Free things to do in London: the best of the city for nothing
London will happily take £37 for a castle and £20 for a sandwich and a coffee. But the city's greatest treasures cost nothing: the national museums, the parks, the river, the pageantry and some of the best views in Europe. Here is how to fill a week without buying a single attraction ticket, with the catches the free-list websites forget to mention.
Key facts
- National museums: free general admission; special exhibitions charge
- Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace: free; usually Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, with the handover at 11am; check the schedule
- Sky Garden: free, but book a timed slot online in advance and bring photo ID
- Royal Parks: eight of them, all free, all year
- Transport: not free, but daily caps limit what you pay; see the first-time guide
The great free museums
Britain's national museums have been free to enter since 2001, and London has the best of them. Many ask for a donation at the door; it is optional.
Two million years of human history, and the most argued-over collection on earth, including the Benin Bronzes and the Parthenon sculptures. Read our honest guide first.
On Trafalgar Square: Van Gogh, Turner, Leonardo, and the faces of British history next door.
Modern art in a former power station on the South Bank, and five centuries of British art at Millbank. Take the Tate Boat between them.
Three giants side by side in South Kensington: dinosaurs, rockets, fashion and design.
The wars and the navy that made and defended the empire, in Lambeth and Greenwich.
Its "London, Sugar & Slavery" gallery shows how the city's docks grew on the slave trade.
Before you go, read Benin Bronzes, Asante gold and African treasures in British museums to know what you are looking at, and how it got there.
Free ceremonies and pageantry
- Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace: red tunics, bearskins and a military band, with the handover at 11am on set days. Arrive by 10:15 to see anything; or watch the guards march along The Mall instead, which is far less crowded.
- Horse Guards Parade: the mounted Household Cavalry changes its guard daily, with far smaller crowds than at the palace.
- Evensong: sung evening services at Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral are free to attend, and the only way to sit inside both buildings without paying the visitor fee. Come to worship or listen, not to sightsee.
- Parliament: you can watch debates from the public galleries of the House of Commons and House of Lords for free when they are sitting. Expect airport-style security.
Free views over London
- Sky Garden at the top of 20 Fenchurch Street (the "Walkie-Talkie"): a glass-roofed garden with a 360-degree view. Free, but slots must be booked online, they go quickly, and you need photo ID.
- The Garden at 120, a few steps away at 120 Fenchurch Street: a rooftop garden, lower but with no booking needed.
- Primrose Hill and Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath: the classic free skyline views from north London, best at sunset.
- Greenwich Park, by the Royal Observatory: the view down the river to Canary Wharf and the City.
Parks and the river
London's eight Royal Parks, from Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens to Regent's Park, St James's Park, Greenwich and Richmond with its wild deer, are free and open all year. Walk the South Bank from Westminster Bridge past the London Eye, the Tate Modern and Shakespeare's Globe to Tower Bridge: one of the best free walks in any city.
Markets
Free to wander, though you will want to spend: Borough Market for food, Camden for street food and alternative fashion, Portobello Road for antiques on a Saturday, Columbia Road for flowers on a Sunday, and Brixton for African and Caribbean food and music. Read about Brixton in our page on Brixton, Windrush Square and the Black Cultural Archives.
The catches
- Free does not mean empty: the British Museum and the Natural History Museum are packed at weekends and in school holidays. Go at opening time or on weekday evenings when late openings are offered.
- Some free entries need booking: the Sky Garden always, and some museums at busy times.
- Donation boxes are optional, but the museums do rely on them.
- Food and transport cost money: bring a water bottle, and use a contactless card so the daily cap protects you.
Tours and experiences in London
When you are ready to spend: entrance fees are included in the tour price; tips are not included but are always welcome.
Read next
Where to stay, what to see and the city's hidden history.
Worth the £37? What you see, and what the Crown Jewels have to do with Africa.
Fares, caps, money and the unwritten rules.
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