let it pour
Free Indoor Things to Do in London
London does rain very well, so plan around it. A whole day of free museums, galleries, a covered Victorian market and a steamy glasshouse, all indoors, all free, and you barely have to step outside.
FREE
Free Indoor Things to Do in London
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
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 →
3
Tate Modern
Bankside · Southwark / Blackfriars
A giant power station full of modern art, free to roam, with one of the best free views of St Paul's from the upper floors.
Daily 10am–6pm · Fri & Sat to 10pmFull details →
4
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 →
5
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 →
6
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 →
7
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 →
8
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 →
9
Leadenhall Market
City of London · Bank
A jaw-dropping Victorian covered market in the heart of the City, all painted ironwork and cobbles. It played Diagon Alley, and on a weekend you can have it to yourself.
Covered market open daily · shops and pubs Mon–FriFull details →
10
Barbican Conservatory
City of London · Barbican
A secret tropical jungle hidden inside the concrete of the Barbican. Over fifteen hundred plants under glass, free to visit, if you catch one of the limited open days.
Select days only · usually a timed slot · check before you goFull details →
11
FREELONDON FREE GUIDE
Two Temple Place
Temple · Temple
An absurdly opulent neo-Gothic mansion built for an Astor, thrown open to the public for free every winter for one knockout exhibition.
Free only during the annual winter exhibition · roughly late Jan to mid-AprFull 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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