Top 5 Things to Do in Waterloo with the Family

We've been feeding Waterloo a long time, so we've got a fair idea what's worth your afternoon. Nearly all of this is within fifteen minutes of the station, and a good chunk of it's free. Here are five.

1. The London Eye, and everything next to it

The big one. The London Eye is 135 metres up, thirty minutes for one slow turn, and the whole city laid out through the glass. Book ahead — the on-the-day queue runs 20 to 30 minutes at busy times, which isn't something you want to do with kids.

What makes it a day out is the cluster around it. County Hall next door holds SEA LIFE London Aquarium — 500-odd species across 14 themed zones, sharks, Gentoo penguins, the glass floor over the rays — and Shrek's Adventure, a 4D bus ride and ten live shows, about an hour, best for under-10s.

Also there: the London Dungeon. One honest word on it. It's recommended for 12 and over, under-5s aren't allowed in at all, and anyone 15 or under needs an adult with them. It's dark, and it's designed to frighten. Worth knowing before you book four tickets.

If you're doing more than one, look at the multi-attraction passes. They run to seven days, so you don't have to cram it into one afternoon with tired children.

2. Leake Street Arches

Free, open 24 hours, and five minutes from us. Leake Street is a 300-metre tunnel under Waterloo Station where graffiti is legal — the longest legal wall in London. Banksy started it off with the Cans Festival in 2008 and it's been going ever since.

The point is that it never stays the same. What's on the walls this month won't be there next, and you'll usually catch artists mid-piece. The arches themselves have been done up too, so there's a board game café and a few places to eat down there if you want to make an hour of it.

Two warnings. The paint fumes are strong. And it's a tunnel, so it's dark and it's loud. Teenagers love it. Smaller kids can find it a lot.

3. Jubilee Gardens

Right under the London Eye, and free. Jubilee Gardens is run by a local charity, has 90-odd mature trees, and takes about five and a half million people a year — which tells you something.

For families the draw is the enclosed adventure playground. It's a proper one, and it's for children up to 11. The Golden Carousel sits next to it for smaller ones. Lawns to stretch out on, the river in front of you, and it costs nothing — which makes it the best hour in Waterloo if the day's already had a go at your wallet.

4. BFI IMAX

BFI IMAX is the biggest screen in Britain — 20 metres high, 26 wide — sitting in the middle of the Waterloo roundabout, two minutes from the station.

It isn't only blockbusters. There's a family strand, and a run of short IMAX films built for all ages: space, the poles, dinosaurs. Those are the ones to book if you've got younger kids and 45 minutes rather than three hours.

It's also the answer to rain.

5. Imperial War Museum

Fourteen minutes south, free to get in, and one of London's best museums for older kids. A Spitfire and a Harrier hang over the atrium with a V-2 rocket standing underneath, and there are six floors above that.

The family programme is the bit people miss: free activities and adventure trails every weekend, and daily through the school holidays. No booking needed for general entry either, so you can go for an hour and leave when they've had enough. With a museum and kids, that's the whole game.

One caution. The Holocaust Galleries are not recommended for under-14s. They're upstairs and easy to walk into by accident, so know where you are.

Worth a look too

Four more if the five above don't fit the day. The Southbank Centre runs free family events through the year, and the Queen Elizabeth Hall roof garden is a good place to lose twenty minutes. Underneath it is the Undercroft, the oldest skate park in the world — free, and kids will happily watch it for longer than you'd think.

The Old Vic is next door to us and does family matinees. And Lower Marsh is a two-minute walk from the station, one of London’s oldest street markets, best on a weekday lunchtime.

Then eat: Crust Bros Waterloo

We're on Waterloo Road, a minute from the station and next door to the Old Vic. Neapolitan pizza, sharing plates, and something to dip your crust in.

Families are easy here. Kids get a 7-inch Margherita from £7.50 with a drink included — apple, orange or house lemonade — and toppings are £1 each. Gelato after at £1 a scoop.

For everyone else: pizzas from £12.50, sharing plates for the middle of the table, and a pre-theatre menu at £25 a head from 3–6pm daily if there’s a show after. Our dough proves for 48 to 72 hours and goes in at 500°C, which is where the charred crust comes from.

Walk-ins welcome, or book a table.

Make a day of it

Morning at the Imperial War Museum, while everyone's still fresh. Cut back up through Lower Marsh and have a look at the market. Leake Street on the way past. The Eye and Jubilee Gardens in the afternoon, so there's somewhere to run about afterwards. Pizza at ours when everyone's done in.

Book a table at Crust Bros Waterloo