The best playgrounds in London

Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Playground

Kensington Gardens

This is the one worth crossing London for. The big wooden pirate ship is the reason people talk about it, and it earns the talk: kids climb aboard, run the decks and keep going into the sand and the tipis around it, with more climbing beyond that. It's the one playground on this page that is a destination rather than a stop.

The listing covers preschool and school-age kids, and it has a restroom, free entry and confirmed stroller access. The Royal Garden Hotel, on the edge of Kensington Gardens, is about a 10 minute walk away, so it's easy to come back to for a nap.

Restroom

Yes

Wheelchair access

Yes

Ages

Ages 5 and up

Holland Park Adventure Playground

Holland Park

Choose this one over the tidier playgrounds when your kid would rather climb timber than plastic. It's an adventure playground in the woods of Holland Park, so the setting does half the work: trees overhead, structures built from wood, and swings to finish on.

The listing covers preschool and school-age kids, and it has accessible play and free entry. We don't have a restroom or changing table confirmed here, so it suits a stop of an hour or two rather than a whole day built around it.

Swings

Yes

Accessible play

Yes

Ages

Ages 5 and up

Gloucester Gate Playground

Regent's Park

If your kid is under five, start here. It's the best-equipped toddler and preschool playground in the guide: swings, water play, accessible play, a restroom, a changing table and picnic tables are all confirmed, which covers most of what a morning with a small kid needs.

It sits at the Camden end of Regent's Park, and London Zoo is about 330 metres away, a few minutes' walk. That makes a good pairing: zoo animals first, then water play and a picnic lunch. Stroller access is confirmed, and the listing covers preschool and school-age kids.

Restroom

Yes

Water play

Yes

Swings

Yes

Picnic tables

Yes

Accessible play

Yes

Wheelchair access

Yes

Ages

Ages 5 and up

Hanover Gate Playground

Regent's Park

The playground on the west side of Regent's Park, near the lake and the boats. It's the quieter of the park's two, and the one to pick if you're coming from St John's Wood or the Lord's end of things rather than from Camden.

Swings are confirmed, along with a restroom and a changing table, and entry is free. The listing covers preschool and school-age kids. There's no other listed place within a short walk, so bring snacks, or plan to eat along the park's paths.

Restroom

Yes

Swings

Yes

Ages

Ages 5 and up

Coram's Fields playground

Bloomsbury

Coram's Fields is a big playground and green space in the middle of Bloomsbury, and it has water play, which makes it the one to know on a hot day in central London. A restroom is confirmed and entry is free. The listing covers preschool and school-age kids.

Coram's Fields Café is about 80 metres away, so lunch is easy. The Postal Museum and its play space are around 450 metres off, a short walk if you want to turn the afternoon into something indoors.

Nice after a morning at the British Museum.

Restroom

Yes

Water play

Yes

Ages

Ages 5 and up

St James's Park Playground

Westminster

A playground inside St James's Park, between Buckingham Palace and Whitehall. The reason to pick it is the setting: you can pair it with the lake and the pelicans, and it's a break from the tourist trail that stays on the tourist trail.

Swings and shade are confirmed, and entry is free. The listing covers preschool and school-age kids. The Athenaeum Hotel on Piccadilly is about 760 metres away, a 10 minute walk through the park's edge, if you want somewhere to regroup.

Shade

Yes

Swings

Yes

Ages

Ages 5 and up

Jubilee Gardens Playground

South Bank

The one to choose when you need a fence. Jubilee Gardens is the only playground on this page the listing confirms as fenced, which matters when you're juggling a toddler and a crowd by the river. It also has shade, a restroom and accessible play, and stroller access is confirmed.

The London Eye is about 100 metres away, so you can do the wheel and the playground without a transfer. The listing covers every age from infants through school age, and entry is free. Two hotels, Premier Inn County Hall and Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, are a short walk off.

Restroom

Yes

Fenced

Yes

Shade

Yes

Accessible play

Yes

Wheelchair access

Yes

Ages

All ages

Greenwich Park Playground

Greenwich

The widest age range in the guide: the listing covers infants, toddlers, preschool and school-age kids, so it works for a family with a baby and a seven-year-old at once. Water play, picnic tables and a changing table are all confirmed, and entry is free.

The park around it has the hill, the Observatory and the views, which is a day's worth of walking if you want one. The Cove Playground at the National Maritime Museum is about 400 metres away, so you can do both and let the kids choose.

Water play

Yes

Picnic tables

Yes

Ages

All ages

The Cove Playground

Greenwich

This is the Greenwich playground to choose when the museum is already on the plan. It sits at the National Maritime Museum, and it has a restroom, a changing table and accessible play, with free entry. The listing covers preschool and school-age kids.

Greenwich Park Playground is about 400 metres up the hill, with water play and picnic tables. Doing both in one day is easy: The Cove either side of the museum, the park for the afternoon.

Restroom

Yes

Accessible play

Yes

Ages

Ages 5 and up

Kusuma Nature Play Area

Forest Hill

A nature play area in the Horniman Gardens, next to the Horniman Museum, and the reason to head south of the river. It's the one on this page built around natural materials and green space rather than a climbing frame, and swings are confirmed too.

A restroom, a changing table and picnic tables are confirmed, and entry is free. The listing covers preschool and school-age kids. It's a good fit if your kid has had enough of the central sights and wants some breathing room and a museum nearby.

Restroom

Yes

Swings

Yes

Picnic tables

Yes

Ages

Ages 5 and up

Tumbling Bay Playground

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

A big playground in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, and the pick if you want a day out of the middle of London. Swings are confirmed, and entry is free. The listing covers preschool and school-age kids.

The park around it is wide and flat, with paths for scooters and bikes. Brew Street Café and Bar at Timber Lodge is about 90 metres away, so there's a coffee or a lunch stop right beside the playground. We haven't confirmed a restroom here.

Swings

Yes

Ages

Ages 5 and up

Kew Children's Garden

Kew

A play garden inside the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, and the playground to choose if you're already planning a day among the glasshouses. It has shade, a restroom and a changing table confirmed, and the listing covers preschool and school-age kids.

It's part of the gardens rather than a stop on its own, so it works best as the middle of a visit: walk the grounds in the morning, let kids loose here, then wander back out.

Restroom

Yes

Shade

Yes

Ages

Ages 5 and up

Park Plaza London Westminster Bridge

Lambeth

Jubilee Gardens Playground is about 300 metres away, so the fenced playground is a short walk from the lobby and the wheel is right behind it. For a visit built around the South Bank, this is the closest good base.

Book a suite or a room with the kitchenette. The hotel has an indoor heated pool too, which is handy for the end of a long day.

Suites

Yes

Kitchenette

Yes

Pool

Yes, indoor, heated

Premier Inn London County Hall

Waterloo

About 110 metres from Jubilee Gardens Playground, which makes it the closest hotel to a playground in the guide. You can be at the fenced play area in a couple of minutes, and the London Eye is next door.

The room has a fridge, and cribs are available, which covers most of what a family of three needs without paying for more.

Cribs

Yes

Fridge

Yes

Royal Garden Hotel

Kensington

The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Playground is about 680 metres away, a walk through Kensington Gardens, so the pirate ship is your morning and the hotel is your nap.

Book connecting rooms or a suite. The listing has a kitchenette, and cribs are available, so a longer stay with a small kid is easy to manage.

Cribs

Yes

Connecting rooms

Yes

Suites

Yes

Kitchenette

Yes

The Athenaeum Hotel & Residences

Mayfair

St James's Park Playground is about 760 metres away, a walk across Green Park and down to the lake. It puts the pelicans and Buckingham Palace in your first afternoon.

Book one of the Residences, the apartments with a kitchenette and a fridge. There are connecting rooms and laundry on site, which helps on a longer stay.

Connecting rooms

Yes

Suites

Yes

Fridge

Yes

Kitchenette

Yes

Laundry

Yes

The Landmark London

Marylebone

Hanover Gate Playground, on the west side of Regent's Park, is about 850 metres away. It's the closest hotel to that end of the park, and a good base if you want the Regent's Park playgrounds without a Tube ride.

The hotel has an indoor heated pool, connecting rooms and cribs, so ask for a connecting pair.

Cribs

Yes

Connecting rooms

Yes

Pool

Yes, indoor, heated