Free Attractions in London: Seven Picks and Cheap Extras

The free attractions in London below cost nothing to enter, and they are the place to start if you plan london england on a budget. Travel and food are the bills that remain. Each entry says what is free, what needs a booking and what the catch is.

1. The National Gallery and the other free museums: best for a rainy morning

The big London museums are free to walk into, and the National Gallery is the easiest to start with. The National Gallery says it is free to visit, with a charge for some exhibitions. It is open daily from 10am to 6pm and until 9pm on Fridays. It closes on 24 to 26 December and 1 January.

Trafalgar Square sits right outside, so you can pair the gallery with a look at Nelson's Column. The Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, the V&A, Tate Modern and Tate Britain also have free general entry. The Natural History Museum and the Science Museum ask you to reserve a free ticket first. Our guide to free museums London lists all seven with hours and the catches.

Pro Tip Go to Tate Modern on a Friday or Saturday evening. Its page lists opening until 21:00 on those two days, when the day crowds have gone.

2. Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace: best for a short, free start to the day

The guard change happens outside the palace, so you do not need a ticket for the State Rooms. The Household Division's calendar lists it at 11:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. In November 2026 that means 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, 23, 25, 27 and 30 November. Sunday parades at 10:00 are listed separately and are not guard changes.

The ceremony takes place in front of Buckingham Palace and lasts about 45 minutes. The Household Division lists no ticket or fee for it, so the cost is zero. Getting there is the only bill. Soldiers gather at St James's Palace and Wellington Barracks from 10:00 and march to the palace with music, and its how-to-watch section gives 10:45 for the palace ceremony. It advises arriving early for the best view. The ceremony can be changed or cancelled at short notice, especially in wet weather, with a decision as late as 10:45 on the day. The Division also warns that pickpockets work the area. The Household Division publishes the dates, so check the page the week you travel. The State Rooms inside are closed for the season and cost extra when open.

A walking tour can fill in the story afterwards. The 30-sight London walking tour is listed from €22.68 per person, rated 4.9 from 211 reviews. It runs about five hours from 30 Newgate St, and it is run by See The Sights Tours. No attraction tickets are included, and the walk has a short Tube ride at your own cost.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide on 2026-10-24.

3. Sky Garden: best free view if you plan ahead

Sky Garden is a free viewing garden near the top of a City tower, but you must book. Its FAQ says free tickets are released every Monday morning, three weeks ahead, for the whole week. Bank holidays are the exception. Walk-ins are accepted daily in public hours, but it cannot guarantee entry.

Public hours are 10am to 6pm on weekdays and 11am to 9pm at weekends and on bank holidays. A public ticket is valid for one hour from entry. The address is 1 Sky Garden Walk, a short walk from Monument. Expect airport-style security, and leave large bags and suitcases behind because there are no lockers. In October 2026 one visitor lift is out of service, so some ticket holders may not get in at their booked time.

Key Takeaway Free Sky Garden tickets for a given week appear on a Monday three weeks earlier, so set a reminder for Monday morning.

If the slots are gone, early-morning walk-in tickets cost £11.50 with a hot drink, and evening walk-ins start at £15.50.

4. Borough Market: best free wander for food lovers

Borough Market is free to enter, and you pay only for what you eat. Borough Market says access is free and open to everyone. It is closed on Mondays, open 10am to 5pm from Tuesday to Friday, 9am to 5pm on Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sunday. Hours change at Christmas and on bank holidays. Free sights in this guide are the Queen's House in Greenwich and the guard change outside Buckingham Palace. Historic sites that charge are listed below, and churches vary. St Paul's Cathedral charges £27 for adult sightseeing from Monday to Saturday, but worship is free to attend, and only disabled visitors get free sightseeing tickets. The Tower of London is not free either, at £37 for an adult. In entry 5 the Royal Observatory costs £24 and Cutty Sark £22.

Saturday afternoon is the busiest time, so go on a weekday if you dislike crowds. London Bridge station is next door, on the Jubilee and Northern lines and National Rail. Our page on Borough Market tours covers guided food walks if you want a guide.

The cheapest way to know a city is to walk through the places where its people shop.

5. Greenwich: best free half day by the river

Greenwich is free if you stick to the National Maritime Museum, the Queen's House and the park. Royal Museums Greenwich lists both as free to enter, with booking recommended, and open daily from 10am to 5pm. The Royal Observatory costs £24 for an adult and closes on 2 November 2026 for a long rebuild. Cutty Sark costs £22 and stays open.

Take the DLR to Cutty Sark, or go by river. Greenwich Park has pedestrian gates open from 6am to 7pm, and you pay nothing to walk in. It has hilltop views over London, a flower garden, One Tree Hill and Roman and Anglo-Saxon remains. You can stand outdoors on either side of the Prime Meridian at the Royal Observatory, and only going inside needs a ticket. Two more central parks need no ticket to walk in. St James's Park lists some pedestrian gates open 5am to midnight, and it has a lake and pelicans, which have lived there since 1664. Regent's Park and Primrose Hill lists pedestrian gates open 5am to 7pm, the Queen Mary's Gardens rose garden and a lake with boat hire. Primrose Hill gives views over London. The Royal Parks pages state no entry price for either park. Uber Boat by Thames Clippers runs about 45 minutes from London Eye Pier and about 20 minutes from Tower Pier. With contactless or Oyster, a Central zone trip is £9.90 off-peak or £11.90 at peak times. A single bought at the pier costs £16.40, so tap in instead. One crossing costs nothing: Transport for London says the Woolwich Ferry is free and carries pedestrians and cyclists between Woolwich and North Woolwich. It can stop in extreme high tides or dense fog, and the timetable gives the hours. Vehicles use the same boats, so expect a car queue at busy times.

The Westminster to Tower Bridge river cruise is a cheaper way to see the Thames if you only want the view. It is listed from €16.71 per person, rated 4.5 from 6,740 reviews. It leaves from Westminster Pier, takes 30 minutes to an hour and has audio commentary in six languages. It is run by Thames River Sightseeing. If the boat is full, you may be asked to take a later one.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide on 2026-10-24.

6. Hyde Park: best free green space in the centre

Hyde Park is the biggest central park for a free walk. The Royal Parks page lists pedestrian gates open from 5am to midnight. You can walk the meadows in the north, see the rose garden near Rotten Row and look for herons by the Serpentine bridge. Speaker's Corner is known for free public speaking.

The Lido, and football, tennis or padel, are separate activities that you book. A walk by the water needs no booking. The Royal Parks page lists the gates but gives no price, and no ticket for walking in. Greenwich Park, St James's Park and Regent's Park are covered in entry 5. For free and unusual, Speaker's Corner is the one in this park. Entry 5 adds two more: stand on the Prime Meridian line outside the Royal Observatory, and ride the free Woolwich Ferry. The street art tour in entry 7 is a cheap paid oddity. Bring a coat, because London weather changes fast.

7. Cheap extras worth paying for: best when you want a guide

A few paid extras cost little. Things to Do in London's count of GetYourGuide listings in October 2026 found 65 of 640 priced under €20, about one in ten. Pick one that adds a guide or a view you cannot get for free. If you only want to see the sights, go on your own. Pay for a tour when you want the story. Each tour below gives the rating, the operator, the start point, the length and what is not included.

The Tower of London and City walking tour is listed from €1.43 per person, rated 4.8 from 155 reviews. The page gives no reason for that low price, so check the booking page for what it covers. It takes 2.5 hours, is run by Sandemans Tours, and groups are capped at 20. It meets at citizenM Tower of London on Trinity Square. It includes a guide, and it passes the Roman wall, Leadenhall Market and Tower Bridge. Gratuities and hotel pickup are not included.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide on 2026-10-24.

The street art and graffiti tour is listed from €21.01 per person, rated 4.8 from 1,548 reviews. It lasts two hours, starts at the I Goat statue on Brushfield Street and is run by Alternative London. It covers about 40 artists around Shoreditch and Brick Lane, and the tip is included. Children under 16 need an adult. No group size is listed.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide on 2026-10-24.

For a seat above the street, the vintage open-top bus tour with a live guide is listed from €14.92 per person, rated 4.7 from 650 reviews. It takes 75 minutes, starts at Northumberland Avenue and is run by The Classic Tour, with up to 15 people. It is in English only, and you get a guaranteed top-deck seat on a 1960s Routemaster bus. Longer routes are in our guide to hop-on hop-off bus tours.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide on 2026-10-24.

At a glance: the 30-sight walk (See The Sights Tours, 4.9 from 211 reviews, five hours) and the cruise (Thames River Sightseeing, 4.5 from 6,740 reviews) list no group size. The walk is not suited to wheelchair users, people with reduced mobility or low fitness, and it excludes food, drink and tips, with a lunch stop near Tower Hill. The cruise is one way to Tower Bridge or a return trip, is wheelchair accessible, and excludes food, drink and tips. The street art tour is also wheelchair accessible. The Tower walk and the bus tour show a group cap of 20 and 15. All five tours show free cancellation, up to 24 hours before for the walk, the cruise and the street art tour. The bus tour is in English only with no translation headsets, and the Tower walk and the bus page do not list an entry ticket to any sight.

A tour is not always better than walking alone. The free sights above need no guide, and a guide mostly adds the story. Go alone to the museums, Borough Market and the parks. Pay for a guide at the Tower and in the City, where the stories are the point. Pick a tour for places like the Tower of London, where history is the point, and where an adult ticket of £37 is listed by Historic Royal Palaces. The Tower of London page has the full picture. For the London Eye, advance tickets from £29 online beat the £39 walk-up price, and the London Eye page explains the options. After the free sights, free tours of london are the cheapest guided step, and our walking tour page compares them.

How to choose free attractions in London

Choose by what you need most today. Free does not always mean no planning, so check the last column.

For a rainy morning pick the National Gallery, for food pick Borough Market, for a view book Sky Garden, and for a green half day pick Greenwich or Hyde Park. The honest limit is that free does not cover the day. A day of free sights costs £0 to enter, but a paid extra runs about €15 to €23. Travel and food cost money, and public transport is not free. Buses cost £1.75 a ride, rising to £1.85 on 1 November 2026, and take no cash. Our guide to getting around London explains the daily caps.