Best Things to Do with Kids in London This Week: 6 to 12 July 2026

The week of 6 to 12 July 2026 is a lovely one to have children in London. The summer routine is in full swing but the school-holiday crowds have not yet landed, which means shorter queues at the big attractions and easier tables at lunchtime. It is also a week with genuine one-off treats: a free Pokemon takeover at the Natural History Museum, a Saturday morning when that same museum opens early just for neurodivergent children, a living chess set marching around Trafalgar Square on Sunday, and a beloved picture-book tiger pouring tea on a West End stage for £12.50. Here is our date-checked family guide, with the live prices we verified on tickadoo on Monday morning.

Dinosaurs, Pokemon and a museum that gets it

The Natural History Museum is the family headquarters of the week. General admission is free every day, the dinosaur galleries remain the single most reliable child-pleaser in the country, and right now there is a free Pokemon pop-up listed daily throughout the week, a crossover that lands squarely in the middle of most children's hearts. For a paid treat, the museum's summer blockbuster Jurassic Oceans: Monsters of the Deep is running in the Waterhouse Gallery from £15, and Our Story with David Attenborough continues from £20. One deadline to know: Wildlife Photographer of the Year, always a hit with older kids, closes on Sunday 12 July, so this is its final week.

The standout moment comes on Saturday 11 July, when the museum opens from 8am to 10am for Dawnosaurs, its free session designed for neurodivergent children aged 5 to 15, including autistic children and those with ADHD, and their families. The museum before the doors open to the public, with sensory-friendly programming and space to breathe, is a genuinely special thing. It is free, entry is via the East Entrance on Exhibition Road, and booking ahead is essential.

A tiger, a bear and the pick of the family stage

Judith Kerr's The Tiger Who Came to Tea is purring through its summer season of matinees at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, and on our verified Monday prices it starts at £12.50, the best-value ticket in this entire guide. At 55 minutes with songs, clowning and a very hungry tiger, it is the perfect first theatre trip for ages three and up.

For the full immersive treatment, The Paddington Bear Experience at County Hall is on sale from £34, rated 4.7, and pairs beautifully with a riverside walk past the London Eye. We have a complete family guide to the Paddington Experience with age tips and timing advice. Older children are spoiled in the evenings: Matilda from £40.63 is the canonical London show for book-loving kids, Oliver! is from £25, Disney's Hercules from £36.88, The Lion King from £56.25, and the visually magical My Neighbour Totoro from £31.25; our Totoro seating breakdown helps you pick seats where small eyes catch every puppet.

Sunday is ChessFest day

On Sunday 12 July, Trafalgar Square becomes the country's biggest chess party from noon to 7pm, and it is completely free. The centrepiece is the living chess set, 32 costumed actors recreating famous games on a giant board, which needs no chess knowledge whatsoever to enjoy, and around it there are boards to play, puzzles to solve and coaches on hand for beginners. It is a rare central-London event that works equally well for a chess-mad ten-year-old and a toddler who just wants to watch knights walk about.

Classic days out, priced on Monday's real numbers

The reliable favourites are all in play this week, and pre-schoolers get the run of them before the holidays. London Zoo is from £30.50, SEA LIFE London from £24.50, and the London Transport Museum, where children climb through real buses and Tube carriages, from £27; our Transport Museum guide has the highlights by age. The London Eye from £25.38 remains the easiest thirty minutes of wonder in the city, and Potter-obsessed families can go big with the Warner Bros. Studio Tour with return transport from £85 or keep it lighter with the Harry Potter film locations walking tour from £18.

One more for thrill-seekers: theatre on roller skates

If your children are past the picture-book stage and into spectacle, Starlight Express remains the most kinetic night out in London theatre, with the cast racing around and above the audience on roller skates at the Troubadour Wembley Park. It sits in that sweet spot where an eight-year-old and a fifteen-year-old are equally gripped, and the venue's unreserved-feel bowl means there is barely a bad view; our complete Starlight Express seating and viewing guide explains exactly where to sit for the racing. Wembley Park itself is an easy win for families too, with wide traffic-free boulevards, fountains and plenty of casual food around the stadium.

The tennis, the palace and other week-of moments

Two of the week's grown-up headlines translate surprisingly well to children. Wimbledon's finals weekend lands on Saturday and Sunday, and a picnic in front of a free big screen is a brilliant low-stakes way to give kids their first taste of a sporting crowd; nobody minds a wandering toddler on a picnic blanket. One practical note for the weekend: with the finals, BST and ChessFest all pulling crowds into town, book any timed-entry attraction for the morning slots and keep afternoons flexible. And Buckingham Palace opens its State Rooms for the summer on Thursday 9 July, which older children genuinely enjoy, especially paired with the spectacle outside: palace tickets combined with the Changing of the Guard are from £34.65, or the standard Buckingham Palace ticket from £14.

A family day, hour by hour

Here is our ideal Saturday. Early risers with a booked Dawnosaurs slot start at the Natural History Museum at 8am; everyone else arrives for 10am and heads straight for the dinosaurs and the Pokemon pop-up before the queues build. Picnic lunch in Hyde Park, then a slow afternoon: little ones nap through a walk to the river while bigger kids burn energy in the Diana Memorial Playground. Late afternoon, catch some of the Ladies' final on a big screen, then finish with an early dinner and The Tiger Who Came to Tea matinee money saved for Sunday's ChessFest ice creams. If you are booking more than one paid attraction across the week, tickadoo+ member pricing is the sensible way to bring the family total down.

Frequently asked questions

What is free for kids in London this week?

The Natural History Museum's galleries and its Pokemon pop-up are free all week, Dawnosaurs on Saturday morning is free with booking, ChessFest in Trafalgar Square on Sunday is free, and the Wimbledon finals show on free big screens around the city over the weekend.

What is the best value family show right now?

On our verified Monday prices, The Tiger Who Came to Tea at £12.50 is the standout for under-7s, with Oliver! from £25 and My Neighbour Totoro from £31.25 the picks for older children.

Do I need to book Dawnosaurs?

Yes. The session on Saturday 11 July runs 8am to 10am for neurodivergent children aged 5 to 15 and their families, is free, and requires a booked ticket for each person attending, entering via the East Entrance on Exhibition Road.

Is ChessFest suitable for young children?

Yes. The living chess set is pure spectacle, no chess knowledge needed, and the square has beginner-friendly boards and coaching. It runs noon to 7pm on Sunday 12 July and you can drop in at any point.

What should we do if it rains?

SEA LIFE London from £24.50, the London Transport Museum from £27 and the Paddington Bear Experience from £34 are the three best wet-weather picks, all indoors and all bookable on tickadoo.

How do we save money on a multi-attraction week?

Skip the offer-hunting and use tickadoo+ member pricing across the catalogue, which pays for itself quickest on family bookings where you are buying several tickets at once.

That is the family week sorted. For the grown-up view, our companion guides cover everything happening in London this week, the West End's big week and the best free things to do, or browse the whole city on the London hub.