A LITTLE PLANNING. A BETTER DAY.
Choose between a big science day, a short dinosaur visit and room to play outdoors. Leicester offers good family variety, but the easiest outing starts with what your children will enjoy and how long they can concentrate. The Space Centre and a cluster of old-town museums do not need to fit into the same day.
For space enthusiasts, book a full half-day at the National Space Centre and select the show before deciding when to eat. Allow a break after the first galleries, then return to the displays your children picked; a successful visit does not require every simulator or screen. Read show age guidance and sensory information, especially for darkness, loud launches or flashing images. A shorter, cheaper alternative is 60–90 minutes around the open dinosaur and local-history displays at Leicester Museum, with lunch outside afterwards. The Den and several galleries are closed during redevelopment, so avoid promising a play room or indoor picnic stop. In good weather, Abbey Park can be the main activity, with a picnic and a limited loop around the play area and gardens rather than an ambitious river walk. Children who enjoy evidence and puzzles may prefer Richard III or Roman daily life at Jewry Wall; choose one paid history visit and keep the rest of the afternoon flexible. Current child offers at both venues end on 31 October 2026, so compare the full booking basket for your actual date. These visit allowances are editorial estimates: add time for feeding, toilets, mobility needs and returning to your transport.
FIND YOUR KIND OF DAY
Rockets, spacecraft and hands-on galleries make this a substantial science outing north of central Leicester. The planetarium adds a seated journey through space, with the available show chosen when booking. Give the centre its own day or long half-day rather than squeezing it between old-town museums.
Dinosaurs, ancient Egyptian material and Leicester Stories give this New Walk museum a useful mix of deep time and local life. Choose the displays currently open rather than expecting the full art collection: major redevelopment is changing the building. A focused visit can still make a good low-cost outing near the railway station.
The River Soar divides this north-of-centre park into garden landscapes and the grounds of a former abbey. Choose a short walk among the ruins, a garden loop or time at the play area. It offers a change of pace from indoor attractions without turning the day into a countryside excursion.
Follow the investigation that connected a medieval king with a Leicester car park. The displays bring together Richard’s turbulent life, his death at Bosworth and the archaeology and scientific identification of the remains. The original grave site is here; his present tomb is across the old town in the cathedral.
Explore Roman Leicester through mosaics, excavated objects and a multimedia recreation of life in the town. The bathhouse remains connect the indoor interpretation to an actual Roman site. This is the renewed, ticketed museum experience, so older descriptions of a free museum should not guide your budget.
Step into the timber-framed Great Hall and the rooms where Leicester’s civic life unfolded. Medieval displays and the former police cells show different uses of the building, from public gatherings to crime and punishment. Its position beside the cathedral makes it a manageable extra stop without another journey across the city.
PLAN YOUR DAY
Pick a few open displays at Leicester Museum and finish before concentration fades. Its dinosaur collection gives a clear focus, but refurbishment limits the wider offer and food facilities. Plan the snack or meal separately.
Plan a shorter museum visit →Yes: reserve your date and the standard included planetarium show. Check the calendar, because the centre is closed on 23 and 24 September 2026. Extra shows and special events may need additional payment.
Check Space Centre planning →Read the Space Centre’s sensory guide and ask about support before booking a show. Jewry Wall also uses audiovisual interpretation. A shorter collection visit or an outdoor park day may suit better; contact the venue about quieter sessions and the support available on your date.
Compare indoor choices →Abbey Park has a play area and grass, with water nearby requiring supervision. Let the park be a destination in its own right if you are tired after another attraction. Seasonal railway rides should be a bonus, not a promise.
Plan the park outing →Richard III and Jewry Wall advertise a September–October 2026 offer for up to three children aged 15 and under with a paying adult. That does not make the whole visit free and may not apply later. Check the dates, accompanying-adult rules and any concession evidence.
Check Roman museum booking →HELP IMPROVE THIS GUIDE
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