Best Things to Do with Kids in London This Week (1-7 June 2026)

The May half-term crowds have gone home, which makes early June one of the best-kept secrets for a family day out in London. The big attractions are quieter, the weather is turning, and this week brings a genuinely brilliant free science festival on top of the city's permanent family favourites. Here is our pick of what to do with the kids this week, 1 to 7 June, balancing the things worth booking with the many that cost nothing at all.

Free family things happening this week

You can fill most of a weekend without spending anything. These are all free and genuinely good with children in tow.

• Great Exhibition Road Festival (Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June). The week's best free family day, hands down. South Kensington's museums spill out onto a traffic-free Exhibition Road with hundreds of free hands-on activities, live science shows, a giant-puppet parade, robot football and a seven-tonne sand Crystal Palace. Suitable for all ages, no ticket needed.
• World Ocean Day at the National Maritime Museum (Saturday 7 June). Free celebrations in Greenwich with ocean experts, science shows, games and craft activities, with creatures from sperm whales to deep-sea monsters. A lovely pairing with a run around Greenwich Park afterwards.
• The Science Museum's Space Show (weekends). A free family spectacular where Mission Control has a problem and the audience helps solve it, with several showings across the day. The wider museum is free too.
• HMS Belfast: Seek the Seahorse (weekends). Families can hunt for hidden seahorses around the ship and design their own crest in the activity room, included with entry to the Thames-moored warship.

The best family days out to book

For the bigger set-piece days, here is where the money goes furthest this week, with live prices checked on Wednesday morning. Booking ahead almost always beats turning up, and quieter early-June weekdays tend to have the best availability.

• London Zoo, from £35. The classic London family day, from the gorillas and giraffes to the penguin beach and the new tiger territory, right inside Regent's Park.
• SEA LIFE London Aquarium, from £28. Sharks, rays and a glass walkway over the tank, on the South Bank right next to the London Eye, so easy to pair the two.
• Harry Potter Studio Tour, from £45. The real sets, costumes and the Hogwarts Express just outside London, the single best day out for Potter-mad children. Allow most of a day.
• The London Eye, from £29. Thirty minutes and the whole city laid out below, a guaranteed hit with younger ones and a gentle introduction to the skyline.
• Kew Gardens, from £25. Acres of space to run, the treetop walkway and the Children's Garden, a brilliant warm-weather option with a picnic.
• London Transport Museum, from £27. Climb aboard old buses, tubes and trams in Covent Garden, with one of the city's best play areas for under-sevens.

Booking through tickadoo, you see live ticket prices rather than one headline number, and members save more every time with tickadoo+, which adds up quickly across a family of four.

Family shows worth a ticket

If you fancy an afternoon in the West End, the family musicals are all playing this week. Matilda The Musical, from £25, is the perfect first show for primary-age children, while The Lion King, from £43.75, is the one most families travel for. Paddington the Musical, a seven-time Olivier winner at the Savoy, is the gentlest pick for younger ones.

Free family museums any day

When the weather turns, London's free museums are a parent's best friend. The Natural History Museum (the dinosaurs and the blue whale) and the Science Museum sit side by side in South Kensington and are free every day. Over in Bethnal Green, the Young V&A is a museum designed entirely for children, with hands-on galleries and a brilliant play space, also free. The British Museum rounds out the list for older, curious kids. Further out, the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill is free too, with a natural history gallery, an animal walk and gardens with a view across London.

Free outdoor and city farms for families

London hides a surprising amount of free outdoor fun for children. The Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens, with its giant wooden pirate ship, is one of the best free playgrounds in the country. Coram's Fields near Russell Square is a seven-acre park and playground where no adult is admitted without a child, and it has a small city farm of its own. London's city farms are free and a genuine hit with little ones, from Mudchute on the Isle of Dogs, one of the largest urban farms in Europe, to Hackney City Farm and Vauxhall City Farm. Add Hampstead Heath for space to run and paddle, and you have several free days sorted.

A quick guide by age

• Under fives: the Young V&A, the Diana Memorial Playground, the city farms, and the London Transport Museum's play area.
• Primary age: the Great Exhibition Road Festival, London Zoo, the Natural History Museum dinosaurs, and Matilda for a first show.
• Older kids and teens: the Harry Potter Studio Tour, the London Eye, the Science Museum, and the Postal Museum's Mail Rail ride beneath the city streets.

Planning a family day out

A few things make a London family day easier. Children under 11 travel free on the tube, DLR and buses when they are with a fare-paying adult, so a day of hopping between attractions costs the grown-ups only. Book the big-ticket attractions ahead rather than queuing on the door, and aim for weekday or early slots in term time, when the crowds are thinnest, early June is one of the quietest windows of the whole year.

Build the day around one paid highlight plus something free nearby, the city makes that easy. The London Eye and the SEA LIFE Aquarium sit side by side on the South Bank, the zoo backs onto Regent's Park, and the South Kensington museums are a five-minute walk apart. Pack a picnic for the parks and the festival, keep a rainy-day museum in your back pocket, and you have a plan that flexes with the weather. Most major attractions are buggy-friendly with baby-change facilities, and a refillable water bottle saves a small fortune over a long day.

A perfect family Saturday this week

Start free at the Great Exhibition Road Festival, then step into the Natural History Museum next door (also free) for the dinosaurs. After lunch, take the tube to the South Bank for the London Eye and the SEA LIFE Aquarium, two big hits side by side. A day that mixes the free and the unforgettable. If you would rather stay in one area, South Kensington alone can fill a whole day: the Great Exhibition Road Festival, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum and the V&A are all within a few minutes of each other, and all but the festival are there every day of the year.

Frequently asked questions

What free things can you do with kids in London this week?

The Great Exhibition Road Festival (Saturday and Sunday) is the standout, with hundreds of free hands-on activities. The National Maritime Museum runs free World Ocean Day celebrations on Saturday, and the Science Museum's free Space Show runs at weekends.

What is the best family attraction in London?

It depends on the age, but London Zoo (from £35), the Harry Potter Studio Tour (from £45) and the London Eye (from £29) are the perennial family favourites, all bookable now.

What is a good first West End show for children?

Matilda The Musical, from £25, is the ideal first show for primary-age children. The Lion King, from £43.75, is the big family favourite, and Paddington suits younger ones.

Which London museums are free for families?

The Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, the Young V&A and the British Museum are all free every day, and all are excellent with children.

Is the Great Exhibition Road Festival good for kids?

Yes, it is one of the best free family events of the year, with hands-on science, performances and activities aimed squarely at children, on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June.

How much does a family day out in London cost?

It varies hugely. A day built around the free museums and parks can cost nothing beyond lunch, while a big-ticket attraction such as the Harry Potter Studio Tour will be the main spend. Mixing one paid highlight with free options nearby keeps a family day affordable, and children under 11 travel free on public transport with a fare-paying adult.

For everything else on in the city this week, see our guide to what is on in London this week, or browse family attractions at tickadoo.