Free Attractions in London

It’s not all about paid attractions in London. The city offers many free things for families to enjoy such as gardens and parks, museums and Galleries.   

London’s Royal Parks such as Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park and The Regents Park are all well known for their beauty, walking and star spotting!  

KENSINGTON GARDENS 

Kensington Gardens covers 275 acres and is designed with beautiful trees and flower beds.  Nestled within the gardens is Kensington Palace, Italian Gardens, The Albert Memorial, The Peter Pan Statue and the Serpentine gallery. The gardens are popular with sunbathers, walkers, family picnics, cycling on the designated cycle paths and joggers.  Diana, Princes of Wales Memorial Playground is also in the gardens and can be enjoyed by children up to the age of 12.  The park is open from 6am until dusk every day. 

HYDE PARK 

Hyde Park is situated in the heart of London and covers 350 acres. The park is made up of over 4000 trees, a lake, a meadow and horse rides.  In the park is the famous Diana Fountain, The 7th July Memorial, The fabulous Serpentine Bar and Restaurant, The Lido Swimming Pool and Paddling Pool, Serpentine Boat Hire, and a Tennis Centre.  The park is used for a variety of sport such as football, touch rugby, cricket, softball, rounders and Frisbee. Cycling, rollerblading and skateboarding is also allowed on the designated cycle path.  There is also a bowling green that is available for hire. The Hyde Park horse riding arena has two designated riding routes as well. 

 

THE REGENTS PARK 

This park covers 410 acres and is well known for its stunning roses. The gardens contain more than 300,000 roses from over 400 different varieties of rose. The main attractions of the park consist of The Hub, Queen Mary’s Gardens, an Open Air Theatre, Garden Cafe, a Lake with a Boathouse cafe and a pub and of course London Zoo is nestled within the grounds as well.  The Regent’s Park is renowned for its sporting activities such as tennis/netball courts, an athletics track, trim trail, cricket pitches, softball, football and rugby. Boating is also available on the main lakes. The park opens at 5am until around dusk. 

For more information on all of these London Royal Parks and others click here: http://www.royalparks.org.uk/ 

 

 

Put some culture into your life and take a look at London’s famous Museums and Galleries.  Discover the remains of dinosaurs or look in wonder at the Tate art.  England’s capital offers some of the best cultural delights that the rest of Europe cannot compete with. What are you waiting for, broaden your horizons and become a wealth of knowledge! 

BRITISH MUSEUM 

The British Museum is London’s biggest and most diverse museum on offer. Track your history and the history of other cultures to discover how and why we developed into what we call our civilization. The British Museum's collection of seven million objects representing the rich history of human cultures mirrors the city of London's global variety. In no other museum can the visitor see so clearly the history of what it is to be human. It is also free to get in and the museum often operates tours and guest speakers. For more information visit www.britishmuseum.org  

THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM 

The natural History Museum is an enormous museum which houses dinosaur skeletons, stuffed tigers and lions and a majestic reproduction of a blue whale. This is the perfect place to take kids or anyone interested in the natural world. Entrance to the museum is free but there is sometimes a charge for the temporary exhibitions that are often displayed at the museum. For more information visit http://www.nhm.ac.uk/ 

SCIENCE MUSEUM 

The Science Museum is the largest museum of its kind in the world. Explore the scientific advances of the last 300 years in over 40 galleries through over 2,000 hands-on exhibits. Science comes to life at this museum as you discover how, what, when, where and why! Entrance is free and for more information visit http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/ 

VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM 

The Victoria & Albert Museum houses collections of ceramics, furniture, fashion, glass, jewellery, metalwork, photographs, sculpture, textiles and paintings. This fabulous museum of art and design is unrivalled in its scope and diversity. You will find treasures from around the world dating back to over 3000 years ago. Entrance is free and for details visit www.vam.ac.uk  

TATE MODERN 

The modern Tate collection is housed in a converted power station on the south bank of the Thames. It’s worth coming here just to see the building, the Turbine Hall, which is on the ground floor and normally has one large piece of work which takes up the whole space. The permanent collection holds works by world famous modern artists such as Matisse and Monet and Picasso. Since it’s opening in 2000, the Tate Modern has become the most popular modern art gallery in the world. Entrance is free. For more details on the gallery visit www.tate.org.uk/modern/  

 

TATE BRITAIN 

This gallery is the best place to come if you want to see the work of Britain’s most famous artists such as Francis Bacon, William Blake and John Constable. You also get a chance to judge for yourself which artist you think should win the prestigious Turner Prize. Visit www.tate.org.uk/britain/   

NATIONAL GALLERY 

The National gallery is the large, grand building which forms one side of Trafalgar Square. The Gallery is home to an enormous collection of some of the most famous paintings in the world. You can see works by Van Gogh, Leonardo Da Vinci and Raphael and hundreds more... www.nationalgallery.org.uk  

If all that culture is just too much to take in then why not enjoy a guided tour where you just sit back and listen?  From the James Bond 007 Tour to a spooky tour of Jack the Ripper’s stomping ground or enthral the kids with a Harry Potter walk, a tour allows you to see all you want without the hassle of a map!