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.
Charlton Lido: Prices, Sauna Rules and Opening Times
An adult swim is £11.50 against £6.40 at London Fields. Book the sauna instead and the pool is included.
London Fields Lido: Prices, Peak Times and the 24 Degree Water
Heated to 24C all year. The adult walk-up price is identical at peak and off peak, so off-peak hours only pay off on a membership.
Hampstead Heath Ponds: Prices, Which Is Warmest and When They Close
£5.00 flat all year, no session pricing. The Men's Pond runs warmest and the Mixed Pond closes outside April to October.
Parliament Hill Lido: Prices, Opening Times and Water Temperature
The Breakfast session is £5.00 and juniors swim free. Morning and Afternoon are £8.80 for the same pool, same day.
Back to the Future the Musical London: Closed, and Where to See It Instead
The West End run has finished and the UK tour does not come to London. Milton Keynes in February 2027 is the closest date, fifty minutes from Euston.
Mamma Mia London: Cheap Tickets, Times and the Christmas Timetable
Four tickets for £99 is £24.75 a head, which beats the £30 day ticket. Plus the full Christmas schedule and a 2pm New Year's Eve performance.
Hamilton London: The £10 Lottery, Running Time and Age Limits
The lottery is a weekly draw with a six-day entry window, not a same-day scramble: £10 a ticket, entries from 12.01am Friday to 1pm Thursday.
Les Misérables London: Times, Age Guidance and the Box Office Nobody Uses
One counter on Shaftesbury Avenue sells for eight West End theatres, midday to 6pm. Plus the step counts to every level and half-price parking after midday.
Wicked London: Cheap Tickets, Running Time and Age Limits
Twenty-four Front Row seats go on sale online every Wednesday at 10am for £29.50 with no fees, which undercuts the £35 student standby.
Wembley Stadium Rules: Bag Size, Age Limits and the £2.75 Fee
No under 2s at sport and no one under 5 at concerts. One A4 bag per person, measured as a bag. And an empty soft 500ml bottle gets you free water all day.
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.