Things to Do
What to actually do in London when you have limited time and no interest in the tourist trail. Written for short stays, weighted toward the evening.
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The landmark pages carry the numbers the attractions themselves bury. The queue at the London Eye runs up to forty five minutes on top of your ticket time rather than inside it, and the Harry Potter Studio Tour sells a package with a hotel in it for less than the one with a bus. The Shard, Sky Garden and Horizon 22 cover the views from above, and two of the three cost nothing.
Then the free half of the city: the parks, the museums that charge nothing and the food markets, where the published closing times regularly contradict each other on the market’s own website.
Seasonal pages appear when they are useful and are rechecked rather than recycled. Rain, weekends and Christmas each have their own.
National Gallery London: Free Entry, Friday Lates and Closed Rooms
Free and open to 9pm on Fridays. But building work has moved paintings, so check the floorplan before you come for one.
Tate Britain: The Closed Entrance, Free Turner and Four Daily Tours
The Millbank entrance is shut until 2027. It has a free cloakroom, four free tours a day, and the world's largest free Turner display.
Tate Modern: Free Entry, Late Opening and the Locker Charge
Free to enter, but the cloakroom has closed and bags now cost £4 to £8. Open until 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
London International Horse Show 2026: Which Day to Book
The Grand Prix is on Monday afternoon and there is no Monday evening. The Puissance, Six Bar and World Cup each happen once.
Shuffleboard London: £10 a Head, and What the Brunch Adds
The same shuffleboard is in the £10 game and the £38 brunch, so the brunch charges £28 for pizza and Prosecco.
Epsom Racecourse: Derby Tickets From £20, and the Hill
The Derby starts at £20 while the April opener starts at £27, so the biggest race of the year is the cheapest ticket.
Ascot Dress Code: Why There Is No Single Answer
The code depends on Royal Ascot or not, Flat or Jumps season, and which of three or four enclosures. Fancy dress has its own rules.
London Aquarium Prices: Why the Child Ticket Barely Saves Anything
£28 in advance, £39 on the door, and a child is only £3 less than an adult. A student pays £16.
Royal Opera House: Visiting, Latecomers and the 90-Minute Wait
Arrive late and you may wait in the foyer for up to 90 minutes. The building itself is free to enter from midday.
Westminster Abbey: Prices, Opening Times and Three Visits for One Ticket
Book direct and your £32 ticket upgrades free to three visits. Buy through a reseller and it does not.
Elsewhere in the guide
Questions we get asked
What can you do in London for free?
The national museums, which includes the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Tate galleries, the V and A and the Natural History Museum. Permanent collections are free and always have been; only the temporary exhibitions charge.
How many days do you need in London?
Three gets you the centre without rushing it. Five lets you spend a day outside zone one, which is where London stops being a list of sights and starts being a city. Anything under two days is a transit stop rather than a visit.
What is worth doing in London in bad weather?
Most of the best of it is indoors anyway. The museums, the department stores, afternoon tea, the pubs that have been there for centuries, and the theatre. London is not a city whose case rests on the weather.