Top 20 Free Things To Do in London
- Ms. World
- Jun 6
- 17 min read
London is an expensive destination…even before you get there. Accommodations, plane tickets to London if you live outside of Europe, this will drain your budget even before you arrive. Then you arrive, and food is expensive, getting around the city is expensive and attractions are expensive.
Well, some of them. But London has a ton of free attractions, too. It's one of the only cities on the planet where you can see a world class museum for free, view documents written by one of history's most infamous kings for free, even recreate one of the most iconic album covers of all time, all for free.
So, let's talk about some of the best free things you can do in London, so you can significantly reduce the cost of your London vacation and still do a ton of cool stuff.
Museums
Number one is the museums. London has some of the best museums in the world and in fact, the first public museum in the entire world first opened its doors here.
BRITISH MUSEUM
That is the British Museum and it's really the number one thing you should do if you're going to London.
There are more than 9,000 items on display at the British Museum, which also has multiple restaurants and even multiple gift shops.
You will see artifacts from around the entire world here, including some of the most famous discoveries of all time.
The British Museum is the permanent home of the Rosetta Stone, the Sutton Hoo warrior, the Parthenon marbles that were taken right out of Athens, one of the enormous moa statues from Easter Island and a whole host of other items, many of which are now controversial because yes, it is super weird that England has appointed itself the curator of the world's history and persistently refuses to give items back to their home countries.
I'm going to do a much more in depth blog about the British Museum, so stay tuned.
The point today, however, is that it's free to visit and you can literally spend an entire day here seeing all the different artifacts.
V&A
Another free museum you definitely should not miss is the Victoria and Albert, known in London as the V and A.
Named for Queen Victoria and her king consort, the V and A has the largest collection of fashion items in the world. You will also see some amazing jewelry from the Victorian era here, as well as many items from her reign as England's queen.
The museum has four levels and even before you step inside, there are some interesting things to see, so this place is truly a can't miss and it's always free.
NATIONAL GALLERY
If you're an art lover, you also can't miss the National Gallery. Pretty much every famous artist you've ever heard of is on display here.
The Gallery has paintings by Cezanne, Seurat, Titian, Van Gogh, Rubens, Gainsborough, Rembrandt, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Da Vinci and the list could go on and on. There are more than 1,000 paintings here and it's all free to see.
TATE MODERN
If old art isn't your thing but new art is, get to the Tate Modern. This is one of the most famous museums in London and it has a huge collection of modern art, including works by the likes of Matisse, Jackson Pollack and Andy Warhol.
SCIENCE MUSEUM
NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
The Science Museum and Natural History museum are also free and incredibly kid-friendly, so these are good options if you're a parent. You can keep everyone entertained without paying an admission fee.
There are more than 20 completely free museums to visit in London and I've only named the biggest ones, so you could literally come here and do nothing but go to free museums and still stay busy and still have an amazing London vacation.
Parks
But there are plenty of other free things to do here if you'd like to get out and about and see more of the city. London is also known for its many beautiful parks, all of which are free.
HYDE PARK
Hyde Park is the most famous. Located right near the middle of the city and next to Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park is enormous.
Walk around here and you will find statues, fountains, a beautiful lake and the world-famous Speaker’s Corner, where anyone and everyone can say whatever they want.
It's a small space that honors free speech, a right that is not given to everyone in the world. Free speech is a right that has started to become much more precious in recent years, so while you're here, go ahead and shout something out.
ST. JAMES PARK
St. James Park is close to Hyde Park and it's absolutely packed with history. I mentioned in a previous blog that this is where the King's pelicans live and it is illegal to disturb or feed them. That alone makes this place worth visiting!
REGENT'S PARK
Regent's Park is near the London Zoo and it is beautiful. I went to the Waterside Cafe here (and you can find out more about that in my London food blog).
ABBEY ROAD CROSSWALK
If you're a music lover, or even if you aren't, the famous Abbey Road crosswalk is not to be missed.
The crosswalk is just a few steps away from the Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles recorded their album Abbey Road in 1969. The crosswalk was used on the album cover and it is one of the most iconic images in all music history.
Abbey Road would prove to be the Beatles’ last album.
The studio began its life as a nine-bedroom home and became the first music recording studio in the world.
The studio is still there and today, the famous crosswalk right down the street from the studio is a fantastic free photo spot.
Please be advised that the crosswalk goes across a functioning street in London, a city that has a ton of traffic, so you need to use all caution and please, please remember to look both ways before crossing because, Americans, their traffic is on the wrong side of the road. Don't forget that.
However, there are flashing lights at the crosswalk to remind vehicles to slow down and when I was here, I saw that all the vehicles did slow down considerably and drove through the area very cautiously because there were several people there attempting to walk across and take pictures.
It was actually a bit of a scene and everyone was very polite about letting people all have their chance to walk across the road. It wasn't very crowded and I only had to wait a few minutes for my turn.
If you're a solo traveler, you shouldn't have any trouble finding another fan to take your picture for you, because Beatles fans know that all you need is love. Love is all you need.
Also when I was there, I saw a large group of people wearing chicken hats. There seemed to be some sort of celebration and I never found out what it was all about, so if you go to the Abbey Road crossing and you also see people in chicken hats, leave me a comment and let me know…because I still have questions.
Changing of the Guards
The most famous free thing to do in London is undoubtedly the changing of the guard, which takes place in front of Buckingham Palace. Yes, it is free to see but it's also crowded as it can be. Get there early if you want to be able to see.
GUARDS AT BUCKINGHAM
It is a very tight squeeze and honestly, I was jostled and bumped into the entire time I was here. However, it is fun to be there in person, so I do recommend it in spite of the crowd.
The changing of the guard does not happen every day. This is important for you to know. Check the schedule and make sure you are there at the right time and day to see it.
What you may not know is that there are also two other changing of the guard ceremonies you can watch. They're both also free and they're just a little different from the more famous ceremony that takes place at Buckingham.
WHITEHALL GUARDS
Just a few minutes away from Buckingham Palace is the former palace of Whitehall, which was the city home to Henry VIII and other British monarchs while it was still a functioning palace.
Today, it's used by the British government and it's where you will see the British Army perform their changing of the guard. This is a somewhat different ceremony and it is much, much less crowded than the big show at Buckingham.
WINDSOR CASTLE GUARDS
If you go to Windsor Castle, which is slightly outside of London, you can witness another changing of the guard ceremony.
The Royal Guard walks right down the street up to the castle and people line both sides of the street to see it, so you will also need to arrive early here to get a good spot.
If you're already going to the castle or the cute town that's around it, you should definitely try to check that out.
DIY Walking Tours
When you know where to look, you will find a ton of cool places in London to enjoy without spending a dime.
ROMAN WALL
Even if you aren't a history buff, the Roman Wall is a really unique landmark that's worth seeing.
It exists only in fragments now, some of which you will find around the Tower Hill area. The wall was built when the Romans founded London in the year 47. That's super old and it's kind of mind blowing because you can touch the wall. It's not guarded or behind a fence or anything. I did a little walking tour and went to several spots where you can see it and it was kind of amazing.
Another super old London landmark is so ancient, it has mythical origins. There's even a legend about it. They say that as long as this unique landmark remains in London, the city will be safe. But without it…London will fall.
LONDON STONE
I'm talking about the London Stone, which is a little known landmark with huge history attached to it.
This is the oldest monument in London. It is so old that no one knows how long it's been here. Some historians think it was possibly placed here by the Romans when they built the city to serve as a marker.
The street where it sits, Cannon Street, was a major road in the Roman network of roads in England, so the stone may have been a mile marker of sorts.
It was right in the middle of the road at that time and had already become legendary by the 12th century.
Geoffrey of Monmouth, who became famous for his retelling of the tale of King Arthur, wrote about this stone and in the 1500s, Shakespeare himself included the stone in his play Henry VI, Part 2.
In the play and in history, a rebel leader who opposed King Henry hit the stone with his sword to rally his men before he attempted to take the city.
During the Great Fire of London in 1666, the stone was badly damaged along with most of the stuff all around it. The architect who rebuilt the city, Christopher Wren, believed the stone was of Roman origin and left the stone in its place, including it in his design for the new city of London.
In the 1700s, as the city had grown around the stone, it started to be a problem. It was still in the middle of the road and was becoming an obstruction to traffic. There was talk about getting rid of the stone entirely.
But by then, there were legends and stories about the stone. Some people believed that the stone was a symbol of the city and that if it is ever destroyed, London itself will fall.
When the Cannon Street subway line was cut out right under the road, the stone was partially destroyed because it was so large and buried so deeply in the ground, it was hindering the tunnel.
So, the stone was greatly reduced in size but not completely destroyed. In order to save the piece of the stone that remained, it was relocated in 1792 and placed in a small alcove in the wall of a church.
It sat there in its alcove, undisturbed, for 150 years…until bombs started to fall out of the sky.
It was September, 1940, and a madman named Adolf Hitler wanted to take over the world. Part of his plan included sending the German air force, outfitted with bombs, to rain death down upon the city of London. This was part of the German Blitzkrieg, or the Blitz.
After the attack began on the 7th of September, the city was bombed every night for 57 nights.
The church where the stone sat was completely demolished, reduced entirely to rubble…but the London Stone survived. So if you're superstitious, you might have said that the stone's survival during the Blitz meant that London itself would survive World War II.
Which, it did.
The London Stone was left in the rubble for about 20 years, until a new office block was built where the church used to stand. The stone was temporarily located to the Museum of London and put on display there. It was finally put back in its proper spot and placed into a new alcove in 2018.
And the stone still sits here, watching it all. It saw Roman soldiers going by in the year 50. It saw the Anglo Saxon invaders arrive to the city in the 400s. Maybe the stone even knew King Arthur himself.
It survived the fire that destroyed most of London in 1666 and it even survived the Germans in World War II. And now it sits in a wall, along a busy London street, still somewhat intact. If you believe the legend of the stone, the city will continue to stand and thrive for as long as the London Stone exists.
Kind of cool, right? Today, you can see the Stone at 111 Cannon Street.
CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE
The Roman Wall dates to the year 47. The London Stone's history is even older. But one of the most ancient landmarks in London is more than a thousand years older than both of these and, like so many special objects in London, it was taken from somewhere else.
About two blocks away from the world famous Savoy hotel, near Waterloo Bridge, right on the riverbank, you will find the landmark known as Cleopatra's Needle.
And this bad boy is old with a capital O-L-D, because it is actually far older than Cleopatra's reign. It's even older than the Roman Empire or the Greek empire.
Entire civilizations have risen and ruled the world and fallen during this thing’s long history. And it's just sitting completely unprotected right on the river.
Cleopatra's Needle was actually created in 1460 BCE for Pharaoh Thotmes III. It's known as Cleopatra's Needle because it was found in the city of Alexandria, which is where her palace used to be.
She's the most famous former resident of the city, which once upon a time was the home of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the amazing Pharos, or the lighthouse at Alexandria. All modern lighthouses are still based on the design of that ancient structure.
Alexandria was also home to the massive Library of Alexandria, which was designed to hold all the collected knowledge of the world and which was later burned to the ground by Romans.
The obelisk known as Cleopatra's Needle found its way to the shores of the Thames in 1878…and it was specifically brought here because England wanted to flex.
The city of London was still celebrating England's ultimate victory over Napoleon, which had actually happened some 60 years before the obelisk was brought here. British people donated money to help bring the “needle” to the city, which was a pretty monumental task.
Pun intended.
At the base of the needle, if you look closely, you can find a small plaque that lists the names of the people who drowned while trying to bring this ancient Egyptian artifact all the way to London.
It was carried here on a specially built ship that was named the Cleopatra, which was designed and created specifically to bring the obelisk to London. It took two steam ships to help tow the Cleopatra and its cargo to England.
The two sphinxes that flank the needle are not Egyptian. They were designed and created in England just to sit next to the needle and make the whole thing look even more impressive.
What you may not know is that this Cleopatra's Needle was part of a set. There were two identical obelisks removed from Alexandria.
The other half of the pair is in New York City's Central Park and it is also known as Cleopatra's Needle. I have not seen that one but according to my research, it's in much worse shape than its London counterpart.
The obelisk was a gift to London in 1819, or that's the story anyway, given to the city following the Battle of Alexandria by Egypt’s then-king Muhammed Ali.
This is not the same Muhammed Ali as the famous boxer who was born in Louisville Kentucky, just like I was. Different guy. He gifted the obelisk to England to commemorate the country's victory over Napoleon.
But the British government did not want to pay to have this enormous thing transported all the way to London. Finally, an English lord sponsored the project, the money was raised and the needle ultimately came to rest on the shores of a river on the other side of the world from where it was built.
The needle nearly became nothing more than a memory during the first World War, when a German bomb landed very close to it in 1917. It survived and it survived the later German Blitz that occurred during World War II, when bombs fell from the sky thanks to Nazi planes.
Many, many buildings were heavily damaged or destroyed in the Blitz and even Buckingham Palace itself took some damage, but the obelisk continued to stand.
It is one of the most ancient items in London and it has seen a whole lot of history, so it's a pretty cool thing you can check out while you're here.
And even though the obelisk was made long before Cleopatra's time, it stood with its partner in the city where she reigned over Egypt as its outright queen and Pharaoh. So perhaps she, too, once gazed upon this monument.
WHITECHAPEL
London has lots of free monuments you can find in parks or on city streets, but this old city has so much history, it can't be contained in one landmark or even on one street.
If you want to enjoy a completely unique bit of dark history that you can only find here, head to the Whitechapel neighborhood.
This entire area is for ever historic because this is where the world's most notorious serial killer once walked…and stalked his victims.
The Whitechapel neighborhood is a cool free place to go in general, but you can also come here to actually walk where Jack the Ripper once walked and go to several locations associated with his crimes and his victims.
There are some pretty affordable guided group walking tours available but if you'd like a free option, I put together a step by step route with guided audio that will be added to my London playlist, so feel free to check that out.
Or, you can put together your own walk and take a look around this historic and for ever infamous London neighborhood.
Whitechapel is best known for being the Ripper's hunting grounds, but this neighborhood has some other really cool locations as well. There is an old bell foundry here where the famous American Liberty Bell was struck, which is a cool bit of history for visitors from the U.S., and there's a very large and old market area where you can taste cuisine from all over the world.
If you fancy a pint, as locals might say, consider the famed Ten Bells Pub, where many of Jack the Ripper's victims used to go.
Architecture
London is a beautiful city. One of the easiest free things you can do while you're here is to simply walk around and admire the architecture.
Head to the Westminster neighborhood to see one of the most incredible Gothic buildings in the city: Westminster Abbey. Everything about this building is incredible and it's a marvel to see even if you don't go inside.
In the same area, you will find the Houses of Parliament, which is the home of Big Ben, the world's most famous bell. Westminster was built in the 1200s and the Houses of Parliament, which was once called the palace of Westminster, is much newer, built in the 1840s to the 1870s. It's a gorgeous example of Victorian architecture at its best.
Not too far away, along the riverbank, you can see the incredible Tower of London. Construction began here in the 1000s and over the centuries, lots of structures were added, removed and changed to create the remarkable complex you can see there today.
Tower Bridge, which leads to the Tower, was built during Queen Victoria’s reign in the 1800s to match the architecture of the Tower and it is now an iconic symbol of the city itself.
Walk across Tower Bridge and you can see the traffic on the street below your feet, which is a little disorienting but it's a pretty cool and unique experience.
Head to the Southwark neighborhood and you will get to see a couple of amazing buildings that are truly worlds apart, design wise.
The glorious St. Paul's Cathedral is here. Built after the Great Fire that destroyed most of London in 1666, St. Paul's is an incredible example of baroque design.
In the same neighborhood, you will see the famous Shard glittering in the sunshine. Well, as long as it isn't raining. Named for the fact that it looks like a shard of glass, this amazing skyscraper is a great example of modern London design and it is stunning.
Stay in Southwark to spot one of the most famous buildings in the world: Shakespeare's Globe Theater. The original structure was burned down in the great fire but a new Globe was built to echo the Elizabethan style that the original once had.
Brutalist architecture once dominated the London landscape in the postwar years, a style defined by its rough look and sharp edges. The Barbican Complex, located within the City of London, is one of the best examples of the style.
Simply walking around London is like a crash course on building style over the last 1,000 years of history, and you will find some new detail no matter how many times you walk the same streets and neighborhoods of the city.
There are many, many more stunning buildings to discover here, so don't be afraid to put on your walking shoes and take your own architectural tour of the city.
Library
Even if you are not a huge history nerd like I am, the British Library is an amazing free place to visit. This is basically the equivalent of the Library of Congress in the United States. In addition to being a regular Library, the British Library holds a collection of absolutely astonishing historical artifacts.
When you go inside the building, look to your left and take the stairs up to the Gallery area.
Here, you will find a really cool selection of items that showcases the famous and infamous writers, musicians and monarchs from British history.
There are handwritten lyrics from Beatles songs here, letters written by King Henry VIII, a copy of the Magna Carta that was signed by King John in the year 1215 and even Shakespeare's actual First Folio, the very first published collection of his plays that dates to the 1600s.
It is all totally free to see and it's a really nice exhibit. This is a great thing to do during a rainy day in London. I also suggest that you stop to look around in the gift shop before you leave, because there's actually some super cool stuff there.
Graffiti Tunnel
London is also known for its street art, also known as graffiti. Banksy is perhaps the most famous London street artist, but the city is full of talent. You will see lots of street art in the Shoreditch area and in many places you go that are outside the city of London itself.
However, there is one specific place you can go if you'd like to add your own art to the city. The Graffiti Tunnel is close to the London Eye and here, it is perfectly legal and totally okay to create street art. This unique attraction is not hard to find: just follow the smell of spray paint.
The Graffiti Tunnel is literally a tunnel and you will see people there adding to the art, which is everywhere in the tunnel. It's a cool place to visit if you like street art, and you can always bring your own paint pen or buy a can of spray paint in the city and add your own art to the tunnel.
You may even find a Ms. World original if you search the tunnel, truly a work of art in bright pink. I don't think Banksy could do better.
Or maybe I am Banksy.
Whether or not you become a London street artist like me, you can find lots of free ways to spend time in London and do cool stuff.
London also has some really cool market areas and the shopping district is something you shouldn't miss. I'm going to cover some of the hotspots in an upcoming blog, so you can pack even more free things to do into your London trip. Come back to check that out.
If you'd like to take an even deeper dive into free things you can do in London, the sources I used to create this video are in the description box.
Thank you for watching and thank you for taking the journey with me.
Now, Voyager, sail forth to seek and find.
Sources:
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