Looking for immersive experiences in London? Well, good, because I’m the UK’s biggest independent immersive experience blogger. Whenever an immersive experience launches in London, I’m there no matter how weird it is. I have visited more than 100 so far!
Below are London’s best immersive experiences that I have tried and tested, organised by type. This article gets updated regularly, you’ll find 30+ immersive experiences here at all times.
Something needs updating? Give me a shout in the comments, or on Instagram (@travelwithpau).
🫖 Afternoon Tea /Wizard Afternoon Tea, spellbindingly delicious, with a smoky cauldron on the side.
🛏️ Overnight /Key of Dreams, a luxury 24 hour immersive theatre and fine dining experience you can stay in overnight.
This Month’s Highlight
Peaky Blinders: Underworld
The one everyone’s talking about right now. Set in the historic railway arches by London Bridge, Peaky Blinders: Underworld drops you straight into Thomas Shelby’s world, starting in a full recreation of the Garrison Tavern, where you can grab a drink before finding the hidden door down into the underworld beneath. From there you’re free to explore Garrison Lane, The Bookies, Chinatown, and the Small Heath Fairground, bumping into actors, solving puzzles, and stumbling into surprises along the way. Around an hour, fully immersive, and exactly the kind of world-building the show’s fans have been waiting for. Running 13 August 2026 – 3 January 2027, from around £25.
Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland and one of the most underrated city breaks in the UK. It’s compact, incredibly walkable, and packed with history, culture, and one of the best food and bar scenes I’ve encountered anywhere in the British Isles.
It’s also a city that wears its complex past openly the murals, the Peace Wall, the political taxi tours and that honesty makes it one of the most thought-provoking places I’ve visited. Come with an open mind, and you’ll leave with a genuine understanding of a city that has worked incredibly hard to reinvent itself.
Nowadays Belfast is my second home, as I own short term accommodation properties in the city. I’m constantly advising and engaging tourists so I do dare say I know a lot. So if you are visiting do me a favour and stay in one of them… wink, wink!
GRAND OPERA HOUSE
BELFAST ESSENTIALS
✈️ Getting There / Belfast has two airports, Belfast International (BFS) and George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD), most UK flights use City Airport, which is closer to the centre. Book a private airport transfer with WelcomePickups for a stress-free arrival. Search flights on Skyscanner.
🚗 Getting Around / The city centre is very walkable, with most attractions within a 20 to 30 minute walk of each other. For day trips out to Giant’s Causeway or Hillsborough Castle, compare rental cars on DiscoverCars.
🧳 Luggage Storage / If you’re early for check-in or have time to kill before heading home, no stress, there are luggage storage points all over Belfast. Use this website to find one nearby.
📱 Connect / Stay connected the moment you land with an eSIM. I use Holafly, use code TRAVELWITHPAU for 5% off.
🛡️ Get Insured / Even for a UK trip, it’s worth having cover. World Nomads offers coverage for over 150 activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and more.
Wonderful Things to Do in Belfast
Visit the Titanic Belfast Experience
The Titanic Belfast museum is, without exaggeration, one of the best museums I’ve ever been to. Built on the exact slipway where the Titanic was constructed, it takes you through the full story of the ship, from Belfast’s industrial history to the night of the sinking and beyond. The building itself is stunning, designed to resemble the prow of a ship.
Book in advance, this sells out, especially on weekends. Book your Titanic Belfast tickets and include the SS Nomadic visit while you’re there.
Spot the Samson & Goliath Cranes
These two giant yellow cranes are Belfast’s most iconic skyline feature, you can see them from almost everywhere in the city. They’re a symbol of the city’s shipbuilding heritage and make for great photos, especially from the Titanic Quarter waterfront.
Monteverde was my second stop in Costa Rica. I chose to visit it as Monteverde has a Cloud Forest, which is the only one in Costa Rica but also one of the few Cloud Forests in the world, as they only represent 1% of the global woodland. A cloud forest is a forest which is constantly covered in clouds at the canopy level and is very, very moist. When I began doing research about Monteverde I found that it is very small, but also that there are a lot of things to do!
A Bit of History
Monteverde’s story starts with a community of American Quakers who settled here and founded the Monteverde cheese factory in 1953, partly to escape the Korean War draft. It became one of the biggest employers in the area outside tourism, and the dairy brand is still on supermarket shelves in town today, even though the factory was sold to an international company in 2014 and the tours stopped. Those same Quakers later worked with scientists to protect the surrounding forest, and in 1972 the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve was created, starting at just 810 acres and now covering around 35,800. It helped shape Costa Rica’s reputation for conservation and eco-tourism, which is a big part of why this small mountain town is on almost every first-timer’s itinerary.
MONTEVERDE ESSENTIALS
🚗 Getting There & Around / The easiest and fastest way to get to Monteverde is by car, but the roads getting there are not paved and are in a pretty rough state, so you’ll need a 4×4. Compare rental cars on DiscoverCars, I found them to have the cheapest rates with full insurance included. If you’d rather not drive, this site covers buses and private transfers.
📱 Connect / Stay connected from the moment you land with an eSIM. I use Holafly, which gives you unlimited data, plus 1GB of free global backup data with its Always On feature, handy if your plans change. Get yours with my link and use code TRAVELWITHPAU for 5% off.
🛡️ Get Insured / Things can and do go wrong when you travel. World Nomads offers coverage for over 150 activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and more.
LAST CHANCE TO PLAY Monopoly Lifesized is closing its doors in London on 3 January 2027. Tickets are still available throughout the festive season at monopolylifesized.com.
Monopoly Lifesized turns the world’s most argued-over board game into a giant, immersive, on-your-feet experience, and it is one of the most fun things I’ve done in London. Instead of shuffling a tiny top hat around a board, you and your team step onto a lifesized board, roll the dice and race around real London streets, and every time you land on a property you have to win it by completing a challenge behind its door.
Here is my honest review of the Classic Own It All board, what’s good, what’s not, and the one big mistake you can avoid.
MY RATING Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) The Experience: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) The Puzzles: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5) Fun Factor: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) Food & Drink: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5) Value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)
What Is Monopoly Lifesized?
Monopoly Lifesized is an immersive game on Tottenham Court Road where you play Monopoly for real, on giant boards, as part of a team. There are four teams per game and up to six players per team, and each team gets its own human token to guide them round the board. Roll the dice, move to a property, and instead of just paying for it, you head into its challenge room to earn it with a puzzle, a mini game or a hands-on task. The venue advertises 52 challenge rooms in total, and which ones you play depends entirely on where the dice land.
There are four boards to choose from: Luxury, Classic, Classic Own It All and City. The rules are exactly the same on every board, it’s the themes and challenges that change.
How Does It Work?
It plays out in turns. On your turn you roll, move and tackle the challenge for the property you land on. Win it and it’s yours, fail and it goes to auction. When it isn’t your turn you draw a Chance card and get to strategise, which can mean building houses and hotels, or making life difficult for the other teams. Landing in jail is as bad as you’d hope, and getting out means beating a challenge rather than just paying bail.
The property doors, each one hides a challenge
Our Experience on the Classic Own It All Board
We played the Classic Own It All board, the venue’s more cutthroat take on the classic board, where you really have to hustle for the win and the aim is to beat your rivals and own the board. It was properly good fun.
What makes it special is the game show feel. Our host was incredibly charismatic and the whole thing is genuinely immersive, which is rare. A lot of immersive experiences suffer from wooden acting, but here the hosts are brilliant, funny and completely committed to the bit. The costume design is absolutely banging too, you really feel like you’ve stepped into a Monopoly world rather than a room with props.
The hosts and their costumes, game show style
The challenges are a brilliant mix. Some are over in about two seconds, some are maths puzzles, some are properly physical, and a few are hard for the time you’re given, though none are super difficult. We even had to build a house and a hotel by hand, which sounds easy until a clock is running. We also landed in jail, and the challenge to get out was one of the most fun puzzles of the whole game. We won it and escaped, which felt amazing.
On the lifesized board with the hosts
It’s also nicely competitive. If you’re really behind, the hosts will quietly help you out, so nobody is ever completely out of the running.
The One Thing I’d Change: Don’t Play in a Team of Six
We were a group of six, which is the maximum, and I would discourage it. Six people is too many. The property rooms aren’t big enough for a group that size, so we kept getting in each other’s way, and honestly the experience was a bit sub-par because of it. It was still lots of fun, but I’m convinced it would have been even better with a smaller team. If you can keep your group smaller, do.
The Top Hat Bar and Restaurant
The venue has its own themed bar and restaurant, the Top Hat, and we had drinks there. The Electric Avenue cocktail was the best one, and the Strand was a fun one to order because of its sparkly ball presentation.
The Electric Avenue cocktail at the Top Hat Bar
My advice, from experience: leave the drinks until after the game. They really can affect how good you are at the challenges, and you’ll want a clear head for the maths ones.
The Monopoly burgers were my favourite, absolutely delicious. The rest of the food was average.
Which Board Should You Pick?
I can only speak for Classic Own It All, which I loved if you like a competitive edge. The other three are Luxury (an art deco bank with a laser challenge), Classic (the closest to the original board) and City (a night-time tour of London’s streets). Since the challenges change between boards, it’s replayable if you want to try a different one.
Practical Info
Where: 213-215 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 7PS
Price: standard tickets start from £54 per person, and that includes a £1.55 booking fee. Family tickets save up to 15% with a minimum of four tickets per order.
How long: around 80 minutes, so check the time when you book
Team size: up to 6 per team, and four teams per game
Age: the venue recommends 9 and over (it says it can be flexible), and babes in arms and pushchairs aren’t allowed
Closing: Monopoly Lifesized closes in London on 3 January 2027
For me, yes. The production quality is brilliant, the hosts are the best I’ve come across in any immersive experience, and the mix of challenges means everyone on the team gets a moment to shine. It gets a 5 out of 5 for value from me because of how much is packed into the game. My only real caveats are the team size (keep it under six) and saving the cocktails for afterwards. With the doors closing on 3 January 2027, this is your last chance to roll the dice.
Yes, it’s one of the most fun immersive experiences in London, with brilliant hosts, a great mix of challenges and a proper game show feel. It’s best with a smaller team.
How many people can be in a team?
Up to six, but I’d recommend fewer. The property rooms are small, so a team of six ends up getting in each other’s way.
How long does Monopoly Lifesized take?
The game takes around 80 minutes, so allow extra time if you want to eat or drink at the Top Hat afterwards.
What age is Monopoly Lifesized for?
The venue recommends it for ages 9 and over, though it says it can be flexible. Babes in arms and pushchairs aren’t allowed.
Which board should I choose?
I played Classic Own It All and loved it. The challenges differ between the Luxury, Classic, Classic Own It All and City boards, but the rules are the same.
When is Monopoly Lifesized closing?
It closes its doors in London on 3 January 2027, with tickets available throughout the festive season.
This is a sponsored post. All opinions and experiences are my own.
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Margate has properly reinvented itself over the last decade or so, and it’s now one of the best coastal day trips (or short stays) you can do from London with kids. There’s a genuinely good mix here: a real sandy beach, a free vintage amusement park, an actual mysterious underground grotto nobody can fully explain, and enough hands-on museums and soft play to cover a rainy day too. It’s about 1.5 hours from London on the high-speed train, which makes it a genuinely realistic day trip, not just a long-weekend destination.
We found Margate a lot more chill than other coastal towns we’ve visited as a family, like Southend-on-Sea, and a lot more hipster, with countless lovely specialty coffee shops, quaint restaurants and delicious gelato.
We took our son and he loved the beach so much, that’s the thing I’d plan the day around. Dreamland was lovely too, but more as part of the day than the whole plan, more on that below.
MARGATE WITH KIDS ESSENTIALS
🚆 Getting There / High-speed Southeastern trains run from London St Pancras International to Margate in around 1 hour 26 minutes to 1 hour 37 minutes, with up to 55 services a day. Book on Trainline in advance for the cheapest fares.
🚗 Getting Around / Margate itself is small and walkable, the beach, Old Town and Harbour Arm are all within 10 to 15 minutes of each other on foot. For Quex Park or the other nearby Thanet towns, compare rental cars on DiscoverCars, though the local train also covers Broadstairs and Ramsgate easily.
🏨 Stay / Space, a short walk to the beach and somewhere the kids can run around matter most here. Skip the endless scrolling, these are the ones I’d point a friend toward (full picks in Where to Stay below): Budget: The Burlington Hotel Mid-range: Seaside 2 Bed En-suite Flat by Adliv, where we stayed! Splurge: No.42 by GuestHouse
📱 Connect / Visiting the UK from abroad? Stay connected from the moment you land with an eSIM. I use Holafly, which gives you unlimited data, plus 1GB of free global backup data with its Always On feature, handy if your plans change. Get yours with my link and use code TRAVELWITHPAU for 5% off.
🛡️ Get Insured / Even for a UK trip, it’s worth having cover, especially with a beach and soft play activities on the itinerary. World Nomads offers coverage for over 150 activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and more.
Things to Do in Margate with Kids
1. Marvel at the Shell Grotto
£5 adults, £2.50 children under 16, under 3s free, £12 family ticket. Nobody actually knows who built the Shell Grotto, an underground passage and chambers entirely covered in over 4.6 million shells arranged in mosaic patterns, discovered by accident in 1835. Theories range from an 18th-century folly to something far older, and the genuine mystery is a big part of what makes it fascinating for kids, this isn’t a staged attraction, nobody has ever definitively explained it. Worth knowing before you go down: it’s genuinely a bit eerie underground, low ceilings, dim lighting, and a definite atmosphere, so it can spook very young or nervy kids more than you’d expect from a “shell museum.” Check current opening hours and book here.
2. Ride the Rides at Dreamland Margate
Free entry, pay per ride.Dreamland is a genuinely charming vintage amusement park right on the seafront. We visited with our son and it was lovely, but I wouldn’t treat it as a standalone day out, it works best as one part of a day alongside the beach and something else, rather than the one thing you plan everything around. The historic Scenic Railway (one of the oldest wooden roller coasters in the world, now under refurbishment) is the headline ride, alongside dodgems, waltzers and a proper old-school arcade. Rides run on a token system (1 token is £3) or wristbands: the Mega Wristband is £24.99 for unlimited rides on anything over 1.2m tall, and the Tiny Tots Wristband is £12.99 for children between 0.8m and 1.2m. It includes the Margate Express, Dreamland’s miniature railway, which is a great one for toddlers. Buy wristbands online in advance, it’s cheaper than on the day. The huge public area in the middle of the park, deck chairs and a big screen showing kids’ films in summer, is free to sit in even if you don’t buy a wristband. For toddlers specifically, Octopus’s Garden, Dreamland’s separate soft-play café with a climbing structure, slides and seaside-themed play buildings, is a good option if the main rides feel a bit much, it’s paid entry on top of general admission, check current pricing on-site.
Dreamland’s art deco neon sign on the Margate seafront
The Margate Express miniature railway at Dreamland
3. Explore Margate Caves
£5 adults, £2.50 children, £12 family ticket.Margate Caves are a genuine 18th-century chalk mine turned smuggling and storage caves, beautifully restored with a new visitor centre, café and exhibition space when they reopened in 2019. The self-guided tour is atmospheric without being scary for younger kids, and there’s enough history woven in to hold older kids’ attention too. It’s a good rainy day option, but the caves are quite small, so a visit can take as little as 15 minutes. Pair it with something else indoors nearby rather than making it the whole plan.
4. Get Hands-On at The WonderWorks
£5 adults, £2.50 children aged 5 to 15, under 5s free, £12.50 family ticket. An immersive attraction built around some of Britain’s best-known hobby brands, The WonderWorks lets kids get hands-on with Hornby model railways, Scalextric slot car racing, Airfix model-building and Corgi die-cast cars. It’s a nice change of pace from the beach and works particularly well for kids who like building and making things. Book WonderWorks tickets here.
5. Burn Off Energy at Widget’s World
From £4.50 entry, or £6.50 with a child’s meal, and you can stay as long as you like (prices at time of writing, check before you go).Widget’s World is a seafront indoor adventure play centre at 36-42 Marine Terrace, with separate play zones for all ages including babies, plus slides, a ball pit, a sensory room and a café on site. It’s one of the best rainy day options in Margate, and handy any day the kids need to burn off some energy. Check their Facebook page for current opening hours.
The ball pit at Widget’s World
6. Beat the Clock at The Escapement Escape Rooms
Around £90 per team (a fixed price at time of writing, check before you book).The Escapement is an award-winning escape room attraction in the town centre, a short distance from the train station, and it’s open to all ages. It was named the UK’s #1 rated escape room on Tripadvisor in 2019 and won a TERPECA award in 2022. There are three 90-minute adventures to choose from (Pirates of Polaris, Egyptian Exodus and The Pit), built with live theatre, cinematic sets and real puzzles, and they’re designed to be exciting without being scary. Another great one for a rainy day, and a good one to do as a family.
7. Take In the Art at Turner Contemporary
Free. Right on the seafront, Turner Contemporary is a proper art gallery that still works well with kids: there’s a dedicated family room to explore, child-friendly exhibitions, and weekend family tours, plus sensory workshops for toddlers. Entry is free, though a donation is suggested, and the café does excellent cake if you need a rainy-day plan that doesn’t feel like a chore for the adults either.
A huge colourful artwork inside Turner Contemporary
Deckchairs on the terrace at Turner Contemporary
8. Learn Something Weird at the Crab Museum
Free. Billing itself as the only museum in Europe dedicated to decapods, the Crab Museum is small, genuinely witty, and far more interactive for kids than the novelty premise suggests, plus a proper souvenir shop worth a browse. Usually open Friday to Sunday, 11am to 5pm, worth checking current days before you go.
9. Spend the Day at Margate Main Sands & the Harbour Arm
Free. The main event: Margate Main Sands is a genuine, proper sandy beach right in the town centre, and our son absolutely loved it, Blue Flag status, gentle tides and lifeguards in season, and it gets busy on a warm weekend for good reason. Walk out along the Harbour Arm, the old stone breakwater lined with independent shops, a lighthouse at the end, and some of the best food in town, for views back over the whole bay.
10. Swim in Walpole Bay Tidal Pool
Free. One of the largest tidal pools in the UK, Walpole Bay Tidal Pool fills naturally with seawater at high tide and stays calm and swimmable as the tide goes out, much safer and more relaxed than open sea swimming with younger kids. It’s a proper local institution, and a short walk from the town centre. Palm Bay next door is another good rock-pooling spot if the kids want to keep exploring.
11. Feed the Machines at Margate Arcades
Free to enter, pay per machine. No trip to a traditional British seaside town is complete without the arcades, guaranteed to drain a pocket of 2ps fast, and kids love every second of it. Margate Amusements on Marine Terrace, opposite the beach, is the largest, or there’s a smaller undercover arcade inside Dreamland if you want it paired with food, drink and a roller disco on a rainy day.
12. Have Breakfast on a Double Decker Bus
Café prices, no entry fee.The Bus Café, on the Sun Deck along the promenade, serves an award-winning breakfast on the top deck of an actual double decker bus overlooking the sea, think crumpet sliders and a full cooked breakfast without the grease. Open Thursday to Monday, 9am to 2:30pm, and genuinely one of the more memorable breakfasts you’ll have with kids.
13. Play a Round at Stokes Adventure Golf
£7.50 adults, £7 seniors, £6 under 12s, second round half price, no booking needed. An 18-hole mini golf course overlooking Westbrook Bay, Stokes Adventure Golf is an easy, reliable hour with kids of pretty much any age, and the sea views make it a nicer round than your average crazy golf course.
14. Cycle the Viking Coastal Trail
Free. A roughly 32-mile circular cycling and walking route around the whole Isle of Thanet, mostly flat and family-friendly, and it passes straight through Margate. You don’t need to do the whole thing, even a short stretch out towards Broadstairs works well for older kids on bikes, and there are e-bike tours available if you’d rather not pedal the whole way yourselves.
15. Wander Margate Old Town
Free.Margate Old Town is a tangle of narrow streets packed with independent shops, vintage stores and galleries, it’s grown into a genuinely creative little quarter since Turner Contemporary opened. Not a single fixed activity, more something to just wander through between the bigger attractions, kids tend to enjoy the quirky shop windows as much as the adults do.
Silly, a quirky shop with a trinket trade box in Margate Old Town
Margate souvenir magnets in a seaside shop window
The Wellington on Duke Street in Margate Old Town
The old Town Hall in Margate Old Town
16. Climb Drapers Windmill
£2 adults, 50p children, £4.50 family ticket. Margate’s only working smock mill, Drapers Windmill is run entirely by volunteers who explain how the machinery works and let kids climb the steep stairs right up to the top for a proper view over the town, there’s also a ground-floor CCTV display and history film for anyone who can’t manage the stairs. Open Sunday afternoons, 2pm to 4pm, from early May to late September, genuinely hands-on in a way most windmills aren’t. Visit the Drapers Windmill website for current dates.
Day Trips
Quex Park, Birchington
A short drive or train ride to Birchington, Quex Park is a proper family estate day out: soft play at The Jungle (£5 for ages 1 and up including 1 adult, £3.50 under 1, extra adults £1.50, term-time pricing, check the site for holiday rates), giant bounce pillows, a toddler village, goat walking, and Quex Adventure Golf, plus the Powell-Cotton Museum next door, where kids can get hands-on with over 400 real objects in “The Cube,” from costumes to small taxidermy animals. Check the Quex Park website directly for current museum and adventure golf prices, they’re each ticketed separately. Easily a half or full day on its own.
Broadstairs & Botany Bay
Free to visit.Broadstairs, a short hop down the coast (under 10 minutes by car or train), has Viking Bay, a calmer, more sheltered sandy beach than Margate’s, good for younger kids and easier swimming, plus Morelli’s Gelato for the best ice cream in the area. We loved our visit to Broadstairs, it’s such a quaint little town. Grab a lovely coffee at Salt, and have fish and chips at one of the restaurants down on the shore. The Old Curiosity Shop Café on Harbour Street does takeaway food and has a small play corner for little ones. One warning: watch out for the seagulls, they love stealing ice cream! St Mary’s Chapel Bar on Albion Street is the oldest building in Broadstairs, a pub and second-hand bookshop with shelves of books from floor to ceiling. Botany Bay, just north of Broadstairs, is known for its chalk stacks and rock pools, a proper fossil and rock-pooling spot at low tide. For a rainy-day backup, Elev8 at nearby Westwood Cross is a trampoline park, soft play and arcade all in one, with weekday specials from around £6 per person in term time.
Viking Bay from above in Broadstairs
Viking Bay beach and beach huts in Broadstairs
Colourful striped beach huts on the boardwalk at Broadstairs
Salt neighbourhood café & bar in Broadstairs
The Boathouse seafood shack at Broadstairs harbour
St Mary’s Chapel Bar, Broadstairs
Ramsgate
Free to visit.Ramsgate‘s Royal Harbour is the only Royal Harbour in the UK, and it’s a genuinely pretty spot to wander with a working marina, Georgian architecture, and a decent beach of its own if Margate’s is too busy.
Where to Stay in Margate with Kids
Budget Accommodation
The Burlington Hotel: A family-run seafront B&B less than 5 minutes’ walk from the beach, the train station and Dreamland. Guests regularly mention the complimentary sticks of rock and biscuits for kids, a small touch that goes a long way. Best for: families who want to be right in the middle of everything without paying for extras.
Mid-range
Seaside 2 Bed En-suite Flat by Adliv: This is the one we stayed in and we had the best time. A spacious two-bedroom, two-bathroom flat (one bedroom has bunk beds) with free parking, a full kitchen and a washing machine, rated 9.1 (Superb) from 34 reviews. It’s full of children’s toys and books, there’s enough carpet space for the kids to play for hours, there were bucket and spades galore and some lovely snacks left for us. It’s right in front of an Aldi, there’s a playground nearby, and it’s close to the centre, with the Shell Grotto about 400 metres away and Walpole Bay beach a 6-minute walk. Best for: families who want space and a self-catering base rather than a hotel room.
Walpole Bay Hotel: A genuinely characterful historic hotel with generous family suites, a 6-minute walk from Walpole Bay Tidal Pool. It’s part-museum as much as hotel, plenty for curious kids to look at around the building itself. Best for: families who want somewhere with real character, close to the tidal pool.
Splurge
No.42 by GuestHouse: An upscale beachfront guesthouse in the Old Town, 6 minutes on foot from Dreamland, with a rooftop bar, restaurant and connecting rooms available for families. Best for: a proper treat-yourself trip where the stay is part of the occasion.
GB Pizza Co: A genuine Margate institution on the Harbour Arm since 2012, wood-fired pizza with British ingredients and views over the harbour and Turner Contemporary. Easy, reliable, and kids love pizza, so this rarely goes wrong.
Peter’s Fish Factory: Right opposite the sea, proper fish and chips with good batter and generous portions, and genuinely good value.
Angela’s: On the main parade, a reliable, well-loved seafood spot if you want a proper sit-down meal rather than something to eat on the beach wall.
Melt Margate: The local favourite for gelato, a proper post-beach treat and an easy win with kids of any age.
Morelli’s Gelato: Another one for gelato, a sixth-generation Italian family business that has been making it since 1907, with a parlour on Marine Drive on the seafront serving fresh gelato made every morning. A very easy post-beach stop with kids.
Rise & Bun: Our pick for breakfast. Some unbelievable buns and delicious coffee, in a bakery on King Street in the Old Town that regularly has a queue out the door. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am until the buns sell out, so go early.
Rise & Bun on King Street in Margate Old Town
How Long to Spend in Margate with Kids
A day trip is genuinely doable from London: the beach, Dreamland and one more attraction (the Shell Grotto or Margate Caves) comfortably fits into a day, especially with the fast train.
A weekend (2 nights) lets you add Turner Contemporary, the Harbour Arm, and either Quex Park or Broadstairs without rushing.
3 to 4 days covers the whole list properly, including all the day trips, with time to just relax on the beach in between.
5 days is how long I stayed, and I loved it. That’s plenty of time to cover the whole list at an easy pace, with proper beach time too.
Best Time to Visit
Late spring to early autumn (May to September) is when Margate is at its best, the beach is genuinely usable, Dreamland’s outdoor rides are all running, and the tidal pool is at its most inviting. School holiday weeks get busy, especially on the beach and at Dreamland, so weekday visits are noticeably calmer if you have the flexibility.
Getting To & Around Margate
High-speed Southeastern trains run from London St Pancras International to Margate in around 1 hour 26 to 1 hour 37 minutes on the HS1 line, with up to 55 services a day, genuinely one of the easiest UK seaside day trips from London. By car, it’s around 1 hour 45 minutes via the M2 and A299, compare rental cars on DiscoverCars if you want the flexibility to add Quex Park or the other Thanet towns.
Once you’re there, Margate itself is small enough to walk everywhere, and local trains connect easily to Broadstairs and Ramsgate if you want to explore further along the coast without a car.
FAQ
Is Margate good for a family day trip from London?
Yes, it’s one of the easiest UK coastal day trips from London, around 1.5 hours by high-speed train, with a real sandy beach, a free amusement park, and enough indoor attractions to cover a rainy day too.
Is Dreamland free to enter?
Yes, entry to Dreamland itself is free, you only pay for rides, either individually with tokens or with an all-day wristband, which works out cheaper if your kids want to go on more than a handful of rides.
What is the Shell Grotto and is it real?
It’s a genuine underground passage covered in over 4.6 million shells arranged in mosaic patterns, discovered in 1835. Nobody has ever definitively explained who built it or why, which is exactly what makes it such a good one for curious kids.
Is Margate beach good for young children?
Margate Main Sands is a proper sandy beach and generally safe, though Walpole Bay Tidal Pool and Broadstairs’ Viking Bay are calmer, more sheltered options if you want gentler water for younger kids.
How many days do you need in Margate with kids?
A single day trip from London covers the essentials comfortably, but 2 to 3 days lets you add Quex Park, the Harbour Arm and one of the nearby Thanet towns without rushing.
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Tooting was named one of the 10 best neighbourhoods to visit in the world by Lonely Planet, and once you’ve spent an afternoon getting gently lost in its two indoor markets, you’ll understand why. As it happens, Tooting is actually my neighbourhood, I’ve lived here for over 12 years now, and it’s genuinely home. I chose to stay because I love how multicultural it is, and if I’m honest, mostly because of its super fun markets. Wedged between Tooting Bec and Tooting Broadway tube stations, both on the Northern line, is a proper “curry corridor”, decades of South Indian, Sri Lankan and Pakistani food culture sitting shoulder to shoulder with newer wine bars, bao shops and more. It’s the kind of place that rewards wandering without a plan. Here’s my up-to-date guide to what to eat, do, drink and see.
TOOTING ESSENTIALS
✈️ Getting There from the Airport / From Heathrow, the quickest route is the Elizabeth Line into Tottenham Court Road, changing onto the Northern line, roughly 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes depending on which Tooting station you’re headed to (Tooting Bec or Tooting Broadway). From Gatwick, the fastest option is the direct Southern/Thameslink train to Clapham Junction (around 30 to 45 minutes), then a short onward hop into Tooting via bus or bus + train. If you’d rather not deal with luggage on public transport after a flight, book a private airport transfer with WelcomePickups.
🚇 Getting There from Central London / The Northern line runs straight down to both Tooting Bec and Tooting Broadway, about 25 to 30 minutes from central London depending on where you’re starting. There’s also a separate Tooting mainline rail station on the Southern/Thameslink network if you’re coming from Clapham Junction, Victoria, or south of the river.
🚶 Getting Around / Tooting itself is small and entirely walkable, everything in this guide is within about 15 minutes on foot of Tooting Broadway station, so there’s no need to think about local transport once you’re here.
What to Eat in Tooting
International food is what Tooting does best, below are my top picks.
Eating in Tooting: If You Only Have One Meal
Daddy Bao (113 Mitcham Road, London SW17 9PE) does fluffy, flavourful bao buns and delicious cocktails. It’s a sister spot to Peckham’s Mr Bao, and it’s always busy, so book ahead if you actually want a table rather than a wait outside.
Barra10 (16 Broadway Market, Tooting High Street, London SW17 0RL) is an Argentinian steakhouse tucked inside Broadway Market, run by an Argentinian chef and his Mexican wife, the kind of place where the smell of the grill hits you before you’ve even sat down. It’s been recommended by TopJaw, and as an Argentinian myself, I can vouch for it too, I visit very frequently. Go hungry, and whatever else you order, do not miss the ox cheek nuggets.
Lahore Karahi (1 Tooting High Street, London SW17 0SN) has been here since 1995 and turns up on nearly every “best curries in London” list going. It’s spicy, and it’s good. It’s also hectic, and the service can be a bit rude, but honestly that’s just part of the charm, you’re not here for hand-holding, you’re here for the tarka dhal and the sizzling lamb chops. Open till late most nights if the craving hits at 11pm.
Juliets (110 Mitcham Road, London SW17 9NG) works great for brunch. A very hipster brunch spot in London, relaxed staff, indy music, all exposed brick and inventive plates like smoked caviar and pumpkin omelette. Everything on the menu is delicious, it genuinely feels like it’s been put together by Michelin-star chefs, not a neighbourhood brunch spot. It’s first-come, first-served, no bookings, so turn up early on weekends or be prepared to hover.
Naked Loaf (70 Moyser Road, Tooting, London SW16 6SQ) does sourdough pizza that’s genuinely one of the best I’ve had in London, full stop.
Eating in Tooting: Brunch
Flora inside Tooting Market does Latin American fusion brunch that’s louder and more colourful than most, now with a bottomless option and DJs at the weekend turning the whole thing into more of an event than a meal.
MUD (141 Mitcham Road, London SW17 9PE) is the classic, meat-focused brunch menu, big plates of eggs and bacon done properly, as well some caribbean fusion dishes. They do big portions so come hungry.
Branché (14 Trinity Road, Tooting Bec, London SW17 7RE) does French street food and an entirely halal, all-day brunch menu, the signature French tacos are worth the trip alone.
Eating in Tooting: South Indian
Radha Krishna Bhavan (86 Tooting High Street, London SW17 0RN) is the one to try if you want your South Indian food a bit gentler on the palate, all soft idlis and coconut-heavy sauces rather than anything that’ll have you reaching for water.
Dosa n Chutney (68 Tooting High Street, London SW17 0RN) does exactly what its name promises and does it well, proper crispy dosas with a spread of chutneys to go with them.
Jaffna House (90 Tooting High Street, London SW17 0RN), London’s oldest Sri Lankan restaurant, does great curry at a genuinely negligible price.
Eating in Tooting: International Food
Little Taperia (143 Tooting High Street, London SW17 0SY) does proper Spanish tapas, the kind of small plates and sherry list that makes an evening stretch out without you noticing.
Meza (34 Trinity Road, Tooting Bec, London SW17 7RE) is the Tooting Bec branch of the Lebanese restaurant, moujadara, creamy houmous, and plenty of grilled meat off the char.
Eating in Tooting: Coffee
Juliets (110 Mitcham Road, London SW17 9NG) doubles as one of the best specialty coffee spots in the area on top of its brunch reputation, think salted espresso butter and a proper chai, not just an afterthought bolted onto the food menu.
Blueprint now has two spots to choose from, 162A Mitcham Road near Tooting Broadway, and a newer branch at 60 Franciscan Road closer to Tooting Bec common, both doing the same reliably good “coffee by design” approach. This is my go-to coffee shop, which I visit daily.
arêvery (116 Tooting High Street, London SW17 0RR) is your daytime coffee spot that quietly turns into a lovely little wine bar come evening, small producers, intentional sourcing, and 30p from every coffee going to the local food bank.
Forty (165 Tooting High Street, London SW17 0SY) is a proper community-run coffee spot, the kind of place that feels like it knows half its customers by their usual order.
Milk Run (16-18 Ritherdon Road, Tooting Bec, London SW17 8QD) is Milk’s (mega popular brunch spot in Balham) sibling, all croissants, pain au chocolat and proper sourdough loaves alongside the coffee, worth the short detour off the main strip.
Eating in Tooting: Fancy Meals
Rosmarino (23 Trinity Road, Tooting Bec, London SW17 7RE) is a small, family-run, proper grown-up Italian, contemporary plates built on seasonal ingredients flown in from Italy, run by a husband and wife who genuinely seem to know every regular by name. Booking ahead is worth it, it’s a small room.
Smoke & Salt (115 Tooting High Street, London SW17 0SY) is tasting-menu only, a rotating six-dish “Culture” menu built around the best produce of the season, with wine pairings if you want to make a proper night of it. Thursday to Saturday only, and it’s small, so book ahead.
Things to Do in Tooting
Tooting has two indoor markets, and honestly, wandering both of them properly is a thing to do in itself.
Wander and Eat at Tooting & Broadway Markets
Tooting Market (21-23 Tooting High Street, London SW17 0SN) is the older of the two markets, a warren of small units where you’ll stumble on something new every visit.
KOI Ramen Bar does a rich, properly bone-deep tonkotsu broth that’s worth queuing for, plus gyoza that disappear off the table faster than you can order more.
Get Juiced does fresh juices and smoothies, and banging açai bowls, good for a quick, cold reset between market stops. Do not leave without trying the all-vegan snickers bar, it’s genuinely one of the best things in the market.
Vermicelli (Unit 11, Tooting Market, 21-23 Tooting High Street, London SW17 0SN) does consistently excellent handmade pasta, rolled out in full view of the market. The owners, Ahmos and Aleksandra, opened it after getting properly obsessed with vermicelli’s history, tracing the pasta back to 14th-century Italy and Maestro Martino da Como, sometimes called the first celebrity chef, and built the whole menu around telling that story properly.
Graveney Gin is a genuinely woman-run gin distillery with its own cocktail bar and bottle shop, the actual stills sitting right there behind the counter, so you can watch what you’re about to drink get made.
Love Art Tooting is a gallery and gift shop stocked with prints and cards from local artists, alongside ceramics, jewellery, books and stationery, genuinely nice gift territory rather than tourist tat.
Slime Bar does exactly what it sounds like, kids make their own slime in a one-hour workshop (or grab a 30-minute session with pre-made slime if patience is short), and it’s been a genuinely popular after-school and birthday party spot here since 2019.
Broadway Market (29 Tooting High Street, London SW17 0RJ), the smaller and newer of the two, is where you’ll find Barra10 (see above).
The Brasa Club (Unit 25, Floor G, Broadway Market Tooting, SW17 0RJ) is genuinely one of the best-reviewed restaurants in the whole neighbourhood, 5 stars from well over a hundred reviews, small plates, ox cheek doughnuts, and everything made from scratch.
Pan Asian Street Food (Unit 24, 29 Broadway Market, London SW17 0RJ) does bao buns, tonkotsu ramen and a proper pork ramen, hundreds of genuinely glowing reviews.
On weekend nights the whole place fills with live music and an energy that’s a world away from a normal shopping trip.
Check Out a Legit Indian Market
Patel Brothers (187 Upper Tooting Road, London SW17 7TG) has been the go-to Indian grocery store here since 1973, shelves stacked floor to ceiling with spices, lentils and snacks imported directly from India, it genuinely feels like you’ve been transported there for the ten minutes you spend browsing.
Buy Fresh Naan
Daily Naan (176 Upper Tooting Road, London SW17 7ER) does naan so fresh it’s still warm when you’re handed it, and I find it an experience in itself just buying the bread!
Play Bingo in an Art Deco Cinema
Buzz Bingo (50 Mitcham Road, London SW17 9NA) is housed inside the old Granada cinema, a genuinely stunning art deco building from 1931 that got converted into a bingo hall in the 70s but kept its original interior. Worth popping your head in just to see the building, even if bingo isn’t usually your thing.
Wander Around Tooting Common
Tooting Common is the proper green space to walk it all off, and next to Tooting Bec tube it connects through to Balham and Streatham if you fancy extending the walk. Head to the pond for the ducks, it’s a genuinely lovely spot to just sit for ten minutes, and there’s a weekly park run if you’re that way inclined. Fun fact: I got engaged by the lake here, so this particular patch of grass is a pretty special one for me.
Cool Off at the UK’s Largest Freshwater Lido
Tooting Bec Lido (Tooting Bec Road, London SW16 1RU) is the largest freshwater swimming pool in the UK, a proper South London institution with those distinctive coloured changing huts you might recognise from Guy Ritchie’s Snatch. Fun fact: it was built in just four months and opened in July 1906 as “Tooting Bathing Lake”, a communal bath for locals who mostly didn’t have their own bathroom at home, which makes 2026 its 120th birthday. It’s open from 1 May to 30 September, and on bank holidays you’ll want to get there early or fight for the last spot in the sun.
Discover a Hidden Sewing Machine Museum
The London Sewing Machine Museum (308 Balham High Road, Tooting Bec, London SW17 7AA) is only open 2pm to 5pm on the first Saturday of each month, but the collection is genuinely something: over 600 sewing machines, one of them gifted to Queen Victoria’s daughter as a wedding present. There’s a haberdashery on site too if you leave inspired to sew something yourself.
Bake Your Own Cake in a Competitive Bake-Off
If you fancy something a bit more competitive than a pint, The Big London Bake runs baking sessions in a twelve-station tent set up in The Castle’s garden, walked through by real patisserie chefs in about 90 minutes. Best done in pairs or a group, and it’s non-alcoholic in the tent itself, though The Castle is right there for a pre or post-bake drink.
Where to Drink in Tooting
Pubs
The Castle (38 Tooting High Street, London SW17 0RG) is a Young’s pub that’s been here since 1832, likely one of the biggest pubs in Tooting by sheer square footage, and its garden, complete with rentable garden huts, is the real draw for a summer get-together.
The Antelope (76 Mitcham Road, London SW17 9NG) is a historic Victorian pub that reopened in April 2026 after a £1 million refurbishment, and thankfully it still feels like the same community pub underneath the polish. Beer garden intact, and a proper Sunday roast now on the menu too.
The Selkirk (60 Selkirk Road, London SW17 0ES) is a gorgeous Victorian two-bar pub tucked just off the main high street on a residential corner, with a surprisingly large walled garden that still feels like something of a locals’ secret. It’s especially good for a Sunday roast, and there’s a room upstairs for hire with a regular run of comedy and trivia nights, worth checking what’s on before you head down since it doesn’t run every single week.
The King’s Head (84 Upper Tooting Road, London SW17 7PB) is a proper piece of Victorian pub architecture, built in 1896 and recognised by CAMRA as a historic interior of national importance, so much so that the actual Euro 2020 trophy did a promotional visit here for a day. Sitting at an awkward midpoint between the two tube stations means it’s rarely as packed as it deserves to be, and with pool tables out back and sport on the screens, it’s a solid pick if you want space to actually sit down.
The Rose and Crown (140 Tooting Bec Road, London SW17 8BH), opposite Tooting Bec Common, is a proper local’s local with fresh pizzas, live sport, and a Sunday night pub quiz that’s worth building your evening around.
Craft Beer
Craft Tooting (143 Mitcham Road, London SW17 9PE) is my favourite London beer shop, full stop. It moved here from Broadway Market in late 2024 and now has six draft taps and a bottle selection that’ll have you standing at the fridge for a good ten minutes deciding.
Br3wery (97 Moyser Road, Furzedown, London SW16) is a bit further out but worth the walk, a proper craft beer taproom with sourdough pizza and natural wine, families and dogs both welcome.
Wine Bars
arêvery (116 Tooting High Street, London SW17 0RR) is your daytime coffee spot that quietly turns into a lovely little wine bar come evening, small producers, intentional sourcing, and 30p from every coffee going to the local food bank.
Indie Wine Club (Tooting Market, 21-23 Tooting High Street, London SW17 0SN) is a proper by-the-glass wine bar right inside the market, a list that changes with the seasons and a genuinely dog-friendly, unpretentious vibe. Closed weekends for private events, so a weekday visit is your best bet.
Cocktail Bars
Goldfinch (145 Mitcham Road, London SW17 9PE) does one of the best negronis in the city, and its fairy-light-covered heated garden, tucked behind an unassuming side entrance, feels like stepping into somewhere entirely different once you’re through it.
Where to Go Out in Tooting
The old Tooting Tram and Social, the converted tram shed everyone used to head to for a late one, closed and reopened in April 2026 as House of Ora, a genuinely different kind of night out for the neighbourhood, live music, DJs, and rotating art installations all in the same building that used to just be somewhere to dance till 2am.
The Candlelight Club (48A Mitcham Road, London SW17 9NA) is a proper 1920s speakeasy behind a secret door, candlelight, live jazz from Red Hot Rhythm Revival, and burlesque from Jolie Papillon. Dress the part, book a Champagne table or the three-course dinner option if you want to make a proper night of it.
Enjoyed this article? Support my work by buying me a latte. Otherwise, do me a great favor of leaving a comment and following me on Instagram (@travelwithpau). Feel free to say ‘Hello!’ I don’t bite. And make sure you save the article for later on Pinterest!
