Things to Do in London Indoors: Eight Rainy Day Plans

1. Free museums for one to two hours

A free museum is the easiest rainy-day plan in London, and seven big ones charge nothing at the door. The British Museum in Bloomsbury lists free entry, so check its own page for today's hours. All seven free museums are dry places to spend a wet day, and the Churchill War Rooms are a paid museum with fixed entry times. The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square is free too, and its visit page says it stays open until 9pm on Fridays.

Two museums want a free ticket first. Tate Modern lets you into the collection free and takes last entry 30 minutes before closing. The Natural History Museum is open daily from 10:00 to 17:50, with last entry at 17:30, and asks you to get a free ticket. It says it can get busy at weekends and in school holidays, and it may search bags on arrival. The Science Museum asks you to book free tickets and opens at 09.00 from 24 to 30 October 2026 for half term.

Art fans have two more. Tate Modern is open until 21.00 on Fridays and Saturdays, and Tate Britain is open from 10.00 to 18.00 every day. The V&A is free as well, but its South Kensington page says most of the museum is closed on 29 and 30 October 2026.

For a long wet day, pick by closing time: the V&A is open until 22.00 on Fridays, Tate Modern until 21.00 on Fridays and Saturdays, and the National Gallery until 9pm on Fridays. Wet coats and bags are the small catch. The National Gallery cloakroom costs £3 per item and takes bags up to 56 x 25 x 45 cm, but no suitcases. Tate Modern has paid lockers at £4, £6 and £8, and its old cloakroom has closed. The V&A page gives Friday hours of 10.00 to 22.00, with some galleries closing after 17.45.

Pro Tip Book the Natural History Museum and Science Museum free tickets before you leave your hotel, because rain tends to send more people to the same few museums.

2. Borough Market for a short food stop

Borough Market is a free hour of food and wandering, but it is not a full rain plan. Entry is free and open to everyone. It opens Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 5pm, on Saturday from 9am to 5pm and on Sunday from 10am to 4pm. It is closed on Monday.

Saturday afternoon is the busiest time. The market sits next to London Bridge station, so it is easy to add after a morning at Tate Modern. It is a food market, so some of it may be outside. Treat it as a stop between museums and bring a coat. For more on what to eat there, see the Borough Market guide.

3. Afternoon tea at the British Museum for about 90 minutes

Afternoon tea inside the British Museum gives you a dry sit-down break of about an hour and a half. Afternoon tea at the British Museum is from €51 per person and rated 4.3 from 593 reviews. It is run by Golden Tours - Gray Line London, and the booking has no rating for the museum itself. You meet at the Great Court Restaurant, and tea is served from 11:30 to 17:00, with the last sitting at 16:00.

The listing includes the tea, and a glass of Prosecco if you pick that option. A booking holds up to six people. The kitchen can cater for vegetarian, pescatarian and nut-free guests only, so skip this one if you need another diet. Eating and shopping indoors is easy at the big museums. The Natural History Museum's food page lists the T. rex Restaurant, the Central Cafe, the Earth Hall Cafe and a Shake Bar, plus three shops. You can bring your own lunch to its picnic area on the lower ground floor, which school groups use on term-time weekdays from 11:00 to 14:00. The Science Museum has the Energy Café on Level 0, open 10.00 to 17.30 daily, three more places to eat, and picnic areas on Levels -1, 2 and 3. Tate Modern has an Espresso Bar, a Terrace Café, a restaurant on Level 6 and three shops. Tate Britain has the Djanogly Café and two shops. Borough Market has food stalls, but some of it may be outside.

For a group of friends, the tea booking holds up to six people, so a bigger group needs a second booking. The free museums set no group size, and Tate Modern (Fridays and Saturdays until 21.00) and the National Gallery (Fridays until 9pm) stay open into the evening. Book the same time slot for everyone. The listing has no free cancellation and no group size beyond the six. Madame Tussauds lists no group size either, but under-16s need an adult. The Harry Potter coach has no fixed group, and Wicked is booked per ticket. For a larger group, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum both ask for a free ticket per person, and the Natural History Museum says it can be busy at weekends. In the evening, the Science Museum's over-18s Lates run from 18.30 to 22.00 (general entry free, VIP £12).

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

4. The Churchill War Rooms for around two hours

The Churchill War Rooms are a paid museum with a fixed entry time, so they suit a morning you plan ahead. The Churchill War Rooms entry with a political audio tour is from €41 per person and rated 4.6 from 513 reviews. It is run by Vox City Walks, and the listing has no free cancellation.

The ticket includes entry, the museum's audio guide and a second audio guide to political London. It leaves out a live guide, and the listing gives no group size. The meeting point is the museum itself on King Charles Street. Allow at least 2 hours, since the listing gives a flexible duration that starts there.

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

5. Madame Tussauds for half a day

Madame Tussauds fills a rainy half day, and its own page says most visitors spend 1.5 to 2 hours inside. Madame Tussauds London is from €32 per person, rated 4.6 from 24,178 reviews, and run by Madame Tussauds London - MEG. The listing shows about 2.5 hours and free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

Madame Tussauds is from €32 per person, and your ticket covers entry, the Royal Balcony, the Star Wars experience, the Spirit of London ride, a Marvel Universe 4D film and the Chamber of Horrors. Baker Street station is right next to the building. Entry is only at the time on your e-ticket, and pushchairs are not allowed, though there is a free cloakroom. Under-16s need an adult, under-2s are free with a ticket, and the building is wheelchair accessible. Next to it: tea is from €51, the War Rooms from €41, Wicked from €34 and the Harry Potter coach package from €113.

You can also buy a ticket on Madame Tussauds' own site, and its page shows a lower online price than the walk-up price. A listing is worth it when you want the free cancellation or the price on the day.

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

6. A stadium tour for half a day

A stadium tour fills half a day and is mostly a walk through the inside of a ground. The Arsenal stadium tour is a handset tour in seven languages, and Arsenal's own page lists the Flash Interview Rooms, the Press Conference Room and the Media Lounge, plus free entry to the Arsenal Museum. Adult tours start at £34.

Some stops, such as the touchline, are in the open, so wear a coat. The Wembley Stadium tour has about 75 minutes of guided parts, and Wembley's help page tells you to allow 2 hours. Bags are searched at Wembley and there is no cloakroom.

Key Takeaway Seven big museums cost £0 at the door, and the cheapest paid plan here, Madame Tussauds, is from €32 per person.

7. The Harry Potter studio tour for a full day

The Harry Potter studio tour is the one plan that fills a whole rainy day, and its official visit lasts about three and a half hours. The Warner Bros Studio Tour London, The Making of Harry Potter needs a ticket for a time slot, and the studio's FAQ says no extra visitors are added once a slot is sold out. Book ahead, not on the day.

You can go on your own or with a coach. On your own, the studio says to take a train from London Euston to Watford Junction, about 20 minutes on a direct train, then a shuttle bus that is included in the ticket. An adult ticket is £58.50 in 2026. The Harry Potter studio tour with transfers is from €113 per person and rated 4.7 from 28,303 reviews. It is run by Premium Tours.

The ticket covers return coach travel and admission. Audio guides, a tour guide and meals cost extra. The day takes about 7 hours, with around 75 minutes on the coach each way. You meet at Victoria Coach Station. Free cancellation applies up to 3 days before, and the listing says it is not suitable for wheelchair users.

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

8. A West End show for the evening

A West End show is the best way to end a rainy day, because the seats and the roof are yours for about 2 hours 45 minutes. Ticket to Wicked the Musical is from €34 per person, rated 4.8 from 413 reviews. It plays at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, and the listing is sold by GetYourGuide Tours & Tickets GmbH.

Doors open 90 minutes before the show, and you should arrive 30 minutes before. Latecomers may only enter at the interval, and the ticket is not refundable. It is not suitable for children under 5.

Our London last minute theatre tickets guide covers the other shows. The Official London Theatre ticket booth on the south side of Leicester Square sells same-day and advance seats, some of them discounted. The Society of London Theatre runs it, so you buy straight from the theatres.

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

How to choose things to do in London indoors

Choose by the hours you have, then check which plans need a booked time. The table sums up the eight plans.

Things to Do in London's count of GetYourGuide listings in October 2026 found 87 entry-ticket listings for indoor venues, such as museums, theatres and wax and film attractions. Most are shows and attractions you book for a set time, which is why the table asks about booking.

The best rainy-day plan is the one you booked before the clouds arrived.

Do you want a guide for the day, or will you go on your own? The free museums need no guide, and Madame Tussauds and the War Rooms work well with an e-ticket. A tour package earns its price on the Harry Potter day, where the coach replaces the train and the shuttle. On your own the ticket is £58.50 plus the train. The coach package at €113, run by Premium Tours and rated 4.7 from 28,303 reviews, adds the ride and a representative who exchanges your tickets at the studio. It runs in English, takes 75 minutes by coach each way, keeps luggage in the studio cloakroom (not on the coach), and leaves out audio guides (from GBP 5.25 at the studio), a guide and meals. For the War Rooms the ticket has no live guide, and the official pages do not say a guide adds value there. They do not label any plan as for adults only. For a tour-or-solo choice: do the free museums, Madame Tussauds and the War Rooms on your own with an e-ticket, and book the coach only for the Harry Potter day. For adults, the one official adults-only event found is Science Museum Lates, which are for over-18s only, from 18.30 to 22.00 (next listed: Thursday 26 November 2026; general admission free, VIP £12). Adults who want a grown-up evening can add a West End show or the Science Museum Lates. Adults also tend to pick the War Rooms, the tea, the Chamber of Horrors or a show, and Wicked is not suitable for children under 5. To spread the cost over a trip, read London on a budget. To plan the Tube between museums, see getting around London.

Limits of a rainy-day plan

Rain does not make every indoor plan a good one. Free museums can be crowded on a wet day, and some of them need a free ticket. A market and a stadium tour have outdoor parts, so a coat still matters. The tea has a short diet list, and the show and the tea cannot be refunded. If you want the cheapest day, stay with the free museums and skip the tickets.