London on a Budget: 10 FREE or CHEAP Things to Do

This list is for the budget travellers; here’s 10 of the best FREE or CHEAP things to do in London when you’ve spent all your money on pints at the pub crawl last night!

Luckily, London is known for having a multitude of free or cheap museums to explore, which is especially handy on those rainy days (which happen a lot!).

You’re probably frantically scrolling through this after you woke up and realised that you just spent all your pounds on the first night of a 5 day London trip, so let’s get straight into it!

*Some of the links included in this post may be affiliate. I may receive a small commission from purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. Please know that I only recommend products and services that I 100% trust and believe in*

When to Visit London

London is a great city to explore at any time of year. However, the busiest travel periods are during summer (June-August) and Christmas. If you are travelling during these times of year, make sure that you are pre-booking your flight and accommodation well in advance to get the best price.

How to Get To London

Before booking your flight, always check which airline is offering the best price. An easy way to do this is using WayAway; just put in where you’re going and when you want to go, and WayAway will give you the cheapest option, as well as a price chart to compare the best day to travel.

I also like to use Google Flights to track flight prices over a couple months; they send you an email when the flight is the absolute cheapest it’s going to get!

Where to Stay

$ Hostel $

Onefam Notting Hill
63 Prince’s Square, London, England.
Honestly, London just doesn’t do hostels well. For the most part, they’re not much more than over-priced dungeons. I love Onefam Notting Hill because it is social and vibrant, with outdoor space to hang out, clean bathrooms and a variety of dorm room options. They run social events every single night. I love that it’s located near Hyde Park (love me a park) and Portobello Markets. It’s 7 minutes walk to Bayswater station, which is part of the Circle tube line. Check availability or see other options.

$$ Hotel $$

Kensington Gardens Hotel
9 Kensington Gardens Square, Westminster Borough, London, W2 4BH, United Kingdom.
This hotel is also located in the Notting Hill area, 5 minutes walk from Bayswater tube station. It has simple but clean furnishings and overlooks the gorgeous Kensington Square Gardens. This hotel is adults-only, perfect for a romantic weekend getaway. Check availability or see other options.

How to Get Around London

London is a HUGE city, spanning 1,500 square kilometres across 32 different boroughs. Lucky London has such a great public transport system: an underground train system, extensive bus services and taxis. Transport for London makes it easy to plan your journeys and figure out which service, station and ticket you need.

Using the taxi service is unnecessary and expensive, I would recommend only taking a taxi if you have a large group to split the cost, it is an emergency, or it is very late at night. 

Read my blog post to learn how to use the London tube like a pro, including how to get to and from the airport for cheap!

Read: The Best and Most Perfect 4 Day London Itinerary!

1. Cycle around Hyde Park

Hyde Park is one the best places to spend your time if you are visiting London on a budget.

The park was first established by King Henry VII in 1536 as a place to hunt, but quickly became a popular meeting place for people to walk and enjoy the fresh air, row on the lake, or debate important matters in the Speaker’s Corner.

The Park merges with Kensington Gardens in the west, and continues on to Green Park and St James’ Park in the east.

The Park features a Round Pond, the Serpentine lake, and various statues and memorials, not to mention the simple beauty of the natural forest and gardens; plenty to keep you busy for a morning!

At 350 acres, the park is simply too big to cover on foot, so I recommend hiring a bike to explore the park. There are at least eight locations of bike rentals situated at the various entrances to the park (Santander Cycles).

Santander Cycles provides both regular bicycles and e-bikes. To access them, you will need to download the Santander Cycles app. 

Regular Push Bikes: £1.65 every 30 minutes.
E-bikes: £3.30 every 30 minutes.

Read: The Best 2 Day London Itinerary: The Essentials

2. Explore the British Museum

10am – 5pm, open until 8:30pm on Fridays.
FREE (you can prebook your tickets for the time-slot you want)
Website

You really can’t come to London without paying a visit to the iconic British Museum. In fact, it is one of the most visited museums in the whole world (4 million visitors in 2022!). 

The museum was established in 1753 and the collection grew rapidly over the next 250 years as a result of British colonisation around the world. 

There are exhibitions on Africa, the Middle East, Ancient Greece and Rome, and Asia. Ownership of the collection’s iconic artefacts has long been disputed; several repatriation claims to these items of cultural significance have been made in recent years. 

There are three floors to the museum; ground, upper level, and lower level. The museum is a series of connecting rooms, all stemming from the Great Court. You will almost certainly get lost, but that’s all part of the British Museum fun, I think. 

A couple objects of particular interest to most include the Rosetta Stone (found immediately through the left door from the Great Court) and the Greek Parthenon sculptures (enter through the left door, the furthest room).

I spent about 2 hours exploring this museum, but you could honestly spend a whole day and not get bored.

London Travel Essentials

SIM cards: Airalo offers eSIMS for over 200 countries which you can install BEFORE travelling, saving you the stress of running around to find a store or from being ripped off by local vendors. This is perfect for backpackers who are travelling to multiple destinations in a short period of time.

Insurance: You should NOT go overseas without getting travel insurance. Travel insurance protects you in case you get injured or your plans change or are cancelled. I always use Covermore, because the cover is comprehensive and they were easy to work with when I needed to make a claim.

Banking: When travelling and saving for travel I use Up Bank, an online Australian bank, that allows fee-free overseas transactions, unlimited savings ‘pools’ and easy transfers. If you join Up with my QR code we both get $13!

3. The National Gallery and The National Portrait Gallery

10am-6pm every day, until 9pm on Friday.
FREE (you can prebook your tickets for the time-slot you want)
National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery

You’ve got two for the price of one here because the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery are right next door to each other!

The National Gallery contains over 2,300 works, with fan favourites including Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan Van Eyck, and Doge Leonardo Loredan by Giovanni Bellini. 

The Portrait Gallery has just reopened in June 2023 after 3 years of renovations. 

It features over 220,000 portraits (!!) in a variety of styles and mediums.

Give or take depending on how interested you are in art, I would say about three hours is sufficient to explore both galleries.

Read: The Tower of London: What to Expect and is it Worth it?

4. Watch a play at Shakespeare’s Globe

Performances at 2pm and 7:30pm.
£5
Website

You could tour the Globe Theatre replica for £25, or you could just go see a play and pretend you are a medieval peasant spending their last penny on some good old-fashioned entertainment! 

Standing tickets for performances are £5 (or seated tickets are much more expensive, starting around £25) and it’s probably the most worthwhile thing you will spend 5 pounds on while in the city. 

I saw A Midsummer’s Night Dream, and it was the most incredible and memorable experience of my whole trip!

Please note that it is an open air theatre, meaning you need to be prepared for all weather (we are in London after all). This means bringing a raincoat and a jumper. I would recommend wearing comfortable shoes because you will be standing for at least two hours, as well as a water bottle and snacks because once you get a good spot at the front, I promise you won’t want to be giving it up in intermission.

Read: The Magic of the Harry Potter Studio Tour London

5. Evensong at Westminster Abbey

9:30am-3:30pm Monday to Friday, 9am-3pm Saturday, closed Sunday. Services are available every day.
FREE
Website

Westminster Abbey has been the home of every royal coronation since William the Conqueror in 1066, as well as 16 royal weddings and various tombs and memorials to famous people including Isaac Newton, Stephen Hawking, and Queen Elizabeth I. 

It costs a hefty £29 to visit the Abbey during normal visiting hours. For those on a budget, attending a service is a chance to experience the historic beauty of the Abbey without breaking the bank. 

Evensong takes place at 5pm each day except Wednesday, and at 3pm on Sundays. Evensong begins with prayer and is followed by choral music. 

Keep in mind that you will not be able to roam around the church and explore as you could if you purchased an entry ticket. 

I would just like to add that you obviously don’t have to be religious to attend the service, but I understand that it may make some people uncomfortable to participate in spiritual activities they don’t align with. Attending a service is a budget way to experience the architecture and atmosphere of the Abbey.

Read: The Best and Most Perfect 4 Day London Itinerary!

6. Visit Westminster Cathedral

Services held at various times, visit between 8am and 6pm.
FREE
Website

When you think of Westminster, you probably picture the iconic Abbey, place of royal coronations and weddings, however, just across the street is the just as beautiful and surprisingly FREE to visit cathedral!

Although it has slightly less history, the often forgotten about Westminster Cathedral is still worth a visit because it is free! You can also attend services here if that is something you’re interested in; services are usually available between 8am and 6pm, but check on the website to be sure.

The cathedral also has a bell tower, known as The Campanile, which has recently reopened on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between 11am and 3pm. From the viewing gallery you can see sweeping views of the city from all directions. Tickets cost £6 and can be bought from the cathedral gift shop.

I would recommend visiting the Cathedral in the late afternoon then heading over to the Abbey for evensong.

Read: The Best 2 Day London Itinerary: The Essentials

7. The Natural History Museum

Cromwell Rd, South Kensington, London SW7 5BD, United Kingdom
10am – 5:50pm
FREE (you can prebook your tickets for the time-slot you want)
Website

The Natural History museum and the V&A Museum are located next door to each other in the South Kensington area. They are perfectly situated to be visited after a morning exploring Hyde Park.

The impressive Natural History Museum features a variety of dinosaur skeletons as well as plant, animal, and mineral specimens. 

It was initially a department of the British Museum when the first donation of specimens was made in the mid 1700s. However, as the department grew, a separate building was established and the department split from the British Museum to become its own independent museum as we know it today. 

Of particular interest is the huge whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling in the main hall and the T-Rex skeleton in the dinosaur gallery. 

This museum would be a must-see if you are travelling with kids. 

I personally loved looking at the little bugs and rocks in the ‘Earth’s Treasury’ gallery. I spent about 1-2 hours exploring this museum.

Read: How to Use the London Tube Like a Local

8. The Victoria and Albert Museum

Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL, United Kingdom
10am-5:45pm every day, open until 10pm on Fridays.
FREE
Website

The V&A Museum is my favourite free museum in the whole of London. It has basically anything and everything you could want to see, including paintings, fashion, pottery, woodwork, and jewellery.

I genuinely got lost in here the first time I visited, and the next time I visited I found a whole bunch of rooms I didn’t see the first time!

There are a few interactive rooms which I think sets this museum apart from its counterparts: one that I found taught you how to draw a portrait like the famous renaissance artists (mine was questionable).

The collection is so extensive that you could visit a million times and always find something new. I would really recommend visiting this museum if you are in the South Kensington area after seeing the Natural History museum or Hyde Park.

Read: The Tower of London: What to Expect and is it Worth it?

9. Visit the Word on the Water Barge

Regent’s Canal Towpath, London N1C 4LW, United Kingdom
12pm-7pm every day.
Website

Word on the Water is a floating bookshop! The Dutch-style barge floats on Regents Canal near Kings Cross.

Founded in 2011, the barge did not have a permanent mooring licence and had to move up and down the canal every few days. After the mooring licence was granted in 2014, the barge has been able to remain in the same position.

In recent years, Word on the Water has gained popularity on social media and visitor numbers have significantly increased. Its such a funky and unique way to experience book-shopping

I unfortunately did not have the chance to visit Word on the Water while I was in London, but it’s definitely on my list for next time.

Read: The Best 2 Day London Itinerary: The Essentials

10. Explore Highgate Cemetery

Swain’s Ln, London N6 6PJ, United Kingdom
10am-4pm everyday
£10 or £6 to visit just the East side.
Website

Highgate Cemetery is the most expensive sight on this list. However, I consider it worth a visit to experience the historic architecture, nature (it is a nature reserve), and visit some famous graves. It is a peaceful way to spend the morning, and afterwards if you’re not yet bored of nature, you could walk over to Hampstead Heath. The huge park that was the inspiration for C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia and very likely the inspiration for Keats’ romantic poems as he lived in the area!

Architecture: Victorian-era chapels, the Terrace Catacombs with views over the city, the Egyptian Avenue and the Mausoleum of Julius Beer.

Nature: The cemetery is a nature reserve and contains several acres of untouched wilderness. There is also the Circle of Lebanon with a great cedar tree in the centre.

People: Karl Marx, Charles Dickens’ family, Douglas Adams (author of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy), George Michael (singer from Wham band), Mary Ann Evans alias George Eliot (famous Victorian writer) and many more.

This is another location that I haven’t had the chance to visit yet but I am planning to visit it next year.

Well there you go, 10 free or cheap things to do in London! I hope this is enough to keep you busy at least for a few days.

What’s your favourite free or cheap thing to do when in London?

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