A sterling adventure awaits at this fun and educational museum. They can see a £1 million note, try to lift a 13-kilogram gold bar and learn about the role the bank has played since it was founded in 1694 by William III, who needed cash to build a navy. (He was able to borrow £1.2 million and was charged 8 per cent a year.) Exhibits include currency, forgeries and the swords and muskets once used to defend the bank. Open Monday-Friday, 10am-5pm. Admission is free. bankofengland.co.uk.

2 RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT

More than 700 weird and wonderful exhibits cram six floors at this West End icon. The fattest, hairiest, creepiest and strangest apocrypha lurk in every nook and around every corner, including shrunken heads, a dungeon, a knitted Ferrari, an animated T-Rex, underwater wonders, an upside-down room and art made of lint, lipstick and lollies. Open every day, 10am-midnight. Door price, adults £26.95 ($46), children £21.95. (Includes hall of mirrors and a laser obstacle course.) ripleyslondon.com.

3 M&M'S WORLD, LEICESTER SQUARE

Kids love this homage to the small shelled sweet. Over four levels, they pose for selfies with costumed M&Ms, M&Ms St George, M&Ms Beatles on the Abbey Road crosswalk, M&Ms royals, and get their personality assessed and colour assigned by the M&Ms "computer". Every conceivable merchandising idea is available and you buy M&Ms from the wall-size dispenser. Adults will enjoy (or at least respect) the sheer brazenness of what is an incredible marketing exercise. worldchocolateguide.com.

4 HARRY POTTER WALK

The boy wizard's presence in London is ubiquitous - points of interest in actor Daniel Radcliffe's life as well as movie locations and trivia are now on tour itineraries on the Thames or on the buses and in permanent commentary. Queues for photos are a daily sight at Kings Cross station, where a luggage trolley is set into the wall leading to Platform 9¾. Our two-hour HP tour took us to nooks and crannies where devotees like my teen daughter were excited to recognise shopfronts, alleys and flats from the films. britmovietours.com.

5 WARNER BROS STUDIO TOUR

Like Mecca, this is the holy altar of Potter madness, where fans flock 40 minutes out of London to see the exact sets where their beloved characters spent 10 years shooting the world-famous stories. See mind-boggling, hand-made detail, from the jars of lollies sold on the Hogwarts Express to the Weasleys' kitchen and Diagon Alley, with the amazing architect-designed model of Hogwarts itself the highlight. Do not miss this - just get there early for the first tour, before the hordes arrive. wbstudiotour.co.uk.

6 OYSTER CARDS

Working out the Tube map and letting kids tell you where to go is a great activity for new skills, and taking the Tube is so easy with an Oyster card, which cuts the need to figure out which tickets to buy every time you head underground. Pick an amount - we had £20 each - and swipe through the turnstiles. Top them up when needed, but after a week of criss-crossing the city daily we still had rides left. Kids under 16 go free. Download the London Tube map at tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround. Buy Oyster cards at visitbritainshop.com.

7 CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

Roald Dahl's tale of the eccentric lolly king Willy Wonka just arrived on stage at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, this northern summer and what a rollicking, good-time musical it is. High on feel-good factor and cheeky fun tunes - not to mention ridiculously talented child actors and singers - our eight-year-old was entranced and delighted throughout the show. Walking through the buzzing West End after the show is a big city treat for the grown-ups, too. charlieandthechocolatefactory.com.

8 HAMLEYS

Parents, you should go straight to the naughty corner if you don't let your kids loose in this world-famous toy store. Four floors of fun and mayhem await, with staff around every corner demonstrating the whizzing, whirring, flying and fabulous new toys your offspring will fall immediately in love with. You may as well accept that a trip here will result in an episode of pester power on steroids. www.hamleys.com.

9 FEED THE BIRDS

Bird seed may have been tuppence a bag in Mary Poppins' day but when you stay at the Athenaeum Hotel on Piccadilly it's free for young guests. The luscious 19-hectare Green Park is a five-minute walk from the hotel, and much fun is to be had throwing seed in all directions to watch the flocks descend. Join the locals sunning on stripey deck chairs, kick a ball, grab a coffee. Ditto nearby Hyde Park and St James Park. Hire chairs for £1.50 an hour. royalparks.org.uk/parks/green-park; parkdeckchairs.co.uk.

10 TOPSHOP FLAGSHIP STORE

A must for tweens, teens and mums, this girl heaven is so much more than somewhere to buy on- trend, affordable gear. Get a tattoo, false eyelashes, nail art. Have lunch and have your hair done while you wait for your in-store tailor service to work its magic on your purchases. Set aside a few hours to properly get stuck in to this Oxford Street temple of style. Open all week until 9pm, 6pm on Sundays. visitlondon.com.

11 NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

From parasitic worms to the awesome life-size model of a blue whale, the galleries offer a sensory overload of information and fun. Much is devoted to younger potential 'ologists, including a science lab for seven- to 14-year-olds, the Earth Lab for rock fanciers, activities packs for kids under seven and plenty of Explorer and Discover guides. Open daily, 10am-5.30pm. Free admission. nhm.ac.uk.

12 LONDON EYE 4D EXPERIENCE

Before taking to the skies in the Eye capsule, it's definitely worth seeing this 4D movie first. Let the wind, bubbles and mist wash over you as you watch great moments of the Eye since its opening in March 2000. There was much laughter and oohing and aahing in our session, which was chock full of primary school kids on excursion. A hoot. londoneye.com.

13 CRUISE THE THAMES

Come down from the Eye and stroll two minutes to Millennium Pier to board your 40-minute sightseeing trip of this legendary waterway. Packed with interesting information and entertaining commentary, we enjoyed this open-topped boat trip immensely. There is so much to discover about the history, the real estate, the bridges, the buildings, the statues and stories of the riverside suburbs. londoneye.com/ticketsandprices/rivercruises/.

14 THE LONDON DUNGEONS

This place is pretty grisly to be honest, so much so that this wimpy mum passed on going in, but this collection of shows and rides obviously has mass appeal for those fascinated by the city's gruesome history. Think Jack the Ripper, the Plague, Guy Fawkes, torture chambers, headless people, public executions and the like. Probably one for older teens. The London Aquarium next door, with its pretty sea creatures, is the right speed for little kids and queasy mums. thedungeons.com.

15 LONDON HOP-ON, HOP-OFF BUS TOURS

This is the best way to get a feel for the city and kids love the open-top double decker. As the name suggests, you choose your destinations and hence your day out, and there are plenty of routes and tour-and-attraction combo packages. Hook in to the commentary for a detailed discourse of the sights, and don't forget your hats, water and camera. All tours include a river cruise and walking tour. From $40 for a 24-hour period. hop-on-hop-off-bus.com.

16 AFTERNOON TEA

Is there a child alive who doesn't drool at the thought of cupcakes, chocolate treats, gooey tarts and fairy bread? Afternoon tea is a tradition in London and several really lovely venues welcome children - the Athenaeum in Piccadilly is famous for its spread, as is the Chesterfield Hotel in Mayfair. The Cavendish Hotel near Piccadilly Circus also gets great reviews for its child-friendly tea service. athenaeumhotel.com; chesterfieldmayfair.com; thecavendish-london.co.uk.

17 SLEEPOVERS

Kids can bed down for the night in all sorts of sleepover events at the Natural History Museum, the British Museum and the Science Museum. Or spend the night aboard the HMS Belfast, a warship permanently stationed in the middle of the Thames. But it's hard to beat a night at Hamleys toy shop, which is available to hire on Saturday nights for 10 kids and comes with games, treasure hunts and a midnight feast (at a cost of £4500). timeout.com/london/events/museum-sleepovers.

18 THE ICONS

Don't even think about walking and Tubing your way around this massive and exciting city without Guy Fox's London Children's Map. It shows all the famous landmarks, the royal icons, the parks, Tube stations, the Changing of the Guard times and locations, and comes with a postcard and a set of stickers to tick-off 20 awesome experiences. A great keepsake. visitlondon.com/tag/tourist-information-centre.

19 JUNIOR FOOD

London restaurant prices can rattle the budget-conscious, particularly when you need to feed a family. You can't go wrong with most pub lunches, even in the super busy tourist areas; Pizza Express outlets everywhere have Italian dishes kids know and love, as does Wagamama's Asian chain of restaurants. We liked Ed's easy diner burger joint in the theatre district of Soho, with a range of casual, affordable options along South Bank as well.

20 LONDON IMAX

The London Waterloo centre is home to Britain's biggest screen and while the movie schedule is packed with alternative and educational movies, watch out for what's on the Film Funday timetable, which is designed for families. September offerings include Pocahontas and Justin and the Knights of Valour in 3D. bfi.org.uk/imax.