entertaining, hands-on features including the Apollo 10 command module and flight simulator. Kids can learn about principles of contemporary science in the ‘Wellcome Wing’ which focuses on cutting-edge technology. The ‘Exploring Space’ gallery contains models of the Huygens Titan probe and Beagle 2 Mars Lander.

Everyone in the family will be mesmerized by the IMAX 3D cinema which has a screen the size of four double-decker buses! The image quality is ten times better than a normal cinema and the 3D goggles suck you into underwater adventures and trips to the moon! There is a range of spectacular films to choose from. The Natural History Museum is another fantastic, free option which kids love.

The London Dungeon

Does your family love Halloween? If so, the London Dungeon offers a frighteningly funny walkthrough of the darker side of London’s history. An amazing cast of live actors, atmospheric scenes, chilling rides, and special effects tell the tales of Jack the Ripper, Sweeney Todd, Guy Fawkes (who tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament), and other gruesome stories.

In total there are 360 sets, 19 live shows, and 20 live actors. Using sounds, smells, and darkness, the atmosphere is creepy and black humor features heavily. There are many parts when you don’t know whether to scream or laugh!

London Zoo

The hundreds of species of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and birds at London Zoo which will keep your kids entertained for hours! It’s huge and full of exotic creatures you rarely have the chance to glimpse. You can see tigers, penguins, monkeys, lemurs, bats, spiders, butterflies, and countless more.

London Zoo is the world’s oldest scientific zoo though it has changed a lot since it opened. Today it features new interactive exhibitions with are educational and entertaining. There are also live feedings which you can witness as well as a rainforest zone which contains some of the rarest creatures on Earth.