London in January with a 5-year-old: worth it?

[Moun18]

Hi everyone!

We're a family living in Morocco and are considering a 5-day trip to London in mid-January to make the most of two public holidays here.

We'd be travelling with our 5-year-old son, who isn't used to cold, grey or rainy weather at all.

As it's a fairly significant expense for us, we'd really like the trip to be worthwhile. I'm wondering whether London is still enjoyable in mid-January, or whether the weather might limit what we can do too much.

We have French passports, so we'd only need an ETA rather than a visa.

I'd love to hear your honest experiences, especially from families who've visited at this time of year. Thanks!

We live in outer London and went often into central London with our daughter.

You will need a proper winter coat and warm shoes/boots. It’s difficult to predict the weather so you need to be ok with cold, windy, rain or dry weather.

No school holidays so museums and attractions are quiet during the week which makes visiting nice.
There is plenty to do and see for a 5 year old indoors and outdoors.

We live in London. Yes, the weather can be cold, wet and grey but there is lots to do indoors.
It can also be bright and sunny when it's cold and we have lovely parks you can run around in if you're lucky

There’s still plenty to do, even in bad weather.
The Unicorn Theatre has lovely shows for small children and there’s a barge on Regents Canal that is a children’s theatre too that does puppet shows. There are children’s afternoon teas in some places. The natural history museum is good for dinosaurs and free. A lot of the museums have small interactive children areas. There’s a very good one in the Science Museum (next to the natural history museum and also free). Kensington Gardens has a lovely large playground. Hamleys toy store is still quite a magical place for kids and has a good ice cream parlour. There’s the London Eye and Big Ben. Or you can take a tourist bus round all the sights but he might find that a bit boring.
Make sure he has a raincoat, hat and wellies for splashing about in puddles and that you factor in rest.

Time Out London has a section for children’s activities. Hope you have a great time.

I had family visit last December and we had constant rain, storms and gale-force winds!
Their son was 13 and still found it exciting to see some sights and shop in Oxford St etc- I kept my own 5 year old at home as it was freezing.

so maybe wait until he’s 6/7 and can appreciate the sights (Transport museum, London Eye etc) a bit more and better weather would be better

I think there is loads of inside stuff to do and it's always worth visiting any time of year in my eyes. That said if it's going to be your only holiday of 2027 I probably wouldn't choose London in January.

I would say it's a perfect time. It will be quiet so no crowds for your small person to navigate.

And you'll be able to get tickets for shows easily.

I think sometimes the cold can be thrilling when you aren't used to it- and it can come with some beautiful sunshine and frost (snow, but rarely in London now). How much a five year old enjoys it will depend on how warmly you can dress them for the weather in my experience. With a good hat/ gloves/ warm coat/ boots they are very happy. The tube system is so extensive you can tuck out of the rain quite easily if it is a rainy day.

Things my 5 year old loves- the free view from 8 Bishopsgate viewing platform across London. Theatre - the Lion King and my Neighbour Totoro especially. The postal museum with the ride on the mailcarts- there is also a lovely post themed play area here but it books in slots. I'd also look up Wake the Tiger- it is so much fun to explore for adults too and my 5 year old was fascinated.