15 fun things to do near Paddington Station – London

Paddington Station is a constant buzz of activity, as passengers travel through Brunel’s landmark of Victorian engineering. But it’s worth pausing a little if you are visiting London, as the neighbourhood of Paddington is an excellent place to stay with easy access to all the major attractions.

There are plenty of things to do near Paddington Station, not to mention the connections with a certain marmalade loving bear. I spent the day looking around and came up with lots of fun things to do that would make a great day out.

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1. Things to do in Paddington – The Paddington Bear Connection

If you’ve watched the Paddington Bear movie or read the children’s books on which they are based, you’ll know that Paddington bear was named after the station at which he arrived from Peru and was found by Mr and Mrs Brown.

Under the clock on Platform 1 is found a life sized bronze statue of Paddington Bear, created by the sculptor Marcus Cornish and unveiled by the author Michael Bond in 2000. Following the Paddington Bear trail is one of the fun things to do in Paddington, especially for families.

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I joined the queue of Paddington Bear fans to have my photo taken with the marmalade loving bear. Near the Paddington Bear bench is a green plaque commemorating the arrival of Paddington bear in 1958.

Within the Lawn area of shops and cafes, I had a look around the world’s only Paddington Bear shop. The shop offers a leaflet with a charming Paddington Pawprint Trail with ideas for family friendly things to do near Paddington.

If you’d like to find out about all the Paddington Bear locations with a guide, try this inexpensive Guided Paddington Walking Tour

2. The Paddington Public Arts Trail

Paddington station is also the start of the Paddington Public Art Trail, which begins with the Paddington statues on Platform 1 of Paddington station. The Art Trail enables you to see a total of 22 sculptures throughout the Paddington area.

I took a look at the Brunel statue on Platform 8, since being from Bristol I’m great friends with Isambard Kingdom Brunel and his many projects including the Clifton Suspension Bridge and the SS Great Britain. On my wanders later in the day I also spotted a few of the other sculptures of interest.

Look out for the Two Figures by Sean Henry and the Message from an Unseen World, a flickering poem which is a homage to code breaker Alan Turing who was born in Paddington. More information about things to do around Paddington Station and the Paddington Art Trail here – where you can download the illustrated map of all the artworks.

3. The Garden Squares of Paddington

On your wanderings to the south of Paddington Station you’ll see several leafy green squares with enclosed gardens. Sometimes these garden squares are private for the use of nearby residents, but sometimes open to the public. Nearby Talbot Square Gardens is a green space with benches and tall trees.

Norfolk Square Gardens is a larger public garden with picnic spots under the trees, a children’s play area and free ping pong tables, with another statue of Paddington Bear on the sculpture trail.

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If you happen to find yourself in need of lunch or supper in this area, try The Victoria pub and step back in time with cosy banquette seating and polished wood paneling – they have a bar downstairs and pub food upstairs.

See more of London with a London Hop on Hop Off tour, covering all the major sites with 19 different stops and an audio commentary.

4. Explore the mews near Paddington Station

My initial explorations took me around the streets that surround the station, with many pretty squares and elegant porticoed houses. Coming out of Paddington Station onto Craven Road I glimpsed many pretty mews with pastel coloured houses.

These communities within communities were once the stables where wealthy Londoners kept their horses and carriages. Now they are converted into bijou and highly sought after cottages.

It’s worth wandering down a few of the mews which are normally open at both ends to see the instagrammable houses and get away from the bustle of the main road. The most photogenic are Bathurst Mews, Conduit Mews and Craven Hill, but of course do respect the privacy of the residents.

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5. Museums near Paddington Station – The Alexander Fleming museum

As I made my way back towards Paddington Station, I passed the Alexander Fleming Museum which is part of St Mary’s Hospital. At the museum you can see Fleming’s laboratory, restored to its 1928 condition. Explore the story of Fleming and the discovery and development of penicillin through displays and video.

More info: Fleming Museum Website | Address: St Mary’s Hospital, Praed Street, London W2 1NY | Open Monday – Thursday 10.00 to 13.00 by prior appointment

6. The Floating park in Paddington

Further along Praed Street I cut through to the Paddington Basin, part of the network of waterways that wind through north London, past Little Venice and on to Regents Park. This whole area has been rejuvenated with new offices and public spaces around the water. It makes a great place to start for walks around Paddington and up to Little Venice.

In the basin there’s a floating pocket park, a man-made island of floating pontoons, with plantings and a wildlife area. There’s a refreshment truck if you want to buy a coffee but equally you can bring your picnic and sit on the benches among the shrubs and greenery.

7. The Fan Bridge in Paddington

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Close to the floating park, you may notice a footbridge across the basin with a sculptural fan of metal at one end. This bridge is also an art installation, with five beams which rise into the air in sequence when the bridge opens, looking like a Japanese fan. You can see the bridge opening on Wednesdays and Fridays at 12 noon and on Saturdays at 2pm.

See more of London with a London Hop on Hop Off tour, covering all the major sites with 19 different stops and an audio commentary.

8. Merchant Square in Paddington

Next to the floating park is the area known as Merchants Square where there are a collection of offices, eateries and space to relax on the grass with free deckchairs provided.

You can also sit around the water maze, with jets of water spouting from the ground. It’s a relaxing water sculpture where kids have fun dodging the jets to try and reach the centre of the maze.

There are a couple more sculptures here, a seated figure of Sir Simon Milton who was leader of Westminster City Council and drove the regeneration of the Paddington Basin. Another brick version of the Paddington statue is found in the small M&S cafe at the entrance to some offices. More info: Merchant Square Website

9. Hire a boat in London in the Paddington Basin

With so much water accessible around this area, it would be a fun thing to get out and about to explore the canal system. Just beyond Merchants Square you’ll find the canal barge that is HQ of GoBoat.

They hire electric boats that are easy to manage for small groups. I saw several families and groups of friends having fun, as there isn’t a huge amount of boat traffic on the canals.

The boats take up to eight people and you don’t need any previous boating experience to drive one, you even have your own picnic table in the middle to sit around. In around an hour you could get as far as Regents Park and back, and two hours is even better as you can reach Camden Market.

More info: GoBoat Website | The boats are very popular so it’s best to book online in advance

If you are up for getting even more active, you can arrange to go paddle boarding from the same part of the Paddington Basin, where Active 360 have their base. They run SUP training sessions and SUP Yoga sessions in the basin, which need to be booked in advance. More info: Active 360 website

10. The Rolling bridge in Paddington

You’ll next cross over the Rolling Bridge as you head down the basin, which is inconspicuous as you cross over it, but like the Fan Bridge it has a second function as a sculptural installation.

The bridge is made from eight triangular segments, which when the bridge is raised curl up like a caterpillar, forming an octagonal sculpture that stands on one side of the canal towpath. You can see the bridge opening on Wednesdays and Fridays at 12 noon and on Saturdays at 2pm.

I crossed over the St Mary’s bridge towards the back of the hospital, where the children of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were all born. Walking along you reach the entrance to Paddington Station and if you just have a short time you might want to come out here to have a walk along the canal (exit the station along the side of platforms 8 and 9).

There are a few fun eateries close to the station exit, like the waterside Beany Green cafe and the sister cafes on floating barges Darcie & May Green, which have been colourfully decorated by pop artist Sir Peter Blake.

Look out for the sculptures that are part of the Paddington Sculpture trail I mentioned; Two Figures by Sean Henry and the Message from an Unseen World, under the road bridge, as well as a colourful metal installation.

11. Sheldon Square in Paddington

Follow the path away from the canal into Sheldon Square. This attractive amphitheatre is surrounded by restaurants and cafes. Sporting events and films are shown on the big screen and there are some free ping pong tables.

The street food collective Kerb hold a monthly lunchtime market here on Wednesdays every fortnight 12-3pm. Find out more about the food vendors and upcoming dates on the Kerb website.

More info: Paddington Central Website

12. Little Venice in London

As you continue your walk along the canal, you arrive in the Little Venice basin. Offshoots of the canal continue towards Regents Park and Camden Lock in one direction and through West London in the other.

The area is thought to have been given its name by poet Robert Browning. Browning returned to live in the area from Italy after spending time in Venice.

If you want to relax for a while, cross over to the Rembrandt Gardens where there are benches and plenty of grass to spread out your picnic rug. There’s also a handy free public WC. I also loved the Waterside Cafe, which looked very tempting on one of the canal barges where they serve drinks, cakes and sandwiches.

13. Take a Little Venice boat trip

From the Little Venice basin you can take a boat trip with the London Waterbus Company down to Camden Lock or London Zoo daily between April-September and at weekends in winter.

You can check the website for details of times (around 6 times per day) and fares. Another option is to take a canal boat with Jason’s Trips who offer a similar tour down to Camden Lock around 3 times per day.

14. The Puppet Theatre Barge

Within the Little Venice Basin, look out for the Puppet Theatre Barge for some unusual puppet show entertainment. The barge alternates between Richmond and Little Venice, so check the Puppet Theatre Barge website for when it will be in Little Venice and the shows on offer.

15. Check out these Little Venice restaurants by the water

If you are looking for a proper waterside restaurant in Little Venice, you can check out the famous Bridge House pub near the canal. There’s a comedy show upstairs, and is set back from the water.

If you continue west along the canal you’ll also come to The Summerhouse which specialises in seafood. Its sister restaurant The Waterway sits next to the canal and offers beautiful views all year round.

This was a far as I was able to explore in my walk around Paddington in London. From here it’s an easy walk back along the canal to Paddington Station.

If you have a whole day to explore, you could follow the same trail as me. If you just have an hour or two and are looking for things to do around Paddington Station, then I would come out at the canal exit and walk around the Little Venice area or Paddington Basin.

Hotels near Paddington Station

If you’re looking for a hotel near Paddington Station, take a look at The Devonshire. It’s just a 5 minute walk from the station and offers stylish and comfortable boutique rooms in two elegant townhouses.

The 35 rooms have been recently renovated with contemporary decor and are equipped with WiFi. There are tea and coffee making facilities and a microwave, with stylish marble bathrooms.

Breakfast and other facilities are available at the sister hotel Park Grand Paddington Court, which is immediately across the road.

Hotel Website: The Devonshire London Paddington Hotel | Check prices and book for The Devonshire Hotel

More information to plan your visit

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This sponsored* post was created in partnership with The Devonshire London Paddington Hotel

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This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com

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