Free things to do in London
London is easy on the wallet. Here are 46 things you can do for free, from the city's most famous sights to museums with free entry once a month, plus the squares where locals spend the evening.
Last updated: 22 October 2026
Free sights
Westminster & St James'sPhoto: Christian David · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia
Big Ben & the Houses of Parliament
Always open (view from outside)
The Elizabeth Tower and the Gothic Houses of Parliament, best seen from Westminster Bridge; guided tours can be booked.
Westminster & St James'sPhoto: Julian Herzog (Website) · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia
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Buckingham Palace
Always open (outside view); Changing of the Guard Mon, Wed and Fri 11:00
The King's London residence, seen from the Victoria Memorial, with the Changing of the Guard on set days.
Westminster & St James'sPhoto: Colin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia
St James's Park
Daily 05:00–24:00
The oldest Royal Park, with a lake, pelicans and views to Buckingham Palace and Horse Guards.
Westminster & St James'sPhoto: Diliff · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia
Trafalgar Square
Always open
London's grand square with Nelson's Column, the fountains and the lions, right next to the National Gallery.
Westminster & St James'sPhoto: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia
The National Gallery
Daily 10:00–18:00, Fri until 21:00
Western European painting from Van Eyck to Van Gogh, with Turner, Constable and Monet; free entry.
West EndPhoto: Diliff derivative work: SilkTork (talk) · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia
Covent Garden
Piazza always open; market and shops daily about 10:00–20:00
A historic piazza with street performers, covered market stalls, shops and the London Transport Museum nearby.
West EndPhoto: Jimmy Baikovicius · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia
Piccadilly Circus
Always open
The famous junction with its giant screens and the Eros statue, at the foot of Regent Street and Soho.
West EndPhoto: Leandro Neumann Ciuffo · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia
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Soho & Chinatown
Always open (shops and restaurants about 10:00–23:00)
Lively streets of theatres, restaurants and bars, with London's Chinatown around Gerrard Street.
Bloomsbury & CamdenPhoto: Ham · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia
The British Museum
Daily 10:00–17:00, Fri until 20:30
A vast museum of world history with the Rosetta Stone, Egyptian mummies and the Parthenon sculptures; free entry.
Bloomsbury & CamdenPhoto: en:User:Grim23 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia
Camden Market
Daily 10:00–19:00
Canal-side market halls with street food, vintage clothes, crafts and alternative fashion.
South Bank & BanksidePhoto: Acabashi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia
Tate Modern
Sun–Thu 10:00–18:00, Fri–Sat 10:00–21:00
Modern and contemporary art in a former power station on the Thames, with a viewing terrace on the Blavatnik Building.
South Bank & BanksidePhoto: Øyvind Holmstad · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia
Borough Market
Tue–Fri 10:00–17:00, Sat 09:00–17:00, Sun 10:00–16:00; closed Mon
London's best-known food market under the railway arches, with fresh produce, cheese and hot street food.
The City & EastPhoto: Colin · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia
Sky Garden
Mon–Fri 10:00–18:00, Sat–Sun 11:00–21:00 (free ticket needed)
A glass-domed garden at the top of the Walkie-Talkie, with free views over the City; timed tickets.
The City & EastPhoto: Fuzzypiggy · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia
Tower Bridge
Bridge always open; Exhibition daily 09:30–17:30
The Victorian bascule bridge, best seen from the walkway or the river path; the Exhibition has glass-floor walkways.
Kensington & ChelseaPhoto: Julian Herzog (Website) · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia
Natural History Museum
Daily 10:00–17:50 (last entry 17:30)
Dinosaurs, a blue whale skeleton and gems in a Romanesque palace; a favourite with children and free to enter.
Kensington & ChelseaPhoto: Ewan-M · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia
Victoria and Albert Museum
Daily 10:00–17:45, Fri until 22:00
The world's largest museum of decorative arts and design: fashion, ceramics, jewellery and sculpture.
Kensington & ChelseaPhoto: Shadowssettle · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia
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Science Museum
Daily 10:00–18:00 (last entry 17:15; free ticket needed)
Hands-on galleries from steam engines and Apollo 10 to space and medicine; great for families and free.
Kensington & ChelseaPhoto: @LondonNPC #NationalParkCity · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia
Hyde Park
Daily 05:00–24:00
London's great Royal Park, with the Serpentine lake, rowing boats and Speakers' Corner.
Kensington & ChelseaPhoto: Schellack at English Wikipedia · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia
Portobello Road Market (Notting Hill)
Antiques and main market Sat 09:00–18:00; shops and food stalls Mon–Fri and Sun (check)
A long street market in pastel-coloured Notting Hill, famous for antiques on Saturdays plus food and fashion stalls.
South Bank & BanksidePhoto: Bex Walton · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia
Bermondsey Beer Mile (taprooms)
Sat 11:00–19:00, Sun 11:00–17:00
Craft brewery taprooms in railway arches along Druid Street and Bermondsey Street, best on weekends.
West EndPhoto: Daderot · CC0 · Wikimedia
Charbonnel et Walker (Royal Arcade)
Mon–Sat 10:00–18:30, Sun 12:00–17:00
Royal-warrant chocolatier in the Victorian Royal Arcade off Old Bond Street, known for its truffles.
Kensington & ChelseaPhoto: Malc McDonald · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia
Melt Chocolates (Notting Hill)
Mon–Sat 10:00–18:00, Sun 11:00–17:00
Small-batch chocolate shop and café on pretty Ledbury Road in Notting Hill.
Kensington & ChelseaPhoto: user: Sokkk y · Public domain · Wikimedia
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Harrods
Mon–Sat 10:00–21:00, Sun 11:30–18:00
The famous Knightsbridge department store with its Food Halls, Egyptian Escalator and luxury floors.
West EndPhoto: Luis Villa del Campo · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia
Liberty London
Mon–Sat 10:00–20:00, Sun 12:00–18:00
Tudor-revival department store known for its prints, fabrics and design-led gifts.
West EndPhoto: Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia
Fortnum & Mason
Mon–Sat 10:00–20:00, Sun 11:30–18:00
Royal grocer on Piccadilly, famous for its tea, hampers, food hall and the chiming clock.
West EndPhoto: Alan Hughes · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia
Selfridges
Mon–Fri 10:00–22:00, Sat 10:00–21:00, Sun 11:30–18:00
Huge Oxford Street department store with a famous food hall and fashion floors.
West EndPhoto: Matt Brown · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia
Hamleys
Mon–Sat 10:00–21:00, Sun 12:00–18:00
One of the world's oldest and biggest toy shops, seven floors of play and demonstrations.
West EndPhoto: SisterLondon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia
Carnaby Street
Daily 10:00–19:00
Pedestrian shopping streets of independent fashion and design, the heart of 1960s London style.
The City & EastPhoto: Diliff · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia
Leadenhall Market
Mon–Fri 07:00–18:00
Victorian covered market with a painted ironwork roof, now shops, cafés and pubs.
The City & EastPhoto: Diliff · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia
Old Spitalfields Market
Mon–Wed and Fri 10:00–20:00, Thu 08:00–18:00, Sat 10:00–18:00, Sun 10:00–17:00
Historic covered market with independent stalls, street food and small designer shops.
GreenwichPhoto: Steve F-E-Cameron · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia
Greenwich Market
Daily 10:00–17:30
Covered market with crafts, vintage and street food, a short walk from the Cutty Sark.
The City & EastPhoto: James Cridland · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia
Brick Lane
Daily 10:00–18:00
Street of vintage shops, street food, street art and curry houses, liveliest at the Sunday markets.
South Bank & BanksidePhoto: William Harold Amos · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia
Maltby Street Market
Fri 17:30–21:00, Sat 10:00–17:00, Sun 11:00–16:00
Weekend street-food market under railway arches in Bermondsey, quieter than Borough.
Kensington & ChelseaPhoto: Mark Ahsmann · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia
Diana Memorial Playground
Daily from 10:00; closes 16:45 in late October, 15:45 from November to January
Pirate-ship playground in Kensington Gardens, for children up to 12 and their grown-ups.
GreenwichPhoto: Katie Chan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia
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National Maritime Museum
Daily 10:00–17:00
Britain's seafaring story, from Nelson to the modern navy, with big family galleries and a view of Greenwich Park.
Bloomsbury & CamdenPhoto: fsse8info from UK · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia
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The British Library
Mon–Thu 09:30–20:00, Fri 09:30–18:00, Sat 09:30–17:00, Sun 11:00–17:00
National library with the free Treasures gallery: Magna Carta, Beatles lyrics and Shakespeare's First Folio.
West EndPhoto: Anthony O'Neil · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia
The Wallace Collection
Daily 10:00–17:00
Townhouse museum of French 18th-century art, armour and masterpieces, including Fragonard's The Swing.
Westminster & St James'sPhoto: Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia
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Tate Britain
Daily 10:00–18:00
British art from 1500 to today, from Turner and Constable to Hockney and contemporary work.
Westminster & St James'sPhoto: DiscoA340 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia
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National Portrait Gallery
Mon–Thu, Sat, Sun 10:30–18:00, Fri 10:30–21:00
Portraits of the people who shaped Britain, from the Tudors to today, in a refurbished gallery next to the National Gallery.
Bloomsbury & CamdenPhoto: Sarah Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia
Sir John Soane's Museum
Wed–Sun 10:00–17:00
The eccentric home of an architect, packed with antiquities, paintings and clever light.
Bloomsbury & CamdenPhoto: David Samuel, User:Hellodavey1902 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia
Wellcome Collection
Daily 10:00–18:00
Free museum and library about health, medicine and what it means to be human, with quirky objects.
Kensington & ChelseaPhoto: Ben Sutherland · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia
Design Museum
Mon–Thu 10:00–17:00, Fri–Sun 10:00–18:00
Museum of product, fashion and graphic design in a former modernist building; the permanent collection is free.
South Bank & BanksidePhoto: Ethan Doyle White · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia
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Southwark Cathedral
Daily 08:30–18:00
Gothic cathedral beside Borough Market, with a Shakespeare memorial and free entry.
GreenwichPhoto: Mx. Granger · CC0 · Wikimedia
Greenwich Park
Daily 06:00–19:00 (closing time changes with the season)
Royal park on a hill with the best free view over Canary Wharf, the Thames and the Observatory.
Bloomsbury & CamdenPhoto: Louise Ireland · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia
Primrose Hill
Always open in winter
Grassy hill north of Regent's Park with one of the classic free views of the London skyline.
Bloomsbury & CamdenPhoto: ed g2s • talk · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia
Regent's Park
Daily 05:00–19:00 (closing time changes with the season)
Royal park with rose gardens, a boating lake and open lawns, between Marylebone and Camden.
Markets to browse
Free to wander around; see the full guide for days and times.
More ways to save
Cards, tips and service charge
- Card payments are accepted almost everywhere, and some places are card-only
- A discretionary service charge of about 12.5% is often added to the bill in restaurants: check the receipt before adding a tip
- Pubs: order and pay at the bar; many pubs stop serving food before they close
- Book popular restaurants; Sunday roast is a tradition and is best booked
Plan your trip → Put these places in a day plan with walking times.
More guides
City guides
- Things to do in London
- The neighbourhoods of London
- Shopping in London
- Hidden gems in London
- Souvenirs from London
- What to do in London when it rains
- Which museums are open today in London?
- What's open on Sunday in London
- Opening hours of the attractions in London
- Public holidays in London
- Sunrise and sunset in London
- Which clubs are open tonight in London?
- London with kids
Food guides
- Delicatessen in London
- Where to eat near Big Ben
- Where to eat near Covent Garden
- Where to eat near the British Museum
- Where to eat near the London Eye