Things to do in London
Free museums, markets, rooftops and comedy clubs. London has more to do than any weekend can hold, so here's where to start.
Pick a vibe
Covent Garden
Colourful Neal's Yard
A tiny, brightly painted courtyard hidden behind Seven Dials.
Whitechapel
A Night at Wilton's Music Hall
The world's oldest surviving grand music hall, beautifully crumbling.
Forest Hill
The Overstuffed Walrus
A free museum in Forest Hill famous for its overstuffed walrus, with gardens and views over London.
Hampstead Heath
Sunset over the City from Parliament Hill
The protected view of St Paul's and the skyline, best as the sun goes down.
Bankside
The Free View from Tate Modern
Giant art in an old power station, and a free viewing level over the Thames.
City of London
Free Views from the Walkie-Talkie
London's highest public garden, and it's free if you book a slot ahead.
Haggerston
Hackney City Farm
A free little farm off Hackney Road with pigs, goats and a good café.
South Kensington
Rockets and Steam at the Science Museum
Real space capsules, steam engines and hands-on galleries. Free to get in.
Barbican
The Jungle in the Barbican
A hidden tropical conservatory on top of a concrete arts centre.
Holland Park
The Kyoto Garden
A Japanese garden with a waterfall, koi and peacocks wandering about.
Bloomsbury
The Rosetta Stone and Friends
Two million years of history under one roof, and it's free.
South Kensington
Get Lost in the V&A
Fashion, jewels and giant plaster casts in the world's biggest design museum. Free.
Maida Vale
Painted Boats in Little Venice
Walk the canal from Little Venice towards Camden past rows of painted narrowboats.
Bethnal Green
Sunday Flowers on Columbia Road
Get there early for the best blooms, or late for bargains as traders shout last orders.
Trafalgar Square
Sunflowers on Trafalgar Square
Van Gogh, Turner and Leonardo, free, right in the middle of town.
Waterloo
The Graffiti Tunnel Under Waterloo
A legal graffiti tunnel where the walls change week to week.
City of London
The Heroes of Postman's Park
A tiny park with a wall of tiles honouring ordinary people who died saving others.
City of London
Victorian Leadenhall Market
A painted Victorian market hall that played Diagon Alley in the first Harry Potter film.
Clerkenwell
Ride the Mail Rail
Little trains through the Post Office's secret railway under London.
Leicester Square
Stand-Up at The Comedy Store
London's most famous comedy club, just off Leicester Square.
Soho
Late Jazz at Ronnie Scott's
Soho's legendary jazz club, open late since 1959.
Covent Garden
London's Oldest Restaurant
Rules has been serving in Covent Garden since 1798. Think game, pies and puddings.
Primrose Hill
Picnic and Sunset on Primrose Hill
A grassy hill with one of the best free views of the London skyline.
Greenwich
Stand on the Prime Meridian
Put one foot in each hemisphere, then take in the view from Greenwich Park.
Bloomsbury
The Jar of Moles
A tiny free museum packed with skeletons, specimens and one very famous jar of moles.
Regent's Park
Lions and Penguins at London Zoo
The world's oldest scientific zoo, right in Regent's Park.
Holborn
The Strangest House in London
An architect's home crammed with treasures, mirrors and an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus. Free.
Westminster
Underground in the Churchill War Rooms
The secret bunker where Churchill ran the war, left as it was in 1945.
Covent Garden
Bacon Naan at Dishoom
Bombay café breakfasts in Covent Garden. The bacon naan roll is legendary.
Greenwich Peninsula
Cable Car over the Thames
Glide high over the river between Greenwich and the Royal Docks.
South Kensington
Dinosaurs and a Blue Whale
A cathedral of a museum where a blue whale hangs over the main hall. Free.
Euston
Medical Curiosities at the Wellcome
A free museum of medicine, bodies and very odd objects.
Isle of Dogs
Mudchute City Farm
A huge free city farm on the Isle of Dogs, with llamas and pigs under the Canary Wharf towers.
Walthamstow
Neon Wonderland in Walthamstow
A warehouse crammed with glowing neon signs, some made for films.
Lambeth
Planes in the Atrium at IWM London
Spitfires and rockets hang in the atrium of this free museum.
South Bank
A Wander Along the South Bank
Book stalls, street performers and the Thames, from the London Eye to Tower Bridge.
Shoreditch
Bagels and Vintage on Brick Lane
Grab a salt beef bagel, then dig through the vintage shops.
Richmond
Deer Spotting in Richmond Park
Hundreds of wild deer roam London's biggest royal park.
Dunstable
Elephants and Rhinos at Whipsnade Zoo
The UK's biggest zoo, on the Chiltern Hills: drive or walk round 600 acres of animals.
Battersea Park
Battersea Park Children's Zoo
A small zoo for little ones, with meerkats, otters and farm animals in Battersea Park.
Piccadilly
Breakfast at The Wolseley
A grand old café on Piccadilly, at its best first thing in the morning.
Bethnal Green
Fry-Up at E. Pellicci
A family-run East End café since 1900, with a listed Art Deco interior.
Southwark
Graze Your Way Round Borough Market
London's most famous food market: try three things you've never eaten.
Leicester Square
Sing-Along at the Prince Charles
A cult cinema off Leicester Square famous for sing-alongs and all-night film marathons.
Tooting
Swim at Tooting Bec Lido
One of the biggest open-air pools in England, lined with colourful changing doors.
Bermondsey
Weekend at Maltby Street
Food stalls squeezed under railway arches: smaller and calmer than Borough.
Greenwich Peninsula
Climb Over the O2
Harness up and walk right over the roof of the O2 to a summit 52 metres up.
Soho
Dim Sum in Chinatown
Lanterns, roast duck in the windows and dim sum to share.
Brixton
Eat Your Way Round Brixton Village
Covered arcades full of tiny restaurants from all over the world.
Camden
Street Food Lap of Camden Market
Hundreds of stalls by the canal: eat your way round the world in an afternoon.
Hampstead Heath
Wild Swim in the Hampstead Ponds
Cold, green and wonderful: London's famous swimming ponds.
Kew
Treetop Walkway at Kew
Walk through the treetops, then warm up in the Victorian Palm House.
Piccadilly
Afternoon Tea at Fortnum's
Scones and finger sandwiches in the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon on Piccadilly.
City of London
Breakfast 40 Floors Up
Duck & Waffle sits on the 40th floor of a City skyscraper. Order the namesake.
Tower Hill
Walk the Glass Floor of Tower Bridge
Stand 42 metres above the Thames on the high-level walkways.
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