Our London guide lists 15 places that suit a day out with children, most of them parks, gardens and open squares where you can slow down between the big sights. Several cluster along the Thames and around Covent Garden, which makes it easy to group them into a single walking day.
On the South Bank, Jubilee Gardens is a public park between the London Eye and the river, with lawns, flower beds, around 80 trees, seating and a children's playground. Across the Thames, the Victoria Embankment Gardens are a string of gardens on the north bank between Blackfriars Bridge and Westminster Bridge.
In Covent Garden, the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square is now a shopping and visitor area, and the London Transport Museum on the Piazza tells the story of the city's transport. Lincoln's Inn Fields in Holborn, laid out in the 1630s, is the largest public square in London.
For more open space, Hyde Park has the Serpentine. The guide also maps Bernie Spain Gardens (north and south parks), St. John's Church Gardens on Waterloo Road, Whitehall Garden and Tyburn Quay, and for a view over the City, Sky Garden and The Garden at 120, both on Fenchurch Street.
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15 places in our guide
1. Hyde Park
West End
Central park and Serpentine.
2. Covent Garden
West End
Market halls and theatres.
3. London Transport Museum
Covent Garden Piazza
The London Transport Museum (LTM) is a transport museum based in Covent Garden, London, England. The museum predominantly hosts exhibits relating to the heritage of London's transport, as well as conserving and explaining the history of it.
4. Covent Garden Market
London
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and with the Royal Opera House, itself known as "Covent Garden".
5. Victoria Embankment Gardens
Victoria Embankment
The Victoria Embankment Gardens are a series of gardens on the north side of the River Thames between Blackfriars Bridge and Westminster Bridge in London.
6. Jubilee Gardens
Belvedere Road
Jubilee Gardens is a public park on the South Bank in the London Borough of Lambeth located between the London Eye and the River Thames. The Gardens include lawns, flower beds, around 80 trees, seating areas and a children’s playground.
7. Lincoln's Inn Fields
London
Lincoln's Inn Fields is located in Holborn and is the largest public square in London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in developing London", as Sir Nikolaus Pevsner observes.
8. Sky Garden
Fenchurch Street
9. The Garden at 120
Fenchurch Street
10. Whitehall Garden
London
11. Tyburn Quay
London
12. Bernie Spain Gardens (North Park)
London
13. Bernie Spain Gardens
London
14. Bernie Spain Gardens (South Park)
London
15. St. John's Church Gardens
Waterloo Road
Questions travellers ask
- Where is there a children's playground in central London?
- Jubilee Gardens on the South Bank, between the London Eye and the Thames, has a children's playground as well as lawns and seating.
- Which London museum suits families with children?
- The London Transport Museum in Covent Garden, which shows the heritage and history of London's transport.
- Which parks and gardens are in the family guide?
- Hyde Park, Jubilee Gardens, the Victoria Embankment Gardens, Lincoln's Inn Fields, Bernie Spain Gardens, St. John's Church Gardens and Whitehall Garden, among others.
- Where can we see a view over London?
- Sky Garden and The Garden at 120, both on Fenchurch Street.
- How many family places does the London guide list?
- 15 places, from parks and squares to Covent Garden and the London Transport Museum.