Are you looking for something unusual and exciting with the kids this Easter? Look no further! London is bursting with fantastic activities, making this a great time to take your family on an adventure. From egg hunts to Easter bunny visits and events that feature chocolate eggs, there are plenty of fun things for you and your little ones to explore during the holiday season.
I also have some great ideas for things to do with older kids so that no one will be bored. It’s impossible to be bored in London because there’s always so much on offer for all the family.
This ultimate list of Easter days out in London with the kids has everything you need and more!
Easter Egg Hunts and Easter Trails
We have to start with Easter egg hunts. It’s a tradition and one of the things I do with my children that they love, and it doesn’t have to cost you your family’s fortune. Our city’s parks and gardens offer a variety of egg hunts throughout Easter weekend to keep your children entertained.
Whether you’re looking for something relatively low-cost or something a bit more luxurious, there’s an Easter egg hunt for you.
Starting in historic Hampton Court Palace, you and your family can join the iconic Lindt Golden Bunny hunt. Lindt designed the search for 3-12-year-olds and their families. The event takes about 90 minutes. The great news is if you buy a ticket to Hampton court or become a member, there’s a load of other events happening all day in the Easter holidays.
Easter Days Out In West and South West London
Beautiful Kew Gardens is only a few miles away, and they are hosting several events. This includes a fantastic event called the Tower of Colour; including learning about light and colour spectrums and how they support plant survival through a series of seminars. Demonstrations using colour-changing torches will explain the makeup of white light as participants decorate ornaments with UV pens and sow take-home seeds.
I would say this one suits teenagers 12-16, but for the younger ones, there’s the woodland walk and the Chihuly Family Trail; for those who don’t know (and seeing is believing), the trail comprises of many massive coloured glass installations from, Dale Chihuly, a Seattle-based artist.
The visuals are stunning, and when incorporated with an Easter Egg hunt (details to be released soon), the potential for fun is massive. There’s an indoor and outdoor playground and plenty of opportunity to wear the little ones out while teaching them something about nature and art – happy days.
The London Wetland Centre in Barnes is an excellent place for wildlife-loving families to search for wildlife. The centre has an array of activities planned over the Easter period, not exactly a traditional egg hunt, but your child could become a duck detective, enjoy the outdoor adventure playground and get an Easter egg at the end -less chocolate and more outdoor healthy fun.
Easter Days Out in Central London
Suppose you’re in central London and you need to entertain older kids. In that case, I love the BucketRace (Scavenger Hunt) Easter Hunt. It is basically a scavenger hunt around central London starting in Golden Square.
How it works – find the items on the list provided by BucketRace and compete with other teams to win a chocolate-making and tasting experience.
BucketRaces aims for competitors to meet like-minded individuals and compete in a friendly, fun environment while discovering new locations, activities, and hidden gems throughout London – no small children but young adults 14-18 will love it.
I think I’ve covered Easter Egg Hunts and scavenger hunts, and there’s so much more you can do for Easter days out with the kids that are the best things to do at Easter without breaking the bank and let’s face it, the school holiday entertainment budget can be eyewatering (that’s an understatement).
Easter Events at London Museums
I spent my childhood at the Victoria and Albert Museum, fascinated with fashion exhibitions. I’m a member and love it (looking forward to the Bowie exhibition next year). My children love the science museum and the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum. I love that these beautiful places are FREE!
All the museums in Sout Kensington have free events, but some paid events are inspiring. We love the sleepover event at the Natural History Museum, which is suitable for families with children between 7-11. The event starts with an after-dark touch-lit tour, a creative dinosaur t-shirt workshop and its lights out at midnight (bring your midnight feast). Breakfast is bright and early the next day, but the memories last forever.
My other favourite is the Horniman Museum in London SE23, near Forest Hill Tube station. This year they are hosting the Horniman Spring Fair, compered by comedian Jasmin Gleeson. The fair is an entire family event that includes an Easter Bonnet Parade, Lindy Hop dance class, badge making and eco action games. While the Horniman isn’t free, it’s reasonably priced at £5 per adult and £2.50 per child ( children under 3 go free).
Other Easter Days Out with Kids
Chelsea Physic Garden offers chocolate-making classes. I love this one; it’s in Chelsea (that’s a win for me), plus it teaches kids from 5 upwards to cooks or at least how to combine combinations of things to get all sorts of delicious flavoured chocolate treats.
The Chelsea Physic Garden is a joy anyway, and the class will educate your kids on how cacao beans grow and how experts convert the beans into chocolate. It will also allow them to create their chocolate delights using a variety of herbs, flavours, and spices – Strawberry curry flavour chocs; anyone?
While in Chelsea, you should shimmy down Kings Road to the Sacchi Gallery and see the Beyond The Streets London photo exhibition of the most comprehensive graffiti and street art worldwide. There are art installations, fashion shows, and performance events that teenagers and younger adults will love – most importantly, you will love it, especially if you’re a child of the late 80s and 90s like me.
The Year Of The Rabbit – UK Days Out
I love Chinatown at any time of the year. But this year is the year of the rabbit, which makes the Easter celebrations extra special. So why not join the fun ‘Find Miffy’ pop-up festival and get some noodles while you’re there? My family will want to attend this free event – we won’t miss this one!
Not too far away (if you like a walk, I do) across the wobbly bridge (The Millennium Bridge) will take you down the Southbank past the Tate Gallery (I will come back to the Tate Gallery later) to the Shakespeare’s Globe. The globe is running a family workshop suitable for all age groups.
It’s an interactive way to get your kids interested in Shakespeare. Easter celebrations get underway at Shakespeare’s Globe with a traditional take on 16th Century Easter festivals and celebrations.
My to-do list of the best things to do at Easter is extensive, but one thing is for sure we need regular coffee and food breaks. My kids love Five Guys, Pizza Hut and McDonalds (don’t judge who doesn’t love a cheeky cheeseburger). I have to admit getting everyone to agree isn’t easy, but as long as there’s coffee, I can cope. Onwards…
Easter at the Tate Gallery
I love Tate Britain and Tate Modern; we have spent many happy days here. You must see the Bob and Roberta Smith: Thamesmead Codex exhibition this Easter. It’s free (we love freeness). Bob and Roberta Smith are actually one person (sorry for the spoiler), and the art is colourful, joyous and a bit mad – kids love this art, and the exhibition inspires children to get creative.
If you manage to get five minutes to yourself (leave the kids with granny), I recommend the bar at the top of the Tate Modern – get a glass of wine or a coffee and look out at St Pauls’s Cathedral and relax because this Easter tour hasn’t finished….
Sticking with art, performance art and Easter events that will entertain young adults and teenagers, the New Play Event at Somerset House is a must. It’s essentially about gaming but with a lesson for everyone about friendships, love and relationships with titles like ‘How I Taught My Mum To Play Elden Ring’ – it’s a riot. What’s even better, you come out of this looking COOL! And up to date – a win, win right there!
Essential Tips for Parents At Easter
I don’t want to appear like I’m teaching your grandmother to suck eggs (chocolate ones). But as a born and bred Londoner, I would like to pass on my top tips to make your life easier.
- Always book tickets in advance, preferably before you leave home. Don’t leave it to the last minute, as everything sells out during the holidays.
- Take lots of snacks and drinks – it’s so expensive to buy snack food and drinks at the event cafes.
- Take suncream, I know it sounds crazy, but I was sunburnt in Kew Gardens in April.
- If you’re going to the museums at South Kensington, go early or late, the tube station is sheer hell after 10 am; South Ken tube can’t cope with the number of visitors. Even better, go to Gloucester Road and walk from there.
- You can use your regular debit or credit card on the train or tube in London; you don’t need to buy a travel card or Oyster card unless you want to.
- If you can afford it, join English Heritage, The National Trust, Kew Gardens, and the like. Memberships mean you can enjoy all the exhibitions as much as you like, all year long, for a one-off payment. Remember, The National Trust and similar have lots of places to visit. And they are all over the UK – that’s UK days out sorted for the rest of the year.
- Walk as much as possible! There are so many ad-hoc events in Central London that you can miss by taking the tube.
Finally, have fun – enjoy the Easter Days Out! Easter days out with kids in London are some of the best days out you can have! All that’s left to do now is pop on your trainers and get going. Have a Happy Easter, everyone!