Days Out Near Kensington With Children, Checked October 2026

For a family day out from Kensington, most people start in South Kensington, where the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum are free every day. After that come Kensington Palace on your doorstep, the children’s zoo in Battersea Park, and a trip west to Kew Gardens, where a child’s ticket is £2 online. Every entry was checked against the venue’s own website on 28 October 2026.

We have not visited these places for this guide, and nothing here is a review. Each entry sets out what the venue publishes: prices, opening days, what there is for children and the house rules. The clocks have gone back, so most places now close at 4pm or 4.30pm, and several change their prices or opening days in November. We give the winter pattern where the venue lists it. Check before you set off, especially in the school holidays.

On the doorstep

Natural History Museum, South Kensington

The museum’s galleries are free, and it is open daily from 10am to 5.50pm, last entry 5.30pm, closed 24 to 26 December. Its visit page warns that at weekends and in school holidays “you may have to queue to enter”, and that booking a free entry ticket guarantees you a place; bags may be searched on arrival. The Dinosaurs gallery, a free permanent gallery on the ground floor of the central building, is where children “meet the roaring T. rex”, the museum’s animatronic dinosaur. For older children the museum runs Dino Snores for Kids sleepovers on set dates. Cromwell Road, SW7 5BD.

Science Museum, South Kensington

Entry is free, but the museum asks you to book a free general admission ticket online. It opens daily from 10am to 6pm, last entry 5.15pm, and during half term, until Friday 30 October, it opens at 9am. For young children, The Garden in the basement (water, construction, light and sound play) and Pattern Pod on the ground floor are free; Wonderlab, the paid interactive gallery for ages 7 to 14, starts from £13.50 a pass. Our soft play and rainy-day guide has the detail on all three. Closed 24 to 26 December. Exhibition Road, SW7 2DD.

Kensington Palace, Kensington Gardens

The palace is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, with last entry at 3pm, and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, according to its opening calendar. The Queen’s State Apartments are closed until spring 2027. Until 8 November tickets include The Last Princesses of Punjab exhibition: £24.70 for an adult and £12.40 for a child aged 5 to 15, per the price list. From 11 to 15 November prices fall to £19 and £9.50, and from 18 to 22 November, when the King’s Gallery shuts for roof repairs until spring 2027, to £13 and £6.50. Under-5s go free without a ticket, and children up to 15 must come with an adult. £1 tickets are available for people on Universal Credit and other named benefits. Kensington Gardens, W8 4PX.

National Army Museum, Chelsea

The National Army Museum is free, open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5.30pm and closed on Mondays, 24 to 26 December and 1 January. Its Play Base is “an immersive experience for children aged 8 or under”, open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm and booked by session. Tickets are free, with a £1 booking fee per online transaction and none if you book in the museum. Because of capacity, one adult may go in with one child, and two adults with two to four children. The cafe opens 10am to 4pm, and the museum lists baby changing and feeding areas. The 170 bus stops outside; Sloane Square is a 10-minute walk. Royal Hospital Road, SW3 4HT.

A bus or Tube ride away

Battersea Park Children’s Zoo, Battersea Park

Across Albert Bridge, this small zoo has run for 75 years and holds BIAZA accreditation. Its own site lists meerkats, monkeys, otters and lizards, plus an adventure playground with a real tractor, fire engine and helicopter, a giant climbing web and a sensory sandpit. Day tickets are £17.50 for an adult, £13.95 for a child aged 2 to 15, and £53.95 for a family of two adults and two children or one adult and three. Booking is not required, and tickets are valid for one visit within 30 days of purchase. Under-16s must be with an adult. It opens daily from 10am to 4.30pm, last entry 4pm. Its Not So Spooky Halloween runs this half term. Battersea Park, SW11 4NJ.

WWT London Wetland Centre, Barnes

The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust’s reserve beside the Thames in Barnes opens every day except Christmas Day, 10am to 4.30pm, last admission 3.30pm. Booking online by midnight the day before saves 10%: £17.10 for an adult, £11.12 for a junior aged 3 to 17 and £48.11 for a family of two adults and two children, before Gift Aid. On the day, the price list gives £19, £12.35 and £53.45. Under-3s and carers of disabled visitors go free. The centre has adventure play areas, and its café serves hot lunches from 11.30am to 3pm. No dogs are allowed, only trained assistance dogs, because the wildlife “may become distressed”. The car park uses number-plate cameras, so register your car at the admissions desk before you leave. Queen Elizabeth Walk, Barnes, SW13 9WT.

ZSL London Zoo, Regent’s Park

From 24 October to 12 February the zoo opens from 10am to 4pm, with last entry at 3pm and some animal exhibits closing up to 30 minutes early, according to its opening times page. Prices depend on the day. The zoo’s ticket page says the cheapest tickets are those bought online before 10am on the day of the visit: without the voluntary donation, an adult pays £27.70 on an off-peak weekday and up to £34.50 at peak times, and a child aged 3 to 15 pays £19.40 to £24.10. Under-3s are free. Children under 16 are not admitted without an adult. Children’s scooters are allowed if supervised, but skateboards and rollerskates are not. Regent’s Park, NW1 4RY.

London Transport Museum, Covent Garden

Under-18s go free. Adults buy an annual pass, £27 (£25 for concessions, £5 for people on Universal Credit or Pension Credit), which gives unlimited visits for 12 months, and everyone also needs a free timed ticket for the day. The museum opens every day from 10am to 6pm, last entry 5pm. Its All Aboard playzone is “full of mini vehicles” for children aged 0 to 7 to dress up and play in. Santa arrives on 26 November and stays until 23 December; his grotto slots must be booked. Covent Garden Piazza, WC2E 7BB.

West along the river

Kew Gardens, Kew

Kew opens daily from 10am to 4pm, last entry 3pm, and its attractions usually close an hour before the gardens. Its ticket page gives an adult price of £25 online (£28 at the gate) until 31 October, dropping to £17 online (£20 at the gate) from 1 November. Children aged 4 to 15 cost £2 online, £4 at the gate, and under-4s are free. On Tuesdays until 29 December an adult ticket is £10. The Children’s Garden, “the size of 40 tennis courts” and designed for ages 2 to 12, is included and needs no booking. It has a 4m-high canopy walk round a 200-year-old oak, trampolines, hammocks and a bamboo tunnel. Adults may only go in with children. The nearest entrances are Elizabeth Gate and Brentford Gate. Kew, Richmond, TW9 3AE.

Osterley Park and House, Isleworth

The National Trust’s Georgian house sits in parkland with “plenty of space to run and play”, the Trust says. A house and garden ticket is £18 for an adult, £9 for a child aged 5 to 17 and £45 for a family; on Mondays and Tuesdays, when the house is shut, a garden-only ticket is £10, £5 and £25. Under-5s are free, there is no pre-booking (collect tickets from the Garden Kiosk beside the house), and the car park is £7. The house opens 11am to 3pm, Wednesday to Sunday, from 7 November; it is shut from 2 to 6 November. The garden opens daily 10am to 4pm. Dogs may run off the lead in a marked area of the front lawn and must be on a lead elsewhere. There is no lift in the house. Osterley’s page has the daily calendar. Jersey Road, Isleworth, TW7 4RB.

Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey

The palace and gardens open from 10am to 4pm, last admission 3pm, and the palace is closed all day on Friday 6 November, according to the opening calendar. Until 27 November a ticket costs £30 for an adult on a weekday and £33 at weekends, and £15 or £16.50 for a child aged 5 to 15; under-5s go free without a ticket. The price list says a ticket includes the gardens, the Maze and the Magic Garden play area. From 28 November the palace becomes its Winter Palace for Christmas, on different prices. Some rooms close for conservation in November, including the Cartoon Gallery from 11 to 28 November. Hampton Court Way, East Molesey, KT8 9AU.

How we chose

These are the family days out people in Kensington, Chelsea and Notting Hill search for, chosen on what can be checked: the prices, ages, opening days and rules each venue publishes, and how easily families from W8, W10, W11, W14, SW3, SW5, SW7 and SW10 can reach them by bus, Tube or train. Every fact comes from the venue’s own website unless we say otherwise. We have left out the V&A, the Design Museum and other places covered in our things to do in Kensington guide, and parks covered in our playgrounds and walks guides. Prices and hours change, and school holidays bring peak prices, so check before you go.

Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@thekensingtonpost.co.uk.

For more locally, see what’s on in Kensington this month, October half term in Kensington, Christmas at Kensington Palace, Kensington Christmas markets, our guide to soft play and rainy-day places, and the Kensington business directory.

Frequently asked questions

What free days out are there near Kensington for children?

The Natural History Museum and the Science Museum in South Kensington are free every day, and the National Army Museum on Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea is free from Tuesday to Sunday, including its Play Base for children aged 8 and under (an online booking fee of £1 per transaction applies). At the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden, under-18s go free, though adults need a £27 annual pass.

Which days out near Kensington are cheapest for families this winter?

At Kew Gardens a child aged 4 to 15 costs £2 online and under-4s are free, and adult tickets drop to £17 online from 1 November; on Tuesdays until 29 December an adult ticket is £10. At Kensington Palace the adult price falls from £24.70 to £13 between 18 and 22 November, when the King’s Gallery is closed, with children aged 5 to 15 at £6.50.

Which places are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays?

Kensington Palace opens Wednesday to Sunday only, from 10am to 4pm with last entry at 3pm. The National Army Museum is shut on Mondays. Osterley House is shut on Mondays and Tuesdays and from 2 to 6 November, though the garden and park stay open. Hampton Court Palace is closed all day on Friday 6 November.