London with a 4 year old

Our daughter enjoyed the British Museum(for brief periods of time), the Natural History Museum, the Tower of London(the first photo she ever took was of a Beefeater), and most importantly, the grocery store near the Tube Station where I bribed her with Skittles for the 10 block walk back to our apt. I assume your child will have his/her own small rollaboard and backpack? Our daughter really enloyed coloring books while on the plane.

Our grandson of that age really liked the playground in St. James Park, the Natural History Museum (dinosaurs and the butterfly house they had at that time), the Science Museum, and visiting Kew Gardens, especially the peacocks. He had little interest in the Transport Museum.

The Steam Museum at Kew Bridge has a mini steam train that he can ride on - it isn’t always open, so check its website. My godson loved the Transport Museum at that age, so I think it depends on whether your child likes trains

Tate Modern is great for young children. They offer activity packs and generally have a children’s art activity running during school holidays. You can then explore the South Bank which has street entertainers that young children enjoy. If you’re able to walk all the way along to the London Eye there’s a playground there. The Southbank Centre frequently runs family friendly activities and has shows suitable for 4 years olds, eg The Gruffalo.

Fortnum and Mason has an ice cream parlour which is a real treat for young kids. Not cheap but you’re paying for the whole experience.

All of the London Parks have the play areas. The Diana one in Kensington Gardens is especially good.

Taking a boat on the Thames to Greenwich. The National Maritime Museum has a superb children’s play area for under 7s that is free but you need to book in advance.

Thank you, travel friends, for your suggestions! They are a big help for other friends traveling with young children.

We've taken our kiddo to London twice, in May 2018 (when he was 15 months) and November 2022 (when he was 5).

From a practical perspective, if you'll have a stroller, be prepared to take the buses more than the Tube. Getting a stroller down and up from the underground stations can be a huge pain (elevators are frequently hard to locate and/or out of service). On our first trip, my son hated the Tube (too crowded, hot, and noisy), but he did much better about it on our most recent trip.

On our recent trip, he thoroughly enjoyed the British Museum, particularly the "Museum Mission", which is an interactive app that has kids complete various tasks throughout the galleries. We found it's a great way to keep moving through the museum (which can get overwhelming without a plan), and is very engaging. More information here: https://www.britishmuseum.org/visit/family-visits

He also loved: the Tower of London, Trafalgar Square, Borough Market, walking across Tower Bridge and on the other side of the river, and of course, running through all the parks.

London Eye or the cable cars over the Thames.

Princess Diana Playground in Kensington Gardens.

Mudchute Farm

Watching the Horse Guards changing of the guards.

Thames Clipper

Ride Upstairs in a double decker bus seated in the front row

Sea Life Aquarium

Hamleys Toy Store

National Maritime Museum

Riding the Underground

Pony rides in Richmond Park

Chickenshed Theatre childrens story days

Check about puppetry shows at the Little Angel Theatre

Crystal Park Dinosaurs

Street performers near Jubilee Gardens

The London Zoo is very good.