Cheap things to do in London
Free museums, market mornings, and dinners that won't hurt your bank balance.
This is London for people who know that the best of the city costs almost nothing: world-class museum collections with free entry, street food that earns critics' nods, parks you can sit in all afternoon, and pubs that have been pouring pints for a century or two. Three days covers Soho, Mayfair, and the East End without a single eye-watering bill.
Day 1: Soho, the museum, and the park
A free morning at the British Museum, Sri Lankan hoppers for lunch in Soho, a walk in St James's Park, and Persian kebabs for dinner.
- 9:30 AM
Redemption Roasters
A Drury Lane flat white from the roaster that trains people in prison as baristas.
Map - 10:30 AM
The British Museum
Free and vast, pick one wing (Egyptian or Parthenon), about 90 mins is plenty.
Map - 12:30 PM
Hoppers
Sri Lankan on Frith Street; an egg hopper with a kari and the bone marrow varuval to share.
Map - 4:30 PM
St James's Park
Free and lovely: walk the lake, spot the pelicans by Duck Island and take a deckchair if the sun is out.
Map - 7:30 PM
Day 2: Wallace Collection and Mayfair squares
Old Masters free at the Wallace, Syrian lunch atop Kingly Court, then Kricket and its sister bar SOMA side by side on Denman Street.
- 9:30 AM
Chestnut Bakery Belgravia
Solid neighbourhood bakery coffee to kick off the day cheap and cheerfully.
Map - 10:30 AM
The Wallace Collection
Free entry to one of London's best collections, Old Masters and ornate interiors, no ticket needed.
Map - 12:30 PM
Imad's Syrian Kitchen
Great-value Middle Eastern, great food at street-food prices, perfect for a thrifty lunch.
Map - 4:30 PM
Berkeley Square
A free sit under Mayfair's giant plane trees, planted in the 1780s, between the galleries and Soho.
Map - 7:30 PM
- 9:15 PM
Day 3: Brick Lane, the market, and Spitalfields
A salt-beef beigel at dawn, Columbia Road on a Sunday morning, a BYOB Pakistani grill, and a Victorian pub that earns its own mythology.
- 9:30 AM
Beigel Bake
Open around the clock on Brick Lane; get the hot salt beef beigel with mustard, carved to order.
Map - 10:15 AM
Columbia Road Flower Market
Sundays only, 8:00 to 15:00: buckets of cut flowers, bulbs and the traders' patter; plan this day for a Sunday.
Map - 12:30 PM
Tayyabs
Whitechapel Punjabi grill since 1972; sizzling lamb chops and seekh kebabs, and bring your own beer.
Map - 2:15 PM
Tower of London
1,000 years in one fortress: the White Tower, the Crown Jewels and a Yeoman Warder tour; do the Jewels first.
Map - 7:30 PM
Gunpowder
Small Indian plates on White's Row; the spicy venison doughnut and Mrs Singh's lamb chops are the order.
Map - 9:00 PM
The Ten Bells
The Ten Bells is a storied Victorian pub right by Spitalfields, great real ales and buzzy local crowd.
Map
Where to stay
The Z Hotel Soho
Compact, clean rooms from about £60 a night, a two minute walk from Soho's dinners.
YHA London Oxford Street
A tidy hostel with private rooms on a quiet Soho street, walking distance from every stop on days one and two.
Make London your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- Tower of London: weeks ahead
- The British Museum: a few days ahead
- National Gallery: a few days ahead
- Tate Modern: a few days ahead
- West End: weeks ahead
- Sky Garden: weeks ahead
Skip these
- Madame Tussauds and the big paid immersive experiences around it.
- The London Eye at full price in a midday queue and the Shard viewing platform, when free views exist.
- Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus restaurants, Angus Steakhouse type chains and any place with a tout.
- Oxford Street candy and souvenir shops. Buy nothing there.
The full London travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around