Fun, but cheap things to do in London for a day?

Question

Fun, but cheap things to do in London for a day?

Answer 1

Depending on where you're based you may want to get yourself a day pass for the tube and/or bus you can use it as much as you like.

I love London, it's full of culture, lots of beautiful old buildings and everything is surprisingly close together! All the museums and most art galleries are free to enter,(there are sometimes special collections that have an entrance fee) there are lots of different types of museum many with interactive sections.

I also love Covent garden, with street performers and the market it has a great atmosphere at this time of year, it is just up the road from Trafalgar square, with the museum and art gallery.

Depending on your budget, in Covent garden there's a ticket office where you can get last minute tickets to the theatre for a show, sometime they're cheap.

Baker street has Madame Tussuad's right next to the tube, not sure if that's free though, then next stop across or 5 minutes walk is a Chinese inside Marylebone tube station at the back which does really good really cheap selection used to be £2 will be more now, but not much. There are lots of cheap eateries around, as much as you can eat buffets or burger places.

There is Regents Park, and Hyde Park and sometimes there are concerts going on, but just walking around to see the sites, Westminster Palace, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and St. James Palace a short walk away just seeing these beautiful buildings is all free and The London Eye across the river is nice to look at even if you can't afford a ride.

Whilst Harrods might be expensive to shop in, it's free to look around and if you've never been there before, it's fabulous! If you want an inexpensive but impressive gift, why not choose a few chocolates from the confectionery counter? Just the box, ribbon and bag are fab!

You don't mention your budget, or what you like to do, or if you've been before, but hopefully there is at least something to do that you'll enjoy in this lot.

Answer 2

Most art galleries and museums in London are free to get in.  The Science museum, the V&A and the Natural History Museum are all next to each other.  If you bring a picnic you can have 3 full days out there.  Also the Tate Modern, National Gallery, Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain etc.  

You could walk down Bayswater to Kensington Palace gardens and enjoy the fountains if it's a nice day.  Regent's Park is also great for walking around in.  The Zoo is expensive but.... there's a cheaper way to see animals in London

Vauxhall City Farm

Battersea Children's Zoo

Mudchute

You can buy a one day travelcard and just enjoy the sights of London from local buses.  make sure you have your A-Z and you'll never get lost.

Answer 3

go on big ben...

Answer 4

Parks, churches/abbeys/cathedrals, museums, walk the southbank, public gallery in the Old Bailey.  You don't need to spend anything on these, I wish I was coming.

Those who are saying Madame Tussaud's - don't you know it costs a FORTUNE to go in there.

Answer 5

Madam Toussuad's Waxworks? (and no I didn't know it cost a fortune, but now I do!)

The Trocadero?

Hyde Park?

Cheaper still...visit a friend instead.  ;)

Answer 6

We took a bus tour that would allow stopping along the way for a side tour on your own and than simply catch the next bus and repeat the process.

Answer 7

See Big Ben, Feed the pigeons in Trafalgar square, go to

Buckingham Palace, Madam Tussuad's, have a nice time

Answer 8

Alot of muesems are free, what sort of thing you intrested in? just walk around, you'll find/see loads of stuff.

If your on your own, stay away from Big Ben, they'll think your a terrorist and will probably shoot you if you say something wrong.

Answer 9

London (rightly) has a reputation for being a really expensive place to live in, but for visitors there are so many wonderful things you can do here for free or very little.

Tussaud's, however, isn't one of them -- it's expensive. Its entry fees are similar to the Tower of London -- personally, I'd rather see a real Norman castle and real Crown Jewels than a bunch of fake celebrities ;D

Anyway... free stuff. =D

Just for starters, all the big museums are free... the Victoria & Albert, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum in South Kensington, the British Museum in Bloomsbury, and the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich.

If you want to visit Westminster Abbey or St Paul's Cathedral you would normally need to pay, but if you don't mind joining in a service (not just Sundays; services take place every day), then entry is of course free. Evensong (5pm) makes a lovely end to a day's sightseeing.

http://www.westminster-abbey.org/

http://www.stpauls.co.uk

The royal parks are all free to wander around, so you could take a picnic and enjoy it in St James's Park, for instance, then wander across to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard. Lots of free events happen in the parks during summer... have a look here to get a flavour of the different parks and what's on... http://www.royalparks.org.uk/

Exploring on foot is one of the most rewarding things you can do here -- after all, London evolved for centuries before anyone thought of motorised transport.

The Thames Path is just one of the wonderful marked trails through London which are easy to follow independently. See here for more info: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/walk... -- click on the menu for details of routes.

Then there are markets -- a fantastic day out people-watching, which doesn't have to be expensive. Portobello Road and Camden Lock are the two most famous markets (both busiest at weekends).

http://www.mynottinghill.co.uk/nottinghi... (nice little feature about the market)...

http://www.camdenmarkets.org/ (official site).

And there are lots of special events through the year that are completely free, too: for example, next month there's the Trafalgar Square festival (7-23 August) with stacks of free street entertainment: go here for more info on this and other events coming up this year http://www.london.gov.uk/gla/events/

Still got energy after all that daylight sightseeing? Quite a few clubs offer free entry if you get there early in the evening. Buy a copy of our weekly events bible, Time Out magazine, when you get here for details of what's on where.

For more ideas on what's good right now on the clubbing scene have a look here; as you see, in most cases you can call ahead (once you've arrived in town) and get your name on the list. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/clubbing/a...

Hoping you enjoy your time here: love from a Londoner born and bred. =D

Answer 10

Have a look at what users of the Enjoy England website have said about their 'Best free day out ' in London, there are lots of great ideas -

http://www.enjoyengland.com/your-england...

Hope you find something great to do!