the world's best, for nothing
London's best free museums
London quietly runs some of the greatest museums on earth and charges you nothing to walk in. Here are the ones worth building a day around, from the big hitters to the small obsessive gems.
FREE
London's best free museums
LONDON FREE GUIDEThe list
1
British Museum
Bloomsbury · Tottenham Court Road
Two million years of human history in one building, free since 1759. The Rosetta Stone, the mummies, the lot.
Daily 10am–5pm · Fri to 8:30pmFull details →
2
Natural History Museum
South Kensington · South Kensington
The blue whale, the dinosaurs and a cathedral of a building, free in South Kensington. The most visited museum in the country.
Daily 10am–5:50pmFull details →
3
The V&A
South Kensington · South Kensington
The world's greatest museum of art and design, free in South Kensington, with one of the prettiest courtyards in London.
Daily 10am–5:45pm · Fri to 10pmFull details →
4
Science Museum
South Kensington · South Kensington
Seven floors of science and engineering, free in South Kensington. Apollo capsules, steam engines and hands-on halls.
Daily 10am–6pmFull details →
5
National Gallery
Trafalgar Square · Charing Cross
Western art from medieval gold to Van Gogh, free on Trafalgar Square. Some of the most famous paintings on earth, no ticket.
Daily 10am–6pm · Fri to 9pmFull details →
6
FREELONDON FREE GUIDE
National Portrait Gallery
Trafalgar Square · Leicester Square
Portraits of the people who shaped Britain, free just off Trafalgar Square, reborn after a three-year revamp.
Daily 10:30am–6pm · Fri & Sat to 9pmFull details →
7
The Wallace Collection
Marylebone · Bond Street
Old Master paintings, French furniture and a hall of armour in a Marylebone townhouse, free, with a gorgeous glass-roofed courtyard.
Daily 10am–5pmFull details →
8
FREELONDON FREE GUIDE
Sir John Soane's Museum
Holborn · Holborn
An architect's labyrinthine home crammed floor to ceiling with antiquities, free in Holborn. One of London's strangest, best free hours.
Wed–Sun 10am–5pmFull details →
9
FREELONDON FREE GUIDE
Wellcome Collection
Euston · Euston Square
A free museum about what it means to be human. Medicine, art and a fair amount of the wonderfully macabre, plus the best free reading room in town.
Tue–Sun 10am–6pm · Thu to 8pm · closed MonFull details →
10
Imperial War Museum
Lambeth · Lambeth North
A century of conflict from the trenches to now, in a building that was once Bedlam. A Spitfire hangs in the atrium and entry costs nothing.
Daily 10am–6pm · last entry 5:30pmFull details →
11
National Maritime Museum
Greenwich · Cutty Sark (DLR)
Britain's seafaring story told for free in Greenwich, from Nelson's actual Trafalgar coat to hands-on galleries, a short walk from the park and the meridian.
Daily 10am–5pmFull details →
12
FREELONDON FREE GUIDE
Horniman Museum
Forest Hill · Forest Hill
A gloriously eccentric free museum in south London, home to the famously overstuffed walrus, plus sixteen acres of gardens with a proper skyline view.
Daily 10am–5:30pm · gardens open later in summerFull details →
More guides
Guide
Free
The stories hiding above Clerkenwell's pubs
A free ~45-minute walk from Angel to Farringdon past six Clerkenwell pub signs, each hiding a story you'd never guess from the street: a prince replaced by a Tamil king, a freed slave in chains, a mystery mural, the man who funded England's first atlas, and a 400-year-old typo. Every stop is free to look at, this is about the signs, not drinking.
Guide
FreeEvery weekend
Go East Vintage Flea: a free vintage market in Bermondsey
Go East Vintage runs a free vintage flea market most weekends at Maltby Street in Bermondsey, plus an indoor edition inside the railway arches on selected weekends. Free entry, no ticket, dog-friendly, just turn up. Expect 40 plus vintage sellers with furniture, vinyl, cameras, fashion, jewellery and odd little treasures, right by Maltby Street Market's food stalls. Dates move around a little, so check Go East Vintage's Instagram for the exact weekend before you go.
Get it in your inbox
One email a week with the best free things to do in London this weekend. Before everyone else finds them.
No spam. One tap to leave. We never sell your email.