16 Fun Things To Do In London That Don’t Involve Alcohol

Despite its sometimes extortionate pricing, there’s a reason London remains a vibrant and buzzing city. So swap the pints for a bubble tea and your glad rags for something a little more casual for these activities that have absolutely nothing to do with alcohol.

1. You won’t have to ask for Just Five More Minutes at this gaming experience

We all had that one game growing up that we loved. We might’ve even been the best at it. Or at least we were in our own head. Then we grew up and gaming became seen as one of those kids’ things to do (excluding Mario Kart because that’s timeless for all ages). Well we need to get rid of that notion, fun is fun no matter how old you are and that’s what Just Five More Minutes is all about. With consoles going back as far as Atari and Nintendo’s early offerings through to the PS5 and Xbox Series X, you will have the chance to dust off that gaming crown from your early years. Tickets available here.

2. Swap Chinatown for Bang Bang Oriental

Look Chinatown is great, it always has been and always will be (no Chinatown slander will be tolerated here – management). But it’s the most obvious choice to go to if you want to explore an Asian, more specifically Chinese, dining experience. So switch it up and head to North London’s dedicated Asian food hall, Bang Bang Oriental, that that houses the widest range of specialist Asian restaurants in the country. It really is a one stop shop for Asian cuisine with an experience that encapsulates the street food experience all the way up to fine dining. You can experience a fine dining experience at the ground floor Golden Dragon restaurant. For those of you with a sweet tooth don’t think you’ve been forgotten about as there is a dedicated dessert stall as well as plenty of bubble tea shops. You can read more about it here.

3…Okay head to Chinatown too

Listen Chinatown is Chinatown. It does what it says on the tin and it does it extremely well. It’s flocked to by locals and tourists alike all year round and provides some of the tastiest treats you could ask for. It caters to you whether you’re on a budget or want to go for something grander. From buffets and street food style eats that clock in at under a tenner, you can really make your money stretch in Chinatown if you play it smart. You can also swap that out for a traditional sit down meal at one of the many restaurants lining the streets. With so much food that’s so good, the only thing you need to prepare yourself for besides getting stuffed is the queues, but they are more often than not worth it and pretty fast moving.

4. Dive into the Dopamineland multi-sensory museum.

Brighten up your day with an immersive experience that aims to get you to disconnect from everyday life and reconnect with some of your childhood fantasies. The focus is things that could make you happy (and yes there is a dedicated pillow fight room as pictured above). That’s just mentioning one of the rooms that are available to visit with all of the rooms being a physical manifestation of things that previously only lived in the imagination. There is one room that offers cocktails but why not opt out of that choice in favour of the bubble tea option (it fits the theme of the room a lot better too). Grab your tickets here.

5. The deliciousness of dairy awaits you on The London Cheese Crawl

Who says the pubs get to have all the fun? This cheese crawl will take you on a journey around some dairy-filled hot spots around the city. With stops at Fortnum & Mason, the official cheese suppliers (among other luxury delights no doubt) for the royals, and London’s often overlooked gem Little Italy (but you might want to avoid the drunk cheeses if you’re dead set on an alcohol-free day) you’ll soon be belly full with the gouda stuff. You can get your tickets here.

6. Indulge yourself in the luxury of cinema

The cinema is great as it is (and even better with a discount), but that doesn’t mean it can’t be improved upon. Whilst making standard things luxury isn’t something that works in all scenarios – for the cinema it definitely does. There are plenty of quality of life improvements beyond the standard of cleanliness being drastically improved. So no worries about stepping in spilt drinks or popcorn as you slink down into your comfy seats with plenty of legroom. There are a number of options for luxury cinema but Everyman has plenty of locations around London as well as offers tableside service. They also have some exquisite food options that go beyond your typical cinema fare – with burgers, pizzas and hot cookie dough being just a few of their extra items. There’s plenty of great films out at the moment too so what are you waiting for?

7-10. Challenge your thinking under pressure with an escape room

After being cooped up inside during all those lockdowns you’d think the last thing you’d want to be was trapped in a room but this is slightly different. If you’ve ever watched one of the Saw films and thought “I could’ve gotten out of there” this is your way to put that to the test. Only there’s no death traps or creepy clown toy narrating. Round up your mates and throw yourself into solving the challenging puzzles to make it out of an escape room of your choosing. Just don’t take too long, you’re on a time limit after all. You don’t of course have to go the scary route, AIM Escape offers a number of rooms including an 18+ comedy themed room as well as one with a spy theme you could get the kids involved with. You can grab tickets below:

⭐️ Patient Zero 2150
⭐️ Spy Heroes: A Game For The Whole Family
⭐️ Hangover Déjà Brew
⭐️ Psychopath’s Den

11. Channel your inner Lewis Hamilton (with Go Karts)

Gunning for the top spot on the activity podium, and rightly so, is go-karting. You might think to get an authentic karting experience you’d need to leave the Big Smoke but that’s not true. Petrolheads and anyone that has a competitive streak – TeamSport is the one for you. TeamSport has five London locations to choose from meaning you should never be too far away from a track. The question that you’re probably really most concerned about however is “how fast can the karts go?”. Short answer – fast. Long answer, these petrol-powered karts will get you at speeds of up to 40mph over the indoor courses that will have you battling for the fastest lap times and overtaking your friends. So go on, finally put to bed the conversations about who the best driver of the group is and settle it on the track. Or check out our list of 10 hair raising courses you can try out here.

12. Visit the esteemed V&A Museum

Founded and named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the V&A is a much loved museum by all who have visited it. Due to the diversity of excellently curated temporary exhibits on display alongside the vast and diverse permanent collections, people continue to flock to this cultural hotspot. It is a truly remarkable space and one that’s very accessible to all, with the vast majority of what’s on offer being free to the public. With exhibitions, collections, talks, courses, and even family workshops, this museum manages to cater to everyone to a tee and is a gem amongst the London museums worth shouting about.

13. See one of the biggest miniature art exhibitions in Europe

Amidst the museums of South Kensington is an exhibition doing things a little differently. At this experience the phrase “the bigger the better” definitely doesn’t apply. Small Is Beautiful is an exhibition celebrating miniature art works but don’t let the size of the art fool you. The detailing is intricate, complex, and showcased in some really creative ways that will have you keeping a close eye on everything around you. It contains 143 exclusive artworks and 80 photographs by a collection of 33 local and international artists, some of the works being produced specially for the exhibition. It might not be your usual type of thing but this one is fun for all ages, so why not give it a chance and take in a unique cultural experience. Here’s where you can get tickets.

14. Explore all that Richmond Park has to offer

Richmond Park is huge. That alone is a selling point as you’ll never be struggling to find yourself a good spot but thankfully it has even more than that to offer. As a designated National Nature Reserve, there’s an array of wildlife for you to discover – the ones you’ll most easily be able to spot being the deer that freely roam around the park. With a keen eye (and a bit of luck), you’ll also be able to see some of the 144 different bird species recorded in the park, shrews, voles, foxes, and even bats. But if simply watching the animals isn’t enough, the park also offers horse riding and alternative leisure activities like cycling and kiting. Add to that the 40 acre woodland garden for you to explore and you can see why you could end up spending a whole day doing stuff without leaving the park.

15. Sink your teeth into a slice of doughy goodness

Pizza is an internationally loved dish, and for good reason. As such it’s readily available almost everywhere, especially in London. Yet with all the pizzerias and delivery giants you’d be hard pressed to find a better experience than Pizza Pilgrims. If it’s quality and great value for money you’re after look no further. Specialising in Neapolitan style pizza, you are in for as close to the authentic Italian pizza experience possible when it comes to the food. Pizza obviously takes centre stage but there are strong additional options amongst the sides and desserts too. Whether you’re a meat lover, vegetarian or vegan there’s something for you. Or for the mavericks among you, there’s the option to go off menu and create whatever whacky topping combination you can think up.

16. Anyone up for being a ninja?

Let’s get this out of the way, this is not technically in London. Okay, it’s not in London at all but there are two locations close enough to London that it should still warrant a mention. If you ever watched Ninja Warrior on tv you’ll have definitely had the thought that you could beat some (or all) of the course’s obstacles. You can now have a genuine experience at one of Ninja Warrior UK‘s several locations (London crew you’ll probably be wanting the Milton Keynes or Watford locations). With a mixture of obstacles from the show alongside a completely inflatable course, you’ll have plenty to test your skills on. If you needed any more encouragement to head down here, I’m sure you can technically swing this as doing cardio so it’s also a chance to skip a visit to the gym.