If you are wondering what to do in London, use our app to browse through our lists of free London sightseeing ideas for inspiration.

We have over 1000 free to visit attractions listed including museums, art galleries, children's farms, gardens, historic sites, markets, nature, parks, children's playgrounds, skate parks, sports, leisure and landmarks.

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Map of todays 50 things to do in London

See below for 50 random free places to visit in London.


2

Diana Memorial Playground

Playground based around a huge wooden pirate ship. Opened in the year 2000 in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales.
3

Thames Barrier

Opened in 1982, the Thames Barrier provides flood defences for the city of London. Costing £16,000 to close the flood barrier each time, it has been closed 175 times up to April 2015.
4

Lesnes Abbey Woods

Lesnes Abbey Wood offers a variety of habitats including woodlands, heathland and ornamental gardens as well as the ruins of Lesnes Abbey.
2

Kennington Skate Bowl

A concrete skate bowl dating from the 1970s that was given a facelift in 2012.
3

Oxleas Wood

Ancient oak woodland in the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
4

Littleheath Wood

Ponds, meadows and mature woodlands crossed by a network of paths.
2

Tate Britain

Major art gallery housing the largest collection of British art in the world in a grade II listed building.
3

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the monarch and has been since 1837.
4

Castelnau Recreation Ground

A small park with paddling pool in the summer months.
2

Bethlem Museum of the Mind

Dedicated to the history of Bethlem Hospital and psychiatry.
3

Pollards Hill Skatepark

Concrete skatepark in Pollards Hill that opened in 2010.
4

Lloyd Park Croydon

Large open spaces with a childrens playground and outdoor gym.
2

Brick Lane Market

Brick lane Market is open on Sundays and is a traditional flea market.
3

Faraday Museum at the Royal Institution

Museum about discoveries in science at the Royal Institution since 1799.
4

Mad Bess Wood

Mad Bess Wood is part of the Ruislip Woods National Nature Reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
2

Myatts Fields Park

A fourteen acre Victorian park with wildlife garden, sports facilities and childrens playground.
3

Imperial War Museum

Museum with exhibits about conflict, particularly those involving Britain and the Commonwealth from World War 1 to the present.
4

Big Ben

Big Ben is the popular name of the Elizabeth Tower that houses the Great Bell which has the nickname of Big Ben.
2

Wimbledon Windmill Museum

Built in 1817, operational until 1864 and opened as a museum in 1976.
3

Totteridge Fields Nature Reserve

Dollis Brook runs through this site of over 30 hedgerowed fields.
4

Leicester Square

This is where the majority of London film premieres are held. There are 4 major cinemas in the square.
2

Ingrebourne Valley Visitor Centre

Visitor Centre for the country park containing a small museum to RAF Hornchurch on which the site has been developed.
3

Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park

Operated as a cemetery between 1841 and 1966, the area is now a public park and nature reserve.
4

Southall Manor House Grounds

The gardens of the manor house, which dates from the 16th century.
2

O2 Arena (Millennium Dome)

Opened on 31st December in 1999 as the Millennium Dome, the O2 Arena is now a vast entertainment complex. Entrance to the complex is free.
3

Barra Hall Park

The park was formerly the grounds of the Jacobean style mansion Barra Hall which is now grade II listed.
4

St Chads Park

Opened in 1830, St Chads is the oldest park in the Borough of Barking and Dagenham.
2

Old Blackfriars Railway Bridge Pillars

The old Blackfriars railway bridge was largely demolished in 1985.
3

Hamleys

The biggest toy shop in the world, Hamleys has seven floors of toys and games to browse through.
4

Greenwich Meridian Line

Bradleys Meridian is the reference point for Longitude today and has been since 1750.
2

Islington Museum

Local history museum housed in the basement of Finsbury Library.
3

Forty Hall and Estate

Grade I Jacobean Manor House, with exhibitions and gardens covering 270 acres.
4

Carnaby Street

World famous for boutique fashion shops and the centre of the swinging London of the 1960s.
2

Thames Barrier Park

The park is located on the North bank of the river and has great views of the Thames Barrier.
3

Beckton District Park

Crossed by the Capital Ring long distance footpath, the park has two halves to the North and South of Tollgate Road.
4

Tumbling Bay Playground

Natural wooden adventure playground located at the Timber Lodge community centre in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
2

Harefield Village Green

Registered as common land since 1813, the village green covers over four acres.
3

Materials Library

The Institute of Making hosts the Materials Library, presenting a collection of all sorts of materials from synthetic or natural sources, comprised of just about any material you could possibly think of.
4

V and A Museum of Childhood

This is the Victoria and Albert museums collection of childhood related items and is located in Bethnal Green.
2

Surrey Docks Farm

A working city farm occupying 2.2 acres on the South bank of the Thames in Rotherhithe.
3

Lordship Recreation Ground

Opened as a park in 1936, it had the original idea of hosting a Model Traffic Area including minature traffic lights, pedestrian crossings and roundabouts to be used for road safety training.
4

St. James Park

St James Park is the oldest of the royal parks. It contains both The Mall and Horse Guards Parade.
2

Gladstone Park

Named after the ex Prime Minister William Gladstone who died in 1898. The park was opened in 1901.
3

Regents Park

Regents Park covers 395 acres and includes Queen Marys Gardens where you can see more than 30,000 roses.
4

Grove Park Nature Reserve

A variety of habitats on a site that was previously used as railway sidings and allotments.
2

London Wall

A section of the Roman London Wall built around AD200 adjoining the Tower of London.
3

Animals In War Memorial

A memorial to animals that served in British and Commonwealth armies during the 2 world wars.
4

St Bartholomews Museum

Founded in 1123, St Bartholomews is one of the oldest hospitals in the world. Visit the museum to find out about its history.
2

Southbank Skatepark

A popular and longstanding skatepark at the undercroft of the Southbank Centre.
3

Tate Modern

National Museum of modern and contemporary art.
We have over 1000 ideas for FREE things to do and places to go for anyone visiting, or living in London.

If you are looking for ideas about having a day out then browse through our lists of sightseeing ideas for inspiration - whatever the weather London has in store there are plenty of indoor and outdoor activities listed.

The majority of London attractions listed are free to visit and include museums, art galleries, childrens farms, childrens playgrounds, gardens, historic sites, markets, nature, parks, skateparks, sports, leisure, landmarks and London events.

Many of the most famous art galleries the city has to offer are featured on the site including Tate Modern, The National Gallery and the Saatchi Gallery. Details can also be found of much smaller and less well known sites including the Serpentine Galleries in Hyde Park and the Pump House Gallery in Battersea Park.

Children are well catered for in the city with many parks having playgrounds ranging from swings and slides to the pirate ship in the Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens.

There are several childrens farms spread across London - one of our favourite ones is in Crystal Palace Park where you can also take the children to check out the Victorian dinosaur statues that reside in and around the lake.

For a slightly older age group are many skateparks and you can also find free to use tennis courts and outdoor gym equipment in some of the parks.

We will soon have an events page that lists out the well known annual events including Notting Hill Carnival, The Lord Mayors Show, Trooping The Colour and The Boat Race. Several institutions such as the LSE and The Royal Society offer free lectures and you can also be entertained at places like The Scoop next to City Hall or watch the street performers at Covent Garden.

London is a surprisingly green city with the large Royal Parks in the centre of town and Battersea Park just a short distance away on the South side of the River Thames. Greenwich Park is partly a deer park and also houses historical sites such as the Royal Observatory and the National Maritime Museum which are both free to visit.

Further out there are many woodlands, the largest being Epping Forest which covers 6000 acres of North London stretching from Chingford to Epping. Large areas of the forest are designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Special Areas of Conversation and there are 4 visitor centres.

Historic sites and London landmarks frequently go hand in hand, for example both Tower Bridge and The Tower Of London are known around the world but with interesting historical backgrounds - and don't forget The Monument to the Great Fire of London, located in Pudding Lane just a short walk across the river from London Bridge Station.

Then of course there are more modern landmarks such as the Gherkin and the Shard which are both spectacular buildings, but the areas around can also reveal other places of interest like the public artworks in the streets surrounding the Gherkin (including rusty metal dinosaurs and a large globe made from stainless steel nuts and bolts).

Marble Arch hosts two large public artworks in the form of a giant horses head and Ghengis Khan mounted on his horse. Henry Moore sculptures can be found by the Thames at Millbank and at College Gardens near the Houses of Parliament. Please note that not all of the landmarks and historic sites are free to enter but we have included them if good views can be had of them from the surrounding streets.

So there is plenty to see and do for a daytrip, an extended visit or a full holiday in London and it need not be expensive.

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