Where to find Paddington Bear in London

Pack your marmalade sandwiches (duffel coats optional) – if you’re wondering where to find Paddington Bear in London with kids, I’ve tracked down all the essential locations for fans of the loveable bear from Darkest Peru.

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While you can no longer follow the Paddington trail, which saw 50 Paddington bear statues dotted across London to celebrate the release of the first movie in 2014, you can check out the ongoing Pawprint trail to find several current statues.

There are also Paddington Bear walking tours, Paddington themed afternoon tea and locations from both the books and the movies to spot – not forgetting Paddington station itself, of course.

Buy Paddington’s Guide to London to have the bear himself introduce you to the city, along with this mini-guide to Paddington’s London

See the Paddington statues

Start your Paddington-themed visit to London by finding the Paddington statues dotted around the city, starting (of course) at the station which gave him his name.

Paddington station

For fans of Paddington Bear (and who isn’t?), you can’t miss a visit to Paddington Station, where the furry hero of the books was first found by the Browns and received his name.

The lifesize bronze statue with the label asking people to look after this bear is back in its usual home by Platform 1, after a brief stint near the Praed Street entrance, between Platforms 9 and 10.

The station is also home to the Paddington bench, where kids can sit next to him and pose for photos – head over towards the Paddington shop to find it.

The Pawprint trail

The station is also the starting point for the Pawprint Trail – three trails, in fact, each with one of the Paddington statues from the 2014 collection dotted around the city.

Pick up your free map from the Paddington shop in the station and head off on one of the three ‘adventures’. Or all three, of course.

Adventure One: Canalside Views to London Zoo takes you to the Grand Union Canal, where you can spot Bearing Up, a blue flock Paddington tucked under a bridge, as you wander past the barges and string of cafes.

This particular statue is now back again, after a quick restoration of his fur

The route leads you on to Little Venice and beyond, where you could hop onto the Waterbus to Camden Lock, which passes London Zoo – keep your eyes open for monkeys and painted dogs (though you won’t spot bears en route.

For more things to do in Camden with kids, check out my top picks

Adventure Two: Boating, Bears and Bridges leads the opposite way along the canal to Paddington Basin, where you’ll spot Brick Bear as you head over towards Merchant Square.

Time your visit for Wednesdays and Fridays at noon and you can watch the fan bridge lift too, as well as checking out the Floating Pocket Park (mini green spaces which bob on the water).

Adventure Three: Ping Pong, Ponies and Peter Pan leads to Norfolk Square Gardens – temporarily home to a special exhibition of statues made with Lego-style bricks in summer 2022 – where you can spot Paddingtonscape, as Paddington tries his paw at some chess.

If you’re visiting outside the summer months, he sensibly hibernates in the Hilton London Paddington instead.

Keep walking and the route takes you to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, where you can see the Two Bears fountain near Lancaster Gate and the Italian Gardens in the northern end of the park. Not Paddington, admittedly, but a bonus bear never goes amiss.

Paddington Green

For a less well-known statue of Paddington, head to St Mary’s Churchyard at nearby Paddington Green.

You’ll find him commemorated here with his creator Michael Bond, one of the Sustrans portrait benches dotted around the country – the churchyard also features two other locals, nurse Mary Seacole and mathematician and codebreaker Alan Turing.

Leicester Square

While most of the Paddington statues cluster around Paddington station, you can find him right in the centre of London too.

There’s also a statue of Paddington with his famous marmalade sandwiches among the statues in Leicester Square, one of a string of stars from the world of film.

As another bear bonus, take a stroll along Bear Street which leads from Leicester Square to Charing Cross Road.

For more things to do around Leicester Square with kids, check out my top picks

Paddington Bear afternoon tea in London

If you’re looking for Paddington Bear afternoon tea, London has a new option that’s perfect for kids.

The Paddington Afternoon Tea Bus Tour has an afternoon tea inspired by food Paddington would love to get his paws on – including, of course, a great marmalade sandwich.

Using an iconic double-decker Routemaster bus, the Paddington afternoon tea tour by Brigit’s Bakery – also behind the Peppa Pig afternoon tea bus tours – travels around central London and some of Paddington’s favourite London landmarks.

Along the way, you’ll hear about some of his adventures and mishaps, as well as getting to see the sights. Each table has a built-in screen with a Paddington-guided animation, where Paddington and Mrs Bird share their knowledge of the city’s other icons.

Lasting 1 hour 45 minutes, it’s recommended for age 5+ and runs from Wednesdays to Sundays. There are vegan, vegetarian, halal and gluten-free menus, but no toilets aboard.

There are regularly other Paddington-themed afternoon teas, often to mark the launch of a new film or a special event – previously including the Athanaeum and Aquashard among others.

Paddington Bear walking tour

While it’s easy to put together your own Paddington Bear walking tour of London, Brit Movie Tours leads its own ‘official’ Paddington tour as well.

Starting at Paddington station, it takes you to some of the filming locations from the movies as well as covering places mentioned in over 15 Paddington Bear books.

As well as passing through Little Venice, you’ll end up at the Portobello Road, where Mr Gruber had his antiques shop. There’s a discount for children under three go free – the tour lasts around 2-2 ½ hours so there’s a lot of walking for little ones though.

The Paddington Bear tour is also available to book through Viator, with a reserve now, pay later option, as well as free cancellation tickets.

Or pick up Paddington’s Guide to London with Paddington’s own tips on exploring the city.

The Paddington Bear Experience

Paddington fans have a new treat to look forward to for 2024, with the launch of the Paddington Bear Experience in the County Hall building on London’s South Bank.

The immersive experience, which opens on May 31 sees you travel through London to help Paddington and the Browns prepare for the Marmalade Day festival. Visiting Paddington Station, Windsor Gardens and even Darkest Peru, there’ll be lots of interactive fun for kids – plus the chance to munch on a marmalade sandwich.

The experience lasts around 70 minutes, with extra time to enjoy the Marmalade Day celebrations, as well as visiting Mr Gruber’s shop – or a variation on it! – to pick up some souvenirs.

Locations from the Paddington books

If you want to make your own Paddington-themed walking tour of London, it’s easy to stroll between some of the key locations as well as combining them with the Pawprint trail.

Read on to see some of the locations from the movies too

Paddington station is one of the best places to start, where Paddington began his own journey.

Don’t miss Portobello Road either, where the little bear would go for elevenses at Mr Gruber’s antiques shop.

But there’s no point trying to find 32 Windsor Gardens – author Michael Bond combined his address with his parents’ details, plus some artistic license, to create the home belonging to the Brown family.

So while you Windsor Gardens does exist, the story isn’t based on the real life location – and there’s no number 32…

Scroll down to discover the location of 32 Windsor Gardens in the Paddington movies

Head into central London too, for Selfridges, where Bond bought the original bear which inspired the stories – and for those who’ve read the books, bears a distinct resemblance to the fictional Barkridges department store in London.

Regent’s Park was the site of another of Paddington’s mishaps from the stories, accidentally disrupting a performance in the open air theatre.

Locations from the Paddington movies

The closest you can come to Windsor Gardens is Chalcot Crescent in Primrose Hill, where the Browns live in the films.

And in nearby Hyde Park, the Serpentine Lake was one of the movie Mrs Brown’s favourite swimming locations.

Not far from Paddington station, Little Venice was an area author Michael Bond knew well – and the canal towpath might look familiar from Paddington 2, where everyone’s favourite bear and his four-legged friend carry out a high-speed chase.

Or head to the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, where the first film’s dramatic climax sees Paddington escaping from fiendish taxidermist Nicole Kidman.

Find one of the oldest Paddington Bears

The first official Paddington Bear toy was made in the UK in 1972, and while the earliest ones are now collector’s items, you can still see one special vintage bear on a trip to London.

One of the original-style Paddington Bears, dating from 1980, has been a favourite on display at the Young V&A in Bethnal Green over the years.

The museum, which reopened with a new name and a major overhaul, still has the much-loved Paddington Bear, with the safety pin still firmly in his hat, among the storytelling section, where kids can unleash their own creative imaginations – and perhaps come up with the next best-selling book about a lovable bear.

Please look after this bear: where to buy Paddington souvenirs

If you just want a Paddington of your own, there’s no need to venture to Darkest Peru, with plenty of places to find the pawfect souvenir.

There are Paddington souvenirs galore as well as a wide range of cuddly creations if you’re wondering where to buy Paddington Bear in London.

Paddington station itself is home to the only shop in the world exclusively dedicated to the famous bear, and you’ll find exclusive gifts here.

If you’re visiting Barkridges, aka Selfridges, there’s a wide range of toys and bears to be found.

And London’s most famous toy shop, Hamley’s on Regent’s Street, has its own impressive collection of bears plus plenty of Paddington-themed products – you can even get a luggage tag reading ‘Please look after this bear’.

You can also find the books in most good London bookstores too, along with Paddington’s Guide to London. If you don’t fancy carrying all 15 books around all day, or want to re-read the stories before you visit, check out this great box set of the Paddington stories from Amazon.

For more ideas of things to do in London with toddlers and preschoolers, check out my top picks, along with more free things to do in London with kids and these other great books about London for kids

*first published 2014, updated 2024*

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links – any purchases you make are unaffected but I may receive a small commission

Little Venice/Portobello Road/Natural History Museum images courtesy of Depositphotos, Leicester Square Paddington via Picfair, all other images copyright MummyTravels

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