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free days out
All day trips Get out of London
KentMargateA free world-class gallery, a wide sandy beach and a salty old town. The seaside that got its cool back.1h30 high speed · from £15Free day out SomersetGlastonburyThe strangest town in England: climb the Tor for free, sip from the holy springs and wander a high street like nowhere else.1h45 + bus · from £30Free day out SomersetBathA day in Bath on foot: honey-coloured terraces, the Royal Crescent, the Circus and Pulteney Bridge. Jane Austen did it first.1h30 direct · from £25Free day out KentWhitstableA working oyster town with a shingle beach and the best free sunset in the southeast. Bring a jumper and watch the sky go.1h20 · from £12Free day out CambridgeshireCambridgeA free world-famous museum, the Backs and punts you watch rather than pay for. A college town you can do for nothing.1h10 (faster trains around 50 min) · from £12Free day out KentSandwichA free annual day trip to Sandwich in Kent, where every summer the medieval town fills with clashing knights, a French market straight off the Normandy boat and artists painting in the streets. Dates shift each year so check before you go.1h35 direct · from £13Free day out East SussexBrightonPebbles, the Lanes and a pier you can walk for free. The seaside London escapes to when it needs the sea.1h direct · from £10Free day out WarwickshireStratford-upon-AvonShakespeare's town. The riverside, the canal basin, the old streets and the church where he is buried are free, even if the birthplace charges.around 2h direct · from £20Free day out
Markets14 free
See all 14
Free
Southbank Centre Book Market
Long-running second-hand book market under Waterloo Bridge.
Free
Broadway Market
Saturday foodie and crafts market beside London Fields.
Free
Leadenhall Market
Ornate Victorian covered market that doubled as Diagon Alley.
Free
Old Spitalfields Market
Covered market mixing fashion, antiques and food.
Free
Queen Mary's Gardens
London's largest rose collection within Regent's Park.
London's Rose-Ringed Parakeets
Free
London's Rose-Ringed Parakeets
Wild flocks of bright green parakeets across the city's parks.
Walthamstow Wetlands
Free
Walthamstow Wetlands
Europe's largest urban wetland nature reserve.
Free
Isabella Plantation
40-acre woodland garden in Richmond Park famed for spring azaleas.
Free
St James's Church Piccadilly
Wren church with a Grinling Gibbons font where Blake was baptised.
Free
Shri Sanatan Mandir, Wembley
A dazzling hand-carved stone Hindu temple on Ealing Road.
St Stephen Walbrook
Free
St Stephen Walbrook
Wren's domed prototype for St Paul's, his own parish church.
St Magnus the Martyr
Free
St Magnus the Martyr
Wren church with a famous model of old London Bridge.
Brick Lane Street Art
Free
Brick Lane Street Art
Ever-changing open-air gallery of murals by Banksy, Stik and others.
Free
Thames Path (Central London)
Riverside path linking Westminster, Bankside and the Tower with landmark views.
William Blake Mosaics
Free
William Blake Mosaics
Open-air mosaic gallery honouring Blake near Waterloo.
Scenes from the Frost Fair
Free
Scenes from the Frost Fair
Murals of the parties once held on the frozen Thames, under Southwark Bridge.
Finsbury Park
Free
Finsbury Park
Large Victorian park with a boating lake and running track.
Free
St James's Park
Oldest Royal Park, with a pelican-dotted lake and views of Buckingham Palace.
Joseph Grimaldi Park
Free
Joseph Grimaldi Park
Quiet park that has become a pilgrimage site for clowns.
Free
Green Park
Tranquil tree-filled Royal Park between Buckingham Palace and Piccadilly.
Viewpoints9 free
See all 9
Free
Tate Modern Viewing Level
10th-floor Blavatnik Building terrace with views over St Paul's and the Thames.
Free
Sky Garden
Three-storey indoor garden atop the Walkie-Talkie with 360 views.
Free
Horizon 22
London's highest free viewing platform, on the 58th floor of 22 Bishopsgate.
Free
Greenwich Park / General Wolfe Statue
Hilltop viewpoint over the Old Royal Naval College and Canary Wharf.
Squares & Streets14 free
See all 14
Free
The Royal Exchange
Grade I Victorian commercial building with shops and a courtyard.
Free
Paternoster Square
Modern square beside St Paul's with the Temple Bar gateway.
Mayfair & Shepherd Market
Free
Mayfair & Shepherd Market
Elegant Georgian streets and a village-like enclave of pubs.
Free
Piccadilly Circus
London's neon-lit crossroads with the Eros statue.
Cultural Spaces7 free
See all 7Speakers' Corner
Free
Speakers' Corner
Historic free-speech forum at the NE corner of Hyde Park.
Longplayer
Free
Longplayer
1,000-year-long musical composition playing inside a lighthouse.
Changing of the King's Life Guard, Horse Guards
Free
Changing of the King's Life Guard, Horse Guards
Mounted Household Cavalry ceremony, quieter than Buckingham Palace.
Free
Southbank Centre / Royal Festival Hall
Riverside arts complex with free foyer exhibitions, performances and river views.
Free
Tomb of the Unknown London Girl
Roman teenager's remains memorialised beside the Gherkin.
The Old Curiosity Shop
Free
The Old Curiosity Shop
16th-century shop said to have inspired the Dickens novel.
Henry VIII Gatehouse Statue
Free
Henry VIII Gatehouse Statue
London's only public statue of Henry VIII, above a hospital gate.
Museums31 free
See all 31Hunterian Museum
Free
Hunterian Museum
Royal College of Surgeons' anatomical and surgical collection.
Free
British Library Treasures Gallery
Magna Carta, Shakespeare's First Folio, Beatles lyrics and Da Vinci notebooks.
Anaesthesia Heritage Centre
Free
Anaesthesia Heritage Centre
Free museum of the history of anaesthesia and pain relief.
Young V&A
Free
Young V&A
V&A's redesigned museum for children with play, design and toy galleries.
Art Galleries12 free
See all 12White Cube Bermondsey
Free
White Cube Bermondsey
Europe's largest commercial gallery showing major contemporary artists.
William Morris Gallery
Free
William Morris Gallery
The only public gallery devoted to William Morris, in his former home.
Guildhall Art Gallery & Roman Amphitheatre
Free
Guildhall Art Gallery & Roman Amphitheatre
City's art collection plus the ruins of London's Roman amphitheatre beneath.
Canada Water Library
Free
Canada Water Library
Striking inverted-pyramid library overhanging the dock.
Free
Barbican Library
Public lending library within the Brutalist Barbican with garden views.
Free
British Library piazza & building
UK's national library with free exhibition spaces and a Grade I-listed interior.
National Poetry Library
Free
National Poetry Library
World's largest public poetry collection on the 5th floor of the Royal Festival Hall.
Free
Limehouse Basin
Tranquil marina where Regent's Canal meets the Thames.
Free
South Bank / Queen's Walk
Thames-side promenade past the London Eye, with public art and skyline views.
Free
Regent's Canal Towpath
8.6-mile towpath from Little Venice to Limehouse passing the zoo, Camden and King's Cross.
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