Thinking on coming to London in the last part of winter? The weather isn’t the best, but you should consider advantages like visiting on a budget as winter sales, reduced fares in many hotels and lots of museums and popular attractions to visit without crowd. And cold is an ideal excuse to enjoy a good and warm cup of tea!
There are a lot of things to do if you are a parents and you are coming to London with the family. As mum of a two years old boy, I have made a personal and strict selection of things to do for around 2:
Magical Lantern Festival at Chiswick House and Garden: you can enjoy the Chinese spirit at this second-year-festival with its beautifully sculpted lanterns. More information here. FROM JANUARY 19 TO FEBRUARY 26 | entry 5pm-10pm | 5-20£
South Bank Walking
Walking along the South river is one of my favorite things to do with children as there are no cars and lots of bar and restaurants to pop in for a sneak, for a meal or for any emergencies you can have when around with kids. There are also many must-to-see places like Tate Modern, Sea life Aquarium, London Eye, the borough market… and you can also admire the stunning skyline. I suggest to book every visit if you want to avoid queue and to check out on websites because there are always family events.
Imagine Children’s Festival @ Southbank Centre
In case it’s cold as in these days, in February you can stop at the Southbank center for a festival dedicated to kids with installations, workshops, music and readings, most of them for free. More information here | FROM FRIDAY 9 TO SUNDAY 19 OF FEBRUARY
National Gallery
It is always a good idea and there are also many activities for families, like The Magic Carpet Storytelling (Sunday mornings – booking required: stories which comes to land in front of a different painting) and the BabyJazz Easter Special (in March).
Horniman Museum
Horniman Museum is always worth-visiting as it is far from the touristic itineraries. There’s always something family friendly happening so you can just head down there knowing you’ll all have a great time. More info here | Open daily from 1030 – 1730
Science Museum and Wonderlab: The Statoil Gallery
Science Museum is one of my favorite, you can read more from our visit here.
The new entry of the museum is The Statoil Gallery: for £6 you can have a day-long access to Wonderlab, with its seven different zones and get hands on with real scientific phenomena.
With a range of rare breed animals and fun activities, Freightliners City Farm, is an exciting opportunity to experience a real working farm in action | Openings: Tuesday to Sunday: 10am – 4pm (Spring/Summer: 10am – 4.45pm). Closed on Mondays.
Bach to Baby concerts
Live performances while your toddlers and babies can move, shout and play. In different locations through London, they are the perfect way for spend one hour with classical music in beautiful places. Check out on the website where and when here.
Stars wars experience at Madame Tussauds Museum
Until 30 June 2017, at the famous museum you can see 11 immersive walk-in sets capturing iconic moments from the popular Star Wars films. The Museum’s ticket is quite expensive but you can book online buying two or more attractions to visit and pay less. More info here.
I hope this little guide will help you in case of coming to London in the upcoming months.
Thanks for reading
Francesca