The Wallace Collection
old masters and armour, for nothing
Old Master paintings, French furniture and a hall of armour in a Marylebone townhouse, free, with a gorgeous glass-roofed courtyard.
Free to visit · Marylebone · Bond Street · W1U 3BN
Opening: Daily 10am–5pm
The Wallace Collection is one of London's best kept free secrets, a national museum hidden in a grand townhouse just behind the chaos of Oxford Street. Inside is a jaw-dropping spread of Old Master paintings, Sèvres porcelain, French furniture and one of the finest armouries in the country, all free to walk into.
This is where you will find Frans Hals' Laughing Cavalier, Fragonard's Swing and rooms so opulent they feel like a film set. It was assembled by one family over generations and left to the nation intact, so it has the feel of a private house rather than a sprawling museum, which makes it easy to do in an hour.
At the centre is a glazed courtyard with a café under the glass roof. The food is not free but the setting is, and on a grey London day there are very few nicer free places to sit with a coffee surrounded by armour and art.
Getting there: Tucked behind Oxford Street in Marylebone, a few minutes from Bond Street.
Best time to go: Weekday mornings are blissfully quiet. The café under the glass roof is a lovely free place to land.
Insider tip: Head straight up to the great gallery on the first floor first. It holds the famous paintings and most casual visitors run out of time before they reach it, so you often get the Laughing Cavalier almost to yourself.
Official site: https://www.wallacecollection.org
More free day trips from London · Free things to do in London