London can be a spendy place, but there are also tons of free things to do!
If your visiting London soon and thinking how to make the trip budget friendly, this is the post for you. I’m breaking this post down into two parts; the first is all about exploring London for free, including my 6 favourite free things to do.
The second half of this post, I’ll be covering how a few ideas on how to get the best deals on things we MUST spend money on, like a place to stay and travel.
Ready to plan a lovely trip to London and save some money while you do it? Excellent, let’s go…
Free Things to do London
So, what can you do in London for free? Quite a lot actually. Here’s my favourites.
Visit one of the London Royal Parks.
The Royal Parks are London’s historic green spaces, part of the character of the city. Each one is free to visit and has its own character. My favourite London Royal Parks are:
- St James Park: The most royal of them all, being surrounded by three palaces. This park is also home to the cute 17th century Duck Island Cottage and a gang of resident pelicans. If you want to see the pelicans being fed, visit between 14.30-15.00
- Kensington Gardens: Home to the Victorian Gothic Albert Memorial, flower walks and gardens galore
- Richmond Park: A Royal Park with a wilder feel yet just a short train ride from central London. It has ancient woods, resident deer and views across the Thames.
- Hyde Park: The most central of the Royal Parks. The rose garden is a showstopper in early summer, you can swim here in the Serpentine Lido (additional cost) and visit the iconic Speakers Corner.
Visit the Sky Garden: London’s highest public garden
The Sky Garden is able to declare itself London’s highest public garden because it’s at the top of a flippin’ massive building. This means you get a tropical oasis indoors- think lots of greenery & tropical blooms- as well as knock out views across London.
The Sky Garden is a super welcoming, budget-friendly place. There’s even signs on the tables inviting you to use them without needing to buy anything from the cafe or bar (although the coffee is good here) making it a great spot for a picnic.
Totally free to visit, but you MUST book a free access ticket in advance. Read my full Sky Garden guide here.
Visit a free museum
London is full of museums and many of them are absolutely free to visit. My favourites include the Natural History Museum, The V & A, Imperial War Museum and The British Library.
Although these museums are free to visit, it is advisable in some cases to book ahead. The Natural History museum gets very busy and walk ins aren’t always available. Read my full first time visitors guide to the Natural History Museum here.
Find a more detailed list of free London museums here.
Check out the London street art
If you google ‘ street art’ plus the area of London you’re headed too, there’ll almost always be something to see. From cool murals in Shoreditch to the Leake Street arches near Waterloo, there’s street art for everyone.
And if you’re a fan of Paddington, head for one of the city’s newest murals at Sutton Walk, SE1 7PE. It’s none other than Paddington Bear. It doesn’t get much more London for free than that!
Visit St Dunstan-in-the-East
An old London Church, bombed out during World War Two and then left to go wild. The result? A unique and beautiful garden. The windows and arches of the church remain, now framed by shrubs and ivy. A tiny managed wilderness in the city.
Also home to lots of birds and some rather bold grey squirrels!
Find the church at St Dunstan’s Hill, EC3R 5DD. Nearest Underground, Monument and Tower Hill.Open daily.
Explore the rail stations of London
If you love beautiful spaces, history and the hustle and bustle of travel then the rail stations of London can be a pleasure to explore.
From the Victorian Gothic beauty of St Pancras to stations with a view like Blackfriars or underground stations with beautiful details, you can see a lot of London for free by exploring some of the stations.
And of course, if you go to Paddington station, you can head to platform 1 to meet the bear himself. Find more Paddington Bear themed London inspiration here.
Where to Stay in London on a Budget
London hotels can be very expensive, but there are some great budget options. You might consider one of the following…
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Travelodge Budget Hotels
Cheap and cheerful, a comfortable and budget friendly base for a few nights in the capital. They are located across London and rooms always include en-suite facilities and a hospitality tray.
I’ve stayed several time at Travelodge London Central Tower Bridge and Travelodge London Central Marylebone and can personally recommend both. Book as far in advance as possible for the best rates.
YHA Youth Hostels
A great budget often, particularly for a longer stay as some YHA hostels offer self catering and laundry facilities.
If you plan to stay in YHA hostels regularly, it may be worth taking out membership. This allows you a small saving on each booking, plus access to other benefits.
The Union Jack Club
The Union Jack Club is a members club and hotel enjoying a central location close to Waterloo Station. Standard membership is open to serving members of the armed forces and veterans exclusively, but there is also a Temporary Honorary Membership (THM) option.
THM gives access to the club and although rates for accommodation will be higher than full membership rates, it is still likely to be very reasonable for such a convenient London location. THM does include uniformed employees of emergency services including NHS, fire, police and prison service. Worth checking, details here.
Travel Within London
London is huge, a vast network of neighbourhoods and each one has something to offer. To get the most out of your trip, you will need a quick and budget friendly way to get from A to B.
Forget the tour buses and use the underground. It’s not as complicated as it seems and it will take you far and wide.
There are various pay-as-you-go caps and travelcard prices available, it is worth doing a little pre-visit research to get the best deal for you. National Rail card holders can also claim further discounts. Check with TfL for details and journey planning.
For a fun, inexpensive experience and a different view of London, the TfL network also includes a cable car. The Cloud cable car links the Greenwich Peninsula with the Royal Docks and a one way fare will set you back just £9.10.
And finally, how about seeing a bit of London on two wheels?
The Santander Cycle network allows you to borrow a bike and return it to around 800 docking stations across the city. Prices start from just £1.65 for a single ride of up to 30 minutes. Bargain!
If the idea of cycling in London feels daunting, worry not; there’s even some suggested, tourist friendly cycling routes available online.
I hope I’ve inspired you to plan your own trip to London and highlighted that, although it’s very easy to blow the budget in London, you really don’t have to in order to have a wonderful trip.
If you’ve enjoyed this post, please do pop over and give me a follow on Instagram and/or Threads. You’ll find me at @thingshelenloves. I share daily updates and travel tips; I’d love to have you onboard.
Helen x
I’m not good at high end either, though I did do tea at the Savoy with a few ladies for our joint 60ths. Ooh, a few years ago now! I love the city. Quite happy to have squirrels frolic around my feet in St. James Park, walk the Thames Trail, ferry to Greenwich… Happy days!
See I love the idea of high end and can while away time looking at fancy hotels and high end fashion and things in that vein… but then I’m just happiest with simpler things. It’s a nice way to be though, isn’t it?
It is! Spending money doesn’t make you happy. Just poorer! But it’s nice to look, just in case…
Well, I still think London – especially the entrance fees – WAS expensive . But worth it.
It can be very expensive if you want to do all the things. Especially compared to other European cities. But like you say, worth it!
Being on a budget forces you to be more creative
It does and it’s not a bad thing. I’ve definitely seen a different side of places than I would have if I could just throw money at the plan.
I agree
Really good budget tips here. Back in the day when the Virtual Tourist site was alive and well, one of the most often asked questions in the forum was about affordable visits to London and I always tried to help out with ideas. You have some of my favourites here – free museums, Greenwich Market, the pleasures of simply walking. My own favourite museums are the Museum of London and the V&A, btw.
I would add considering a picnic in the park when the weather is good enough, instead of a restaurant or cafe. Buy from a supermarket, M&S if you’re not on a tight budget or one of the cheaper ones – they all have lots of choice, aimed at all the office workers, and cheaper than, say, a Pret a Manger.
Also, if you’re into modern art or simply curious about it, the private galleries are all free. We often spend an hour or so on Mayfair’s Cork Street, popping into the galleries and admiring or criticising what’s on display!
You could also have mentioned the half-price theatre ticket booth in Leicester Square perhaps, although the tickets still aren’t exactly cheap!
Thanks Sarah, I ‘ve not heard about the half price tickets. I ‘ll definitely have to look at that. I don’t think London is ever a cheap date, but you don’t have to throw money round like confetti to have a great time either.
Do check them out but avoid the unofficial ones elsewhere in the area – people have occasionally been caught out when the tickets sold aren’t actually valid!
That’s awful. I guess anywhere there’s potential for a scam, there’s someone willing to do it. Is it TKTS London that is the official outlet?
Whenever we’re in London we hardly spend any time in hotel rooms so I’m with you on where to stay.
That’s it exactly! On other breaks where time spent in the accommodation is part of the experience, I’d be willing to spend a bit more. But for London something clean, welcoming and well located is perfect.
Great read!
I really liked walking in the parks when I visited London ( it was a few years ago) and seeing the pelicans and parakeet. Did go up the Walkie Talkie Tower ( sky garden) which was free to go up, hopefully still is. Great views of The Shard, Gherkin etc. And stopped at The Civil Service Club, I suppose it’s like your Union Jack club, but for civil servants and their families. Did spend money too though. Difficult not to. Went for afternoon tea at Claridges and watched The Lion King. 🙂
That sounds like a lovely way to spend some money though! I don’t think London will ever be a place where you can really do it ‘on the cheap’, but it’s good to mix things up to stretch the budget a bit. I’m yet to go to the Sky Garden, but it’s on the (ever growing) list.
What a lovely and comprehensive post. I myself wonder when I’ll ever be able to afford visiting the Western continent, and it’s posts like this that would help. Thanks so much for taking the time and effort to creating such an informative post!
Thank you for your lovely feed back , that means a lot to me. I hope you make it to London one day, it’s a city everyone should experience at least once!
yes, London has a lot of free options for the traveller. Sky garden was my latest free find in London. but I’d love to do luxury London once too:)))
Yup, went there on a budget and it is quite doable. So many sights to enjoy!
This is a great post. I keep meaning to try the Sky Gardens. When it comes to free museums, I’d definitely include the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, also because of the chance to have a bit of a chance of fresh air and space in the parks, and by the Thames. Not free, but the best way to get there from central London is by Thames Clipper – a river trip that is a holiday in itself with lots to see. Another good freebie is the London Mithraeum, or Temple of Mithras: https://margaret21.com/2018/07/21/the-temple-of-mithras/
The Sky Garden is great, but getting the tickets can be tricky! I’d love to explore Greenwich more, I have only ever passed through.