10 THINGS TO DO IN LONDON (ALMOST ALL FREE)

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This list of best things to do in London It will help you to make the most of this impressive city, which we are sure will surprise you, and not miss anything important.
Relax in its parks, tour the markets, climb to the viewpoints at sunset, go shopping, try all kinds of dishes and gastronomy in the world, visit the most important museums or stroll through its charming neighborhoods are just some of the experiences that make indeed the phrase that when one is tired of London, one is tired of life; because in London there is everything that life can offer.

Based on the times we have visited this city, the last one staying in Notting Hill for a month, during which we wrote this travel guide to London, we have made a selection of the 10 best things to do in London for free (almost all). We start!

1. Find a bargain in street markets

The markets of London, all of them different and authentic, are one of the main reasons to make a trip to London.
In these street markets you will find everything from food stalls from different parts of the world to antiques, through second-hand clothes, flowers, souvenirs, top quality products and all kinds of handmade items.
Among our favorite markets are:

Brick lane: It stands out for the large number and variety of covered and street markets with all kinds of food items and stalls. Open on Sundays from 10am to 5pm.
Portobello: It is one of the largest in the world in antiques and is located in the beautiful neighborhood of Notting Hill. The best day to visit it is Saturday, when all the stalls are open.
Candem: It is the most picturesque market with more than 1000 stalls and alternative stores, being some of the best located in the Camden Stables Market area. Although it is open every day, it is recommended not to go on a weekend because of the large number of people.
Borough and Maltby Street: the two best food markets in London to try local and international dishes. Maltby only opens on Sundays and Borough is recommended not to go Monday or Tuesday, since these days do not open all positions.
Leadenhall: a beautiful covered market that served as inspiration to recreate the Diagon Alley of the Harry Potter saga. Opens every day.

Brick Lane Market

2. Climb to some viewpoint at sunset

One of the essential things to do in London It is to climb one of the best viewpoints in London an hour before sunset from where you can see the entire city skyline, full of old buildings and green areas, while the sun sets and the city lights.
Although there are several options in the city, our favorite viewpoint is The Shard, the tallest and with the best 360 degree views of the entire city. You can book your ticket here in advance so you don't run out of space.
But if you are looking for a free viewpoint, we recommend you go up to the terrace of the Tate Modern Museum or the Sky Garden, although do not forget that in the latter you have to make a reservation on this page before, since entry without reservation is not allowed.
Two other spectacular viewpoints are the two terraces of the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral and the London Eye. In this famous ferris wheel of 135 meters high it is advisable to book this ticket in advance if you do not want to waste much time in the queue.

Views from The Shard

3. Visit all tourist attractions

There are many essential places to visit in London such as Big Ben, the Palace and the Westminster Abbey, the Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square or Buckingham Palace, between Many others.
Something important before traveling is that in some of them, especially in high season, long lines are formed, so it is very important to trace the routes of each day well and visit these more tourist places in the early hours or late afternoon .
To know all these places and many others, you can follow these personalized guides according to the days you have:

San Pablo's cathedral

4. Discover less known places

In addition to visiting all the most famous points of interest, one of the best things to do in London for free, is to discover less known corners but with the same charm.
During our last trip of a month we were able to discover many of them, some of them very photogenic and perfect for the typical photo, of which you can see some examples in the Instagram account of Street Travelers.
Among the ones we liked the most are:

St Dunstan in the East: a beautiful garden located among the ruins of a church.
Leake Street Tunnel: a tunnel full of spectacular graffiti near the Waterloo station.
Neal's Yard: a corner full of color in the Covent Garden neighborhood.
Ebury street: the more instagram street from London with numerous shops full of flowers, among which Peggy Porschen cupcakes and Les Sentureus perfumery.
Daunt Books: a beautiful Edwardian bookshop located in the charming neighborhood of Marylebone.
House of Minalima: a colorful shop where you can see the graphic designs of the Harry Potter universe.
The churchill Arms and Crown & Anchor: two of the most photogenic historical pubs in London.
Warren mews: a quiet postcard alley.
Clifton Nurseries: our favorite London coffee shop, located in a greenhouse and surrounded by plants and flowers.

Leake Street Tunnel

5. Enter the most important museums

London has an endless cultural offer that highlights some of the most important art and antique collections in the world and thanks to that, these are also one of the best things to do in London for free, since in the city it is possible to see all these historical objects and paintings of great masters, in their fantastic museums, without paying a pound.
Among this list of the best museums in London is the third most visited museum in the world and our favorite in the city, the British Museum. This museum has some unique pieces such as the Rosette Stone, the Elgin Marbles, the Moai Hoa Hakananai'a or the Chess of the Isle of Lewis, among many others.
Although the museum is free, it is highly recommended to book a guided tour in Spanish with an expert in art and history or book this free tour of the museum, Free! To know all the details of the most famous pieces.
Our second favorite museum is the Natural History Museum where we recommend visiting the dinosaur hall and the hall, where the impressive skeleton is suspended from a huge blue whale.
If you have more time you can visit other interesting museums such as the National Gallery, the Science Museum, Madame Tussauds, the Tate Modern and the Victoria and Albert.

Visit the Natural History Museum, one of the best things to do in London for free

Recommended travel cards
Remember that in order not to pay commissions and always have the current change we recommend you use the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.

6. Taste the local and international cuisine

Another of the best tips for traveling to London is to try their copious local food in a traditional pub accompanied by a good pint of ale. Although you can not forget that in addition to English food, the city has an extensive offer of international restaurants to try the most characteristic dishes of each country.
Among the English taverns recommended to try dishes such as fish and chips, sunday roast, pie, banger and mash or the fabulous Ox Wellington are The Red Lion, The Swan and Duke of Wellington.
Other international restaurants we tried and loved were the Indian Dishoom, the Lebanese CERU, the MBER fusion food, the Greek Kalamaras and the delicious Honest Burgers burgers.
If you are desserts and sweets we advise you to devour a delicious Ben's Cookie and try the ice cream with Chin Chin cookie.
If you are looking for good places to eat we recommend consulting this post about the best restaurants to eat in London.

Fish and chips

7. Stroll through its well-kept parks

Relaxing walking through the well-kept parks like Hyde Park, St James's Park or Regent's Park is another one of the things to do in London for free that we like more and that are more recommended whatever the duration of your trip.
Hyde Park is the park we know best and our favorite, a perfect place to walk, run or just sunbathe or read in which our favorite corners are the gardens of Kensington Palace, Speaker's Corner, Lake The Serpentine and The rose garden.
Another of our favorites is St. James's Park, located very close to Buckingham Palace where you can disconnect from the noise of the city walking along the shore of its lake full of swans and ducks.
Regent's Park is also a perfect park to walk around and discover magical places like the Rose garden and the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew, this already paid, which we discovered on the last trip, is also a beautiful park in which its huge greenhouses stand out full of flowers and exotic plants from different parts of the world. You can book the ticket here.

St James's Park

8. Shopping, another one of the best things to do in London

London, next to New York, is known as the city of shopping by having a large number of shopping streets such as Oxford Street and Regent Street in addition to many shopping centers such as the exclusive Harrods and Harvey Nichols.
If you approach here, do not forget to go around Carnaby Street, one of our favorite shopping streets, where you can enjoy a picturesque street with shops of usual brands and other less known.
If your preferences go through more original places we recommend the neighborhood of Camden, Covent Garden, Soho or the famous Portobello Road of Notting Hill and if you are looking for luxury stores, it is best to go through Bond Street, where brands are concentrated more exclusive like Chanel or Versace.

Carnaby street

9. Get lost in the most charming neighborhoods

Another of the best things to do in London for free It is walking through the best known neighborhoods of the city, each with its particularities and essential places, which we are sure, will become part of your most unforgettable memories of the city.
Among our favorite neighborhoods are:

Notting hill: Famous for its carnival, the Portobello Market, its colorful houses and for being the scene of the movie Notting Hill, starring Julia Roberts.
Marylebone: a residential neighborhood with Victorian architecture where you find independent boutiques, small bookstores, beautiful mews or alleys, good restaurants and designer cafes.
Soho: art galleries, fashion shops and historic pubs that fill up in the afternoon, form one of the most famous neighborhoods of the city in which Chinatown is also part
Mayfair: an exclusive neighborhood with elegant Georgian houses, luxury shops and gourmet restaurants.
Covent Garden: Around a beautiful covered market, street artists, the city's big theaters, pedestrian streets, shops and pubs are concentrated.

Notting hill

10. Take a tour or excursion

A good way to know the history of the city and its anecdotes is to book this complete city tour with a guide in Spanish or one of these free tours in London. Free!
If you also have extra time, you can complete the city tours with an excursion to some of the wonders that are nearby such as visiting the studios of Harry Potter, Oxford or Stonehenge.
You can do all these excursions from London by free, using the train and bus, or in an organized way by booking one of these comfortable tours with a guide in Spanish:

- Book Harry Potter tour at Warner Studios
- Book Oxford excursion by train
- Book a tour to Stonehenge by bus

Many more tours and excursions in London here.