Rainy day activities in Romford

A's Nursery & Soft Play Centre

Ilford · ages 0-10

Multi-tiered soft play over three zones for babies, toddlers and juniors, with one-hour sessions you have to book by phone first.

Birthday partiesBooking requiredCaféIndoor play+2 more

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

Apollo Theatre

London

A West End stage with tickets from £20, a proper night out for kids who love a big show.

Accessible toiletDog friendlyToiletsWheelchair accessible

Apollo Victoria Theatre

London

A big West End stage best known for Wicked, with drinks and food you can order straight to your seat.

Archers

Romford

A Greene King pub with free entry, big screens for the match, a beer garden, and a function room you can hire for birthdays.

Dog friendlyOutdoor playParkingParty rooms+3 more

Art Craft Studios

London

Clay workshops where kids hand-build and paint pottery, with a wheel session for the over-tens and food from Layers Bakery thrown in.

Group bookingsFood on siteParking

artsdepot

London

A free soft play corner and a café to sit in while the little one potters about.

CaféIndoor play

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

Barbican Centre

London

A vast City arts building you can wander into free, with a café and restaurant to fall back on between whatever's on.

Accessible toiletCaféHearing loopRestaurant+2 more

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

Children's Art Classes- Simona Nedeva Art

Upminster

A two-hour Saturday art class where everything's laid out for them, £30 a spot and booking ahead is the only way in.

Booking required

Chislehurst Caves

Chislehurst · ages 3-15

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

Accessible toiletBaby changeBirthday partiesCafé+6 more

Climbing District | Bermondsey — Arch Climbing Wall

London

Bouldering walls, circuit boards and a Rockers Club drop-in for kids from 4, with NICAS courses if they get keen.

CaféGroup bookingsIndoor playWi-Fi

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.

Accessible toiletAllergy awareBaby changeBooking required+12 more

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.

Baby changeBike parkingBlue badge parkingBooking required+7 more

Dominion Theatre

London · ages 5+

A West End stage for musicals and big theatrical shows, but under 5s aren't let in at all.

Accessible toiletBlue badge parkingBooking requiredToilets+1 more

Duchess Theatre

London · ages 14+

A West End stage for teenagers, with a farcical comedy and an unscripted one-off show that leans hard into dark themes.

Flip Out Lakeside

Grays · ages 1-18

A big trampoline arena with laser tag, a ninja course and toddler soft play under one roof at Lakeside.

Birthday partiesBooking requiredCaféGroup bookings+6 more

Flip Out London E6

London

An hour or two of trampolines, drop slides and dark caving tunnels, with toddler sessions and family passes to soften the price.

Birthday partiesCaféFirst aidFree parking+5 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

Garrick Theatre

London

A West End stage with acrobatics, comedy and musical shows, with under-15 tickets from £17.50.

Accessible toiletDog friendlyToiletsWheelchair accessible

Geckos Climbing Ltd

London · ages 9+

Bouldering and top-rope climbing on 8m walls at The Castle, plus outdoor rock climbing, for kids aged 9 and up.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBooking requiredCafé+4 more

Gielgud Theatre

London · ages 7+

Oliver! at full West End length, with a proper interval, for kids old enough to sit through nearly three hours of it.

Booking required

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

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.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBlue badge parkingDog friendly+3 more

Jack The Ripper Museum

London

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

Jolly Jungle

Dagenham · up to age 12

A multi-tiered soft play frame with a big slide and ball pit, but visits are capped at an hour and a half and weekends shut at 2pm.

Accessible toiletBirthday partiesBlue badge parkingCafé+8 more

Jolly Rocker

Windsor · ages 1+

A LEGO-built theme park with over 55 rides, from a swinging pirate galleon to a 30mph coaster and a splash park in summer.

Birthday partiesCaféGift shopGroup bookings+6 more

K1 Speed Canary Wharf

London · ages 7+

Indoor electric go-karting for kids seven and up, with junior karts hitting 20mph and races timed to the minute.

Birthday partiesCaféGroup bookingsIndoor play+4 more

Kiddiewinks soft play

Romford · ages 0-8

Three floors of play with a gigantic slide, a mirror maze and a separate toddler area, in booked sessions that sell out at weekends.

Birthday partiesBooking requiredCaféCard only+6 more

Laser Mayhem Games

Romford · ages 7-80

Outdoor laser tag over 8 tag arenas and 12 paintball fields, with real tanks and helicopters to hide behind. Ages 7 and up.

Birthday partiesGroup bookingsIndoor playIndoor seating+4 more

Lee Valley Animal Adventure Park

Waltham Abbey · ages 0-12

Farm animals to feed, swan and teacup rides, a giant bouncy pillow and adventure play, all outdoors near Waltham Abbey.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBirthday partiesCafé+8 more

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 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

Lumiere Cinema, Romford

Romford · ages 0+

Tickets from £6.99, £18 for a family in person, with baby-friendly Mondays and relaxed screenings on Tuesdays and Sundays.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBirthday partiesBlue badge parking+12 more

Lyric Hammersmith Theatre

London

A Hammersmith theatre with panto and family shows, wheelchair access sorted and a £2 levy tucked onto every ticket.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBreastfeeding friendlyToilets+1 more

Lyric Theatre

London

A West End stage for Room on the Broom and other family shows, with the ticket price hinging on which production is on.

Accessible toiletToilets

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.

Museum of Brands

London

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

Accessible toiletCaféGift shopPublic transport nearby+5 more

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.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBike parkingDog friendly+7 more

Namco Funscape Romford

Romford · ages 2-16

Bowling, a shiny new dodgems arena and arcade cabinets your kids will blow £10 on in twenty minutes, open till 11 most nights.

Birthday partiesCaféGift shopGroup bookings+5 more

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.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBirthday partiesCafé+8 more

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

Park Theatre

London

Two stages near Finsbury Park with comedy nights, drag storytelling and relaxed shows built for families, not just West End transfers.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBreastfeeding friendlyCafé+5 more

Partyman World of Play

Upminster · ages 1-13

Soft play for 1 to 13s with a two-hour cap in the school holidays, and adults pay to get in too.

Birthday partiesBooking requiredCard onlyFree parking+9 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

Prince Edward Theatre

London · ages 12+

Beetlejuice on stage in the West End, aimed at teens and adults rather than young kids, with a strict 12+ recommendation.

Booking requiredFood on site

RAF Hornchurch Heritage Centre

Hornchurch · ages 5+

Three hangar-style galleries of planes, photographs and wartime stories, weekends only, £3 a child and under-fives free.

CaféCard onlyFree parkingGift shop+7 more

Raphael Park

Romford

A free 44-acre park with a big fenced play area, twelve tennis courts and a lake to walk round until dusk.

CaféFood on siteParkingRestaurant+1 more

Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

London

Watching a show under the sky in Regent's Park, with the plot only as gripping as the weather holds out.

Accessible toiletBlue badge parkingDog friendlyGroup bookings+6 more

Rollerbowl

Romford

Lanes, arcade machines and pool tables under one roof, with a diner serving food lane-side all day.

Birthday partiesFree parkingIndoor playIndoor seating+2 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

SEA LIFE London Aquarium

London

South Bank aquarium by the London Eye - sharks, penguins, turtles and an ocean tunnel indoors.

ToiletsAccessible toiletBaby changeGift shop+6 more

Shakespeare's Globe

London · ages 0+

Open-air Tudor theatre where kids can try on costumes, get their faces painted and watch a proper Shakespeare production.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBooking requiredCafé+8 more

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

Sondheim Theatre

London · ages 7+

A full West End staging of Les Misérables, nearly three hours long, best suited to kids seven and up who can sit still.

Booking required

Southwark Playhouse Borough

London

A theatre near Elephant and Castle with a bar for the grown-ups while the family show is on.

Squire's Garden Centre

Stanmore

A free-to-enter garden centre with an aquatics room of tanks and reptiles, plus pottery painting and a café that stops hot food at 3.30pm.

CaféDog friendlyFree parkingIndoor seating+4 more

St. Martin's Theatre

London · ages 7+

Take your seven-plus-year-old to see if they can spot the killer in the world's longest-running play, The Mousetrap.

Card onlyGift shopFood on siteWi-Fi

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

Stratford East

London

A proper panto stage in Stratford, with Surinderella putting an Indian spin on Cinderella for kids five and up.

Booking requiredCaféWheelchair accessible

Target Sports World

Romford · ages 11-17

Axe throwing, archery and airgun ranges under one roof, with live fire assault rifles for the over-14s who make the height.

Birthday partiesBooking requiredGroup bookingsFood on site+2 more

TeamSport Go Karting Docklands East London

London · ages 4-99

Indoor electric go-karting with a proper Mini Racer setup for 4 to 7 year olds and a motorsport-themed mini golf course too.

Birthday partiesBlue badge parkingBooking requiredCafé+9 more

TeamSport Go Karting North London Edmonton

London · ages 4-16

Indoor karting on a nine-corner circuit, with a Mini Racers option for kids from age four and crazy golf if racing isn't enough.

Birthday partiesBlue badge parkingBooking requiredCafé+8 more

The City Pavilion

Romford

A bowling alley with family events and exhibitions under one roof, open late and easy to reach from the City and West End.

Birthday partiesGroup bookingsFood on siteParking+1 more

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 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 Drill

Romford

A board game and pub games bar with big-screen sport, darts and D&D nights, open from late afternoon, with baby change on site.

Baby changeDog friendlyGroup bookingsFood on site+3 more

The Old Vic

London · ages 0+

A proper West End style theatre near Waterloo with e-tickets, a script library and a cafe that's open to anyone, ticket or not.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBooking requiredCafé+6 more

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 Panic Room Gravesend

Gravesend · ages 8+

A puzzle-and-clue venue for older kids and teens, with escape rooms, axe throwing, laser tag and a splatter paint studio under one roof.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBirthday partiesGroup bookings+6 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.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBike parkingBlue badge parking+5 more

The Seasons Art Class Romford

Romford · adults only (18+)

An adults-only drawing and painting course in Romford, run over 14 weeks across four media, from pencil to acrylics.

The Shaftesbury Theatre

London · ages 3-99

A big West End stage for a proper musical, plus daytime tours round a Grade II* listed theatre.

Accessible toiletBike parkingHearing loopStep-free access+1 more

Theatre Royal Haymarket

London

Peppa Pig's Big Family Show lands here for around 80 minutes including an interval, tickets from £10.

CaféFood on siteToilets

TOCA Social, The O2

London · ages 0+

Private boxes for interactive football games, with foosball and screenings on the side at The O2.

Birthday partiesGroup bookingsHalal optionsFood on site+2 more

Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre

Wembley · ages 3+

A proper theatre trip for kids from age three, with a restaurant and bar on site if you want to make an evening of it.

Accessible toiletLockersRestaurantToilets+1 more

Vaudeville Theatre

London · ages 10+

A West End matinee-or-evening trip for older kids and teens, built around shows like Six that actually suit a 10-plus crowd.

Accessible toiletDog friendlyToiletsWheelchair accessible

Victoria Palace Theatre

London · ages 10+

A big West End show, currently Hamilton, running just under three hours with a proper interval.

Booking requiredFood on siteWheelchair accessible

Wanstead Bowling Club

London

A green just outside Wanstead station where you can turn up for a lawn bowls roll-up without booking a thing.

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

Whitechapel Gallery

London

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

Baby changeBlue badge parkingCaféCard only+9 more

Wicked The Musical

London · ages 7-5

A two-and-three-quarter-hour West End musical at the Apollo Victoria, best for kids who can sit through flashing lights and a proper story.

Booking requiredCard onlyGift shopIndoor seating+1 more

World of Dinosaurs

Broxbourne

Over 30 animatronic dinosaurs to walk among, plus a train ride, crazy golf and soft play if the rain sets in.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBlue badge parkingCard only+9 more