Free gardens Chill out in the Barbican Conservatory , alive with tropical plants, trees and fish, on select days throughout the year.
Venture up the yellow spiral staircase to Queen Elizabeth Hall Roof Garden for river views and drinks among wild flowers. Take some time out at Brown Hart Gardens , a secluded spot in Mayfair. Take a look at the Watts Victorian memorial in Postman's Park , where acts of heroism are marked.
Flower fans can soak up the floral colours and aromas of Columbia Road Flower Market. Explore the magical ruins of a church bombed in the Blitz in the pretty St Dunstan in the East gardens. Unusual cultural activities See prop-makers and theatre designers working behind the scenes at the National Theatre by walking along its Sherling Backstage Walkway.
Visit neon wonderland God's Own Junkyard , home to Europe's largest collection of vintage neon signs. Take a peek at London's public and street art , including works by guerrilla artist Banksy and Insta-worthy street art tunnel in Leake Street Arches.
Take a journey through the history of British art from to the present day at Tate Britain. Check out the Royal Academy of Arts ' free collections of artworks, sculptures and statues. Marvel at the Pre-Raphaelites, study paintings of London from the 17th century, and more at the Guildhall Art Gallery. Notice how The Laughing Cavalier's eyes appear to follow you around the room in the famous Frans Hals painting at the Wallace Collection.
Keep an eye out for free temporary exhibitions at The Curve at the Barbican Centre. Or, take the teens for free at the English National Opera with up to four free tickets for unders with each full-price adult ticket purchased. Enjoy free entry to blues bar Ain't Nothing But Dance along to ska, roots, reggae and folk rhythms at Hootananny Brixton , which offers loads of free gigs. See accomplished musicians performing at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music.
Discover free lunchtime concerts at St Martin-in-the-Fields church. Book your free ticket well in advance to attend the Ceremony of the Keys , a ritual at the Tower of London that's happened almost every night for years. Explore Kenwood House , a stunning stately home designed by 18th-century Scottish architect Robert Adam on the edge of Hampstead Heath. View the London Wall , the remnant of the Roman wall which was built in AD and once formed part of the eastern defences of Roman Londinium.
Check out more Roman ruins and artefacts at the London Mithraeum , an ancient temple that was left untouched for centuries. Explore more cultural highlights from across the globe with festivals on Trafalgar Square, including Chanukah , Diwali , Eid and Japan Matsuri. Join revellers at London's biggest street party, the Notting Hill Carnival. Soak up the action at the month-long Totally Thames festival. Join the party at the colourful Pride in London parade, celebrating the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community.
See the lively St Patrick's Day parade wind through the streets of London. Fun free summer activities Relax in the sunshine while listening to super-talented artists at a free London music festival. Enjoy offers, workshops and activities from retailers and plenty of street food on traffic-free streets, as part of the annual Regent Street Summer Streets. Grab a picnic and catch a live-streamed opera or ballet performance in Trafalgar Square, as part of the BP Summer Big Screens events each summer.
The history of the city is at your feet at the Museum of London. Enjoy the interactive displays and follow the evolution of London from prehistoric times, through the Middle Ages and the Victorian era, up to the present day.
Wander through the spectacular halls of the Natural History Museum , as you discover fascinating exhibits from the natural world. Marvel at dinosaur skeletons or gawp at Hope, a giant blue whale skeleton. Showcasing more than 15, objects, the permanent collection includes must-see exhibits such as Amy Johnson's Gipsy Moth plane.
Discover the troubled history of modern war at the Imperial War Museum. Interesting displays guide you through the stories of modern conflicts, from the First World War to the present day. The Victoria and Albert Museum hosts one of the greatest collections of art and design objects in the world more than 2. Discover its beautiful galleries and retrace the history of creativity through fashion, furniture, sculpture, photography, jewellery and more.
Did you know London has a Roman amphitheatre? Be wowed by this ancient relic, which was found by archaeologists working on the site of the Guildhall Art Gallery in Entry to both the gallery and the amphitheatre is free. Become immersed in a host of Insta-worthy and quirky exhibits, including those that play on the senses. His historic house contains a wide collection of paintings, architectural drawings and antiquities, plus the original sarcophagus of Seti I.
Head to the quirky Horniman Museum and Gardens in Forest Hill to encounter an eclectic collection of musical instruments, anthropology and natural history. Here, you'll find a gigantic overstuffed taxidermy walrus and a rather ugly merman, two of the weirdest things to see in London. Find out about Britain's army at the National Army Museum. Relive the history of the armed forces, from the British Civil Wars to the modern day, through thousands of inspiring objects in five galleries.
Retrace the history of aviation at this fascinating London museum. With a huge amount of aircraft memorabilia under one roof, the Royal Air Force Museum gives a spectacular account of man's desire to take flight and the scientific advances to make it real. Booking: This museum is currently closed, but keep checking here for reopening updates. Booking: Book tickets and check out their online events here. The London Mithraeum is a museum centred around the ruins of a Roman Temple and is located, rather oddly, underneath the shiny glass Bloomberg Buildings in the middle of the city.
A visit to the Mithraeum is not just looking at old artefacts, but a full on sensory experience. Booking: You can book your timed entry slot here. An museum mostly consisting of art about medicine might seem like a bit of a strange one, but the Wellcome Collection attracts more than , visitors every year. Booking: You can book a timed entry slot before you visit the Wellcome Collection.
Occupying a huge area once known as the Hendon Aerodrome, the Royal Air Force Museum has a huge collection of items about the British airforce. Booking: Book your tickets before you go for guaranteed entry. It proved very popular until it was almost totally destroyed by World War II air raids in Sadly, a number of art pieces were destroyed, but there was a silver lining because a well-preserved Roman Amphitheatre was discovered during reconstruction works. Today, the new and improved building incorporates the amphitheatre and also houses a vast collection of Victorian paintings and paintings of London.
Booking: Book your tickets before you go for guaranteed entry to the museum and any exhibitions you want to visit. I love the striking red brick buildings of the British Library , home to the largest national library in the world.
The British Library has so many books that no-one knows the exact number. The best guesses put it at between and million in the collections. Pretty amazing, right? A lot of the building is restricted to readers but they do have a few exhibition spaces where there is always something interesting on. Booking: You only need to book a ticket for the reading rooms.
Intricate carvings, clothing, pottery and hieroglyphics from Egypt and Sudan await inside the unassuming brick building. The initial collection was donated by the 19th century author and Egyptologist Amelia Edwards, and has grown to be more than 80, items. Booking: Book a ticket in advance for guaranteed entry to the museum.
The offbeat Geffrye Museum of the Home has finally reopened with a new lease of life. The collections feature items from domestic life through the centuries, giving you the chance to have a nose at how families have lived throughout history.
You can also venture through the beautiful front gardens. You can also admire the exterior of the building, which is a Grade I listed almshouse dating from the 18th century.
Now it has reopened it has certainly reclaimed its spot amongst the best free museums and galleries in London. Booking: Walk-ups are available, but book a slot in advance here.
The Design Museum moved to its new impressive Kensington premises in after many years on the bank of the Thames.
Inside the ultra-modern new building, the Design Museum walks you through the interesting history of design throughout the ages. The exhibits cover different areas including product, industrial, fashion, architectural and graphic design. See classics like the London Tube Map brought to life and look at everyday objects in a completely new light after exploring this great London museum — free!
Booking: You know the drill… book a slot in advance here. At the Museum of Brands , you can check out many different items from eyebrow-raising Victorian advertisements to 90s toys.
Booking: There are plenty of walk in spots available, but you can also nab a timed ticket. Located in Chelsea, the National Army Museum opened in after a huge renovation project. Entry to the museum is free, but there is also a regular calendar of ticketed temporary exhibits that are worth checking out.
Booking: Check out the exhibitions and book tickets here. Within the eclectic collection, some of the highlights including the skeletons of extinct animals such as the dodo, Tasmanian tiger and quagga plains zebra.
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