Foyles

Foyles on Charing Cross Road is one of London's most iconic bookshops, and the children's section is a genuine destination for young readers. Spread across five floors of a beautiful building in WC2, the shop carries an extraordinary breadth of stock and has a well-developed section dedicated to children and young adults.

For book-loving children, a visit to Foyles is an experience rather than a quick errand. The scale of the shop — the shelves, the discovery of unexpected genres, the cafe on the upper floors — makes it a memorable outing. The children's section stocks picture books, middle grade, YA, activity books, and non-fiction across topics from science to history to art.

With a 4.7-star rating, Foyles is respected not just as a retail destination but as a cultural institution. The shop hosts author events, book launches and reading groups that are open to the public, and the children's events programme means there are regular reasons to visit beyond browsing.

The Charing Cross Road location puts it at the heart of central London, accessible from Tottenham Court Road tube and well placed for a day in the West End or Soho. The Ray's Jazz Cafe inside the building adds a grown-up layer for parents, making this a comfortable destination for the whole family to spend an hour or two.