Benjamin Pollock's Toy Shop
44 Covent Garden Apple Market, WC2 phone 020/7379 7866; www.pollocks.cwc.net. Tube: Covent Garden. Mon-Sat 10.30am-6pm.

An old-fashioned outlet selling puppets, traditional teddies and dolls, as well as charming model theatres complete with cut-out sets, props and tiny actors.

Children's Book Centre
237 Kensington High St, W8 phone 020/7937 7497; www.childrensbookcentre.co.uk. Tube: Kensington High Street. Mon, Wed, Fri & Sat 9.30am-6.30pm, Tues 9.30am-6pm, Thurs 9.30am-7pm, Sun noon-6pm.

Immense bookshop just for kids, where classic yarns nestle with the best in contemporary adolescent fiction.

Davenport's Magic Shop
Charing Cross Shopping Arcade, WC2 phone 020/7836 0408. Tube: Charing Cross or Embankment. Mon-Fri 9.30am-5.30pm, Sat 10.15am-4.30pm.

London's oldest magic shop sells tricks for the professional and the infant amateur.

Electronics Boutique
100 Oxford St, W1 phone 020/7637 7911. Tube: Tottenham Court Road. Mon-Sat 9.30am-9pm, Sun noon-6pm.

All the latest computer games to excite the goggle-eyed enthusiast, plus more traditional board games.

Eric Snook's Toyshop
32 Covent Garden Market, WC2 phone 020/7379 7681. Tube: Covent Garden. Mon-Sat 10am-7pm, Sun 11am-6pm.

Eschewing movie merchandise and cheap tat, this shop sells only the most tasteful, meticulously crafted playthings.

Hamleys
188 Regent St, W1 phone 020/7494 2000; www.hamleys.com. Tube: Oxford Circus. Mon-Fri 10am-8pm, Sat 9.30am-8pm, Sun noon-6pm.

The most celebrated toy shop on the planet, multistorey Hamleys is bursting with childish delights - from the humble Slinky to scaled-down petrol-driven Porsches. A smaller branch in Covent Garden Piazza gives a taste of what's on offer at the real thing.

Skate Attack
95 Highgate Rd, NW5 phone 020/7267 6961; www.skateattack.com. Tube: Tufnell Park. Mon-Fri 9.30am-6pm, Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 10am-1.30pm.

Europe's largest retailer of roller skates, rollerblades and equipment. Roller rental, with protective equipment, is £10 a day, £15 a weekend or £20 a week, plus £100 deposit

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