3 Days in London with a Toddler: A Realistic Itinerary + Tips & Map
We’ve visited London twice now, each time with toddlers in tow. Our first trip was with a 3-year-old and a 6-month-old, and on our second trip, the kids were 5 years old and 2 years old.
Our first trip to London with a toddler and a baby was our first big ‘city break’ with two kids and we definitely learned a lot from it (aka it was a bit of a bust).
We took what we learned from that first trip, plus our following trip to Paris with a toddler, and our second time back to London was MUCH smoother.
This post is here to give you some of the things we learned the first time around to (hopefully) help you not make the same mistakes we did!
Traveling to London with young kids can be quite tiring- but if you plan it right, you can still have a great time.
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Is it possible to visit London with a toddler or London with a baby?
Yes! It’s definitely possible to visit London with a toddler and/or young kids. However, keep in mind that it will take a lot of extra planning, patience, and a realistic itinerary focused on your kids’ needs.
Taking a city break with babies in London is pretty easy since babies are pretty much content getting toted around anywhere you want to go (things may just take a bit longer than when you traveled pre-baby).
However, once your kids start walking, talking, running (and having opinions) city breaks become a bit more complicated.
Playgrounds need to be included in your London with kids itinerary and an effort really needs to be made to curate your activities towards things that they will enjoy. If you don’t, your trip will feel stressful and tiring (trust me, been there & done that).
WHERE TO STAY on a Family Trip in London
One downside about visiting London as a family is that lodging is EXPENSIVE. Which, I guess is to be expected as London is a huge & popular city.
When we travel, we almost always stay in an Airbnb with a kitchen or an apartment hotel. This is so we can make breakfast, easily pack lunches/snacks, and sometimes cook dinners. This doesn’t mean we never eat out, but we don’t eat out often with young kids.
If you have the budget, I’d recommend booking accommodations as close to the London city center or near one of the things you plan to see (think near Tower Bridge or Buckingham Palace).
Choosing a central location will help cut down your commute time in and out of the city each day (which can get old with a stroller and young kids).
We stayed at the London Adagio Stratford Apartment Hotel and it was great. However, it’s a bit out of the city and I would have loved to be more central.
But as far as hotels go, it’s in a quiet, safe area right across the street from public transit. Plus, London Adagio has a full kitchen and a separate bedroom which is so nice when traveling as a family. Plus, if you don’t want to cook you can also purchase an optional breakfast.
Are 3 DAYS IN London with toddlers ENOUGH?
I think 3 days in London is the perfect amount of time for traveling in London with a toddler. And let me tell you why. Obviously, traveling in any big city for just 2-3 days, you aren’t going to see everything. But family travel isn’t about seeing EVERYTHING.
Family travel is about seeing new things and having fun as a family (and avoiding as many meltdowns along the way as possible).
We like to do 2-3 days max of city travel with our toddlers and young kids because they seem to get extra stimulated and tired in the city and any day past 3 days starts feeling like we are pushing them too hard.
The traffic, people, buildings, and loud sounds just affect them more than we sometimes realize.
Many times when we do city travel, we try to split it up with time in the city and another destination nearby. For example, when we went to Paris with a toddler but then split our time by going to Disneyland Paris for a couple of days and a few days in central Paris.
Or when we visited Edinburgh, Scotland with our kids, we spent the majority of our trip road-tripping the Isle of Skye, Scotland with just two days in the city of Edinburgh.
How to Get around London with a Stroller:
Maybe this was obvious, but I hadn’t realized how HUGE London is. What London being huge means for you is that many of the sites you want to see may not be right near each other and they are probably not within walking distance.
This means you’ll be using a lot of public transportation including the London bus system and the London Underground.
Personally, I find taking the London Underground with a stroller and small kids the LEAST fun thing about visiting London. Some of the stations have elevators, some do not and some of the stations have escalators while some stations only have stairs (and we are talking levels and levels and levels of stairs/ escalators).
We joke that on our first trip to London, we spent more time inside an elevator in the London Underground than we spent doing anything else 😅. So here are some things to know to help you have a smooth time traveling with a stroller in London:
- Bring comfortable and cozy easy-to-fold, and easy-to-push strollers. If you only have one kiddo in a stroller I highly recommend the Zoe Traveler. It’s comfy, cozy, super fast to fold, and it even fits in overhead bins on airplanes. If you need a double stroller, check out my review for the Zoe Double Stroller. It rides smooth as butter and fits through doorways! We’ve used both of these strollers all over Europe.
- No need to buy tickets ahead of time for public transit with Central London. Just tap on and off the Underground with your contactless debit/credit card. If going on a bus you just need to tap on (not off). Children under 11 go free with a fare-paying adult (up to 4 kids per adult). You can also purchase ahead of time the Visitor Oyster Card which is similar to just tapping on and off with your contactless card. Learn more about payment options here.
- We always use Google Maps to help us map our journey. Put your destination into Google Maps and then select ‘directions’ followed by the little picture of the train which will give you public transit options. Keep in mind you will need cellular data to be able to do this- check with your provider before you leave for international plans or purchase an inexpensive E-Sim card like Airalo.
- If possible, choose to take the bus over the Underground with a stroller. In our opinion, taking the bus in big cities is far superior to taking underground metros. It is SO much nicer to stand on the side of the road and push your stroller onto the bus via the big back doors made for strollers/wheelchairs than it is to navigate stairs/elevators multiple levels underground. Sometimes the bus routes take the same amount of time, and sometimes they will take much longer, but if it’s a close call time-wise as to which is faster, we ALWAYS choose the bus.
- We try to pick the public transit options with the LEAST amount of transfers. Even if it says it will take less time, we choose the one where we are not taking multiple undergrounds. Transferring with little kids and a stroller just takes more time than you think.
- Keep big bags out of the bottom of your stroller so that it’s easy and fast to fold if the Underground station you are at doesn’t have an elevator.
- If you have a little one not in a stroller, be sure to hold their hand in the station as there are a lot of people to get lost in and a lot of different routes they could take if they ran off ahead of you. Plus, you’ll obviously want to help them stay far from the edge of the train platform.
MAP OF THINGS TO DO IN London WITH a Toddler & Young Kids
*Use this interactive map to see the things to do in London for toddlers in 3 days. Blue icons are on day one, yellow icons are on day two and green icons are on day three. Click on the full-screen icon in the top right corner to have this map open in your own GoogleMaps app*
3-Day London Itinerary for Families at a Glance:
Day One:
- Crown Jewels and Armoury @ the Tower of London
- Snap a Pic with The Tower Bridge
- Boat Ride with Activity Book on the Thames
- Snap a Pic with Big Ben
- London Eye (Optional)
- Playground Near the London Eye
- Pick Up a Delicious Treat From Gail’s Bakery
Day Two:
- Explore the Natural History Museum
- Play @ St. James Park Playground Near Buckingham Palace
- Walk Past Buckingham Palace
Day Three:
- Family Sword-Fighting Demonstration at Shakespeare’s Globe Theater
- Pick up a treat at Borough Market
- Family-Friendly West End Show
In-Depth 3 Day London Family Itinerary :
Day One in London as a Family:
This day of the London itinerary with a toddler looks bigger than it is. It’s definitely a full day, but a few of the ‘stops’ are just photo ops as you make your way to the next real stop on the itinerary. We’ve done this exact itinerary day with our toddlers in London and it was lovely.
1. Marvel at the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London
The Tower of London has a bit of a confusing name that makes it sound like one tower. However, it’s actually a castle/fortress complex that is almost 1,000 years old! Be sure to book tickets ahead of time here because they do sell out-especially during the peak summer season.
Entrance tickets do include a free, large group tour but it was way too much information and too slow for our young ones to enjoy. However, if you do love a good tour- look into this Private Tower of London Tour for Kids & Families (it has amazing reviews).
We booked our time slot ahead of time and chose an 11 am time slot to allow us time to get up and going and there in time. You can book tickets ahead of time here.
We prefer booked reservations to be the first thing we do during the day because you never know what the kids will be up for later in the day.
Our main reason for visiting the Tower of London was because our kids were very interested in seeing the large Crown Jewels exhibit. The Royal Crown Jewels have been kept safe and on display at the Tower of London since the 1600s!
It takes about an hour total to see the Crown Jewels (which includes waiting in a fast-moving line during peak season). And even though the Tower of London was quite crowded while we were there, people flowed through the Crown Jewel exhibit nicely and our kids were able to see everything.
At the end of the exhibit is a moving sidewalk that goes past multiple crowns and you can loop back to ride the moving sidewalk as many times as you please. I think we rode the moving sidewalk looking at the jewels with our 2-year-old probably five times-it was his favorite part.
Unfortunately, you can’t take pictures within the Crown Jewel exhibit, but we all really enjoyed it. Our 2-year-old and 5-year-old made connections about coronations and crown jewels etc. from different shows and movies they watch like Frozen and were excited to see the things in real life.
There are also Royal Guards guarding the crown jewel exhibit which our kids loved watching. There are also ‘old-timey’ guards (often called Beefeaters) you can talk to and ask questions (our kids love asking questions at places like this).
Plus there were others dressed up in period costumes who engaged with our kids and told stories.
The other part of the Tower of London that we spent the most time was the Tower Armouries which has a lot of armour and weapons on display with some interactive kids activities. There are a lot of stairs in this tower (no strollers allowed) but our kids did all the stairs like champs.
There are many other areas you can see at the Tower of London, but we left after those two areas as hours had passed, we had seen a lot and our kids were ready to move on to the next thing.
As far as food goes, we brought along some sandwiches in our bag that we ate at the Tower of London and had plenty of snacks packed for the boat ride later.
Whenever I’d heard about the Tower of London, I’d always heard about the ‘Bloody Tower’ which focuses on the prison and executions at the Tower of London so I thought it wasn’t really a family-friendly spot. However, we just skipped that area and enjoyed seeing the other things the Tower has to offer!
You can book your Tower of London entrance tickets here or book a private, kids-focused tour of the Tower of London here.
2. Snap a Pic with the Tower Bridge
Another nice thing about visiting the Tower of London is that it is RIGHT next to the Tower Bridge. I love the Tower Bridge- it’s one of my favorite things to see in London.
You can get some pretty views of the Tower Bridge from within the Tower of London and also the exit of the Tower of London spits you out right on the Thames with great views of the bridge.
Honestly, the views from outside of the Tower of London are pretty great, but you can also go walk up onto the bridge if the kids have energy for that. We’ve done it both ways. We’ve walked across the bridge, but we’ve also just enjoyed the views from the Tower of London.
3. Enjoy a Relaxing Boat ride on the River Thames (with an activity book)
Our favorite part of the day (read most relaxing and quiet) was taking this one-way River Thames sightseeing cruise from the Tower of London to Westminster.
The pier where you dock is located RIGHT outside the Tower of London and it drops you off on the other side of London RIGHT next to Big Ben.
The trip is about 40 minutes long and is such a relaxing way to travel from one end of London to the other with kids.
We saw multiple iconic London sites, and the guided commentary was really great.
This is one of the best *easy* things to add to your London family itinerary. Not only did we love it, but our kids loved it too.
Before our trip, we printed off some children’s activity pages from the tour company’s website (like a bridge and building scavenger hunt, information about sites, and more).
Our 5-year-old loved it (our other one napped the entire boat ride, but I’m sure he would have loved it too 🤪).
You can download the activity pages for the boat tour here.
You’ll also want to make sure you book tickets ahead of time for the sightseeing cruise, as they can sell out. You can book the tickets here. To copy what we did, choose the Tower Pier to Westminster itinerary.
🛥️✨CLICK HERE TO CHECK PRICING AND AVAILABILITY FOR THE FAMILY-FRIENDLY RIVER THAMES BOAT TOUR!🛥️✨
4. Snap a Pic with Big Ben and Cross Westminster Bridge
The River Thames Sightseeing Cruise I mentioned drops you off at Westminster Pier right at the base of Big Ben & the Parliament Building.
This makes it perfect for a quick photo op as you cross the Westminster Bridge over to the playground located next to the London Eye (the last stop for the day).
We picked up some (overpriced) but much-needed ice cream plus a shockingly delicious and affordable hot dog from a couple of different street vendors on Westminster Bridge.
Westminster Bridge can be quite crowded with tourists, but the further across you get the less crowded it is. There can also be a lot of ‘street performers’ aka scammers trying to get people to play the game where you find the ball hidden under the cups that they move around. Just ignore them and keep on moving ;).
5. Play at the Jubilee Gardens Play Area with Views of the London Eye
One of the best things to do in London with toddlers is to visit some of the great playgrounds near top tourist sites.
The Jubilee Gardens Play Area is an amazing playground located right near the base of the London Eye and your kids are sure to love it.
It’s a large playground with engaging play areas for kids of all ages. Both our 2-year-old and our 5-year-old had a blast.
We stayed for about an hour, but could have stayed much longer. Another plus about this playground is that there’s a toilet just a short walk away along the water.
You can find the Jubilee Gardens Play Area on Google Maps here.
If you’re feeling hungry, there is a delicious bakery called Gail’s Bakery nearby with both sweet and savoury options. More on that below.
6. Take a ride on the London Eye (if you still have energy…we didn’t)
If you happen to have time and energy for a ride on the London Eye– now is the time to do it as you are RIGHT next to it and won’t be venturing back this way again in this itinerary.
We haven’t ridden the London Eye as we just weren’t up for it by the end of the day, but I’ve heard it’s worth it.
The London Eye is a huge 135m (443 ft) tall Ferris wheel located along the River Thames. It takes 30 minutes for the full rotation and offers amazing 360-degree views of Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament and the Greater London area.
Each pod on the London Eye holds 25 people and the pods don’t rock back and forth (like some smaller Ferris wheel capsules do).
You can book standard tickets in advance here or skip-the-line tickets here.
7. Pick up food/treats from Gail’s Bakery
Gail’s Bakery is a super cute and super tasty bakery just a couple minute walk from The Jubilee Gardens Playground. They have locations all over London, but this is the one that fits best with this itinerary.
If you’re hungry while playing at the playground, you could go pick up some food to bring back to the park or do what we did and pick some up on the way to the Underground to eat on our commute back home for the night.
They have both savoury and sweet options and it was so good- I highly recommend. You can pick from sandwiches, quiche, toasts, buns, cookies and a bunch of other amazing things.
Day Two in London as a Family:
1. Explore the Natural History Museum
London can be quite expensive to visit, but one nice thing is that many of the museums in London are FREE. This includes the London Natural History Museum. Although the museum is free, you will still want to book a timeslot in advance as it does fill up. You can do that here.
The Natural History Museum has some really lovely exhibits featuring dinosaur fossils (including things found by Mary Anning) and dinosaur models. Plus loads of taxidermied animals and my favorite which is a giant hanging skeleton of a blue whale you can walk underneath.
The Natural History Museum also has shops and cafes inside with great options for kids plus gardens to explore outside.
One thing the Natural History Museum is missing that I wish it had are some themed play areas. At times it felt a little tough to hold our kids’ attention, but overall I’d say they enjoyed it.
However, if you do really want to keep your kids engaged, you can book this Private, Family-Friendly Natural History Museum/Dinosaur Tour that has outstanding reviews. It seems like an awesome way to have fun as a whole family and enjoy the museum.
Check out this Private, Family-Friendly London Natural History Museum Tour (perfect for kids!).
If you really want to do a tea time while in London, I’d look into this dinosaur-themed tea time located near the Natural History Museum. We haven’t done this specific one, but it looks like a much more kid-friendly option than the tea time we did on a previous trip to London with kids.
2. Play @ St. James Park Playground Near Buckingham Palace
A great stop after the Natural History Museum to get some wiggles out is to head over to the St. James Park Playground near Buckingham Palace.
St. James Park is a beautiful green area surrounding a small lake just across the street from Buckingham Palace. It’s great for bird & critter watching, taking a stroll, and playing at the playground (all while getting sneak peeks of Buckingham Palace).
We love playgrounds like this that are close to top tourist sites I even have an entire list of top playgrounds in Paris near famous sites if you are headed to Paris on the same trip).
This playground at St. James Park is one of our favorite stops in London because the area is so peaceful and the kids have so much fun (plus you’re just a quick walk away from seeing Buckingham Palace).
The playground offers lots of great play opportunities for kids of all ages with sand play, climbing structures, slides, and our daughter’s favorite which was like a trampoline mixed with a piano.
You can find the location for St. James Park Playground on Google Maps here.
3. Snap a Pic with Buckingham Palace
You of course can’t visit London without seeing Buckingham Palace. And the great thing about this itinerary is that after doing two fun things for your kids, you just have a short walk for a quick photo op in front of Buckingham Palace.
Buckingham Palace is one of three official royal residences Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
You can of course see the royal guards here and just enjoy walking around the area. If you choose to tour Buckingham Palace, be sure to visit the Family Pavilion in the Palace Garden with all sorts of activities for children (open during the summer months).
Day Three in London as a Family:
1. Family Sword Fighting Demonstration at Shakespeare’s Globe Theater
If you thought visiting Shakespeare’s Globe Theater was only for adults, think again! The Globe Theater offers many family-friendly experiences/shows/events including a 45-minute sword fighting demonstration for families where you can learn all about the different swords used during Shakespeare’s time plus have an opportunity to touch the swords.
We haven’t done this experience yet, but it’s high on our list and both our little kiddos (5-year-old and 2-year-old) are very interested in it (based on videos we’ve shown them of the experience).
Check out the other family-friendly experiences at Shakespeare’s Globe Theater here.
2. Pick up a Tasty Treat at Borough Market
Borough Market is a lovely open-air food market with hundreds of years of history just an 8-minute walk from the Globe Theater. The market features stalls/traders with all different kinds of foods, treats, fresh produce and other goods.
It’s quite a large market, so you may want to peruse their website first to see if there are any specific stalls of interest to you. You can check out their current stalls here.
The market can get EXTREMELY busy around lunchtime (especially on the weekends) so I recommend swinging by out of peak hours (it can be a bit miserable pushing a stroller around the crowds of people during peak hours).
We have found it nicest (when visiting with kids) to explore and pick up treats/snacks rather than full meals because it can just be a bit much trying to navigate the area (unless you luck out on a really not crowded day).
We visited once just a bit before closing and it was really quiet, however, just don’t go too late as some of the stalls start closing a little early.
There is extremely limited seating at Borough Market, however, there is one area with grandstand-type seating with tables at the top. You can find that sitting area on Google Maps here (it can be easily missed depending on your route through the market).
Check the current opening hours of Borough Market here (keep in mind it is closed on Mondays) and is generally open from 9/10 am to 4/5 pm depending on the day.
3. Attend a Family-Friendly West End Show
One of the most iconic things to do in London is to attend a production in the West End. However, seeing a production in the West End can be a bit tricky when visiting London with young kids because of certain age requirements for some shows.
The London Theatre website has a great family & kids page that gives an overview of the family-friendly productions currently on in the West End. Many shows require kids to be aged 6+ with children under 3 years old not permitted.
However, there are many shows created just for children that are shorter in length than a typical West End show plus kids (including toddlers and babies) are permitted.
You can find a lot of these shows if you scroll down to the ‘Children’s Book Adaptations’ section on the London Theatre website.
If you have some older kids and some younger kids on your family trip to London, you could also always split up and have some of the family go to a show for older kids while the others stay back and do a different fun thing (or let’s be honest…probably go to bed).
TIPS & THINGS TO KNOW FOR VISITING London WITH A TODDLER or London with a Baby:
- Bring a great, easy-to-fold, comfortable, and smooth stroller. We love our Zoe Traveler for a single stroller and our Zoe Double if you need room for two. We’ve used both extensively all over Europe.
- We always, always, always pack a baby carrier and/or toddler carrier even if we don’t think we will use it. Because chances are we end up using it. Our favorite brand is Baby Tula. You can check out my Tula Toddler Carrier review for all the reasons we love Tula. They have carriers for infants all the way to preschoolers.
- Focus on 1-2 main things you want to see and or do each day with your toddlers in London and be happy if you end up doing more than that.
- We always pack a lunch with us plus bring plenty of snacks even if we think we are going to pick up food while we are out. You never know when your kids are going to get hungry and if they get hungry and you have no food, it’s game over (or if we as parents start getting hangry it’s also game over 😅).
- Choose taking the bus over taking the Underground if there is not a huge discrepancy in travel time.
- Let your kids explore, look at souvenirs, be curious and ask questions. Remember that this is their family vacation in London too and let them experience it without always being herded around.
- If you’re traveling from somewhere like the US where you are dealing with hours and hours of a time difference, you may want to have the first full day be mostly a recovery day without much planned other than exploring the local area around your accommodations.
- Say yes to ice cream and bakeries. Everyone needs a good pick-me-up.
Additional THINGS TO DO for Toddlers in London and things to do in London with kids:
- Enjoy a traditional afternoon tea time (if we did a tea time again, I’d pick this dinosaur-themed tea time for children near the Natural History Museum)
- Watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace (this family walking tour includes seeing the changing of the guard depending on the day)
- Take a Private Family Bike Tour of London (infant seats and tag-a-long bike attachments available). This is top of our list for our next visit to London with young kids
- Visit the London Transport Museum (think trains, busses, etc)
- Learn about London on a family-oriented 3-hour walking tour including games and activities for the kids
- Play at the Princess Diana Memorial Playground near Kensington Palace
- Enjoy the (free) views from Sky Garden (tix must be booked in advance online during a very specific time frame)
- Rental paddle boats in Hyde Park
- Swing by the massive LEGO store in Leicester Square (there is even a LEGO-built Big Ben in the shop)
- See sets and props from the Harry Potter films at the Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studio Tour (these tickets include roundtrip bus transfers as the public transit to get to the studio is a bit involved). We haven’t taken our young kids, but I have friends who have taken kids as young as three.
- Book a Harry Potter filming locations Tour in London for Families and Kids (probably better if you have some older kids that will enjoy this)
Check out these other posts, I know you’ll love them:
- The Ultimate Guide to Visiting Paris with a Toddler: Things to Do + Top Tips
- 21 Best Things to Do in Edinburgh With Kids + Top Tips
- The Ultimate Guide to the Isle of Skye with Kids: 21+ Things to Do & Top Tips
And that’s everything I think you need to know about things to do in London for toddlers and how to have an amazing time with your babies in London.
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