The hustling and bustling metropolis that is London remains enduringly popular with day trippers and tourists alike. Many millions of visitors, in fact, flood into the capital each and every year. There are a multitude of reasons why London is their destination of choice, but always toward the top of the list is the sheer number of free attractions found within the city. The following are ten of the best free places to visit in London, from literally hundreds of possibilities.
The Natural History Museum
Always one of London’s most visited attractions, the Natural History Museum provides fun for all the family. Exciting interactive exhibits regularly delight children, and young and old alike can marvel at displays of dinosaur bones, scientific specimens and other wonders.
Richmond Park
London may be a busy and a working city but there are also oases of calm and greenery to be found if you search hard enough. Richmond Park is just such an area, and offers the added bonus of allowing visitors to marvel at the beauty of its population of deer.
Platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross
A railway station may not seem like much of an attraction, but King’s Cross is certainly an exception – especially for Harry Potter fans. The station, after all, includes the legendary platform 9 ¾ from those books and offers a wonderful opportunity for a Harry Potter themed photograph.
The Imperial War Museum
An absolute must for anyone with a passion for history, the Imperial War Museum is yet another world renowned attraction that can be enjoyed entirely without charge. The entire modern history of warfare is told in compelling style and wonderful exhibits including a number of real Victoria Cross medals can provide hours of interest.
St James’s Park
Another of London’s beautiful green spaces, St James’s Park makes for a great place to enjoy lunch or a picnic. If you stick around until 14.30 each day, too, you can enjoy the sight of the park’s resident pelicans being fed.
Vauxhall City Farm
One for the younger kids and the animal lovers, Vauxhall City Farm allows visitors to get up close and personal with a collection of adorable critters. Amongst the most popular residents of the farm are its ferrets, bunnies and alpacas, and visitors can even pet some of the friendlier inhabitants.
The National Portrait Gallery
If you want your trip to London to include a little bit of culture, you can’t go wrong with a visit to the National Portrait Gallery. Featuring beautiful paintings from an array of world famous artists, the subjects depicted in the gallery include royalty, celebrities and sporting icons.
The Changing of the Guard
London, and Britain more generally, is famous the world over for its pomp and circumstance, and there are few better examples than the Changing of the Guard ceremony outside Buckingham Palace. It is free to watch the ceremony from the Mall but unsurprisingly it does get very busy, so it’s advisable to arrive early.
The Victoria and Albert Museum
Another of London’s wonderful free museums, the V & A is famed for its more eclectic mix of exhibits. Amongst the marvels that visitors can enjoy are beautiful ceramics, exquisite furniture, striking sculpture and thought provoking paintings.
The Millennium Bridge
An iconic landmark of the capital ever since the early teething troubles which dogged its opening, the Millennium Bridge is ideally placed in one of London’s most popular areas. A stroll across from St Paul’s Cathedral on one side to Shakespeare’s Globe on the other, provides views of a plethora of London’s most famous buildings.