V&A Museum of Childhood

Housed in a renovated Victorian-era building moved from South Kensington in 1866, this branch of the Victoria & Albert Museum is aimed at both kids – with its activity rooms and corners of child-friendly, interactive exhibits, games and toys, including a dressing-up box and a ‘beach’ with sand – and nostalgic grown-ups who come to admire the antique toys. From carved ivory figures (one, a ‘paddle doll’, dates back to 1300 BC) to teddy bears, from Meccano to Lego and from peep shows to computer games, childhood artefacts from around the world are on display in this cheery museum.