Whats the best "free things" to do in london?

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richard_beckham2001

1) The British Museum (Free)

2) Sir John Soane's Museum (Free)

3) Natural History and Science Museums (Free)

4) Victoria Albert Museum (Free)

5) Imperial War Museum (Free)

6) National Maritime Museum (Free)

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Art Galleries
National Gallery
Tate Modern and Tate Britain are exceptional national art galleries housing some of the finest artworks in the world. Tate Modern focuses on contemporary art while Tate Britain displays British Art from the sixteenth century to the present day.
Other major London art galleries include the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. I would also recommend The Wallace Collection as it's just off Oxford Street so a perfect escape from a busy shopping spree.
And remember, many of the major art galleries and museums have late openings.

Museums
All of London's major museums are free, but most offer some special exhibitions for a fee. My favorite is the Museum of London where you can learn the history of London from Roman times to today. Other great major museums are the British Museum, the V&A, the Science Museum, and the Natural History Museum. Oh, and I love the Geffrye Museum. And the Horniman Museum. Now I can't decide which is the best!

Royal Parks
I regularly hear people tell me the Queen Mary's Rose Gardens in Regent's Park is their favorite spot in London, and who am I to argue? I would also recommend St. James's Park as it offers one of the best views of Buckingham Palace. Hyde Park is enormous and includes the ever popular Diana Memorial Fountain and the Peter Pan Statue.
There are often free talks and guided walks in the royal parks so do check the What's On section of the Royal Parks web site.

Changing of the Guard
No visit to London is complete without seeing this military tradition. The Queen's Guard in London changes in the Forecourt inside the gates of Buckingham Palace at 11.30am every day in the summer and every other day in the winter. Get there early and view the spectacle from outside the front gates.

South Bank
It really is amazing how many London landmarks you can see along this stretch of the River Thames including The London Eye, Tate Modern, The Globe Theatre, and so much more. You can download free walking tours of the South Bank area from Walk This Way.

Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is one of Britain's greatest visitor attractions. Trafalgar Square was designed by John Nash in the 1820s and constructed in the 1830s. It is both a tourist attraction and the main focus for political demonstrations. Every December, Norway donates a marvelous Christmas tree, to thank Britain for liberation from the Nazis.
This iconic square has many sights to see including Nelson's Column and the National Gallery.

Street Performers
The West Piazza of Covent Garden Market has street performers to entertain you every afternoon. Good acts can draw huge crowds and the performers love to get audience members to help them with their act. All performers are licensed and have passed an audition to perform here.
You will find more street performers at the weekend along the South Bank, particularly outside the National Theatre.

Street Markets
London is well-known for its popular street markets. Have a look at these photos from Spitalfields Market in east London and Borough Market in south London.
More great London markets include:
* Camden Market
* Portobello Market
* Columbia Flower Market (Sunday mornings only)
* Brick Lane Market (Sundays only)
* Greenwich Market

Westminster Abbey
You can see inside Westminster Abbey for free. The Abbey never charges people who want to worship but they rely on admission fees from visitors to cover running costs. Evensong is the most beautiful of services where the Abbey choir sings. The Choristers of the Choir are educated at Westminster Abbey Choir School and are all extremely talented. Evensong is at 5pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, plus at 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
For more information on the services at Westminster Abbey see their web site: www.westminster-abbey.org and click on Services on the left-hand list.

* You can hear Commuter Jazz on Fridays at the Royal Festival Hall on the South Bank from 5.15pm.
* The Royal Opera House offers free Monday lunchtime recitals.
* There are regular free lunchtime concerts at St. Martin-in-the-Fields.
* Also, check out the Barbican.

There are loads more free things to do in London. Keep an eye on the London for Free section as it is regularly updated.
OK, one more for luck...
Watch a Trial at the Old Bailey
The Old Bailey is probably the most famous criminal court in the world. You can watch the proceedings from the public galleries from 10am, Monday to Friday.

mark

There are far too many to mention, but I've always enjoyed hanging around Covent Garden at the weekends. There's always street entertainers keeping the crowds happy.

savs

Buy a travelcard.
If you don't, bus trips cost 2 quid and underground trips cost a whopping 4 quid !

A central London all day travelcard is about 5 pounds, so it's quickly paid for !

cona h

Natural history museum is really good and its all free! you can catch a bus for 2Â£ to go anywhere i thought this was worth mentioning, there are many places to see for free, best places to go are sight seeing places like the scoop or going around westminster.

Christine155

After you've checked out all the free musuems etc mentioned above why not go and see a tv show being filmed for free. You need to sign up to a website such as www.applausestore.com but once you've done this you can book a place for free for any number of free shows such as Big Brother on the Couch, or The Friday Night Project etc and most of these shows are filmed in London. Check out this link
http://www.applausestore.com/Site/

mad

In addition to the previous answers - the Tate Modern at Bankside is free (apart from special exhibitions) - the building itself is worth seeing, and it's in a good spot where you can wander along the Thames embankment looking at the fantastic view and cross the famous 'Millenium Bridge' to see St Paul's Cathedral on the other bank( unfortunately you have to pay to go in there - shame!).

lewey

The great thing about London is that most of the main museums and art galleries are free. National Art Gallery, Tate Modern and Tate Britain, National Museum etc, all free except for any special exhibitions they have on.
Also all the main icons, eg Trafalger Square, Picadilly Circus, House of Parliament etc can all be viewed (at least from the outside) for free. And many of them are wlaking distance from each other. A walk along the southbank of the Thames on a nice day is great. And checking out some of the markets eg Borough food market or Camden etc if you get the right days are also interesting, and free unless you choose to but anything.

AndyG45

Most of the museums and galleries in London are free, although they may have special exhibitions which have an entry charge.

For other freebie ideas, try the two links below.

upholstery_obsession

Aside from the obvious museums and galleries already mentioned (Science Museum, Natural History Museum, and Tate Modern are a must!), it's also free to go to the big department stores, eg. Harrods or Hamleys. Even if you don't buy anything, they're quite a spectacle just to browse. Check out Harrod's pet department for beautiful and rare animals, and the Food Hall for free samples of fine food. Also, seek out the 'heritage' routemaster buses which run on routes 9 and 15 - same fares as regular buses, but they're the old-fashioned traditional red London bus and they go past popular landmarks. Much better value than the open-top-bus tours and and more authentic! Even cheaper with a travelcard.

Hope that helps - I work in London and am always seeking out things to do for free at lunctimes!

Steve F

Take your camera and everything outside is free to photo.

For inside stuff.

Go to Tourist Information and pick up a pack explaining the best places to go for free in the city.

Farengae

Join a gang. Everones doin it these days.

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