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Free things to do in London
London's best free things aren't a consolation prize. Some of the greatest museums in the world don't charge a penny, you can ride a lift 58 floors up for nothing, and there are deer parks, Roman ruins and comedy nights that ask for nothing more than turning up.
Everything here is free to do. A few need a free ticket booked ahead, which we say on each quest.
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Take a free lift to London's highest viewing platform, 58 floors up in the CityBook a free timed ticket, ride a high-speed lift to Level 58 of 22 Bishopsgate, and look out over London from a 300-degree viewing gallery. It's an easy, low-pressure first date that's done in an hour.
British MuseumFree permanent collection (Rosetta Stone, Egyptian mummies, Parthenon sculptures). A timed entry ticket is now recommended to guarantee entry; some walk-up available. £5 suggested donation. Paid special exhibitions.
Tate ModernFree collection incl. Turbine Hall & river views. No booking needed for the collection; exhibitions ticketed (16-25s get £5 via Tate Collective).
National GalleryFree; Van Gogh, Monet, da Vinci. No booking needed for the main collection; paid blockbuster exhibitions.
Sir John Soane's MuseumFree; the architect's house left as in 1837. Open Wed-Sun 10:00-17:00 (last entry 16:30). 90-person cap, no advance booking for general entry - arrive at 10:00 to avoid queues. Narrow, no lifts. Free Private Apartment tours Wed/Fri/Sun 2pm (first-come). Paid Highlights Tour ~£25.
Wellcome CollectionFree; medicine, art & being human + free reading room. Closed Mondays. Free events.
London Mithraeum (free Roman temple)Free; reconstructed Roman temple of Mithras in an immersive space beneath Bloomberg HQ (Bank). Book a free timed slot online.
Walk Hampstead Heath to Kenwood's free Rembrandt and Vermeer, then warm up in the caféCross the Heath on a cold afternoon to Kenwood House, a stately home on its northern edge. Inside, its old masters are free to see, and the estate café is there to thaw out in afterwards.
Barbican Conservatory (free)Free tropical glasshouse on select days
Walk among 600 free-roaming deer2,500-acre royal park with 600 free-roaming red and fallow deer, Pen Ponds and long open walks.
Meet llamas with Canary Wharf behind them32-acre city farm on the Isle of Dogs with cows, sheep, llamas and pigs, framed by the Canary Wharf towers.
Laugh at new and established comics for free above a Clapham pub, Mondays or WednesdaysComedy Bandits runs free stand-up upstairs at The Railway every Monday and Wednesday, mixing new acts with established ones; a Chortle award-winning open mic night.
Play free board games on Thursday nights at a Bermondsey Beer Mile taproomHiver's railway-arch taproom puts out a curated shelf of board games every Thursday evening; bring friends, buy a drink and play for free.
Little Venice canal walkPretty free waterside stroll to Camden
William Morris Gallery (free)Free; the designer's home, lovely cafe & parkTurn up for a Tuesday night game at a 140-year-old chess club in BatterseaBattersea Chess Club meets every Tuesday evening near Clapham Junction for games at all levels; visitors can come twice for free before deciding to join.
African / Caribbean church serviceVibrant Black-majority church services & gospel music; visitors generally welcome. Find a local church.Silicon MilkroundaboutLondon's big tech job fair - engineers, data, design, product & marketing meet startups. Free for job-seekers; register online.
London skatepark finderSlam City Skates' directory of 50+ London skateparks, north to south — Southbank, House of Vans, Meanwhile Gardens, Mile End, Stockwell, Kennington Bowl, Finsbury Park and out to Kingston and Bromley. Pick the nearest, turn up, skate. Free to use; no booking. Each park has its own page for surface and features.
Crack a pub puzzle hunt with a team on the second Tuesday of the monthPuzzled Pint posts a location puzzle online that leads you to a London pub; once there, your team works through a set of beginner-friendly puzzles over drinks, with hints on hand.
After-work run club (then pub)Free evening social runs ending socially
Brompton Cemetery / Magnificent SevenFree atmospheric Victorian cemetery walks. Brompton Cemetery SW10 is the most central of the Magnificent Seven; the others are Highgate N6, Kensal Green W10, Nunhead SE15, Abney Park N16, Tower Hamlets E3 and West Norwood SE27.
Recreational maths / maths circlePuzzles, proofs & playful mathsBumble For FriendsFriend-finding mode for activity buddies
Book a free quiet desk in a Victorian reading room off Liverpool StreetThe Bishopsgate Institute opens its archive Reading Room as a free, quiet place to work on most Mondays and Fridays, 10am-5pm, with free Wi-Fi. Book a place online or at reception on arrival.
Lord Mayor's ShowFree historic procession + fireworksOutdoor chess tables (Holland Park etc)Free public boards; casual play
Wildlife volunteering – London Wildlife TrustFree conservation work days; sociable
Sign up to play (and get a free drink) at a Tuesday basement open mic in ShoreditchCommon People is Old Street Records' weekly open mic in the basement: sign up at 7pm sharp for a slot, or just come and watch local Shoreditch talent.Catch a free new-act comedy night with a pie in Shoreditch on a Tuesday2nd Row Comedy's original night: a new act and new material show every Tuesday at The Cornershop Bar, free to get in, starting 7:30pm sharp.
Imperial War MuseumFree; conflict galleries + powerful Holocaust Galleries. Some special exhibitions ticketed.
Open studios / artist trailsArtists open workspaces seasonally; free
Follow a children's lantern parade to Greenwich Market's lights switch-onLocal schoolchildren carry handmade lanterns through the Old Royal Naval College and Cutty Sark Gardens to Greenwich Market, where the crowd counts down to the Christmas lights at 5pm.
Economics / finance public talksMake sense of the economy from expertsPark Run buggy / mums' runningPostnatal-friendly social running
Watch an 1886 sewage-pumping beam engine run under steam in TottenhamVolunteers fire up a restored Victorian beam engine in its riverside engine house in Markfield Park on open Sundays; the engine runs twice a day and entry is free.Folk session / open jam (pub)Bring an instrument or just listen
Sewing / repair cafe (learn to mend)Free community fix-it days
Sing karaoke for free on Thursday nights on the Bermondsey Beer MileFree-entry karaoke in a railway-arch lager hall, with up to four mics and a catalogue of more than 50,000 songs, 9pm to 10.30pm.
Questions people ask
- What can you do in London for free?
- The big national museums (the British Museum, Tate Modern, the National Gallery, the Natural History Museum) are free, and so are smaller gems like Sir John Soane's Museum and the Wellcome Collection. Add the free viewing platforms, Hampstead Heath, Richmond Park's deer and free comedy nights, and you could fill weeks without spending anything.
- Where can you see London from above for free?
- Horizon 22 at 22 Bishopsgate is London's highest free viewing platform, 58 floors up, and the Sky Garden at 20 Fenchurch Street is a free rooftop garden. Both need a free timed ticket, and the Sky Garden's slots go about three weeks ahead.
- Are London's museums really free?
- The permanent collections of the national museums are free to enter. Special exhibitions usually charge, and some museums recommend booking a free timed ticket at busy times.
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