A perfect day in London

The Tate Modern, which lies just across the Millennium Bridge from St Paul's Cathedral Alamy

The Old Bailey is perhaps the world's most famous criminal court

There are always free events and things to see on the South Bank

Here are two suggestions for a day out in London, whether you are looking to entertain the whole family, or wander the city without any children in tow.

Families

Morning

Get to St Paul's Cathedral (1) (020 7246 8350; www.stpauls.co.uk) as it opens at 8.30am – family ticket £34.50 – and attempt an explanation of the tented camp as you pass. See crypt, choir and American Chapel before the Dome opens at 9.30am. Whizz up to the Whispering Gallery, place half the family one side of the dome and half on the other, facing four inches from the wall. Whisper. Be amazed. Romp up more stairs to the Stone and Golden Galleries for superb views (closing for maintenance from January 9 to April 2). Cross the Millennium Bridge to see the free show by the British filmmaker Tacita Dean in the Tate Modern Turbine Hall (2) (www.tate.org.uk; until March 11).

Lunch

South of the Tate Modern, in the Blue Fin Building, is The Refinery (0845 468 0186; www.therefinerybar.co.uk), a faux-industrial restaurant offering sandwiches from £5.25 and sharing platters for less than £10. There's a ping-pong table, too.

Afternoon

The Peacock Theatre (3) (0844 8710090; www.sadlerswells.com) is a hidden treasure on Portugal Street, WC2. It is staging its much-loved production of The Snowman for the 14th consecutive year (family ticket for four, £95; runs until January 8), followed by the panto Aladdin. After the show, head for Covent Garden's Piazza, where someone is always juggling chainsaws or doing somersaults under the portico of St Paul's church.

Dinner

It's silly, but children love it: on a cold, wet night, the Rainforest Café (4) (020 7434 3111; www.therainforestcafe.co.uk) on Piccadilly is warm, cheery and full of animated tropical creatures. The children's menu is £12.50 (£3 extra for an activity pack) and adults pay from £25 for two courses.

Adults

Morning

Temple Church (5) (www.templechurch.com), hidden in a network of passageways behind a mighty black gate on Fleet Street, is a rare example of a round church. Set in the elegant legal purlieus of Inner and Middle Temples, it has marvellous knightly effigies, hosts regular concerts, especially around Christmas, and its choral services are beautiful. On weekdays, walk along Fleet Street and up Ludgate Hill to the Old Bailey (6), London's Central Criminal Court, and arguably the world's most celebrated court.

Trials here have included those of the Krays and the Yorkshire Ripper. Public galleries open from 10am to 1pm and from 2pm to 5pm. You can find the daily schedule on www.courtserve2.net by clicking on Crown Court (Daily) and Central Criminal Court on the live listings page, or by calling 020 7248 3277.

Lunch

Midweek, try El Vino (020 7353 5384; www.elvino.co.uk) on Fleet Street (hand-raised-pork pies and Ploughman's for less than £10) as well as for the legal anti-hero Rumpole of the Bailey, who drank at Pommeroy's, its fictional equivalent. At weekends, Tom's Kitchen (020 7845 4646; www.tomskitchen.co.uk) at Somerset House is Tom Aikens's hearty-but-classy Anglo French deli café. You'll pay anything between £12 and £30 for a main course.

Afternoon

The best thing about the National Gallery (7) www.nationalgallery.org.uk) is its 60-minute tour (11.30am and 2.30pm), which takes you through 600 years of European art. Afterwards, get a coffee and play on ArtStart, an interactive multimedia archive that allows you to browse the collection using a touchscreen. Then walk south across Trafalgar Square – see Yinka Shonibare's Nelson's Ship in a Bottle on the Fourth Plinth (www.london.gov.uk/fourthplinth) before it changes in 2012 – to the river and cross the Golden Jubilee Bridges to the South Bank. The German Christmas Market may have just ended, but there are performers, bookstands, skateboarders and free events all year round.

Dinner

Skylon (020 7654 7800; www.skylon-restaurant.co.uk) is a large, light-filled restaurant in the Royal Festival Hall (8) overlooking the Thames, named after the space-age construction built during the Festival of Britain. Eat formally in Skylon's restaurant, or more casually in its grill. The food is light and British, with lots of fresh fish and meat. From £40 for two courses in the Restaurant, from £25 for two courses in the Grill.

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