London With Kids

London With Kids

Education Without Yawns

Natural History Museum. It doesn't get much more awe-inspiring than bloodsucking bats, fake earthquakes, and a life-size blue whale. Just make sure you know your diplodocus from your dodo.

Regent's Park Zoo. City? What city? Disappear into the animal kingdom among the enclosures, complete with sessions for kids afraid of spiders (even bird-eating ones!).

Tower of London. Perfect for playing princess in front of the crown jewels. Not so perfect for imagining what becomes of the fairy tale—watch your royal necks.

Science Museum. Special effects, virtual voyages, and interactive galleries: delving into mankind's scientific achievement has never been more hands-on or fun.

V&A Museum. Decorative arts might sound a bit too sophisticated, but weekends at the museum are all set up for children under 12, with activities like metal detecting and interactive murder mysteries.

London Dungeons. Gore galore plunges you into murky depths of history, with gruesome rides and special effects scary enough to frighten the coolest of cats.

Performances

Applaud street performers. You can't beat the cacophony of jugglers, fire-eaters, unicyclists, and the human statues tantalizing crowds in Covent Garden.

Enjoy Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. Welcome to the land of fairy dust and magic. Don't miss an evening performance under the stars of A Midsummer Night's Dreamin summer.

Watch films in 3-D. So they just want to watch television? Blow their minds with the IMAX cinema, Britain's largest screen, which plays fantastical 3-D films to audiences bespectacled in green-and-red glasses.

Sing along to musicals. Move over, Broadway: you can't beat a song and dance number from London's West End.

Activities

Ride the London Eye. Ferris wheel-loving kids will think they've hit the mother lode when they see Europe's biggest observation wheel.

Climb Monument. Those 311 steps up London's tribute to the Great Fire of 1666 are perfect for tiring out hyperactive kids, and the panorama from the top is well worth the climb.

Clamber on the lions. Challenge your child to pick a perch in Trafalgar Square, the capital's tourist hot spot, and climb one of the four tall stone lions at the foot of Nelson's column.

Cruise the Thames. The view from the river puts an entirely different perspective on the city.

Paddle on the Serpentine. Pack a picnic and take a rowboat out into the middle of Hyde Park's famed lake; settle back, and tuck in to lunch.

Lose your kids at Hampton Court. It might be more than 300 years old, but the quest to reach the middle of the world-famous hedge maze remains as challenging as ever.