Top 10 free things to do in London (or almost)

This list of the best free things to do in London will help you make the most of this impressive city, which we are sure will surprise you, and not miss anything important.
Relaxing in the parks, strolling through the markets, going up to the viewpoints at sunset, shopping, tasting all kinds of dishes and cuisines from around the world, visiting the most important museums or strolling through its charming neighbourhoods are just some of the experiences that make true the phrase that when you are tired of London, you are tired of life; because in London there is everything that life has to offer.

Based on the number of times we have visited this city, most recently staying in Notting Hill for a month, during which time we wrote this London travel guide, we have made a selection of the top 10 things to do in London for free (almost all of them). Let's get started!

1. Find a bargain in the street markets

London's markets, all different and authentic, are one of the main reasons to take a trip to London.
In these street markets you'll find everything from food stalls from around the world to antiques, second-hand clothes, flowers, souvenirs, premium products and all kinds of handmade goods.
Some of our favourite markets include:

• Brick Lane: Brick Lane is noted for its large number and variety of covered and street markets with all kinds of goods and food stalls. Open Sundays from 10am to 5pm.

• Portobello: one of the largest antiques markets in the world and is located in the beautiful neighbourhood of Notting Hill. The best day to visit is Saturday, when all the stalls are open.

• Candem is the most colourful market with over 1000 stalls and alternative shops, with some of the best located in the Camden Stables Market area. Although it is open every day, it is recommended not to go on weekends due to the crowds.

• Borough and Maltby Street: London's two best food markets for local and international dishes. Maltby is only open on Sundays and Borough is not recommended on Mondays or Tuesdays, as not all stalls are open on these days.

• Leadenhall: a beautiful covered market that served as inspiration to recreate Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter saga. Open every day.

Brick Lane Market

2. Go up to a viewpoint at sunset.

One of the must-do London experiences is to go up to one of London' s best viewpoints an hour before sunset where you can see the city's skyline, full of old buildings and green spaces, as the sun sets and the city lights up.
Although there are several options in the city, our favourite viewpoint is The Shard, the highest and with the best 360-degree views of the whole city. You can book your ticket here in advance so you don't miss out.
But if you're looking for a free viewpoint, we recommend going up to the Tate Modern Museum terrace or the Sky Garden, although don't forget that you have to make a reservation on this page first, as entry is not allowed without a reservation.
Two other spectacular viewpoints are the two terraces of the dome of St Paul's Cathedraland the London Eye. For this famous 135-metre high Ferris wheel it is advisable to book this ticket in advance if you don't want to spend too much time queuing.

Views from The Shard

3. Visiting all the tourist attractions

There are many places to visit in London such as Big Ben, the Palace and Westminster Abbey, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, St Paul's Cathedral, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace, among many others.
Something important before travelling is that in some of them, especially in high season, there are long queues, so it is very important to plan the routes of each day and visit these most touristy places early in the morning or late in the afternoon.

St Paul's Cathedral

4. Discovering lesser-known places, one of the free things to do in London

Besides visiting all the most famous sights, one of the best free things to do in London is to discover lesser known places with the same charm.
Among the ones we liked the most are:

• St Dunstan in the East: a beautiful garden set amongst the ruins of a church.

• Leake Street Tunnel: a tunnel full of spectacular graffiti near Waterloo station.

• Neal's Yard: a colourful corner of Covent Garden.

• Ebury Street: London's most Instagrammable street with many flower-filled shops, including Peggy Porschen's cupcake shop and Les Sentureus perfume shop.

• Daunt Books: a beautiful Edwardian-style bookshop in the charming Marylebone neighbourhood.

• House of Minalima: a colourful shop where you can see graphic designs from the Harry Potter universe.

• The Churchill Arms and Crown & Anchor: two of London's most photogenic historic pubs.

• Warren Mews: a quiet, picture-postcard alleyway.

• Clifton Nurseries: our favourite coffee shop in London, set in a conservatory and surrounded by plants and flowers.

Leake Street Tunnel

5. Enter the most important museums

London has an endless cultural offer that includes some of the most important collections of art and antiques in the world and thanks to that, these are also one of the best things to do in London for free, since in the city it is possible to see all these historical objects and paintings of great masters, in its fantastic museums, without paying a pound.
Among this list of the best museums in London is the third most visited museum in the world and our favourite in the city, the British Museum. This museum has some unique pieces such as the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles, the Hoa Hakananai'a moai or the Isle of Lewis Chess, among many others.
Although the museum is free, it is highly recommended to book a guided tour in English with an art and history expert or book this free museum tour to learn all the details of the most famous pieces.
Our second favourite museum is the Natural History Museum where we recommend a visit to the dinosaur room and the hall, where you can see the impressive suspended skeleton of a huge blue whale.
If you have more time you can visit other interesting museums such as the National Gallery, the Science Museum, Madame Tussauds, Tate Modern and the Victoria and Albert.

Visit the Natural History Museum, one of the best things to do in London for free.

Recommended travel cards

Remember that to avoid paying commissions and to always have the current exchange rate we recommend you use the Revolut card and the N26 card, which are the ones we use, are free and will save you a lot of money.
You can find more information in this article on the best cards for commission-free travel.

6. Try the local and international cuisine

Another of the best tips for travelling to London is to try the delicious local food in a traditional pub accompanied by a good pint of English beer. But don't forget that as well as English food, the city has a wide range of international restaurants where you can try the most characteristic dishes of each country.
Among the recommended English taverns to try dishes such as fish and chips, sunday roast, pie, banger and mash or the fabulous beef Wellington are The Red Lion, The Swan and Duke of Wellington.
Other international restaurants we tried and loved are the Indian Dishoom, the Lebanese CERU, the fusion food MBER, the Greek Kalamaras and the delicious Honest Burgers.
If you're a dessert and sweets lover, we suggest you devour a delicious Ben's Cookie and try the ice cream and biscuits at Chin Chin.
If you are looking for good places to eat we recommend you to check this post about the best restaurants to eat in London.

Fish and chips

7. Stroll through the well-kept parks, another of the best things to do in London for free.

Relaxing while strolling through the well-kept parks such as Hyde Park, St James's Park or Regent's Park is another of the things to do in London for free that we like the most and that we recommend no matter how long your trip is.
Hyde Park is the park we know best and our favourite, a perfect place for walking, jogging or just sunbathing or reading where our favourite spots are the Kensington Palace Gardens, Speaker's Corner, The Serpentine Lake and the Rose Garden.
Another of our favourites is St. James's Park, located very close to Buckingham Palace, where you can disconnect from the hustle and bustle of the city by strolling along the shores of the lake full of swans and ducks.

St James's Park

8. Shopping

London, along with New York, is known as the city of shopping as it has a large number of shopping streets such as Oxford Street and Regent Street as well as many shopping centres such as the exclusive Harrods and Harvey Nichols.
If you're coming here, don't forget to take a stroll down Carnaby Street, one of our favourite shopping streets, where you can enjoy a quaint street lined with both mainstream and lesser-known shops.
If you prefer more original places, we recommend Camden, Covent Garden, Soho or the famous Portobello Road in Notting Hill. If you're looking for luxury shops, the best place to go is Bond Street, where the most exclusive brands such as Chanel and Versace are concentrated.

Carnaby Street

9. Get lost in the most charming neighbourhoods

Another of the best things to do in London for free is to wander around the city's most famous neighbourhoods, each with its own particularities and must-see places, which we are sure will become part of your most unforgettable memories of the city.
Our favourite neighbourhoods include:

• Notting Hill: famous for its carnival, Portobello Market, its colourful houses and for being the setting of the film Notting Hill, starring Julia Roberts.

• Marylebone: a residential neighbourhood with Victorian architecture where you will find independent boutiques, small bookshops, pretty mews or alleyways, good restaurants and designer cafés.

• Soho: art galleries, fashion boutiques and historic pubs that fill up in the evenings make up one of the city's most famous neighbourhoods, which also includes Chinatown.

• Mayfair: an exclusive neighbourhood with elegant Georgian houses, luxury shops and gourmet restaurants.

• Covent Garden: street performers, the city's great theatres, pedestrianised streets, shops and pubs are concentrated around a beautiful covered market.

Notting Hill

10. Take a tour or excursion

A good way to get to know the history of the city and its anecdotes is to book this complete tour of the city with an English speaking guide or one of these free tours in London.
If you have some extra time to spare, you can round off your London sightseeing with an excursion to one of the nearby wonders such as the Harry Potter Studios, Oxford or Stonehenge.
All of these excursions from London can be done on your own, using the train and bus, or in an organised way by booking one of these convenient English-guided tours:

Harry Potter Studios