free things to see and do in London
London Visitor Travelcard
after visiting a museum, why not explore the area by following a self-guided walk
Writers Walk
From the British Museum, follow this walk to see Great Ormond Street Hospital, Bloomsbury and Senate House
The City Walk
From the Museum of London, explore the City of London, featuring attractions such as the Tower and St Pauls
The Nautical Walk
From the National Maritime Museum, explore the world heritage listed town of Greenwich
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The Ripper Walk
From the Museum of Childhood, explore Whitechapel and the places associated with the ripper murders
London has some of the best museums and galleries in the world. From the renowned British Museum to the recently opened Tate Modern art gallery, there is something of interest to everyone.
And the great news is that most of the museums and galleries are free to visit, unless you wish to see a special exhibition.
Museums
British Museum
The British Museum was founded in 1753 and began with three privately-owned public collections.
Over the next fifty years, Egyptian antiquities and the Elgin marbles from the Parthenon in Athens were added.
The museum now holds around 13 million items of historical interest.
It is also an impressive building, particularly since the transformation of the Round Reading Room following the opening of the new British Library in 1997.
Nearest underground stations: Tottenham Court Road, Goodge Street
Museum of London
The Museum of London is quite simply about everything London, from the prehistoric to modern times.
Opened in 1976 in the rather bleak-looking Barbican Centre, it is an excellent place to learn about London's social history, and the lives of Londoners and those who immigrated here.
Exhibits include the popular Great Fire of London interactive display, Roman and medieval coffins and the Lord Mayors carriage, which is still used in the annual Lord Mayor's Parade.
The museum is undergoing renovations until 2009 but is still mostly open to the public.
Nearest underground stations: Barbican, St Pauls
V & A Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design.
Its permanent collection of over 4 million items spans 5000 years and every continent.
It holds items such as costumes, ceramics, prints, photographs and drawings and houses the world's largest collection of post classical sculpture.
Nearest underground station: South Kensington
Science Museum
Founded in 1857, the museum holds over 300,000 items including Stephenson's Rocket, Puffing Billy and a working version of Charles Babbage's Difference Engine (considered by many to be the "first computer".)
The museum also houses many items collected by Henry Wellcome related to medicine. This includes historic medical instruments and a lifesize iron lung.
Nearest underground station: South Kensington
National Maritime Museum
This museum, at Greenwich, is situated in the impressive buildings of the former Royal Naval School, part of Maritime Greenwich which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
The museum holds maritime artwork, maps, drawings, ship models and instruments of navigation. It also holds the largest collections relating to Horation Nelson and James Cook and paintings taken from Germany after World War II.
Getting to Greenwich: riverboat to Greenwich Pier, train to North Greenwich, DLR to Cutty Sark
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum, housed in an impressive building opened in 1881, contains 70 million items within 5 main collections: Botany, Entomology, Mineralogy, Palaeontology and Zoology.
Many of its items were collected by Darwin himself on his various expeditions.
Its most popular exhibits are its dinosaur skeletons, including a cast of one donated by Andrew Carnegie and located in the museum's central hall.
Nearest underground station: South Kensington
Imperial War Museum
This museum is housed in a former psychiatric hospital, known as "Bedlam". It includes memorabilia from all modern British conflicts since World War I.
Items range from medals, weapons and ration books through to tanks and a fragment from the Berlin Wall.
Nearest underground stations: Lambeth North, Waterloo
Museum of Childhood
Also known as the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood, this museum holds the largest collection of childhood objects in Britain.
Items include toys, games, dolls houses, rocking horses, childhood equipment and costumes.
It also holds exhibits related to the social history of childhood such as the lives of children during World War II.
Nearest underground station: Bethnal Green
Royal Air Force Museum
The Royal Air Force Museum is Britain's only national museum dedicated wholly to aviation and science of flight. It has two sites: one in London and one in the Midlands.
The London site contains over 100 aircraft in 5 themed aircraft halls ranging from the “Milestones of Flight” to the powerful and emotive “Battle of Britain Hall”, plus a 3D cinema and the interactive “Aeronauts Gallery” where children can learn about flight through simple and fun experiments.
Entry and Parking are free and the Museum offers a programme of free family based activities during the holidays and at weekends throughout the year.
Nearest Underground: Colindale (25 minutes from Kings Cross Station)
Sir John Soanes Museum
This interesting museum was established during Soane's lifetime by an Act of Parliament requiring the house and its contents to be retained as near as possible to how they were at his death.
The museum contains architectural models and drawings, as well as various antiquities.
Nearest underground station: Holburn