London is a hub of family-friendly activities and this time of year is the perfect sort of time to get out there and spend some quality time with your family and friends, enjoying and experiencing what London has to offer. From theatre and music to animals and museums there really is something for everyone to enjoy in London. I’ve lived around 20 minutes from central London all my life and have been very lucky to experience a huge number of the main tourist attractions – both as a kid, with my parents, as a teenager with friends and as an adult with partners. And with the arrival of the Christmas lights, illuminating almost every street and the weather getting cold enough to wrap up cosy, sipping on a warm tea and enjoying the sights – this really is the time to experience some of the best London attractions. Here are some of my favourites and some I’d recommend as the perfect family-friendly experiences.
Theatre
A fun show at the theatre is one of the best ways to spend an evening with the family. Encore Tickets* have a huge range of theatre shows to choose from for you to enjoy! Some of my top-pick family friendly shows would be:
The Lion King
We all know and love the original Disney movie and it’s a firm favourite among families everywhere, so a trip to the theatre to see the award-winning musical is a perfect family experience this Christmas. From stunning special effects and staging as well as the well known songs such as “Circle of Life” and “Hakuna Matata”, The Lion King will surly go down well.
Aladdin
Sticking with the Disney theme here, Aladdin is another must-see for the whole family this year, which Encore Tickets can help you with in finding tickets for as little as £32 for this incredible spectacle of fun, comedy, love and the characters we all know and love. And not forgetting the amazing songs from the original movie!
School of Rock
The 2003 movie ‘School of Rock’ is a firm favourite for kids – it was when I was at school and we all grew up with this fun, head-banging story! Now at the Gillian Lynne theatre in London, with tickets for just £19, School of Rock the perfect show for the whole family to have some fun, let their hair down and refine their air guitar skills from when they were young!
Days out
ZSL London Zoo
Going to the zoo is one of my favourite types of days out. I love the animals and I find it a really relaxing but also fun and informative day out. I’ve loved the zoo since I was a kid and I’ve brought that love into adulthood. ZSL London Zoo is an incredible day out for the whole family with over 800 animals, shows and talks throughout the day with plenty of kids zones, it’s the perfect day out for the whole family.
Sea Life London Aquarium
I also love aquariums – I find them incredibly peaceful! And the Sea Life London Aquarium truly makes you forget that you’ve in one of the busiest, bustling cities in the world when you’re deep in the tunnels and rooms, surrounded by beautiful fish and fascinating sea life. Another fun and informative family-friendly day out!
Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds has been open for over 200 years and it’s just as popular as ever. With it’s growing and evolving collection of wax figures, from old classics, royals and the characters and faces all the kids will love – like Star Wars and Marvel – it’s still one of London’s top attractions!
Have you visited any of these attractions? What are your favourite West End shows? Anywhere you’re planning on visiting in London this Christmas?
* This post is sponsored by Encore Tickets
We love doing Winter Wonderland and a show at Christmas x
Sounds perfect!
I went to the West End once to see Wicked and it was great.
I loved Wicked.
some really great & fun ideas! i love going to the aquarium 🦈
These are such great ideas! I love the zoo and aquarium, so being able to visit the ones in London would be so fun. 🙂 I’d also love to go to Madame Tussauds! It’s such an iconic and unique museum. I really hope to get there someday!
These are great ideas Jenny! I saw The Lion King at the theatre a few years ago and it was such an amazing show. I’d love to go and see Aladdin, the tickets seem to be reasonable too. I used to go to London every year to see the Christmas lights, but haven’t been in a while now, I don’t really like the crowds and busyness but it would be cool to see a show there sometime. Thanks for sharing <3 xx
Bexa | http://www.hellobexa.com
I’ve never visited any of those but they sound fab! I did visit Madame Tussauds at Blackpool many, many years ago and it creeped me out! lol x
Yeah there’s plenty of MT, not just in London.
I really want to see the lion king xx
You should go x
I love Madame Tussauds I went to one in Las Vegas and it was the absolute best wax museum I’ve ever visited.
They’re so good!
I’ve been wanting to see the Lio King production for so long!
http://littlemissmelanie.com
Hope you get to go soon!
I absolutely adore London so this was lovely to read! There really is so much to do there. Seeing a show is a fab idea, we try to see one whenever we visit now and it’s always such a fun evening. School of Rock is on my list! xx
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
It is a great evening, going to the theatre 🙂
At London Zoo you need a whole day since there are events and shows going on the whole day.
The museums of London are very good for family fun too especially the Natural history and Science and technology museum.
For grown ups and older kids the Victoria & Albert museum, the British museum and the National Art Gallery are interesting places too. The beauty of the museum’s is that they don’t require tickets or at least they didn’t when I was there.
You don’t have to watch all the shows though, if you’d rather just mooch around in your own time that’s fine too 🙂
You are so lucky to live near Central London.
London is full of attractions for all age groups and all tastes.
The time I visited Madame Tussaud’s the ticket queue snaked out for about two blocks.
It was a wonderful experience having your picture taken with figures of famous actors and historical figures.
Yeah there’s definitely a right and wrong time to visit Madame Tussaud’s!
I love visiting London and I’d love to visit over the festive period x
http://www.ofbeautyandnothingness.co.uk
Only downside is how busy it is sometimes but it’s really pretty!
I’ve seen The Lion King twice now, and it really is the only thing I’ve ever honestly describe as “spectacular”. I would definitely go back and see it a third time, since it’s been a few years ago! When I first saw it, I always saw Woman in Black at the theatre and that was amazing, as well. Completely different, and so good!
I really want to go back to London soon, especially around Christmas, but I don’t even want to imagine how expensive accommodation would be a few weeks before Christmas 🙈
Great post, Jenny! And if I spend all my money on a weekend away in London, I am holding you entirely responsible 🤔
Beka | http://www.bekadaisies.com
I love The Woman in Black! Such a unusual but amazing theatre experience – and so scary!
Yes!!! It was so simple but SO amazing because of it!
I went to see Aladdin in July, it was one of the best pieces of theatre I’ve ever watched, and I’ve seen hundreds!
Love, Amie ❤
The Curvaceous Vegan
Wow! That’s quite a statement!
I haven’t been down to London at Christmas for years but the lights are always so beautiful. They really go all out! 🙂
They really are 🙂
I love these ideas babe. The theatre is always so much better at Christmas time in my opinion, I used to love going to see shows when I was younger but haven’t been in years – I need to book some tickets to go again. 💜✨
With love, Alisha Valerie x
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It’s really magical isn’t it!
We’ve visited Madame Tussauds many times – the Planetarium is next door which is good to visit too. A great West End show is ‘Tina’, based on the life of Tina Turner.
I’d love to go to the planetarium!
My parents took me years ago. I always remember it.