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.
Japan House London Is Free and Open Until 8pm
One of the few free cultural spaces in London you can reach after work, under 100 metres from High Street Kensington.
Lightroom London: There Is No Allocated Seating
The venue cannot guarantee you a seat, and the show runs on a loop. Prices, the pram rule and the two hour exchange deadline.
The Cube London: Book as Two and You Play With Strangers
Games run in fours, so a pair gets paired up. The seven day rescheduling rule, the no refund policy and the flashing light warning.
Lyceum Theatre London: The Cloakroom Will Not Take Your Coat
It takes suitcases and rucksacks but not coats. Ages for The Lion King, the strobe warning and the access dates, which are all in 2027.
Mrs Doubtfire Is Not in London Any More
The West End run closed in April 2025 and the tour has no London date. Where it is instead, and the Lyceum that is not the London one.
Hyrox London: No Time Limit, and No Way to Move Your Entry
2 to 6 December at ExCeL. The refund rules, the Flex Add-On you can only buy once, and the bag drop with no showers.
Troxy London: No Queueing Before 1pm, and No Perfume
The A4 bag limit, the chewing gum ban that protects the carpet, and why Front Stalls tickets are not step-free.
The Friends Experience London Has Closed
It ended on 4 January 2026, but its website still invites you to come before it closes. What was there, and what is at the venue now.
Crystal Maze London: The Access Page Contradicts Itself
It says it has no access shows, then tells you to book one. Prices, the age rule, the six strobe points and who cannot play.
Roundhouse London: Card Only at the Bar, Cash at the Cloakroom
The payment split that catches people out, the camera rule that depends on your kit, and free carer tickets with no documentation asked.
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.