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.
Read moreRead less
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.
Wellcome Collection: Opening Times, Free Entry and the Monday Closure
The Wellcome Collection is free, all of it. Four different timetables run in one building: the galleries close on Monday, the library closes on Sunday.
Design Museum: Free Collection, and One Day It Shuts Entirely
Closed to the public on Tuesday 13 October. The permanent collection is free, the building takes no cash, and the cafe opens two hours after the doors.
Horniman Museum: Free, and the Gardens Open at 7.15am
The full daily timetable, the Animal Walk that does not open until half twelve, two long closures running now, and a broken link on the museum's own site.
The Oval: A Ground Tour From 5 Pounds
London's two Test grounds charge 5 pounds and 32.95 for comparable access. What the Oval tour covers, the afternoon tea version, and which ground to pick.
Lord’s: The Museum Is 32.95, or 5 at a County Match
Museum entry needs a tour ticket on an ordinary day and costs 5 pounds at a County Championship match. Tour prices, Tour Plus, and the under 5s rule.
Twickenham: The Sponsor’s Own Domain Is Parked
allianzstadium.co.uk is a parked advertising page, not the stadium. What the tour covers, why the World Rugby Museum is the reason to go, and why no price is published.
Stamford Bridge Tour: A Guide, Not a Handset
Chelsea and Arsenal both charge 34 pounds and only one gives you a guide. Every tour price, the 16 pounds pre-booking saves a family, and the 95 pound catch.
Emirates Stadium Tour: The Matchday One Costs Less
The guided matchday tour starts at 20 pounds against 34 for walking round alone. Every tour price, what the ticket covers, and the 10 per cent members take off.
Leadenhall Market: Open All Night, Shut All Weekend
The public areas never close but the trade keeps City hours. When to photograph it, when to eat in it, and the toy museum that moved in on Thursdays and Fridays.
The O2: A4 Bags Only, and 10 Pounds If You Get It Wrong
Backpacks are refused and storage costs 10 pounds, unless you hold an Amex. Plus student discounts to 30 per cent and everything on site that is not the arena.
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.