The quintessential London experience that’s absolutely free! Yes, you heard it right! 

London can be an expensive city. The cost of transport isn’t cheap either. Entrance to some of the popular attractions range from £20 per adult. However, thankfully, London has many world class attractions that are absolutely free to visit and experience. It could take anywhere from 3 to 5 days just to visit the free attractions that London has to offer. If you are on a tight budget this is the way to go!

If you have some must see sights that need an entrance ticket, you do not have to forgo them. Every sight is worth it’s spend. Being one of the oldest cities in the world, many buildings need regular up keeping and maintenance. You are only paying a small contribution towards that!

Here are the Top 10 Free Attractions in London!

Tower Bridge

The Tower Bridge

Built for about 8 years, Tower Bridge across the Thames was opened in 1894 and since then has been perhaps the most important icon of London. Towering 65 meters above the muddy brown waters of the Thames, this is one of the most photographed bridges in the world. Views of the bridge from the Tower pier and the north bank is as impressive as from the south bank. You can also time your visit to see the bridge lift to allow certain ships to pass. Check http://www.towerbridge.org.uk/lift-times/ for the bridge lift times. From the Tower Pier, walk along the cobbled foot path on the north bank along the Tower of London for enchanting views of the bridge and the South bank, where you can see the London city hall, the Shard and HMS Belfast.. Climb the stairs up to access the Tower Bridge and walk across to the south bank for views of the north bank – the glittering new commercial buildings alongside the century old Tower of London.

Allow: 30 – 60 minutes (if you are not taking the paid tour to top of the Tower Bridge)

Tower Hill

Fenchurch Street

Tower Gateway

St. Paul’s Cathedral & the Millennium Bridge

St. Paul’s Cathedral from the Millennium Bridge at sunset

To visit the St. Paul’s Cathedral on a Sunday is absolutely free. No pictures are allowed inside the cathedral so unless you are very interested in exploring every part of the interior or interested in taking a guided tour, you might as well visit on a Sunday. Sometimes there is a service going on or even a choir. The interiors are brilliant and it takes only a few minutes to experience the atmosphere. Built in the late 17th century by Sir Christopher Wren, the St. Paul’s Cathedral sits on Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the city of London. This also happened to be the tallest building in London until 1967. Reminiscent of the Capitol building in Washington DC, St. Paul’s dome is a prominent icon in the skyline of London. The views of the dome are impressive from the Millennium Bridge. The pedestrian only bridge also offers views of other bridges and iconic buildings along the river Thames. There’s also the One New Change mall right behind St. Paul’s if you want to do some shopping.

Allow: 30 minutes

St. Paul’s

Trafalgar Square & National Gallery

Trafalgar Square and National Gallery with the Norwegian Christmas Tree

Trafalgar Square is a large square in the city of Westminster with the National gallery at one end. This also happens to be the junction from which several roads lead to other important areas of London. To the right of National Gallery is the mall which heads to Buckingham Palace. To the left is the Strand which heads off to St. Paul’s and east London. Just ahead the road to Downing Street and the Houses of Parliament. Behind the National Gallery is the National Portrait Gallery and Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square. There are two large fountains in the square. The Nelson Column at one end of the square has statues of 4 large lions. Trafalgar Square is the beneficiary of a large christmas tree from Norway every year during the holiday season. A place that was infested with pigeons until the last millennia was eventually recovered at the beginning of the 21st century.

The National Gallery is home to some of the top masterpieces of art in the world and unlike the top art galleries of mainland Europe, it’s absolutely free to visit. Artists whose works have found their home in the National Gallery include Leornado da Vinci, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Michelangelo, Van Gogh and Rembrandt. A map can be picked up for a small donation at the entrance.

Allow: 2-3 hours (or more if you can stare at art all day long!)

Charing Cross, Embankment

Charing Cross

Southbank, Big Ben and Westminster

Nowhere is more happening than London’s South Bank and the Queen’s walk. Stretching north and then east from the Westminster bridge, the south bank boasts of street performers, a carousel, restaurants, the London Eye, Shrek, Sealife aquarium among other things along with some of the best views of London. Start at the Golden Jubilee bridge (along the railway lines to Charing Cross station) which offers views of the Thames with two of the famous icons of London – the London Eye and the Big Ben – on either side of the river. Climb down the steps and turn left towards the Royal Festival Hall for restaurants or turn right for some of the top paid attractions in London. Continue along the Queen’s Walk and just south of the Westminster Bridge is an unhindered view of the Big Ben and the British houses of Parliament. The clock on Big Ben chimes every 15 minutes but you would want to catch it on the hour where the chimes representing the hour are preceded by the famous Big Ben musical chime. An active and happening area, one can spend hours people watching or ferry watching. 

Allow: 1-2 hours

Westminster, Embankment, Waterloo

Charing Cross, Waterloo

British Museum

The Great Court of the British museum

One of the largest museums in the world with about 8 million works, the British Museum has collections from all the continents. From real mummies from 3400 BC to a colossal bust of Rameses II from 1250 BC, from the Rosetta Stone to an Easter Island statue, vases from the Ming Dynasty to stone structures from India, it would take more than a day to finish viewing every item on display here. Visit http://britishmuseum.org/visiting/planning_your_visit.aspx to get an idea and plan your visit before you do so. Unlike many of it’s counterparts across the world, the British Museum does not cost a penny to visit.

Allow: Half a day for a whistle stop tour of the top displays, 1 day for covering a reasonable part of the museum and 2 days to see every exhibit

Tottenham Court Road, Holborn or Russell Square

Natural History Museum, Science Museum and Victoria and Albert museum

The central hall of the Natural History Museum

Located in the museum corner of London, i.e., South Kensington, the three museums are located adjacent to each other and can be entered absolutely free, This often means long queues to enter and huge crowds especially in the Natural History museum. 

The Natural History Museum is housed in an impressive building which in itself is a great photo-op. The dinosaur collection is the most popular exhibit in this museum. Some of the specimens collected by Charles Darwin are also present here. 

The Science museum is located right next to the Natural History Museum and has an impressive collection of objects on display including R L Stevenson’s Rocket – one of the earliest steam engines, a working copy of Charles Babbage’s Difference engine and documentation of the world’s first typewriter. 

The Victoria and Albert museum houses a collection of decorative arts and design. It has designs and works of arts from all over the world with separate galleries based on the nature of the materials used in addition to galleries representing the different cultures of the world.  

All the museums have hands-on exhibits to sustain interests of children.

Allow: 1/2 a day each or 3 in a day depending on how much interests you 

South Kensington

Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square and Covent Garden

Oxford Circus and Regent Street

The Sky Garden

Views over London from The Sky Garden

20 Fenchurch Street, or the more adorable name for it locally, the walkie-talkie tower, rises unassumingly among a group of short storied buildings. A well-known landmark in the new and changing skyline of central London, it opened it’s top floor, called The Sky Garden, to the public just over a year ago. The gallery and terrace offers views from Canary Wharf to the Wembley Stadium and everything in between. 

Click here for information on visiting this free but enthralling attraction.

Allow: 1-2 hours

Monument, Bank, Tower Hill

 Fenchurch Street

 Tower Gateway

Winter Wonder at Hyde Park

It rarely snows in London and hence the grass is always green in London. St. James Park, Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, Kensington Gardens – take your pick! All the parks are very well maintained and offer beautiful landscaping, water bodies and fountains. There’s also the Winter Wonderland happening in Hyde Park in winter.

Allow: A short break for a picnic if the weather is good and/or you want to rest your feet and 2-3 hours if you’re interested in the Winter Wonderland

Marble Arch, Hyde Park Corner for Hyde Park; St. James’ park for St. James Park; Regent’s Park, Great Portland Street and Baker Street for Regent’s Park; Lancaster Gate, Queensway and South Kensington for Kensington Gardens

Views from the Royal Observatory

Greenwich

These attractions could keep you busy, perhaps, even during your entire stay in the city. London is the only city in the world that offers these many world standard attractions for free!