King's Cross, free and reborn
Free things to do around King's Cross
King's Cross went from railway wasteland to one of London's best free wanders. Fountains you can run through, a bookshop on a barge, the British Library's treasures and the platform every Harry Potter fan wants a photo of. All free.
FREE
Free things to do around King's Cross
LONDON FREE GUIDEThe list
1
Coal Drops Yard
King's Cross · King's Cross St Pancras
A reborn Victorian coal depot behind King's Cross, free to wander, with curving canalside arches, independent shops and a fountain square where a thousand jets dance.
Open access · shops and fountains have their own hoursFull details →
2
Granary Square Fountains
King's Cross · King's Cross St Pancras
More than 1,000 choreographed fountains beside the canal at King's Cross, free to watch and to run through, on daily during daylight hours.
Daily · during daylight hours · sometimes on a low-level or pooling settingFull details →
3
British Library Building
St Pancras · King's Cross St Pancras
The vast red-brick British Library by King's Cross, free to walk into, with a towering glass column of the King's old leather books, a sculpture-dotted piazza and the best free place to work in the area.
Mon–Sat · roughly 9:30am–8pm · Sun from 11amFull details →
4
British Library Treasures
St Pancras · King's Cross St Pancras
One free room next to King's Cross holding Magna Carta, Shakespeare's First Folio, Leonardo's notebooks and Beatles lyrics scrawled on the back of a letter.
Mon–Sat · Treasures gallery from 10am · check timesFull details →
5
FREELONDON FREE GUIDE
Word on the Water
King's Cross · King's Cross St Pancras
A beloved floating bookshop on a 1920s Dutch barge moored by the canal at King's Cross, free to browse with live jazz on its roof.
Daily, roughly noon–7pmFull details →
6
FREELONDON FREE GUIDE
Platform 9¾
King's Cross · King's Cross St Pancras
Half a luggage trolley vanishing into a wall at King's Cross, the free Harry Potter pilgrimage where Hogwarts students catch their train.
Station hours · queue for the official photoFull details →
7
FREELONDON FREE GUIDE
Queer Britain
King's Cross · King's Cross St Pancras
The UK's first national LGBTQ+ museum, free, in a smart space by Granary Square at King's Cross, telling queer British history and culture through objects, photography and changing shows.
Wed–Sun · check times · free admissionFull details →
8
Regent's Canal Towpath
Camden / Islington · Camden Town
A flat, traffic-free walking and cycling route along the water, free, threading from Little Venice through Regent's Park and Camden across the city to Limehouse and the Thames.
Towpath always openFull 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.
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