Tower Hill / City of London
Tower of London · Photo: [Duncan] from Nottingham, UK
A long morning at the Tower with the Crown Jewels, ravens and a Yeoman Warder tour, lunch overlooking the boats at St Katharine Docks, then a free lift up to a wisteria-covered roof garden and a stroll through a painted Victorian market known from the Harry Potter films.
Museum · 09:30–13:00 (3h30m)
Allow at least half a day. Join a Yeoman Warder tour early, then the Crown Jewels and the walls.
An indoor and outdoor museum in London.
Photo: [Duncan] from Nottingham, UK
13:10–14:10 (1h)
Calmer than Tower Hill for lunch; kids can look at the boats in the old dock basins.
A marina just east of Tower Bridge surrounded by cafes and restaurants, where kids can look at the boats moored in the old dock basins. It's a calmer place to eat than the Tower Hill crowds.
Photo: Panhard
Landmark · 14:30–15:15 (45m)
Free 15th-floor garden with views to the Tower and the Shard; no booking. Own picnic allowed (no glass); toilets not mentioned.
A free rooftop garden on the 15th floor of a City office block, with wisteria pergolas, a water feature and views towards the Tower and the Shard. No booking needed, so it's an easy add-on to a Tower of London morning.
Photo: fen-court.com
15:20–15:50 (30m)
Covered Victorian market with a painted glass roof. Free to walk through.
A Victorian covered market with a painted glass roof, home to cafes, pubs and restaurants and familiar to Harry Potter fans as a film location. It's a pretty spot to wander and grab lunch near the Tower, though many outlets keep City weekday hours.
Photo: Diliff
LondonCamden / King's Cross
Follow the Regent's Canal towpath from the moored boats of Little Venice past the edge of the zoo to Camden Lock, eat your way round the market, test the 50-metre zip wire at Gloucester Gate and finish among the converted coal stores at King's Cross. Best for confident walkers rather than buggies.
Regent's Canal Walk: Little Venice to Camden → Camden Market → Gloucester Gate Playground → Coal Drops Yard
LondonStratford / Hackney Wick
A morning of big playgrounds and riverside paths in the 2012 Olympic Park, a picnic, then two very different V&A spaces: the new East Bank museum and the Storehouse, a walk-through working store where you can peer into conservation studios. Free unless you add a paid venue in the park.
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park → V&A East Museum → V&A East Storehouse
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
