Stratford: Olympic Park, Culture and Family Experiences

Stratford offers a selection of sports activities, parkland, architecture, theatre and attractions for families.

Sport and distinctive architecture

Lee Valley VeloPark offers four Olympic cycling disciplines: track cycling, BMX, road cycling and mountain biking. The documented offering therefore ranges from the velodrome to other forms of cycling. The London Aquatics Centre offers a different sporting focus, with family sessions, lane swimming, diving and swimming lessons. The building was designed by Zaha Hadid, combining a specific visitor offering with distinctive architectural design.

The ArcelorMittal Orbit also makes a clear statement. The facility combines a 360-degree viewing platform with the world's highest and longest tunnel slide. The 360-degree platform represents a complete panoramic view, while the tunnel slide turns the visit into a ride. Two different experience elements are therefore at the heart of your visit here: the view from above and the ride through the slide. London Stadium adds a 60-minute tour to the selection. This gives you insights into the West Ham United changing room, the players' tunnel and the areas beside the pitch.

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park between meadows and wetlands

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is open every day. Its landscape offers more than a connection to the sporting venues: the wetlands and riverside meadows are home to hundreds of birds, waterfowl and amphibians. Animal watching is therefore also one of the park experiences described.

The meadows of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park include a gently sloping, heart-shaped lawn with the Olympic Rings. Other meadows feature wildflower areas around lawns suitable for picnics. These details give the park different spatial impressions: the Olympic Rings create a clearly recognisable visual focal point, while the wildflower and lawn areas describe a more peaceful outdoor experience.

Theatre and discoveries for younger visitors

The Theatre Royal Stratford East was built in 1884. From 1953 to 1979, it was home to Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop Company. Its history adds a firmly established cultural connection to the modern sports and park attractions, making the theatre a focus in its own right among Stratford's experiences.

Discover Children's Story Centre in Stratford invites visitors to explore stories playfully across two floors filled with Story Worlds and a Story Garden. The immersive, exploration-focused play areas distinguish this offering from a traditional theatre or park visit. Stratford therefore offers a variety of visitor formats: cycling, swimming, diving, swimming lessons, a stadium tour, theatre history, architecture and play areas for children.

More destinations for orienting yourself in London

If you would like to consider Stratford in relation to other destinations on your London trip, you can also view Barking, Sutton, Bromley, Harefield, West Drayton, Thornton Heath, Feltham and Bexley.