Fulham Palace & Gardens

The lowdown

For more than a thousand years this riverside site was a home of the Bishops of London, and today the palace, museum and gardens are all free to visit. The buildings range from a Tudor courtyard to Georgian rooms, with a little museum telling the long story of the place, and there is no ticket to wander in.

The real joy is outside. There is a beautiful restored walled garden with a knot garden and old glasshouses, ancient trees including a famous holm oak, and lawns running down toward the Thames, all of it free and rarely crowded.

It sits right next to Bishop's Park and the river path, so you can fold it into a longer free riverside walk. A cafe in the old buildings handles the spending if you want it, but the grounds alone make a generous afternoon.