Updated with 2019 sets.
The older children enjoy the challenge that is offered by the bigger and more complex building sets and these big Lego City sets will not only give them an enjoyable challenge, it will also take their collection to a new level. These sets have more than 700 pieces and some have more mini-figures than the average set.
What is the biggest Lego City set?
Read on to find out which one comes in at first place.
All of these sets are great stand-alone sets and can provide hours of play without the need to add more sets. Of course, the kids will want to add more sets to expand the play options. If they already have some of the smaller sets, these are a good option to boost their collection.
Let the count-down begin…
# 17: Lego City Swamp Police Station (60069)
- Number of pieces: 707
- Special items:
- 2 pairs of handcuffs,
- 2 cups,
- 3 walkie-talkies,
- crowbar,
- backpack,
- binoculars,
- 3 banknotes,
- 2 snakes and
- 3 glow-in-the-dark flies
- Mini-figures included: 6
- 2 crooks
- 4 police officers
- Recommended age: 6+ years
This forms part of the Lego City Swamp Police range that has 8 sets.
# 16: Lego City Arctic Supply Plane (60196)
-
Number of pieces: 707
- Special items:
- a saber-toothed tiger figure;
- an ice cutter vehicle with rotating cab, articulated saw arm and spinning blade
- an ice scooter
- Mini-figures included: 4
- an arctic explorer, arctic pilot, expedition leader and a driver
- Recommended age: 6 to 12 years
The plane features an opening back and ski landing gear.
This forms part of the Lego City Swamp Police range that has 7 sets.
# 15: Lego City Arctic Icebreaker (60062)
- Number of pieces: 717
- Special items:
- desk, microscope,
- fridge,
- bed,
- computer,
- ladder,
- an anchor with winch and chain,
- radar and antenna,
- hook and chain,
- chainsaw and
- a walkie-talkie,
- 4 huskies,
- a sled,
- camera,
- binoculars,
- pick-axe,
- polar bear,
- large antenna with gas cylinder,
- Arctic explorer hoods,
- a shovel,
- broom,
- magnifying glass,
- grinder,
- scanner and
- snowshoes.
- Mini-figures included: 7
- 4 explorers
- captain
- pilot
- scientist
- Recommended age: 6+ years
This forms part of the Lego City Arctic range that has 7 sets.
# 14: Lego City Deep Sea Exploration Vessel (60095)
- Number of pieces: 717
- Special Items:
- shark cage,
- seaweed,
- swordfish,
- octopus,
- white shark and
- 2 grey sharks
- Mini-figures included: 7
- 2 crew members
- 4 scuba divers
- deep sea diver
- Recommended age: 8+ years
This forms part of the Lego City Deep Sea Explorers range that has 6 sets.
# 13: Lego City Arctic Basecamp (60036)
- Number of pieces: 735
- Special Items:
- microscope,
- magnifying glass,
- 2 computers,
- circular saw,
- binoculars,
- walkie-talkie,
- pickaxe,
- coffee mug,
- chairs,
- table and a TV,
- a radar,
- antenna and
- solar panels.
- Mini-figures included: 7
- 4 arctic explorers
- pilot
- scientist
- research assistant
- Recommended age: 6+ years
This forms part of the Lego City Arctic range that has 7 sets. If you are keeping track this is the second set from the range that made it onto the list.
# 12: Lego City Fire Station (60004)
- Number of pieces: 752
- Special items:
- firefighting equipment,
- flames,
- furniture,
- computer,
- toolbox and tools,
- axe,
- chain saw,
- telephone,
- walkie-talkies,
- cup and
- a dog.
- Mini-figures included: 5
- fire chief
- pilot
- 3 firefighters
- Recommended age: 6 to 12 years
This forms part of the Lego City Fire range that has 4 sets.
# 11: Lego City Demolition Site (60076)
- Number of pieces: 776
- Special items:
- a jackhammer,
- pickaxe,
- saw,
- shovel,
- 2 dynamite sticks,
- sign,
- wheelbarrow,
- garbage can,
- toilet,
- rat and
- ear protectors
- Mini-figures included: 5
- 5 demolition site workers
- Recommended age: 6+ years
This forms part of the Lego City Demolition range that has 5 sets.
# 10: Lego City Arctic Mobile Exploration Base (60195)
Number of pieces: 786
-
Special items:
- a mammoth figure
- 2 saws,
- jackhammer,
- 2 ice picks,
- 2 mugs,
- radio,
- bone,
- camera and
- 2 pairs of snowshoes
- Mini-figures included: 6
- 4 arctic explorers,
- an arctic expedition leader and
- a driver
- Recommended age: 7+ years
# 9: Lego City Police Station (60047)
-
Number of pieces: 854
- Special items:
- police dog,
- 4 handcuffs,
- 3 walkie talkies,
- 2 crowbars,
- a flashlight,
- a pair of binoculars,
- 2 balls and chains,
- 3 coffee mugs,
- 2 bank notes,
- a back pack,
- megaphone and
- a laptop.
- Mini-figures included: 7
- 3 policemen
- policewoman
- 3 crooks
- Recommended age: 6+ years
This forms part of the Lego City Police range that has 9 sets.
# 8: Lego City Cargo Train (60052)
-
Number of pieces: 888
- Special features:
- motorized train with 8-channel, 7-speed infrared remote control
- driver’s cabin with opening doors and dashboard
- the cattle wagon features a cow, trough, bales of straw, bucket of milk and a strong fence with 2 gates
- the fuel wagon features a fuel tank with chain, pallet with wheelbarrow and a forklift
- Includes a full circular track with 20 curved rail tracks and 8 straight rail tracks
- Special items:
- 2 cable drums,
- fuel tank,
- forklift,
- wheel barrow and
- a steer
- Mini-figures included: 4
- forklift driver
- train driver
- farmer
- truck driver
- Recommended age: 6+ years
This forms part of the Lego City Trains range that has 4 sets. See my earlier post for more details on the sets in the Lego Trains range.
# 7: Lego City Police Station (60141)
This set features a three-level Police Station with some great accessory elements: a jail cell with exploding wall function, watchtower, garage and offices, helicopter, police pursuit car and police motorbike.
- Number of pieces: 894
- Special items:
- a police dog figure
- crooks’ truck with rotating, extendable cherry picker
- Mini-figures included: 7
- 4 police officers and
- 3 crooks
- Recommended age: 6+ years
# 6: Lego City Deep Sea Operations Base (60096)
- Number of pieces: 907
- Special items:
- cove with a gate,
- seaweed,
- a shark,
- harpoon,
- crowbar,
- torch,
- a chest,
- gold bar,
- 3 diamonds and
- a fire extinguisher.
- Mini-figures included: 5
- pilot
- deep sea diver
- scuba diver
- 2 deep sea explorers
- Recommended age: 7+ years
This is the 2nd set from the Deep Sea Explorers range that has made it onto the list.
# 5: Lego City Heavy-Haul Train (60098)
- Number of pieces: 984
- Special feature: motorized train with remote control
- Special items:
- shovel,
- broom,
- wrench,
- box and
- welding equipment
- Mini-figures included: 5
- train driver
- engineer
- welder
- crane operator
- backhoe driver
- Recommended age: 6+ years
Another train set on the list and there are only 4 Lego City Train sets. See my detailed post on the train sets for more info.
# 4: Lego City Rocket Assembly and Transport (60229)
This NASA-inspired rocket launch set is great for independent play.
- Number of pieces: 1055
- Features:
- a large multi-stage rocket with a cockpit that opens and has space for 2 mini-figures and a rover payload module.
- a launch control room with a rotating satellite dish
- a rocket assembly crane with a winch
- The rover lab has a rotating arm tool, opening doors and a raising platform.
- The crawler has track wheels and a tilting launch pad
- the truck has an articulated grappling arm
- Special items:
- a rover with extending arm and drill and
- an assembly frame building
- Mini-figures included: 8
- 2 astronauts,
- 2 ground crew technicians,
- a Launch Director,
- scientist,
- lab mechanic and
- a robot figure
- Recommended age: 7+ years
# 3: Lego City Capital City (60200)
This set is not only a great addition to any Lego City collection, but also a good choice if you are just starting out with a Lego City collection. The set includes 3 buildings, 13 mini-figures and 6 vehicles. The play options with this set are endless.
- Number of pieces: 1211
- Features:
- a 2-story hotel with rooftop terrace, umbrella, lounge chair and opening doors
- a museum construction site
- fast-food kiosk with seat
- an electric car charging station with plug
- a skateboard ramp half-pipe
- a crane with lowering hook
- climbing wall and
- basketball hoop
- Mini-figures included: 13
- a hotel bellhop,
- hotel customer,
- bus driver,
- ice cream attendant,
- skateboarder,
- street musician,
- city traffic cop,
- 2 construction workers,
- tourist,
- IT businessperson,
- kiosk attendant and
- a museum caveman
- Recommended age: 6+ years
# 2: Lego City Cargo Train (60198)
Yes, there are 2 Lego City Cargo Train sets. This one is also a motorized, remote-controlled train and track set and has a slightly longer track then the previous one.
This is another set with plenty of play options once it has been built.
- Number of pieces: 1226
- Special features:
- a motorized engine with 10-speed Bluetooth remote control
- accessible driver’s cabin
- a crane wagon with rotating and extendable boom arm
- container wagon with 2 containers
- a log wagon
- an armored truck with opening doors
- a forklift with opening roll cage and lifting forks
- a full circular track with 16 curved rails, 16 straight rails and a railroad switch with lever
- Special items:
- a wrench,
- 12 gold bar elements and
- 4 money bills, plus
- 2 buildable pallets,
- 3 logs and
- snow scooter
- Mini-figures included:
- 4 train workers,
- a security officer and
- a crook
- Recommended age: 6+ years
And now, for the biggest Lego City set of them all…
# 1: Lego City Town City Square (60097)
- Number of pieces: 1683
- Special items:
- a dog, pretzel,
- 2 sausages,
- handcart,
- 4 mugs,
- hammer wrench,
- bucket,
- window cleaning stick and
- a LEGO bag
- Mini-figures included: 12
- tram driver
- helicopter pilot
- coffee shop saleswoman
- pizza deliveryman
- car saleswoman
- mechanic
- tow truck driver
- hotdog salesman
- LEGO sales person
- LEGO delivery driver
- a girl
- a boy
- Recommended age: 6+ years
This is 1 of 2 sets in the Lego City Town range and is the corner stone of any respectable Lego City collection. With the most pieces and the most mini-figures it makes a brilliant first set to start your collection. It has about 400 more pieces than any of the other sets listed above and 12 mini-figures!
It is a clear winner as the biggest of the big Lego City sets.
Any of the other sets can be added to it to expand the play options and grow the collection.
If your child does not own any of the Lego City sets then you should start with the City Square. It offers a reasonable challenge and will keep them entertained for hours after they have finished building.
Which is the favorite Lego City set in your household? Leave a comment below and share with us about your best and worst sets.
For a more unusual Lego experience take a look at the my review of the Crazy Action Contraption that is based on Lego. Or take a look at some of the best-selling Lego City sets.
A great list of Lego sets. The city square is pretty awesome and I agree it deserves the top spot. With almost 1700 pieces I can imagine the fun it will be to put together, I don’t agree with the age limit as even at 30 I am inclined to get the City Square 🙂
I agree that there should not be an upper age limit. I sure could spend hours playing with this set. I think the upper age limit is more a guideline to the complexity of the set.
The City Square is definitely the best Lego City set that I have come across. Apart from having lots of building, it also offers children a lot of play options from just one set.
Great post listing various Lego Sets.In our family the favorites this year have been the Arctic Base Camp and the Fire Station,
We are currently looking at The Police Station but unfortunately we can’t seem to find a direct link to this from your post. We realize these items are sold on Amazon but a direct link would make things much easier.
Thanks
Victoria
Hi Victoria, thanks for pointing out the issue with the links. For now I have updated the main link at the bottom of the article to show the sets I discuss when you go to Amazon. I will work on putting individual links in.
Great article about Lego city sets. I’v been looking for such sets for some time. My children love playing lego. I bought various lego sets and it’s a great opportunity for children to spend their time wisely. Sometimes I join them and spend a few hours helping them build whatever they want. I’m going to take a look at these lego city sets.
You won’t be disappointed with the Lego City sets. They offer a lot of play options when the models are built and will keep the children busy for some time. If you start with the bigger sets then you can add smaller sets later on to add to the themes and the play options. I am sure you will enjoy them as much as your children will,
Hi Lesley,
I used to LOVE Lego as a kid – so many years ago and in my days there wasn’t anything like this. So whenever children are playing with a Lego kit I watch them with amazement how quickly they build things up, how the kit is fabulously made up. If I was to choose one from these, definitely the #1 City Square. The biggest number of pieces and looks like a lot of fun. Is this the biggest that you can get (number of blocks)? For 6-12 years old….I want it for myself to be honest!
Ray
Hi Ray, thanks for stopping by.
If I could afford it I would buy the entire Lego city range for my children. I wouldn’t mind having a house with Lego roads, buildings and cars all over the place as long as they leave a walkway for me.
The City Square is the biggest set by far in the Lego City range and I think I am correct in saying that it is also the biggest set for that age group. There are bigger sets in the Architecture and StarWars ranges, but they are meant for a slightly older age group. I will be looking at some of them in future articles, so keep in touch for updates. If you do buy one of these sets for your son I would love to hear about his experience with it.
Hi there Lesley! Wow! I love lego. No age limit for this I must say, lol. That city square looks promising 🙂 I also love to build that! 🙂 Oh I love the demolition site as well, you see I am working in construction, so this equipment appeals to me, lol. Is there any big lego for lady-like set?
Hello and thanks for stopping by.
Many girls (ladies) like to play with all of the Lego sets. It is difficult to pick out a set that would be more suited to ladies, it just depends on what their interests are. even the train sets are popular with the girls. The ladies can go on train trips to go on vacation or to go to work, or even to go shopping. Maybe it is more an issue of having female characters in the set than the actual set itself.
Hello,
I just recently find your blog, and I really like it! It’s very relevant and appealing to the audience.
I remember when I was younger, I used to play with Lego a lot. There were no such things back then… I’ll definitely consider buying it for my friend’s son on his birthday.
Julius
Lego sets have definitely changed a lot over the past couple of decades. While there are many great sets available now, they are quite limited and specific in the models that can be built. I still like to general sets that encourage children to come up with their own ideas like the basic Lego sets.
I love the cargo train set, but really the city square gives you a combo of all the good stuff. Lego has to be one of the best all time toys (hobbies) out there. It is timeless and any age can enjoy building. Lego has always reminded me of my dad. He is a builder and I always remember him building all sorts of sets. He takes it very serious. In a good way, not like the dad from the Lego Movie 🙂 I think you have a great list here.
The City Square is a great set as you say. Lots of variety.
It is so difficult to decide on Lego sets and I think that is the main reason why we end up buying many different ones over time. I do prefer those with a bit more scope to use the imagination and build more than one model, but some of the specialized sets are really awesome too. When it comes to Lego – I wish I was a millionaire!
I grew up on Lego, I had their big yellow castle in the early 80s. But my kids seem to prefer playmobil, not sure why.
They do have the City police station though and I have to say it is excellent. The only problem I find with it is that the sliding/concertina transparent blue plastic doors can fall apart with only a little pressure (and when my kids are involved it is normally a lot of pressure!)
Apart from that, I would highly recommend it. It has a small prison cell with … a hole that can be broken in the wall for the prisoner to escape – essential!
I have to admit that Lego really do know how to capture a child’s imagination. they think of the smallest details to keep their interest and keep them playing with the set. I am sure that your children would really enjoy a Lego train set. they seem to keep the children interested through various ages and it can be expanded by adding more features and extra tracks.
Hey there, thanks for such a wide variety of options. My kids love playing with Lego’s and I would consider myself one of the biggest kids of all lol, I also love joining in and building with Lego’s weather its a Lego City or just building for fun Lego’s is a great way to keep the kids occupied.
Cheers,
Tony
They are fun. I think something inside of us never grows out of building and creating and the Lego sets really do help to fill that gap and offer some creative satisfaction. I love that it keeps my children away from the TV and video games for many hours.
Hi Lesley,
Great review, I’ve found it very useful!
My nephew is celebrating his birthday soon, and I need a nice present for him:) This Lego sets just came in time!
I love the Cargo Train, and I think he will like it as well:)
From which age children can play with these Logo?
My nephew is turning 10 years old, is that would be OK?
Thank you!
Yes, definitely a 10-year old would cope with these Lego sets. They are recommended for that age group. they are complex enough to keep them interested, but not so complicated that they will not be able to build the models. Think about getting other family members to also buy something from the same Lego theme so that he has a nice collection. If you do take the Cargo Train then maybe somebody else can give him some extra train tracks to expand the set, or even the Lego City Train Station..