Free Things To Do In London With Kids: Your Ultimate Guide

London with kids does not have to mean spending a small fortune. The capital has loads of genuinely free family days out, but the trick is knowing which ones are actually worth your time and which ones will leave you queuing for an hour with a restless seven-year-old.

Some places are brilliant but need booking in advance. Some are only partly free. Some sound great on paper, then turn into a long, crowded slog by lunchtime.

We’ve cut through all of that.

This guide covers free things to do in London with kids that are genuinely useful for families: from world-class museums and city farms to parks, playgrounds and a few quirky spots that feel a bit different. Every pick is actually free for general admission, and we’ve flagged the ones that need a bit of advance planning.

TL;DR: The Natural History Museum and British Museum are the big museum wins. For outdoor time, Regent’s Park and Crystal Palace Park Dinosaurs are hard to beat. For something different, Sky Garden (book ahead) and London Mithraeum are excellent. And for animal lovers, Mudchute Park and Farm is one of the best free days out in the whole city.

London’s national museums are free for everyone, all year round. That is genuinely one of the best things about visiting the capital with children, and it makes a huge difference when you’re planning a day out on a budget.

Natural History Museum

If you only pick one free museum in London with kids, this is the safest bet. It’s packed with family appeal and easy to build a proper day around, with dinosaurs, volcanoes, giant mammals and the famous blue whale skeleton named Hope in Hintze Hall.

Children who claim they hate museums tend to change their mind pretty fast once they’re face-to-face with a life-size T-Rex or trying out the earthquake simulator in the Volcanoes and Earthquakes gallery. According to the Natural History Museum’s own family pages, there are six free things to do across the galleries on any given visit, plus self-guided family tours and seasonal holiday activities.

• Open: daily 10am to 5:50pm (last entry 5:30pm), closed 24-26 December
• Entry: free (some special exhibitions are ticketed separately)
• Best for: ages 4 and up
• Book ahead: strongly recommended during school holidays and busy periods. Walk-ups are possible but waits can be longer.
• Good to know: the new gardens are worth exploring if the weather holds

British Museum

The British Museum is one of the best free educational days out in London, covering 13 million objects and thousands of years of world history. The key is going in with a plan rather than trying to see everything.

For families, the museum offers activity backpacks, explorer trails and Museum Missions across six galleries, all free to pick up from the Families Desk at weekends and school holidays. Under-5s have a dedicated Little Feet programme too.

According to the British Museum’s family visit page, advance free booking is recommended for priority entry during busy periods.

• Open: daily 10am to 5pm, Fridays until 8:30pm, closed 24-26 December
• Entry: free (some temporary exhibitions are ticketed)
• Best for: school-age children and tweens
• Good to know: works best as a focused 60 to 90 minute visit rather than an all-day marathon with little ones

Tate Modern and Tate Britain

Both Tate galleries offer free entry to permanent collections. Tate Modern on the South Bank has huge, dramatic contemporary art that tends to work well with older kids and teenagers. Tate Britain in Pimlico has older British artwork going back 500 years. Neither requires booking for general entry, and both are easy to combine with a riverside walk.

• Open: daily 10am to 6pm
• Entry: free (some exhibitions are ticketed)
• Best for: ages 7 and up, particularly for Tate Modern

Imperial War Museum

For an educational day out that genuinely holds children’s attention, the Imperial War Museum is excellent. The collection covers both World Wars in real depth, with aircraft, tanks and a recreated 1940s house that puts children right in the middle of wartime London.

• Open: daily 10am to 6pm
• Entry: free
• Best for: ages 7 and up

London has a surprising number of free city farms, and they’re brilliant for younger children who want to get close to animals without the full price tag of a farm attraction.

Mudchute Park and Farm

Mudchute is one of the strongest free picks in London for animal-loving families. Set across 32 acres on the Isle of Dogs, it’s one of the largest inner-city farms in Europe, with cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, donkeys, llamas, chickens, ducks, geese and an aviary.

The scale of it is genuinely surprising. You get that countryside feeling with the London skyline right behind you, which is an odd but brilliant contrast. The Mudchute Park and Farm listing has full details.

• Open: 9am to 4pm daily
• Entry: free
• Best for: toddlers to primary-age kids

Vauxhall City Farm

Vauxhall City Farm is one of the easiest central animal spots to slot into a London family day, especially with younger children. It’s manageable, approachable and works well as a shorter visit rather than the main event.

Important note: entry for groups of fewer than 10 people is donation-based rather than strictly free, so it’s still very budget-friendly but worth knowing before you go.

• Open: Tuesday to Sunday, 10:30am to 4pm (last entry 3:45pm)
• Entry: donation-based for smaller groups
• Best for: little ones and toddlers
• Good to know: groups of 10 or more must book ahead

Other London City Farms Worth Knowing

Several other free city farms are dotted across the capital:

Farm	Location	Entry
Hackney City Farm	Bethnal Green	Free
Spitalfields City Farm	East London	Free
Kentish Town City Farm	NW5	Free
Surrey Docks Farm	Rotherhithe	Free

All are genuinely free for general admission and work well for a relaxed morning or afternoon with younger children.

London’s parks are free, vast and genuinely excellent for families. They’re also often the best answer when you want a day out that feels flexible and low-pressure.

Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill

This is one of the easiest answers to “what can we do in London with kids for free if the weather’s decent?” Regent’s Park has the brilliant Marylebone Green Playground, with climbing frames, sandpits and three themed zones. There’s also a boating lake, an open-air theatre and over 12,000 roses in Queen Mary’s Garden.

The real bonus is Primrose Hill just next door. Walk up to the top and you get one of the best free views of the London skyline anywhere in the city. It’s a genuinely lovely combination for a family afternoon.

• Open: 7am to 9:30pm in summer, 7am to 4:30pm in winter
• Entry: free
• Best for: all ages

Princess Diana Memorial Playground

Set in Kensington Gardens, this is one of the most imaginative playgrounds in London. The centrepiece is a huge pirate ship with its own beach, surrounded by teepees, sensory trails and climbing areas designed for children of all abilities.

It’s best for under-12s and works brilliantly as a shorter visit rather than a full day out. Arrive early at weekends to avoid the busiest periods.

• Open: 10am to 7:45pm (seasonal variations apply)
• Entry: free
• Best for: under 12s

Crystal Palace Park Dinosaurs

This is one of the quirkiest free family attractions in London. The park is home to 30 full-scale dinosaur models built in 1854, the first of their kind ever created anywhere in the world. For dinosaur-obsessed children, it’s brilliant.

Treat it as a park-based outing rather than a polished attraction and you’ll have a great time. There’s plenty of open space to run around, and the dinosaurs are genuinely impressive up close.

• Open: 7:30am to 8:30pm
• Entry: free
• Best for: ages 3 and up

Hyde Park

Covering 350 acres, Hyde Park is one of London’s biggest and most famous open spaces. In summer, the Serpentine Lido and children’s pool are a big draw. There’s also Princess Diana’s Memorial Fountain, designated horse-riding routes and plenty of space for picnics, cycling and games.

• Open: 5am to midnight
• Entry: free
• Best for: all ages, especially in summer

Not every free London day out has to be a park or a museum. These picks feel a bit different and tend to stick in children’s memories for exactly that reason.

Sky Garden

If you want one of the best free views in London, Sky Garden is still a brilliant pick for families. Perched 525 feet up on the 35th floor of 20 Fenchurch Street, the highest public garden in the city offers panoramic views across the whole of London.

Kids usually love spotting famous landmarks from way up high, and it genuinely feels like a treat without a ticket price attached.

The planning bit matters here. According to the official Sky Garden booking page, free tickets are released weekly on Mondays and are available to book up to three weeks in advance. They go quickly. Entry is timed at one hour per visit, and children under 16 cannot enter after 6pm on weekdays or 9pm at weekends, so a daytime slot is the easy option for families.

• Open: weekdays 10am to 6pm, weekends 11am to 9pm
• Entry: free, but must be booked in advance
• Best for: ages 5 and up, especially kids who love spotting landmarks
• Good to know: book on a Monday morning for the best availability

London Mithraeum

This is one of the best left-field picks in London, and it’s genuinely unlike anything else on this list. Hidden beneath the Bloomberg building in the City, the London Mithraeum is a reconstructed Roman temple that was built around 240 AD and rediscovered during building work in 1954.

The experience is atmospheric, short and memorable. You descend below street level, watch a short immersive presentation in the darkened temple space, and explore over 600 Roman artefacts found on the site.

• Open: Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 6pm, Sunday 12pm to 5pm, closed Monday
• Entry: free, but booking a timeslot is advised
• Best for: older children, tweens and teens who enjoy history
• Good to know: the temple experience is around 15 minutes, so set expectations accordingly

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Built for the London 2012 Games, this is a great pick if your family just needs space and a playground rather than a structured attraction. The Tumbling Bay playground has rock pools, sandpits, treehouses, bridges and slides. In summer, the Urban Beach arrives at the park too.

• Open: dawn to dusk
• Entry: free
• Best for: all ages, especially active kids

The best free London family days usually pair one main attraction with one easy outdoor stop. Trying to fit in five “must-sees” in a single day almost always ends with shattered children and frustrated parents by 2pm.

Our Favourite Free Day Combinations

Main attraction	Pair it with
Natural History Museum	Kensington Gardens or Hyde Park
British Museum	A short walk through Bloomsbury or Covent Garden
Sky Garden	A riverside walk along the South Bank
Mudchute Park and Farm	Exploring Docklands or a picnic in the park
Crystal Palace Park Dinosaurs	Playground time in the wider park
Regent’s Park	Primrose Hill for views and a picnic

What Counts as Genuinely Free?

A genuinely free day out means you can visit the main attraction without paying general admission. That said, a few things are worth knowing:

• Book-ahead places like Sky Garden, the British Museum and the Natural History Museum can be frustrating if you just turn up on a peak day without a ticket. Free does not mean walk-in-whenever.
• Donation-based entry at Vauxhall City Farm means it’s still very budget-friendly, but it’s not quite the same as zero cost.
• Some attractions have paid extras inside, like special exhibitions at the museums or horse riding at Vauxhall City Farm. The core visit is free; some add-ons are not.

Best Ages for Each Type of Free Activity

Activity type	Best for
City farms	Toddlers and primary-age children
National museums	Ages 4 and up, with best value for school-age kids
Playgrounds and parks	All ages
Sky Garden and London Mithraeum	Ages 7 and up, best for older kids and tweens
Crystal Palace Park Dinosaurs	Ages 3 and up

The honest truth: the best free things to do in London with kids are not always the flashiest. They’re the ones that are genuinely free, easy enough to plan and actually enjoyable once you get there. That usually means a mix of big hitters like the Natural History Museum, practical winners like Princess Diana Memorial Playground, and a few different picks like London Mithraeum or Crystal Palace Park Dinosaurs.

If you want to keep costs down without ending up with a boring day, London gives you plenty to work with. You just need the right shortlist.

For more inspiration, browse our full guide to things to do in London with kids, or explore ideas on a budget across the UK.