London's Paddington Bear Experience is charming, my kids loved it

The Paddington Bear Experience turned out to be one of the most charming tours I’ve ever taken.

If you’ve ever wanted to live in Paddington’s world and move in to Windsor Gardens with him and the Browns, then London’s new experience is about as close as fans of the marmalade-loving, duffel-coated bear can get.

And clearly, he has a lot of fans – like the white-haired lady on our tour, with her daughter and adult grandson, who threw her arms around the Paddington-costumed character and declared, “I’ve loved you since I was three.”

The Paddington Bear Experience turned out to be one of the most charming tours I’ve ever taken. Like a love letter to the Paddington character, books and movies, it’s done with the utmost care and attention to detail, so much so that Paddington author Michael Bond’s daughter Karen Jankel said when she toured it, “Everyone involved, from the designers through to the actors, clearly have a genuine affection for Paddington and I can guarantee that, had he still been here to enjoy it, the experience would definitely have received my father’s own pawprint of approval.”

Opening ahead of the release of the movie Paddington 3 (this month in the UK, January in Australia), it certainly got my two primary-school daughters’ pawprints of approval – even my 10-year-old threw herself into the spirit, afterwards declaring, “What’s better than a talking bear from Peru? Nothing!” and giving the tour a solid score of 9.5/10.

Situated in London’s tourist hotspot of South Bank, just along from The London Eye, Shrek’s Adventure and The London Dungeon, The Paddington Bear Experience is an immersive re-creation of Paddington’s world, with actors.

You enter through Mr Gruber’s shop, which conveniently sells masses of Paddington memorabilia, then go into Paddington Station where you catch an old-fashioned train to Windsor Gardens.

Mrs Brown welcomes you into number 32 and Mrs Bird into her kitchen, then you walk through a series of rooms with interactive games for children, before going on an adventure to Peru to make marmalade, culminating in a Marmalade Day Festival.

It’s an actor-led tour and you are placed in small groups to complete tasks, before moving on to the next room. That means you can’t walk through at your own pace so leave enough time. The whole experience takes around an hour and a half.

It’s suitable for all ages – in our group there were adults without children, elderly people, plus families with kids. It’s quite dialogue-heavy though, so very fidgety toddlers might find it hard to stand still.

It’s also actor-heavy, as opposed to experience-heavy, and apart from the “train journey” at the beginning, it doesn’t have any rides or thrill-seeking experiences, like some of its neighbouring attractions. But what it does have is lots of heart. And what could be better than that?

The writer was a guest of The Paddington Bear Experience.

How much are tickets for The Paddington Bear Experience?

Tickets are from £29 per adult and £19 per child. It is very popular, so book ahead. Try and nab the first or last slots, to avoid the crowds, especially in the gift shop, on arrival.

Originally published as London's Paddington Bear Experience is charming, my kids loved it