London is hands down the best of the world’s mega-cities when it comes to free things to do.
The city has a number of top-class museums, and the vast majority have free admission. With so many beautiful parks, markets, historical buildings and stunning viewpoints, the city has so much choice.
Here are 15 free things to do in London.
Embrace the arts and culture.
London’s museums are up there with the best in the world, with regard to the architecture of the buildings, and of course, what’s inside.
Natural History Museum – Free
The Natural History Museum in the Kensington area of London, owns an outrageously large collection (around 80 million items) housed in a stunning Gothic Revival building, which opened in the late 19th century. There is also a wildlife garden that’s open through the summer.
National Gallery – Free
Located in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, the National Gallery houses well-known masterpieces by van Gogh, Renoir, da Vinci and Michelangelo, the National Gallery is home to one of the world’s most impressive art collections.
The British Museum – Free
The British Museum is one of London’s top attractions located in the Bloomsbury area of London. They have on display 80,000 incredible artefacts from all over the world, from Egyptian mummies to samurai armour. What is quite amazing is that this display is only 1% of the actual collection.
Tate Modern – Free
Located on the south bank of the river Thames, in what was once the Bankside Power Station. Tate Modern houses a permanent collection, which includes works by Pollock, Warhol, Matisse and Picasso.
Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) – Free
The V&A , as it’s generally known, has been welcoming people for over 150 years and is the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
There are so many museums in London that welcome free visitors we couldn’t list them all for this article. These are just our favourites.
View from the Tate Modern
Explore the parks
London boasts some of the most famous city parks in the world. Whether a morning stroll, picnic with a loved one in the spring sun, or to people watch, London’s parks are worth a visit.
Grenwich Park
A casual walk up to the top of the hill and you’ll be presented with a spectacular view across the city: from Canary Warf towering over the 17th-century Queen’s House, to seeing the Thames lead you into the heart of London. It’s a lovely area to visit with other attractions in the area.
Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens located in the Kensington area of London are home to many smaller attractions, such as the Albert Memorial, the Peter Pan Statue, the Serpentine Gallery, the Round Pond and the Diana Memorial Playground.
Primrose Hill
Primrose Hill is a hill of 213 feet located on the northern side of Regent’s Park in London. It doesn’t make a lot of lists in London tourism guides due too the sheer volume of beautiful parks in the city, but it’s definitely where the locals like to hang out, especially in summer with a picnic. Very close to tourist areas like Camden Market, Regents Park, London Zoo, and Abbey Road Studios, it’s worth the short walk to the top to get a lovely view of the city.
Other wonderful green spaces in the city that deserve their own spot include, Royal Parks: Regent’s Park, Hyde Park, Green Park and St James’s Park. We haven’t given them their own spot, only because everybody else does so they get enough positive PR 🙂
Check out some major attractions
The city has no end to its list of attractions. London was almost built with future tourists in mind 🙂
Houses of Parliament (Big Ben)
Home to the world’s most famous clock, Big Ben. The Houses of Parliament is a stunning neo-Gothic mid-19th century building located in the Westminster area of London. Westminster is home to many other key London attractions.
Sky Garden
The best free vantage point in Central London to see it all from above, located on Fenchurch Street (known as the ‘walkie talkie’ building). You’ll be able to look over the River Thames across to the Shard, down onto Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, and as far out as the financial center of Canary Wharf. Free visits must be booked in advance to secure your time slot.
Houses of Parliament
The Changing of the Guard
One of the best ceremonies in the city, the Changing of the Guard takes place every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 10.30am. Most people head for Buckingham Palace to watch the event, but the ceremony actually takes place between three locations – Buckingham Palace, St. James’s Palace and Wellington Barracks.
Westminster Abbey
The stunning Westminster Abbey located in the Westminster area of London, has been a place of worship since the tenth century. They hold services every day and everybody is welcome providing there is enough room when you arrive. If you’re just wanting to be a tourist and look around, there are fees to be paid to enter.
Something a little different
London can be tiring for tourists as there is so much to see. If you have the luxury of not having to rush around, there are some great areas to wander and take in some local culture.
East London Street Art
East London, notably Shoreditch, is famous for having particularly impressive graffiti. The side streets around Brick Lane always yield some decent artwork, with some pieces from global superstars like Banksy.
Borough Market –
Borough market celebrated its 1000th birthday in 2014. Located under Victorian railway arches and open Monday to Saturday, Borough Market is am packed with incredible edible delights from all over the world. There are also a number of bars and restaurnats surrounding the market, it’s a great hub for tourists and locals to mix.
Portobello Road Market –
Located in the charming Notting Hill. The Portobello Road Market is the world’s largest antiques market with over 1,000 dealers selling every kind of antique and collectible. Visitors flock from all over the world to discover one of London’s best loved landmarks which contains the most extensive selection of antiques in Britain.
So there you have it, 15 free things to do in London.
This list is by no means the only free things to do in London. It’s just a selection of the most popular, if you want to add your favorite things to do in the comments, please share with our readers.
One last bonus, if you want to visit some of the paid major attractions in the city (you should), take a look at the London CityPASS. More helpful things like this on our travel resources page.
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