FREE THINGS TO DO IN LONDON

Enjoy...

London Bridge tube and rail stations

Open: Monday – Thursday 8:30am – 6pm;

Fridays, 8.30am – 5.30pm

Admission Free

Designed by Foster & Partners, this 45m tall,

eco-friendly rotund glass structure leans away from the

river. Home to London’s metropolitan government, it has

a huge aerial photo of the city you can walk on the lower

ground floor Visitor Centre and a cafe.

Lambeth North tube or Elephant & Castle tube stations

Open 10am – 6pm daily.

Admission free.

Antique guns, tanks, aircraft and artillery are parked up in the

main hall of this imposing edifice, which illustrates the history

of armed conflict from World War I to the present day. The

tone of the museum darkens as you ascend: the third floor

Holocaust Exhibition is not recommended for under 14s; The

ongoing ‘Children’s War’ looks at what life on the Home Front

was like for kids.

Southwark tube or London Bridge tube/rail stations

Open 10am – 6pm Mon –Thurs, Sun 10am – 10pm Fri, Sat

Tours hourly, 11am – 3pm daily

Admission free

Thanks to its industrial architecture, this powerhouse of

modern art is awe-inspiring even before you enter. It shut

down as Bankside Power Station in 1981, then opened as a

spectacularly popular museum in 2000. The gallery attracts

five million visitors a year to a building intended for half that

number, and work has begun on a dramatic £165m, pyramid-

like extension, due complete in 2012. Work displayed by

various artists including Matisse, Rothko, Bacon.

Waterloo tube/rail station

Open 11am – 7pm Mon – Sat; noon – 6pm Sun

Admission free

This extensive, recently restored mural depicts the

extraordinary jumble of 20th-century events through the

roughly painted faces of Bob Dylan, Winston Churchill and

many, many others. It’s the work of Polish-born expressionist

Feliks Topolski, who made his name as war artist in World War II – he was an eye witness to the horrors of Belsen.

London Bridge tube/rail station

Bermondsey Street has become rather cool over the last few

years. Slick shops include Bermondsey, a Brazilian concept

store that marries impeccable interior design with highbrow

fashion; Amanda Thompson’s indulgently feminine Pussy

Willow, posh pet accessory shop Holly & Lil and Cockfighter,

for T-shirts and sweaters. Even the Fashion & Textile Museum

has a little shop to showcase design talent. In a new square,

a boutique hotel and art-house cinema complete the picture.

Open: 11am – 5pm Thurs;

noon – 6pm Fri;

8am-5pm Sat

The market, which occupies a sprawling site near London

Bridge, is a major tourist attraction.

Gourmet goodies – rare breed meats, fruit and veg, cakes,

preserves, oils and teas.

The market is also open on Thursdays, usually quieter than

always-mobbed weekends – Saturday is monstrously busy.

Westminster tube station

Admission Visitors’ Gallery free.

Tours £12 free- £8 reductions

Visitors are welcome to observe the debates at the House of

Lords and House of Commons – Prime Minister’s

QuestionTime at noon on Wednesday is often fiery – but the

tickets must be arranged in advance through your embassy or

MP. The best time to visit is during the recess, when tours –

taking in ancient Westminster Hall are organised. Most of the

original Parliament buildings were destroyed by fire in 1834,

with the current neo-Gothic extravaganza completed in 1860.

Leicester Square tube or Charing Cross tube/rail stations

Open 10am-6pm Mon-Wed, Sat, Sun; 10am-9pm Thur, Fri

Admission free.

The gallery has everything from oil paintings of stiff-backed

royals to photos of soccer stars and gloriously unflattering

political caricatures. The portraits of musicians, scientists,

artists, philanthropists and celebrities are arranged in

chronological order from the top to the bottom of the building.

Leicester Square tube or Charing Cross tube/rail stations

Open 8am-6pm daily.

Built in 1726 by James Gibbs, the church has recently

benefited from a £36m refurbishment. The bright interior has

been fully restored, with Victorian furbelows removed and the

addition of a lovely, controversial altar window that shows the

Cross, stylised as if rippling on water. The crypt, its cafe and the London Brass Rubbing Centre have been updated.

Pimlico tube station

Open 10am – 6pm daily;

10am-10pm 1st Friday of mth.

Admission free

Housed in a stately Portland stone building on the riverside,

it’s second only to the National for historical art in London.

The collection of British art includes work by Hogarth,

Gainsborough, Reynolds, Constable, and Turner. Modern

Brits Stanley Spencer, Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon are

well represented, and the Art Now installations showcase up-

and-comers. The handy Tate-to-Tate boat service zips to Tate

Modern every 40 mins.

Victoria tube/rail

Open 7am-6pm Mon-Fri;8am-6:30pm Sat;

8am-7pm Sun. Bell Tower 9:30am-4:30pm Admission free,

donations appreciated.

Bell Tower £5; £2.50 reductions

With domes, arches and a soaring tower, the architecture of

the most important Catholic church in England (built 1895-

1903) was heavily influenced by Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia

mosque. Inside are impressive marble columns and mosaics,

and Eric Gill’s sculptures of the Stations of the Cross. A lift

runs up the 273ft bell tower.

Green Park or Victoria tube/rail stations

Open State Rooms mid July-Sept 9:45-6pm daily.

Queen’s Gallery 10am-5:30pm daily.

Royal Mews Mar-July, Oct 11am-4pm Mon-Thurs, Sat, Sun;Aug Sept

10am-5pm daily.

Palace £16.50; free-£15 reductions.

Queens Gallery £8.50;free -£7.50 reductions.

Royal Mews £7.50; free-£6.75 reductions £20 family.

The present home of the British royals is open to the public each year while

the family Windsor are away on their summer holidays; you’ll be able to

see the State Apartments, which are still used to entertain dignitaries and

guests of state. At other times of year, visit the Queen’s Gallery to see the

Queen’s personal collection of treasures. Further along Buckingham

Palace Road, the Royal Mews is the home of the royal Rolls-Royces, the

splendid royal carriages and the horses that pull them.

St James’ Park tube station

Open 10am-4pm daily.

Admission £3 - £2 reductions

This small museum tells the 350-year story of the Foot

Guards, suing flamboyant uniforms, medals, period paintings

and intriguing memorabilia, such as the stuffed body of a

Victorian mascot, Jacob the Goose.

St James’ Park or Westminster tube stations

St James’ Park, founded as a deer park, was remodelled on

the orders of George IV. The central lake is home to

numerous species of wildfowl, including pelicans that are fed at 3pm daily, and the bridge offers a great snap of the palace.

Piccadilly Circus tube stations

Open 8am-6.30pm daily

Admission free

Consecrated in 1684, St James’s is the

only church Sir Christopher Wren built

on an entirely new site. This is a busy

church, providing a home for the William

Blake Society, and hosting markets in

the churchyard: antiques on Tuesday,

arts and crafts from Wednesday to

Saturday.

The Piccadilly Circus tube or

Charing Cross tube/rail stations

Open: noon-11pm Wed; noon-1am Thur-Sat;

noon-9pm Sun.

Exhibitions noon-7pm, Mon-Wed, Fri Sun; noon-9pm, Thur

Admission free

This centre for adventurous arts is facing difficult times, go and

support it.

South Kensington tube station

Open 6:30am-8pm daily

The second biggest Catholic church in the country (after

Westminster Cathedral) was completed in 1884, but it feels

older – partly because of its baroque Italianate style, partly

because much of the decoration pre-dates the structure:

Mazzuoli’s late 17th-century apostle statues are from Siena

cathedral, for example.

South Kensington tube station

Open 10am – 5.50pm daily.

Admission free

Opened in 1881. The vast entrance hall is taken up by a cast of

a diplodocus skeleton, the Blue Zone has a 90ft model of a blue

whale, and the Green Zone displays a cross-section through a

giant sequoia tree – as well as an amazing array of stuffed birds,

among which you can compare the fingernail-sized egg of a

hummingbird with an elephant bird egg as big as a football.

Some 22 million insect and plant specimens are housed in the

new, eight storey, white Cocoon of the Darwin Centre.

South Kensington tube station

Open 10am – 5.45pm daily

Admission free

Only marginally less popular with the kids than its natural

historical neighbour, the Science Museum celebrates technology

in the service of daily life: from Puffing Billy, the world’s oldest

steam locomotive (built in 1815), classic cars, to the Apollo 10

command module. In the Welcome Wing, the Who Am I? Gallery

(revamped for summer 2010) and Launchpad gallery features

levers, pulleys, explosions and all manner of experiments for kids.

A £4m climate science gallery opens in Autumn 2010.

Lancaster Gate or South Kensington tube stations

Open 10am – 6pm daily

Admission free

This secluded, small and airy gallery mounts rolling, two

monthly exhibitions by up to the minute artists, along with

the annual Serpentine Pavillion project (June-Sept), a

specially commissioned temporary structure designed by

internationally renowned architects.

South Kensington tube station

Open 10am-5.45pm Mon-Thurs, Sat, Sun; 10am-10pm Fri

Admission free

The V&A is a superb showcase for applied arts from around

the world, it also contains some stunning new galleries –

notably the wonderful new Medieval and Renaissance

Galleries. On the first floor, the new Theatre and the

Performance Galleries showcase the best of the performing

arts, the William & Judith Bollinger Gallery of European

jewellery showcases Catherine the Great’s diamonds and the Gilbert Collection presents gold snuffboxes and urns.

Knightsbridge tube station

Open 10am-8pm

All the glitz and marble, the store that boasts of selling

everything; it’s hard not to leave with at least one thing you’ll

like. New additions to the legendary food halls and

restaurants include a branch of the Venetian Caffe Florian and

the 5J ham and tapas bar, but it’s on the fashion floors that

Harrods comes into its own, with well-edited collections from

the heavyweights.

Knightsbridge tube stations

Open 10am – 8pm Mon-Sat; noon-6pm Sun

The swanky department store feels like it’s coasting a

little, but you’ll still find a worthy clutch of unique

brands. In beauty, there’s Rodial and New York fave

Bliss; for shoes, there are exclusives from the likes

Alejandro Ingelmo and Camilla Skovgaard; in

womenswear, check out Derek Lam and Les

Chiffoniers. There’s a fine food hall on the fifth floor.

Sloane Square tube station

Open: 10am-5.30pm daily

Admission free

More entertaining than its rather dull exterior suggests, this

museum of the history of the British Army kicks off with

‘Redcoats’, a gallery that starts at Agincourt in 1415 and

ends with American War of Independence. You’ll also find

some fingertips, frostbitten on Everest and Dame Kelly Holmes’ gold medals from Athens 2004.

Sloane Square tube station

Open: Apr-Sept 10am-noon, 2-4pm Mon-Sat; 2-4pm Sun.

Oct-Mar 10am-noon, 2-4pm Mon-Sat.

Admission free.

About 350 scarlet-coated Chelsea Pensioners (retired

soldiers) live here, men and – since 2009 – women. Their

quarters, the Royal Hospital, was founded in 1682 by Charles

II and the building was designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

The museum has more about their life.

Sloane Square tube station

Open 10am-6pm daily.

Admission free.

Charles Saatchi’s gallery has three floors, providing more

than 50,000sq ft of space for temporary exhibitions.

Although you might catch the end of ‘Newspeak: British Art

Now’, this is erstwhile champion of Brit Art is mainly featuring

global art nowadays. Still, some of Saatchi’s more famous

British acquisitions – among them the brilliant sump-oil

installation 20:50 – remain on permanent display.

Bond street tube station

Open 10am-5pm daily

Admission free

This handsome house, built in 1776, contains an

exceptional collection of 18th-century French painting and

objets d’art, as well as a fine array of armour and weapons.

Open to the public since 1900, room after room contains

Louis XIV and XV furnishings and Sevres porcelain, while

the galleries are hung with paintings by Titian, Velaquez, Fragonard and Gainsborough.

Green Park or Piccadilly Circus tube stations

Open 10am-6pm Mon-Thur, Sat, Sun

10am – 10pm Fri.

Admission free.

Britain’s first art school, founded in 1768, moved to the

extravagantly Palladian Burlington House a century later.

Shows in the John Madejski Fine Rooms – drawn from the

RA’s holdings ( which range from Constable to Hockney) –

are free.

Green Park tube station

Open 9am-5pm Mon-Fri

Admission free

The Royal Institution has been at the forefront of scientific

achievements for more than 200 years. Following a

complete rebuild, accessibility is now the key word: a

revamp of the Michael Faraday Laboratory ( a replica of

the electromagnetic pioneer’s workspace); a new events

programme, with light-hearted Family Fun Days; and the

Time & Space restaurant cafe.

Oxford Circus tube station

Open 7am-7pm daily

Admission free

This 1850s church was designed by William

Butterfield, one of the great Gothic Revivalists. Behind

the polychromatic brick facade, the shadowy , lavish

interior is one of the capital’s ecclesiastical triumphs.

Russell Square or Tottenham Court Road tube stations

Open 10am-5.30pm Mon-Wed, Sat, Sun;

10am-8.30pm Thur, Fri.

Sat Admission free

The British Museum was built in 1847. This landmark

surrounds the domed Reading Room, where Marx, Lenin,

Dickens, Darwin, Hardy and Yeats once worked. Star exhibits

include ancient Egyptian artefacts and Greek antiquities. The

King’s Library is a calm home to a 5,000-piece collection

devoted to the formative period of the museum.

Goodge Street or Warren Street tube stations

Open 1-5pm Tue-Fri; 10am-1pm Sat

Admission free

Where the Egyptology collection at the British Museum is

strong on the big stuff, this fabulous hidden museum is dim

case after dim case of artefacts. Among the oddities are a

4,000 year old skeleton of a man ritually buried in a pot. Wind

up torches help you peer into the gloomy corners.

Holborn or Tottenham Court Road tube stations

Open 11am-5pm Sat; 10:30-5pm Sun

Admission free

Consecrated in 1730, St George’s is a grand and typically

disturbing work by Nicholas Hawksmoor, with an offset,

stepped spire that was inspired by Pliny’s account of the

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. Highlights include the

mahogany reredos, and 10ft high sculptures of lions and

unicorns clawing at the base of the steeple. There are guided tours and regular concerts.

Euston or King’s Cross tube/rail stations

Open 9.30am-6pm Mon,Wed,- Fri; 9:30am-8pm Tue;

9.30am-5pm Sat; 11am-5pm Sun

Admission free

The interior is a model of cool, spacious functionality, its

focal point the King’s Library, a six-storey glass-walled tower

housing George III’s collection in the central atrium. One of

the greatest libraries in the world, the British Library holds

more than 150 million items. In the John Ritblat Gallery, the

library’s main treasures are displayed: the Magna Carta,

original manuscripts from Chaucer and Beatles lyrics.

Euston Square tube or Euston tube/rail stations

Open 10am-6pm Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat; 10am-10pm Thur;

11am-6pm Sun Admission

Founder Sir Henry Wellcome, a pioneering 19th-Century

pharmacist and entrepreneur, amassed a vast, grisly

collection of implements and curios – ivory carvings of

pregnant women, used guillotine blades, Napolean’s

toothbrush – mostly relating to the medical trade. It’s now

displayed in this swanky little museum, along with works of

modern art. The temporary exhibitions are usually

wonderfully interesting.

Covent Garden tube station

Visitors flock to Covent Garden Market for its combination of

shopping, out-door restaurant and cafe seating, performances

by street artists and classical music renditions in the lower

courtyard. Most tourists favour the old covered market which

combines a collection of small and sometimes quirky shops.

The Apple Market in the North Hall, has an either arts and crafts on Tuesday to Sunday or antiques on Mondays.

Covent Garden or Leicester Square tube stations

Open: 9am-4.30pm, Mon-Fri;

9am-12:30pm, Sunday

Admission free

Known as the Actors’ Church, this magnificent

building was designed by Inigo Jones for the Earl of

Bedford in 1631. Thespians commemorated on its

walls range from those lost in obscurity to those

destined for immortality.

Farringdon tube/rail station

Open: 10am-5pm Mon-Fri; 10am- 4pm Sat.

Admission free

A collection of artefacts (illuminated manuscripts, armour,

Islamic items) related to the Order of Hospitaller Knights,

from Jerusalem, Malta and the Ottoman Empire, is on display

here. A separate collection relates specifically to the

evolution of the modern ambulance service. The Museum is

due to reopen this year after major refurbishments; phone or check the website for up-to-date details.

Holborn tube station

Open: Tuesday – Saturday,10am-5pm

Admission free

John Hunter (1728-93) was a pioneering surgeon and

anatomist, and a physician to King George III. His huge

collection of medical specimens can be viewed in this

museum. The sparkling glass cabinets belie the goriness of

many of the exhibits – these include various bodily mutations,

the brain of 19th century mathematician Charles Babbage and

Churchill’s dentures.

St Bride’s, ‘the journalists’ church’, contains a shrine to

reporters killed in action. The interior was rebuilt after being

bombed out in the Blitz. Down in the crypt, a museum

displays fragments of the churches that have existed on this

site since the sixth century and tells the story of the

newspapers on Fleet Street. According to local legend, the

spire was the inspiration for the classic tiered wedding cake.

Temple tube or

Blackfriars rail stations

Open: Mon-Fri, 8.30am – 5.30pm;

Saturday, 11am – 3pm;

Sunday, 11am – Noon and

6.30pm – 7.30pm

Admission Free

Holborn tube station

Open: 10am-5pm, Tue—Sat; 10am-5pm, 6-9pm 1st Tue of

mth Admission free

Architect Sir John Soane (1753-1837) was an obsessive

collector of art, furniture and architectural ornamentation, partly

for enjoyment and partly for research. He turned his house into

a museum. Much of the museum’s appeal derives from the

domestic setting, but the real wow is the Monument Court. At its

lowest level is a 3,000 year old sarcophagus made of alabaster.

Fleet Street EC4Y 7BB (www.templechurch.com)

Temple tube station Open 2pm-4pm,Tue-Fri

Admission free

The quadrangles of Middle Temple (www.middletemple.org.uk)

and Inner temple (www.innertemple.org.uk) have been

lodgings for training lawyers since medieval times, with

Temple Church – the private chapel of the mystical Knights

Templar, its structure inspired by Jerusalem’s Church of the

Holy Sepulchre – serving the religious requirements of both.

Its rounded apse contains the worn gravestones of several

Crusader knights.

Bank tube station

Open 10am-5pm Mon-Fri

Admission free

Housed in the bank’s former Stock Office, this engaging

museum explores the history of the national bank. As well

as a rare chance to handle a 13kg gold bar, you can learn

about Kenneth Grahame: the author of The Wind in the

Willows was a long-term employee here.

Barbican or St Paul’s tube stations

Open 10am-6pm daily

Admission free

This museum (set in the middle of a roundabout) tells the

history of London. Themes include ‘London Before London’ –

flint axes, fossils, grave goods – and ‘Roman London’, which

has a reconstructed dining room complete with mosaic floor.

Sound effects and audio-visual displays illustrate the medieval

city, as well as cases of shoes and armour.