London Travel Guide
Free London
A budget guide to one of the world's most expensive cities — the free national museums, Changing the Guard, Evensong in the great churches, free views, royal parks, markets and walks, plus how to save on transport.
London has a reputation as one of the world's priciest cities, and hotels and restaurants can confirm it. But it is also one of the most generous: many of its greatest experiences cost nothing at all. A visitor could fill a week with world-class sights without buying a single ticket. Here is how.
The free national museums. The UK's national museums offer free entry to their permanent collections, and London has the best of them. The British Museum holds the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures, Egyptian mummies and the Sutton Hoo treasure. The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square shows Van Eyck, Titian, Velazquez, Turner, Constable and Van Gogh, with late opening until 9pm on Fridays. The Natural History Museum in South Kensington has dinosaurs, Hope the blue whale and new gardens with a bronze diplodocus. Tate Modern fills a former power station with modern art and stays open until 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays. And there are many more: the Science Museum, the V&A, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain, the Imperial War Museum, the Museum of London Docklands, and the remarkable Sir John Soane's Museum. Special exhibitions are charged, and free timed tickets help at busy times. Donations are welcome and help keep these places free.
Royal ceremonies. Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace is free on its scheduled days, with soldiers in bearskins and a military band; check the Household Division's calendar and arrive by 10am. At Horse Guards Parade on Whitehall, the Household Cavalry changes the King's Life Guard with plumed helmets and horses. The Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London, held every night for centuries, is free but must be booked well in advance through Historic Royal Palaces.
The great churches, through the music. Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral charge for sightseeing but are free for worship, and Choral Evensong — sung by their celebrated choirs on most days — is one of the most beautiful free experiences in Europe. You will not tour the monuments, but you will sit in the heart of the building and hear it as it was meant to be heard. Southwark Cathedral by Borough Market is free to visit.
Views for free. The Sky Garden at the top of 20 Fenchurch Street offers a glass-domed garden with panoramic views; book a free slot in advance. One New Change's roof terrace looks straight at St Paul's dome. Primrose Hill and Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath give the classic skyline view, and the Millennium and Waterloo bridges frame the river. Greenwich Park's hilltop by the Royal Observatory looks back across Canary Wharf to the City.
Royal parks and green spaces. London's royal parks are free and glorious: St James's Park with its lake and pelicans, Green Park, Hyde Park with the Serpentine and Kensington Gardens, Regent's Park with its rose gardens, Richmond Park with its deer, and Greenwich Park. Hampstead Heath is wilder, with swimming ponds and hilltop views.
Markets and neighbourhood wanders. Browsing is free. Borough Market (closed Mondays) is a feast for the eyes; Columbia Road's Sunday flower market, Portobello Road's Saturday antiques and Camden's sprawling stalls each show a different London. Walking is the best free activity of all: the South Bank from Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge passes the London Eye, the Southbank Centre, Tate Modern, the Globe and Borough Market in a couple of hours.
Free walks with a story. Several walks deliver history without a guide: the Thames Path between Westminster and Tower Bridge, the Inns of Court around Holborn with their gardens and chapels, the Georgian squares of Bloomsbury, and Regent's Canal from Little Venice toward Camden. Blue plaques on buildings across the city mark where famous figures lived, turning any stroll into a treasure hunt.
Saving on the paid things. Tap in with contactless rather than buying paper tickets — daily and weekly caps limit what you pay automatically. Buses are a cheap way to sightsee from the top deck. Book paid attractions online, often for less than the gate price, and consider whether a combination ticket or city pass covers what you would actually visit. Many theatres sell discounted day seats. Supermarkets and market stalls make excellent picnic lunches for the parks.
Free with kids. Families can fill days without spending: the Natural History Museum's dinosaurs and blue whale, the Science Museum's interactive galleries, the British Museum's mummies, and Tate Modern's Turbine Hall are all free. The Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens, the pelicans of St James's Park, and the free playgrounds and paddling areas in many parks keep energy levels in check. Children under eleven travel free on the Tube and buses with an adult, so getting around costs less than you might fear.
Free culture after dark. Late openings at the National Gallery on Fridays and at Tate Modern on Fridays and Saturdays make for free evenings out, and many museums hold occasional late events. The Southbank Centre's foyers often host free music and exhibitions, and the riverside itself, lit up from Westminster to Tower Bridge, is one of the best free evening walks in any city. Evensong at Westminster Abbey and St Paul's, in the late afternoon, is the most atmospheric free performance of all.
A free day, sample route. Morning: Changing the Guard (if scheduled), then St James's Park. Midday: the National Gallery's highlights and a picnic in Trafalgar Square. Afternoon: walk along the South Bank to Tate Modern and over the Millennium Bridge, then Evensong at St Paul's. Evening: the Sky Garden at sunset if you have booked a slot. It costs nothing but transport and lunch, and it rivals any paid day in any capital in the world.