Seeing London with children means balancing the sights you want to visit with enough variety to keep them interested. Long walks and queues can leave little time to play or rest, so this two-day itinerary builds in playground stops, lunch breaks and shorter options alongside Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the Natural History Museum.
It is planned for children aged four to ten and assumes two full sightseeing days. Allow roughly 3.5–4 km of walking on day one and about 3 km outdoors on day two, plus walking inside the museum. Travel from your accommodation is extra. The timings include breaks, but your children may want longer on the climbing frame.
With younger children, keep room for a nap and use the shorter options. Most stops are free; transport, meals and optional attractions need their own budget.
Getting into London before you start
Plan your first stop around your arrival station and accommodation. From Heathrow, the Heathrow Express runs to Paddington, while the Piccadilly line goes directly to Green Park. If you arrive at Paddington before check-in, you can leave your bags near Paddington Station and keep just a small day bag with you. Trains from Gatwick reach Victoria, within walking distance of Buckingham Palace.
From other airports or stations, check the complete journey to your first stop and add time for baggage collection. If you only reach central London after lunch, start with Westminster and the South Bank, and keep the museum for your full day.
Day one: Buckingham Palace to the South Bank
Buckingham Palace and a park break
Aim to reach Green Park or Victoria around 9.30 am. From either station, allow about 15 minutes to walk the 650–800 metres to Buckingham Palace, then spend around 20 minutes looking at the exterior. Children usually love spotting the guards in their tall bearskin hats.
If Changing the Guard is a priority, check the official schedule and shorten another part of the day to make room for waiting.
St James’s Park playground is about 300 metres from the palace. Give the children around 45 minutes for play and a snack, so they get something of their own choosing before more sightseeing.
Around 11 am, follow the paths towards Westminster, with a short detour beside the lake. Allow 30–35 minutes for approximately 1–1.3 km, including stops to watch the pelicans and ducks. Note the toilets on the park map before you leave.
If the children are tired or it’s raining, you could take bus 24 towards Royal Free Hospital from St James’s Park Station (stop SC) to Westminster Station / Parliament Square (stop A). Since you’ll still need to walk to the bus stop, it’s worth checking live departure times on the TfL website before leaving the park.
Big Ben and Westminster Bridge
Reach Parliament Square around 11.40 am for views of Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and the outside of Westminster Abbey.
Cross Westminster Bridge and follow The Queen’s Walk towards Jubilee Gardens. The walk is about 650 metres, but allow 20–25 minutes for crowds, crossings and photographs. Children can look for boats on the Thames while you take in the view back towards Parliament.
Lunch and playtime on the South Bank
Stop for lunch around 12.35 pm and allow nearly an hour to eat, sit down and use the toilet. The cafés and family-friendly restaurants around the Southbank Centre keep you on the route; on a dry day, a picnic on the lawns of Jubilee Gardens works just as well.
Afterwards, spend around 45 minutes at Jubilee Gardens playground, beside the London Eye, where children can watch the capsules turn. Nearby public toilets charge for entry. The Eye itself is an optional addition: if you book a ride, use part of this afternoon for the ride and its queue.
By about 2.15 pm, take a short riverside stroll towards the Southbank Centre and pause at a café. Foyer opening hours vary, so confirm them if you want to rest in the Royal Festival Hall. Finish around 3.30 pm near Waterloo and allow extra time to get back to your accommodation.
Day two: dinosaurs and Kensington Gardens
A morning at the Natural History Museum
Book a free general admission ticket for around 10 am. Arrive at South Kensington about half an hour earlier, allowing time to walk over, find your entrance and queue for security. The station is not step-free, so plan your route with TfL if you are travelling with a pushchair.
Give the museum about two hours and fifteen minutes. Look up at the blue whale skeleton in Hintze Hall, then head for the dinosaurs, which tend to be a favourite with children. Let them choose another gallery if there is time. Take a seated break between galleries; walking indoors still adds up. Some special exhibitions charge separately.
The Science Museum is an alternative if its collections appeal more to your family. Keep to one museum this morning and confirm which activities need separate tickets.
Lunch before the walk through Kensington Gardens
Take lunch around 12.15 pm and allow an hour, including a toilet stop. The museum’s T. rex Restaurant serves kids’ meals, or bring a packed lunch for the museum gardens. The indoor picnic area is often reserved for school groups at lunchtime on term-time weekdays. The next stretch is the longest walk between stops.
The Diana Memorial Playground is about 1.9 km from the Natural History Museum. Set aside 40–50 minutes with children, including a short rest in Kensington Gardens, and aim to arrive around 2 pm. If everyone is tired after the galleries, the museum’s own gardens offer a shorter outdoor stop before heading back.
An afternoon at the Diana Memorial Playground
The playground has a large play galleon to climb aboard, sand and an area for younger children. It is free, with adults admitted when accompanying children up to age 12. There may be a queue when it reaches capacity.
Closing times change with the seasons and can be as early as 3.45 pm in winter, so check before you go and keep it as an early-afternoon stop. If the queue would leave little time to play, spend some time in the surrounding gardens instead.
Leave around 3.15 pm. Queensway station is roughly 200 metres away; choose your onward connection according to your accommodation or departure station.
Adjusting the plan for your family
In wet weather, put the museum on the rainier day if tickets and opening times allow. You can spend longer there and leave out the playground. On the Westminster day, shorten the outdoor stops and bring forward a café break.
Carry water, snacks, layers and any essentials your children need. Ask your accommodation, or a nearby luggage storage spot, about keeping suitcases before check-in or after check-out. Opening notices change around holidays, so look them up before you travel.
On the Tube, up to four children under 11 can travel free with a fare-paying adult. Check child fares separately for airport trains and other National Rail journeys.
On departure day, work backwards from your train or flight, including bag collection and the arrival time your operator requires. Finishing after the museum and lunch may give you a much easier journey home.
Above all, leave room for the unplanned. The pelicans, the galleon or an extra half-hour on the swings may be what your children remember most, long after the landmarks blur together.
Read more: 20 Free Things to Do in London with Kids (2026 Guide for UK Families)