We’re fortunate to live a short train ride away from London. We spend many a weekend heading into the big smoke to meet with friends and family or to while away a few hours with the boys. One of the things I love about London is that there is something to do for everyone, whether you have younger children or you want something for fun, young people in the family or parents and grandparents, you’re really not short of ideas or things to do.

We were recently given some spending money and tasked with exploring Covent Garden for the day to see what sort of things it has to entertain kids for fun family days in London. Covent Garden is a popular tourist area, so it’s easy to see why people choose to look for Covent Garden Hotels here. It makes an excellent base for exploring Covent Garden and the surrounding area.

A day out in Covent Garden with kids

Friday was the first week of the boys’ summer holiday, so we hopped on the train to London to find some great things to do in Convent Garden. I’ve always loved the hustle and bustle of the heart of Covent Garden. With its traffic-free cobbled streets, it’s pretty safe to explore with young kids here despite it being a popular tourist destination.

Street Performers

Our first stop, not far from Covent Garden tube station, was a street performer. The boys love watching these, especially the statue-type ones that don’t move. M always asks me whether they’re real!

On the cobbled streets around the square, you’ll find a number of different street entertainers. They tend to draw in big audiences—especially on a warm day. They always make great photo ops or content creation points for your social media, which helps the performers expand their audience, too. You never know what you’re going to get when you arrive; it might be a performance one day or live music the next, which makes it all the more interesting.

A bite to eat

As always, the boys were hungry and in need of food, so we stopped at Fire and Stone for lunch.

Plenty of restaurants and cafés are dotted around Covent Garden, offering many different cuisines that are suitable for all types of budgets and family members no matter how fussy they are; luckily, my boys aren’t fussy with food like some young children can be. Fire & Stone was reasonable for lunch, and both E&M rated it, giving it a thumbs up for good food. The kid’s menu featured a great Kids Meal deal, which was £6.95, which included a main course, dessert, and a drink, but it has some great choices for the whole family if you don’t want to bring your own food for your day out or you need something more substantial for growing boys like I did!

Covent Garden Market

With bellies full, we wandered into Covent Garden Market. You can see from my pictures that the Convent Garden Market building is impressive inside and out. The boys spied a traditional toy shop, so we popped in to have a look around.

There are both big brands and independent shops here, with a mix of fashion and beauty. The Apple Market has stalls selling handmade crafts and gifts. We had a nice stroll around the gift shop at our own pace to see what was on offer. It’s a great place to find new and unique gift items or to keep for yourself.

London Transport Museum

We couldn’t visit Covent Garden without a trip to the London Transport Museum. It’s the perfect place for kids to explore. We’ve been many times before and it’s probably one of their favourite museums.

They love going around doing the trail each time we visit and hopping on the old trains. Most importantly, they like to test out the tube simulator and run around in the play zone. If you are thinking of visiting, you can get discounted tickets with buyagift. Tickets allow you entry for 12 months, and kids under 17 are free. If your kids love vehicles, this is one of the best places to visit and explore. In our opinion, it’s definitely one of the top London attractions worth visiting as it has a range of activities to keep everyone happy. The boys always have the best time when we go.

We had a fab day out in Covent Garden, and with it being the summer holidays, there was lots to see in the area. You can also catch a show at the nearby theatres should you wish to extend your day. There’s The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre or Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge theatre both of which are a 5-minute walk away.

Explore further afield

Take a short walk (or hop on the tube) to Leicester Square to visit the LEGO flagship store or M&M World. You could even pop into China Town for some dim sum. Hamley’s on Regent Street is also worth a visit, and Convent Garden is only a 10-minute walk from Trafalgar Square and central London, giving you more opportunities to explore on your day out. Whether you’re visiting in the school holidays or on a weekday, there are so many fun things to do for fantastic family days out. Don’t forget to top up your Oyster Card so you get around to as many locations as you want to for the perfect time in London, especially if you’re visiting for the first time. And many of the best things to do are free, too.

Hotels.com gifted us spending money to visit Covent Garden, but all views are my own. We had a fantastic day exploring.

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