Unusual Places to Visit in London For Free

Offering panoramic views from the top of the "Walkie Talkie" building, this lush indoor garden is a peaceful escape from the city bustle. You do need to reserve a ticket to visit, but entry is free.

A rainforest hidden inside the Brutalist Barbican Centre, home to exotic plants, koi carp, and even a few turtles.

A lesser-known alternative to Sky Garden, this rooftop oasis is ideal for getting photos of London’s city skyline. Plus, you don’t need to reserve a space to visit this one. Just turn up (although, the locals use this as a lunchtime hangout so avoid the area then if you’re bothered by crowds).

Tucked away in Richmond Park, this woodland garden bursts with colour, especially during springtime.

The eccentric home of the 19th-century architect who designed it, and filled it with hidden panels, classical sculptures, and even an ancient sarcophagus. Free for everyone to enjoy.

Uncover the heart-wrenching history of London’s first children’s charity. Free to enter if you’re under 21 years of age.

A neon paradise showcasing vibrant, retro signage from decades past, full of the unexpected. Free to visit, but consider buying a coffee inside at the cafe (which is lovely and supports the museum’s continuation).

Two for the price of none: a top-notch art gallery and a real Roman Amphitheatre, preserved from Londinium.

A collection of the bizarre, featuring mummified animals, taxidermy, and a jar of Amy Winehouse’s cigarette butts.
Unfortunately not free to visit, but on Thursdays you can bag a ticket for just £4.

Inspired by Père Lachaise in Paris, it was founded by barrister and magazine editor, George Frederick Carden. There are tons of incredible people buried here, including (but not limited to): ballerinas, composers, Trinidadian musicians and an Ethiopian ruler.

Another of London’s Magnificent 7 cemeteries, once neglected, this is now a thriving nature reserve with a spooky past.

The hauntingly beautiful ruins of a medieval church destroyed in WWII, now a wonderfully overgrown public garden.

The unmarked burial site of London’s medieval sex workers, now a poignant memorial to London’s previously voiceless predecessors.

We never tire of trying to figure out what London looked like in centuries past, and if you can’t either, head here. This spot is the only place above ground in London that’ll give you a glimpse at what street-level looked like near the end of the Victorian era.

A stunning Victorian marketplace that doubled as Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter films. People have been shopping here since the Roman period when it was home to a Forum, and it’s also the spiritual home of Tom, a goose that was arrested in the 1800s for being drunk and disorderly.

While we’re on the Harry Potter theme, this alleyway is thought to have inspired Diagon Alley. Now lined with bookshops and places to buy trinkets, back in Edwardian times, this was the home of British (and foreign) cinema in London.

A grand Victorian terrace where one of the houses is actually just a façade, hiding a disused Underground line. Keep an eye out for the greyed out windows!

The Edwardian precursor to the EuroStar Tunnel, this walkway under the River Thames was originally built for commuting dock workers.

Speaking of the EuroStar, this is a disused EuroStar tunnel where street artists are free to spray-paint.

A grand, steampunk-like sewage station built after The Great Stink of 1858. Ornate, fabulous and practical. Note that you do have to pay to enter this one (£18 for the full guided tour) but it is absolutely worth it.

A floating bookshop selling secondhand books from a converted 1920s Dutch barge moored on the Regent’s Canal.

The self-procclaimed oldest pub on the Thames, and where the Pilgrim Fathers had their last meal and gathered provisions before setting sail for the New World in 1620.

A secret alley leading to a tiny beach on the Thames that was once one of the grimmest places in London. The neighbouring pub, The Prospect of Whitby, dates back to 1520, and during the Victorian era, an estimated 150-200 corpses a year washed up here.

Named (rather disparagingly, it must be said) by Lord Byron, this is London’s answer to Venice, where you can stroll past narrowboats and floating cafés on a network of London’s canals.