Museums & heritage in Kingston upon Thames

AIRE Ancient Baths London

London · adults only (18+)

An adults-only thermal baths experience in London, so this one is for date night, not the kids.

Booking requiredLockers

Apsley House

London

The Duke of Wellington's old townhouse on Hyde Park Corner, open Wednesday to Sunday with a monthly guided tour worth timing your visit around.

Bike parkingGroup bookings

Avora London: A New-World Cocktail Experience

London · adults only (18+)

A three-course cocktail story where actors send you on a fake research mission to another planet, no kids allowed.

Booking requiredGroup bookingsToilets

Bike Shed Moto Co.

London

A big motorbike hangout in London with galleries of bikes and art, a shop to browse and a 160-seat restaurant to sit down in.

Bike parkingGift shopFood on siteRestaurant

Chislehurst Caves

Chislehurst · ages 3-15

A lamp-lit guided walk through man-made tunnels, with a guide spinning spooky stories along the way.

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Chiswick House and Gardens

London

Free gardens to roam, a historic kitchen garden to explore, and a house you can only get into Thursday to Sunday.

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Creekside Discovery Centre

London

Wellies on, down the sloped bank into Deptford Creek to dip for animals and read the mud like a history book.

Booking requiredPublic transport nearbyToiletsWheelchair accessible

Dana Research Centre and Library

London

Free hands-on science galleries with experiments, retro video games and a space section, though you'll need to book tickets in advance.

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Discover Children's Story Centre

London · ages 0-11

Two floors of play worlds to climb through and act out stories in, plus a garden, all built around books rather than screens.

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Down House

Downe

Wander round the house where Charles Darwin worked for forty years, then set kids loose on a World Builder trail.

CaféGroup bookingsIndoor seatingPicnics allowed

Forty Hall Estate

Enfield

A Jacobean manor with free grounds to roam, a farm to visit and paid trails that turn the walk into a hunt for bones and bugs.

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Frameless

London · ages 0+

Four galleries of projections and spatial sound you wander through at your own pace, with a bubbles-and-music class for tots.

Accessible toiletBooking requiredCaféGift shop+8 more

Freemasons Hall, London

London

A 55-minute guided tour round an Art Deco Masonic hall and its museum of odd ritual objects.

Accessible toiletToiletsWheelchair accessible

Freud Museum London

London

Step into the room where Freud actually worked, couch and all, with an audio guide included in the ticket.

Card onlyGift shopWheelchair accessibleWi-Fi

Fulham Palace

London

Free grounds with a 500-year-old oak, a natural play area and free trails through the historic rooms.

Birthday partiesCaféGift shopGroup bookings+6 more

Hard Rock Cafe

London

A burger and memorabilia stop where kids wander a free rock and roll museum before the food even arrives.

Allergy awareGift shopFood on siteRestaurant+1 more

Hatfield House, Park and Gardens

Hatfield

Woodland walks, Renaissance gardens and a Tudor house to wander round, with free parking and a café to fall back on.

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Hever Castle & Gardens

Edenbridge

A moated Tudor castle with yew mazes, a lake to walk round and rowing boats to hire in the grounds.

CaféDog friendlyFree parkingGift shop+5 more

Horniman Museum and Gardens

London

Forest Hill museum with aquarium and free gardens - Soft Play N never.

CaféGift shopPicnic areaToilets

Hunterian Museum

London · ages 5+

Free anatomy museum with real specimens from John Hunter's collection, better suited to older kids than toddlers.

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Jack The Ripper Museum

London

A walk through the murder rooms, victim histories and suspect theories of Whitechapel's most notorious cold case.

Kingswood House (Bovril Castle)

London

Free arts sessions for under-fives, garden volunteering and a teen lounge, all in a grand old house with a car park that fills up fast.

Bike parking

Knockout Escape Rooms

Reading · ages 10+

Three themed puzzle rooms in Reading, an hour on the clock to crack codes and get evidence, a scientist or a sci-fi machine sorted before time runs out.

Booking requiredGroup bookings

Leighton House

London

A Victorian artist's house with a jaw-dropping tiled Arab Hall, a new family trail, and a café you can visit without a ticket.

CaféToiletsWheelchair accessible

Lightroom

London · ages 0+

Big projected shows on 11-metre walls that you wander round rather than sit and watch, near King's Cross.

Accessible toiletBooking requiredCaféCard only+2 more

London Bus Museum

Weybridge · ages 4-17

Climb aboard rows of historic double-deckers and, at weekends and holidays, actually ride one on the road.

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London Eye

London · ages 0+

A slow 30-minute loop 135 metres above the Thames, with Big Ben and Buckingham Palace picked out along the way.

Indoor seating

London Museum Docklands

London

Free museum with a soft-play family gallery for building tunnels, role-play and trails, right by Canary Wharf.

Baby changeBirthday partiesBottle warmingBreastfeeding friendly+11 more

Mad Science London

London

A science party that comes to you, with slime, bouncy balls and a big final experiment to send everyone home buzzing.

Maiwand Lion

Reading

Free galleries of Roman finds, a Bayeux Tapestry copy and biscuit tins to hunt through, right by Reading station.

Accessible toiletCaféGift shopGroup bookings+4 more

Miart Gallery London

London

An indoor art gallery in London open six days a week, if you fancy a quiet browse with the kids in tow.

Museum of Brands

London

A walk through 200 years of adverts, packaging and toys, from Victorian shop shelves to today's digital brands.

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Museum of the Home

London

Free period rooms, a playhouse and a sensory den to explore, with no booking needed and no minimum time limit on your visit.

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National Army Museum

London · ages 0-8

Free galleries about army history plus a soft-play zone, Play Base, built for the under-8s.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBirthday partiesCafé+7 more

National Maritime Museum

London

Free galleries where kids land a Mars rover, climb through a sea-themed playground and walk into a galaxy box.

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National Trust - Osterley Park and House

Isleworth

Tudor walled garden, parkland dens and bike rides, plus an 18th-century mansion house you can wander on the days it's open.

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Natural History Museum

London

Dinosaurs, a blue whale and rainy-day halls in South Kensington - free entry, book timed tickets.

Booking requiredGift shopFood on siteWheelchair accessible+3 more

Paradox Museum London

London · ages 0+

A walkthrough of 50-plus optical illusions in South Kensington, including a Zero Gravity room made for photos.

Birthday partiesBooking requiredGift shopGroup bookings+5 more

Pope's Grotto

Twickenham

A quirky underground grotto you explore yourself with a printed plan, open just a handful of days a year.

Booking required

Prime Meridian

London · ages 4+

Stand with a foot in each hemisphere on the actual Prime Meridian line, then try landing a Mars rover in the gallery next door.

Bike parkingBlue badge parkingCaféPublic transport nearby+3 more

Royal Air Force Museum London

London · ages 4+

Free entry to over 100 real aircraft, plus a Spitfire cockpit to sit in and an outdoor playground shaped like mini planes.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBlue badge parkingCafé+15 more

Royal Observatory Greenwich

London

Prime Meridian, planetarium and telescopes above Greenwich Park - book ahead for school holidays.

Booking requiredGift shopFood on sitePublic transport nearby+2 more

Science Museum

South Kensington, London

South Kensington free science galleries plus ticketed Wonderlab - Soft Play N never.

Birthday partiesBooking requiredGift shopGroup bookings+1 more

Serpentine South Gallery

London

Free contemporary art exhibitions in Kensington Gardens, with a digital guide that does a lot of the explaining for you.

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Severndroog Castle and Tearoom

London

A woodland climb up to an octagonal tower, with 86 spiral steps to a viewing platform that shows off London on a clear day.

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Shrek's Adventure London

London · ages 6-15

A 70-minute walk-through with a 4D flying bus ride, DreamWorks characters and nine live shows along the way.

Accessible toiletBaby changeCard onlyGift shop+2 more

Somerset House

London

A grand courtyard with dancing fountains to run through, plus riverside terraces and galleries if you fancy some art after.

Baby changeCaféDog friendlyRestaurant+3 more

St. Paul's Cathedral

London

Climb 528 steps to the top of the Dome for a proper view over London, then explore the Crypt and a family history trail below.

Bike parkingBlue badge parkingPublic transport nearbyWheelchair accessible

Syon House

Brentford

A grand house full of gilded rooms plus a glass-domed conservatory and gardens to wander round afterwards.

Accessible toiletBike parkingBlue badge parkingBooking required+5 more

Tate Britain

London

Free wander through five centuries of British art, with the world's biggest Turner collection and free tours four times a day.

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Thames River Sightseeing

London · ages 0+

A river boat ride past Tower Bridge, the Shard and Cutty Sark, with a crew commentary that does the explaining for you.

Accessible toiletFood on sitePushchair friendlyToilets+2 more

The British Library

London · adults only (18+)

Free gallery of genuinely famous manuscripts, but the Reading Rooms themselves are an over-18s, pencils-only affair.

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The Clink Prison Museum

London · ages 0-16

A small, dimly lit prison museum where kids can handle real torture devices and hear grim tales of former inmates.

The Courtauld Gallery

London

A townhouse gallery of Impressionist paintings where under-18s get in free and a phone doubles as the guidebook.

Bike parkingCaféCard onlyGift shop+2 more

the Design Museum

London

Free permanent collection on Level 2 covering how everyday objects get designed and made, plus school-holiday design camps for the older kids.

CaféGift shopLockers

The Goffs Park Light Railway

Crawley

A miniature steam and electric railway in Goffs Park, with 80p rides round a 380 metre circuit on Sunday afternoons.

Gift shop

The Hellfire Caves

High Wycombe

A guided walk through real tunnels and chambers cut into the Chiltern hills, with an underground river and a banqueting hall to gawp at.

Birthday partiesCaféGift shopIndoor play+1 more

The Look Out Discovery Centre

Crowthorne

Over 90 hands-on science activities plus an outdoor adventure play area, booked in timed three-hour sessions.

Accessible toiletBirthday partiesBooking requiredCafé+5 more

The Look Out Discovery Centre Playground

Bracknell · ages 2-12

A free outdoor playground with equipment built to challenge kids from toddler age right up to the teenage bit.

The Paddington Bear Experience

London · ages 0-15

A 70-minute walk-through where kids meet Paddington, help Mrs Bird tidy her kitchen and dance to a Calypso band in Windsor Gardens.

Accessible toiletBirthday partiesBooking requiredCafé+11 more

The Royal Institution

London · ages 4+

Free entry to a museum of 200 years of scientific history, tucked in a Mayfair townhouse with family talks laid on too.

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Two Temple Place

London

A grand riverside building near the Strand you can only get into on select dates, with an hour-long tour that actually goes somewhere interesting.

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V&A South Kensington

London

Free design museum in South Kensington - fashion, courtyard picnic and rainy-day galleries.

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Warner Bros. Studio Tour London

Watford · ages 5+

Walk through Diagon Alley and the Great Hall, stand under a 30ft Basilisk, and have a go on the green screen broomstick.

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Well & Bucket

London

A Sunday roast pub with party rooms tucked away, open late most days if lunch turns into an afternoon.

Indoor seatingParty roomsRestaurant

Wellcome Collection

London

Free galleries exploring health and the human body, with a library and daily tours thrown in.

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West Horsley Place

Leatherhead

400 acres of footpaths, bridleways and a sensory garden to wander, with the manor house itself saved for ticketed open days.

Bike parkingBooking requiredCaféDog friendly+5 more

Whitechapel Gallery

London

Free displays and artist-led activities in an east London gallery where under 16s never pay for the ticketed show.

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