What to do on Boxing Day in London

Charles Dickens Museum. Credit: PA

Charles Dickens Museum

For Boxing Day the Charles Dickens Museum is conducting a walk through Dickensian London, with readings of A Christmas Carol during the trip and a visit to the museum.

Kew Gardens

Kew's festive extravaganza includes Father Christmas's grotto in the Princess of Wales Conservatory (December 8-23; queue opens noon, closes 3pm), a traditional carousel on Kew Palace Lawn (December 8-Jan 6 10.30am-4pm), face painting at Climbers and Creepers (December 8-Jan 6 10.30am-3.30pm) and activities in the Orangery restaurant, based on festive plants and trees (every Wednesday & Sunday noon-2pm).

There are also guided and self-guided walks. From Boxing Day onwards, Santa's Grotto becomes an area for storytelling and shadow puppetry (December 26-Jan 6 11am, noon, 2pm, 3pm).

Tour of O2 Arena roof

A tour of the roof of the O2 Arena, lasting 90 minutes. You will be guided by professional climbers.

From the large viewing platform at the summit you can see the new cable car and the Thames Barrier, the lighthouse straight across the Thames at Trinity Buoy Wharf and the Royal Observatory at Greenwich to the west.

Natural History Museum Ice Rink

The Natural History Museum is the backdrop for a 1,000-metre-square outdoor ice rink, which has a Christmas tree in the middle, and a smaller rink for children.

There is also a fairground carousel next to the rink and there is a café bar overlooking the ice.

The trees are decorated with fairy lights to add to the festive atmosphere.

Free Art in the Wild exhibition at Oxo Tower Gallery

Wildlife photography by Roger Hooper captures endangered species, including leopards, tigers and other big cats. December 7-January 6 2013.

London Zoo

London Zoo covers 36 acres and houses over 760 animal species, many of which are endangered.

The Rainforest Life attraction recreates a tropical forest where you can see red titi monkeys, marmosets, tamarins and sloths.

Night Life features scorpions and the slender loris (a small primate).

At Gorilla Kingdom you can see western lowland gorillas.

Also worth seeing is the penguin habitat where you can view the colony of Macaroni and Humboldt penguins.

The zoo is open from 10am and last admission is at 3pm.

Maxilla, a week old colobus monkey, is cradled by his mother Niammey at London Zoo. Picture date: Friday October 26, 2012. Credit: PA

Screen Idols exhibition at 99 Mount Street

Photographs of cinema legends taken by Magnum alumni including Eve Arnold, Dennis Stock, David 'Chim' Seymour and David Hun.

This Magnum pop-up exhibition in Mayfair features Marilyn Monroe, Jane Fonda, Sophia Loren and James Dean. It is open from 10.30am to 4pm.