The Best London Apps For Families

By Zoe Craig Last edited 85 months ago
The Best London Apps For Families
Family life by Alexander Baxevanis via the Londonist Flickr pool

Want to enjoy London with the family this summer? There's an app for that — lots of them, in fact.

Best for planning all your London fun: Hoop

'Find everything going on for kids in London,' boasts the app.

And the easy-on-the-eye, simple-to-use Hoop pretty much lives up to its promise. You can browse by date, distance from your current location, or category. There's also a Most Popular lucky dip.

We're big fans of Hoop, and use it pretty much each week to find out what's going on nearby. If you've got kids, and you haven't downloaded it yet, now's the time.
Free
Available on iTunes / Google Play

Best for London transport: Citymapper

Family tubed. Photo by Joe Navin via the Londonist Flickr pool

Citymapper is simply the best app out there for sorting out all your London transport needs.

Get it and get your kids involved in planning your trip. We love the 'rain safe' option too.
Free
Available on iTunes / Google Play

Best London attraction apps

Like it or not, you just know your kids will get more out of these London attractions if you can combine their visit with a little screen time.

Leopard pattern loving family by Xuesong Liao via the Londonist flickrpool.

Tower Bridge

Turn your mobile into a wrench and tighten bolts on a shaky engine; or use it to shovel coal into Tower Bridge's boiler room; or guide a boat along the Thames by tipping your phone from side to side.

The family-friendly Tower Bridge App offers interactive stories about the history of London's famous bridge, as well as games to help little ones learn about how the bridge works. Don't miss the eye-spy game using the panoramic views of London from the high-level walkways.
Free
Recommended age 5-11
Available on iTunes / Google Play

Riverside London

The Riverside London app feels like four area guides in one: London Bridge, Bankside, Southbank and Vauxhall village.

There are listings for eateries, shops, hotels for each of the areas, as well as listing what's on and offering maps of the area. It's probably most useful for its South Bank content, because it's linked to the Southbank's already very comprehensive website.
Free
Available on iTunes / Google Play

Natural History Museum

Bite-sized nuggets of information from a useful map on this app will help you move around the museum and see all the exhibits you want to tick off.

We reckon it could be a useful planning tool for a family before you get inside this packed and potentially overwhelming museum. Check out the special offers section too: a cream tea in The Bakery for just £4 last time we looked.
Free
Available on iTunes / Google Play

London Transport Museum

If you're a regular visitor to the London Transport Museum (your ticket gets you entry for a year), downloading the app will help you get more out of it.

As well as highlights from the collection, app users can see the museum's packed events calendar, exclusive content and special offers (we've been told about free coffees in the museum cafe, and opportunities to pick up free posters since we've downloaded the app.)
Free
Available on iTunes / Google Play

National Portrait Gallery

Get more from your visit to the NPG with this app. It offers comprehensive commentary on the artworks, as well as additional video and audio clips.

Great if you feel like you don't have time to see the everything you want to in this fab gallery: either use the app to plan ahead, or browse any items you might have missed when you get home.
£1.99
Available on iTunes

Best for fun when you're out and about

Lost. Photo by Jan Rockar via the Londonist flickrpool.

Street Art London

Whet your teenager's appetite for walking (anywhere) with the addition of the Street Art London app.

It maps loads of London's best street art, alongside artist profiles: it's a great way for different family members to develop and share their artistic tastes together.
Free
Available on iTunes

Museum of London Streetmuseum

The Museum of London Streetmuseum app brings gorgeous social history pictures to life for your kids as you walk round town.

If your children like photography, this will add another dimension to any trip to London as the app allows you to see old photos pinned to a map of modern London.
Free
Available on iTunes

Are there any essential Londony family apps we've missed? Let us know in the comments below.

Last Updated 03 February 2017