Serpentine Galleries
art in the park, and a new pavilion each summer
Two small free contemporary art galleries in the middle of Kensington Gardens, plus the famous summer Pavilion, a new free building by a star architect every year.
Free to visit · Kensington Gardens · Lancaster Gate · W2 3XA
Opening: Tue–Sun 10am–6pm · closed Mon
Right in the middle of Kensington Gardens are two small free galleries showing some of the most talked-about contemporary art in London. The Serpentine South sits by the lake, the Serpentine North a short walk across the park in an old gunpowder store, both free to walk into.
What makes them special is the setting. You wander through the royal park, ducks and joggers and all, and step straight into a sharp, current art show, then back out into the green. The programme is ambitious and changes often, so there is always a reason to drop in.
Every summer they pull off something unique. A different world-famous architect is invited to build a temporary Pavilion on the lawn outside the South gallery, a one-off free structure that stands for a few months and then is gone. Architecture fans plan trips around it.
Getting there: In Kensington Gardens between Lancaster Gate and South Kensington, the two galleries a short walk apart across the park.
Best time to go: Summer, when the Pavilion is up on the lawn outside the South gallery. Otherwise any dry day to pair it with a park walk.
Insider tip: Time a visit for the summer Pavilion, roughly June to October. Each year a major architect who has never built in Britain designs a free temporary structure on the lawn, you can walk through it, sit in it and grab a coffee, and it is demolished come autumn, so it is genuinely now or never.
Official site: https://www.serpentinegalleries.org
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide