5 tips for visiting Sky Garden in London with kids

After hearing about friends taking children to skyscrapers on city breaks to New York, I realised that I hadn’t done enough of that in our home city of London either. Over half-term I decided to tick off a number of London attractions, and one of our days started in the highest public garden in the city – Sky Garden.

Here are my tips for visiting Sky Garden in London with kids:

Book in advance
1. Sky Garden is a public landscaped garden starting on level 35 of 20 Fenchurch Street – also called The Walkie-Talkie. Tickets to enter the park are free and can be booked online from the Monday before the week you plan to visit, and at certain times of the day it is also open to walk-in guests subject to availability. I didn’t find information online about the time the tickets were released when we visited, and I missed the opportunity to book the tickets I wanted, which were probably in high demand as it was half-term that week.

Consider going for breakfast at Darwin Brasserie
2. Instead of securing the free tickets to Sky Garden, we booked a table for breakfast in the contemporary and sleek Darwin Brasserie, which is what I would do again if we were to go back. Having breakfast meant we could sit and relax and enjoy the amazing views, and we particularly appreciated the friendly service in the restaurant. The waiter suggested the children share a portion of pancakes, and the kitchen kindly prepared their food on two separate plates. I opted for the continental buffet with pastries, cereals, fruits, cured meats and cheese, which made me feel like I was on holiday. For the children, dressing up to go out for a nice breakfast and eating pancakes at the top of a skyscraper at 8.30am in the morning was a pretty unique way to start their London day, and the restaurant visit made the day extra special. We still walked down the long staircase in the Sky Garden and spent some time going around to spot the buildings we knew and make the most of the 360 degree view.

Allow time for entry
3. When we visited Sky Garden, we arrived early in the morning and there was practically no queue at the security check-point on the ground floor. Upon exiting, we noticed there was a long queue and it seemed like it could have taken quite a while to wait at that point. We were not allowed to take our scooters with us, and we left those with the security guards. After taking the lift up to Sky Garden, it took us a while to locate the entrance to Darwin Brasserie, which is on level 36.

Bring sketch pads
4. For families with older children who enjoy drawing, visiting a skyscraper like 20 Fenchurch Street may be a good opportunity for bringing along a sketch pad and get creative.

Stop for a snack
5. If you’re not booking a meal in the restaurant, there’s also the option to stop for a coffee or tea and pastry or granola or muesli pot (morning menu from 7am until 11.45am) in the Sky Pod Bar in the Sky Garden. Sky Pod Bar is near the lift lobby on level 35, and if you spend time entering the building, it may be nice to extend a visit by enjoying a quick snack before carrying on with your day.

Tags: Breakfast, Darwin Brasserie, Family day out, Family-friendly restaurants, London, Sky Garden