Trafalgar Square / Covent Garden
The National Gallery · Photo: Diego Delso
A winter day in the West End: the National Gallery's family tours and drop-ins, present-hunting among toy theatres, a warming lunch in the crypt of St Martin-in-the-Fields, and an afternoon skate in the courtyard of Somerset House. Only for the skating season, 11 November to 10 January.
Museum · 10:00–11:45 (1h45m)
Family drop-ins and, from 27 Oct, family tours.
An indoor museum in London, aimed at ages 4 and up.
Photo: Diego Delso
12:00–12:30 (30m)
Traditional toyshop for small Christmas presents.
An old-fashioned toyshop upstairs in the Covent Garden Market building, known for its paper toy theatres and traditional wind-up and pocket-money toys. A fun ten-minute browse that pairs with the street performers in the piazza.
Food stop · 12:40–13:40 (1h)
Warm self-service lunch below the church.
A self-service cafe in the brick-vaulted crypt beneath St Martin-in-the-Fields church on Trafalgar Square, with old tombstones set into the floor. It has plenty of tables, buggy-friendly toilets and baby changing, which is rare this close to the National Gallery.
Illustrative photo: Ayodele Adeniyi on Unsplash
Museum · 14:00–15:30 (1h30m)
Skate aids for young children; or watch from the courtyard for free with a hot drink.
An outdoor museum in London.
Photo: Anthony O'Neil
15:40–16:30 (50m)
Finish with the piazza's street performers.
The historic market hall and cobbled piazza in the West End, where licensed street performers draw crowds through the day. Families tend to combine it with the London Transport Museum on the same square and a bite to eat in the surrounding streets.
Photo: coventgarden.london
LondonChelsea / South Kensington / Hyde Park
A hot-weather day built around water: ground-level jets in Duke of York Square, a paddle in the V&A's garden pool with a picnic, a rowing boat on the Serpentine and a long late-afternoon session on the pirate ship playground, which stays open into the evening in summer.
Duke of York Square → Victoria and Albert Museum → Hyde Park Boating on the Serpentine → Serpentine Bar & Kitchen + 1 more
LondonAbbey Wood
A one-date special: fossil hunting and abbey ruins in Lesnes Abbey Woods in the morning, then the ornate Victorian pumping station at Crossness with its giant beam engines in steam for the Christmas Steaming Day. Great for engine-mad and history-minded children.
Lesnes Abbey Woods → Crossness Pumping Station
LondonSouth Kensington / Hyde Park
A morning with the dinosaurs, then a walk up into Hyde Park for lunch by the Serpentine, half an hour in a rowing boat or pedalo, and an afternoon on the pirate galleon in Kensington Gardens. A good shape for a dry day with under-8s who need to burn energy after a museum.
The Natural History Museum → Serpentine Bar & Kitchen → Hyde Park Boating on the Serpentine → Diana Memorial Playground
