Announcing an upcoming trip to London is now met with the same shriek as a city break in Switzerland – “it’s soo expensive”.
True, with its costly combination of TfL travel, high-end shopfronts and anything-but-budget booze, the capital has a habit of lightening purses.
However, away from Michelin meals and the halls of Harrods, there are leafy green spaces, free museums and open-door comedy shows to be found in London if you know where to look.
Think galleries, markets, gardens and city farms that are kind to your credit card.
From the Victoria and Albert Museum to picnics in Greenwich Park, here’s our pick of low-cost activities for thrifty travellers to lean into London.
Read more: The best things to do in London with the kids this summer
1. Peruse a free museum
Some of London’s top tourist draws open their doors to the public for free. With no entry fee for the Victoria and Albert, British Museum, Natural History Museum and Science Museum, there’s a wealth of world-renowned collections, history and art to discover without paying high admission prices.
Read more: The museums you should visit in the UK
2. Have a laugh at a comedy club
Pubs including the Camden Head in Angel and Battersea’s The Candlemaker host free stand-up shows with both big and small names testing new material on patrons. Feeling like splashing £1? Covent Garden’s The Top Secret Comedy Club has guaranteed giggles from tried and tested comedians most nights of the week for just a quid.
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3. Meet furry friends at a city farm
Aside from London’s signature pigeons, foxes and squirrels, countryside staples such as sheep, cows and pigs also reside in unusual urban corners – better still, it’s free to visit furry friends at most of the city’s farms. Mudchute Park and Farm, Hackney, Spitalfields and Vauxhall City farms, to name a few, are open for animal fans, with donations welcome.
Read more: The best farm stays for holidays in the UK
4. Pitch up at a park
Green spaces are scattered in every borough of London, from the sub-tropical gardens of Battersea Park to the picnic-primed hills of Greenwich and Holland Park's Kyoto garden. Their colours may change with the seasons, but walking routes, sandwich spots and play areas promise to show a different side of the city year-round.
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5. Catch a film at a free screening
With a London summer comes al fresco cinema screenings, from rooftops to the canal side. On the King’s Cross ‘Riviera’, Everyman on the Canal will be screening blockbusters, cult classics and the madness of Wimbledon matches for free on the steps of the canal from 30 June to 17 August. Elsewhere, London Bridge’s riverside festival Summer By The River is showing free flicks and Vauxhall’s Summer Screen is set for some big-screen blockbusters.
Read more: I thought I knew London – then I walked the Capital Ring
6. Make your way to a market
As the likes of Borough and Camden charge steep prices for their most popular street food stalls, to make the most of a market on a budget, head for some window shopping. Colombia Road’s colourful Sunday flower market is well worth a weekend stroll, or peruse Portobello on a Saturday for a bric-a-brac bargain.
Read more: Meet the women behind some of Borough Market’s most-loved stalls
7. See the view from the Sky Garden
To tower over the capital without splashing out on a slow ride around the London Eye, tickets to London's highest public garden – the Sky Garden – are free. The viewing gallery on the 43rd floor of the “Walkie Talkie” building offers panoramic views from Fenchurch Street with bars and restaurants onsite.
Read more: How to spend £100,000 on a weekend in London
8. Walk the Thames Path
For a walking tour of the city’s biggest landmarks, follow a stretch of the Thames path from the South Bank east to the Tower of London. This four-mile route passes the Houses of Parliament, Millennium Bridge and plenty of pubs for a pint refuel along the way.
Read more: Europe’s best walking trails to hike
9. Watch a free show at the Southbank Centre
There are free gigs, art and exhibitions to be found at the Southbank Centre for those looking for culture that doesn’t charge their credit card. Among events this summer, Freudian Typo invites visitors to consider how the English language “underpins the globally precarious state of land”, Dance Your Way Home showcases a series of artworks, and Iris Colomb performs live poetry.
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10. Admire the art at a gallery
You actually can go to a gallery in London without paying a £15 admission fee and spending £5 on a flat white. For your fill of sketches, oil paintings and interactive exhibits, some of the city’s most notable showrooms – including the Tate Modern, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Wallace Collection – display their visual masterpieces admission-free.
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11. Dance to a free jazz show
London institution Ronnie Scott’s may be the king of the city’s jazz clubs, but for a boogie on a budget, there are plenty of live music venues letting in jazz fans for less. The Old Blue Last in Shoreditch hosts free Sunday jazz sessions in its main bar, as does Dalston’s The Haggerston and The Royal Albert pub in New Cross.
