kid activities around Waterloo

[kmoon249]

Hi,

I'm relatively new to London and was hoping for some ideas of kid friendly activities around Waterloo. We have family from outside London who would prefer to visit us by train instead of a long drive. We'd all meet up around the train station. Kids are girls ages 6, 4 and 2.

Is the aquarium age appropriate?

Many thanks,

Karen

[Bouncy]

Hi Karen,

There's loads of (mostly free) family-friendly stuff on the South Bank, around the Royal Festival Hall: http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/ You can also walk down the river to the Tate Modern, which has a kids' bit and space to run about. The Real Food Market http://www.realfoodfestival.co.uk/markets/real-food-market-at-southbank-centre is good - you can buy lunch there, then eat it in the RFH and watch whatever's going on.

Enjoy!

[BeccaL]

Aquarium is great for kids but pricey - cheaper if you book tickets online in advance, and you can also jump the queues if you do that. Also if they're coming by train they may be entitled to some offers with their train tickets - worth checking... Agree south bank good, if the weather's OK and the tide is out there are some little bits of beach along the edge of the Thames near Gabriel's Wharf which can be fun. London Eye also an option but also expensive, though again better with prebooked tickets.

[Saffron]

The aquarium is brilliant, for all ages. I first took my daughter when she was around 7 months old. It does take a long time to get around all the exhibits in the aquarium, so it might be best to do early in the day before everyone is too tired.

Sometime the queues for aquarium tickets are long. I don't know if you can buy in advance. Check online? Also, once you're in the aquarium, there are loads of little things to spend money on, like penny squashers, facepainters, photos etc. So either go prepared with plenty of spare change, or be prepared to say 'No' upfront to extras. Oh, and don't forget about the gift shop! (I'm such a pushover, I got suckered into buying everything.)

I would take a pushchair for the 2 yo. Little ones can get tired in the aquarium. There is an internal lift. Though last time I went it wasn't working, and I had to do a few stairs and small escalater with pushchair, but it was ok. xx