Still counting your pennies? You need not worry. Though the capital may be expensive, yet there are still tons of amazing things to do in London that are cheap and can suit any pocket. From bargain restaurants to galleries and free museums to lounging in the park, London has much more than its share of cheap activities.
Free Museums
Feeling skint? Why not explore some of London’s spectacular cultural offerings without spending money. From top museum exhibitions to quirky shows at some of the top London museums, the capital is home to remarkable art and artifacts that will never dent your bank balance in the slightest. Yes all these museums in London are free.
- British Museum
- Museum of London
- The Chocolate Museum
- Design Museum
- Science Museum
- Design Museum
- Natural History Museum
- Queen’s House, Greenwich
- Victoria & Albert Museum
- Imperial War Museum
- Wellcome Collection
- Sir John Soane’s Museum
- Bank of England Museum
- Horniman Museum & Gardens
Speaker’s Corner
The corner of Hyde Park often called as the Speaker’s Corner is a must visit place. Here, Speakers gather daily to speak on various political subjects and people often stop by to hear the orator. Some of the renowned orators who have had spoken at the corner are Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin.
Explore Best Markets
Markets in London have been immortalized through TV, films and other media since years; such is their significance in the city. Though some of them have been replaced by shiny supermarkets and new apartments, visiting them is really satisfying. Of all the markets in the city, the most famous one is the Borough Market. It caters mainly tourists but features a mixed number of local and imported goods. Other great markets are listed below:
- Leadenhall Market.
- Brixton Village Market
- Brick Lane Market.
- Camden Market.
- Columbia Road Flower Market
- Greenwich Market
- Portobello Road Market.
- Street Feast has free entry for all markets before 7pm
- Old Spitalfields Market
Enjoy Free ‘Classic Cuppa’ at Twinings Tea Shop and Museum
It is one of London’s oldest original tea houses that date back to 1706. The shop also has its own tea museum and a tea-tasting area where you can try a number of tea concoctions, normally free of charge.
Free Open Air Theatre
You can enjoy free theatrical performances at the Scoop, located outside the City Hall of London. As it is an open air tiered seated area, it is best to visit in the hot summer months. Performances generally start at 6 pm. Check out for the ways you can book the tickets.
Enjoy the world’s tallest and fastest slide in Olympic Park
This is as close to a rollercoaster as you’ll get within the M25. The Olympic Park’s squiggly red sculpture offers fantastic views across East London for its £10 admission price, but pay £5 extra and you can also spend 40 seconds hurtling down a silver tube that was added to the structure by German artist Carsten Holler in summer 2016. Forty seconds may sound quick, but when your bum’s in a sack and your heart’s in your mouth, it will do nicely.
See Matilda the Musical (if you’re aged 16-25)
Those aged between 16 and 25 can queue for £5 tickets to see one of the best-loved musicals in the West End. Tickets are sold from 10am on the same day of performance, but as there are only ten tickets available per show, you need to be there much earlier.
Explore Novelty Automation
Free entry of completely bizarre arcade machines are owned by and also designed by Tim Hunkins, whose incredible engineering talents and wonderful sense of humor will entertain you in unexpected ways. Entry is free here, but carry some pound coins to try out machines such as the “Autofrisk,” “Small Hadron Collider,” and “Pet or Meat.”
Eat Cheap Bagels
Not only are Brick Lane bagels cheap and delicious, they are available 24 hours a day. Grab one on your 3 am stumble home, and stick a salmon and cream cheese spare in your pocket for the morning. Tomorrow’s you will be delighted, and will have only shelled out £4.70.
Watch a play at Shakespeare’s Globe
Sure, you’ll have to stand up for several hours, but getting a groundling ticket at the beautiful Globe theatre and watching awesome plays is really worth it. There are 700 £5 tickets for every performance, so you won’t even have to fight for them… and you’ll get the best view, to boot.
Visit a Victorian Underground Chamber (then drink cocktails by the campfire)
Famous Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s beautiful Brunel Tunnel; a gigantic chamber underneath River Thames is eye catching. Though it was expected to become the world’s first underground entertainment complex, it is now used for the overground train network. However, you can visit the amazing entrance chamber on a tour as part of Midnight Apothecary, a pop-up cocktail night in the Brunel Museum’s roof garden. As well as you can booze and roast marshmallows over the fire pit, all for £5.
Free Exhibits at the British Library
The books upon the shelves within the British Library in London are amongst some of the most important in the world and are sort after frequently by scholars and researchers for their immense academic work. Throughout the year there are exhibitions on all sorts of themes, additionally a few free exhibits too that should not be missed such as drawings by Di Vinci, Magna Carta, and original handwritten lyrics by the late Beatle, John Lennon.
Other places to visit without spending a penny are St. Paul’s Cathedral, House of Lords, Hampstead Scientific Society and Westminster Abbey.
