The Royal Exchange
the city's grand trading hall
A magnificent colonnaded building at the heart of the City, free to step inside, where merchants once traded under one roof and a grand courtyard now sits beneath a glass roof.
Free to visit · City of London · Bank · EC3V 3LR
Opening: Mon–Fri · shops and courtyard · check times
Standing proudly at Bank junction, the very heart of the City, the Royal Exchange has been a centre of London commerce since Sir Thomas Gresham founded the first one here in 1565. The grand columned building you see today is the third on the site, opened in 1844, its huge portico one of the great set-pieces of the financial district.
For centuries merchants met under its roof to trade, and the building has housed everything from commerce to insurance. Today its central courtyard, once open to the sky, sits under an elegant glass roof and is ringed by luxury shops and a cafe, and you are free to walk in and look up.
Even if the boutiques are far beyond most budgets, the architecture is free to enjoy, and the steps outside, watched over by statues and the Duke of Wellington on his horse, are a grand free perch from which to take in the swirl of the City.
Getting there: Right at Bank junction, facing the Bank of England and Mansion House, on top of Bank station.
Best time to go: A weekday when the City is alive and the building is open. Lunchtime is liveliest under the glass roof.
Insider tip: Step inside the central courtyard and look up at the glass roof and the painted frieze running around the upper walls, all free even if the shops are not. The steps outside facing the Bank of England are a prime free spot to watch the City rush by.
Official site: https://www.theroyalexchange.co.uk
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide