Best value for money, cheap or free stuff for tourists in London

[Prettydress]

Am hoping to take the kids to London but on a budget. Can you recommend fun stuff that is either really good value for money or free? Would have loved to have taken them up the Shard or on the Eye but I just can't afford it so was going to take them on the Emirates Skyline instead - stuff like that.... ! Also any cheapy but tasty food recommendations. The kids love the tube so spending hours getting somewhere isn't a problem! Thanks. X

If your DC like wandering round, buy a treasure trail - they are £10 and take you on a walk where you have to solve clues. They take maybe 90mins to do.

There are loads of different ones, covering different areas of London. My DC still enjoy them and they are 16 & 14!

I hadn't read the whole thread but has anyone mentioned the Grant Museum of Zoology (gruesome and fascinating, especially the jar of moles) and the Petrie museum? Both are free, in similar locations (run by UCL). We love them. Very close to the British museum too. Nearby is also The Wellcome trust and the Crick Institute - both of which have free exhibitions. Not far away is Coram's Fields and id also recommend stopping in Gordon's Square for a coffee and cake from the little shed cafe and sit and enjoy the surprising peace of Bloomsbury.
Also recommend Camley Street Natural park which is also nearby-ish at Kings Cross, not far away from that is st Pancras old church which has amazingly peaceful grounds and the (Thomas) Hardy tree growing over old gravestones (plus other noteable burials including Mary Wollestonecraft who lived nearby). Over the canal from Camley gardens (using a footbridge) you can get to Granary Square, which has bijou shops, a street food market, dancing fountains (full of kids getting wet), some history and access to lovely canal walks.

Some absolutely wonderful suggestions on here, that I never knew existed!

Sir John Soanes Museum is fascinating.
The Museum of Methodism includes a tour round John Wesley's house.
Dennis Severs house, think you have to pay.
Leighton Hall.

Borough Market isn't a cheap outing. Eventually it's no fun unless you buy stuff and it's all ££££.

The main free things are all the museums and they fill a lot of time.

They aren't good but the OP asked for free or cheap. We ate for free with clubcard vouchers.

My kids loved Borough market. We bought rainbow bagels. Couple of quid. They were happy.

If you are on a budget the Too Good to Go (can't remember name exactly) app is brilliant in London. We tried it for fun (it doesn't really exist in our town) and got great meals from restaurants in Edgware Road. One restaurant even asked us what we wanted!

Honestly it would be much nicer to just buy sandwiches etc from tesco and find a gorgeous spot with a view to sit and eat

Omg I thought this thread had dissipated. What amazing ideas ❤️ I will read them all properly and let you know what we do!

Marking place with nothing useful to add.

We haven't been anywhere this summer (work pressure, other reasons too outing to mention) so I'd love to treat DD's to an extended weekend in London next month.

Would an AirBnB be cheaper than a hotel? It would just be us 3. DD's also love their vintage clothes shops, crystals, books etc. Any market suggestions for a general mooch?

Thanks for such a great thread OP - I'm building a list!

Didn't mean to kill your thread OP 🙈

Hiya @WelshMoth . We stayed at the première inn in Heathrow for 2 days which cost £150 with unlimited breakfast for 1 adult and 2 children both days! It was easy to drive to without having to go into London and I paid £10 a day for airport parking. I did a couple of air bnbs over the summer and tbh as nice as it is having a kitchen etc having to bloody tidy up someone else's house before I left wore a bit thin especially when I paid a hefty cleaning fee and went back to a post packing chaos mess!! Hotels are definitely easier in that respect!

Can't recommend any markets, sorry!

Not sure if they would be interested but this is free. I want to go there.
London Silver Vaults

We found it fun just riding the top deck of the usual red buses - the tours were really expensive. We researched the routes in advance. Next time we're going on the river buses.

Following

@WelshMoth, have a look at Greenwich market - it used to be best on a Sunday but I'm not sure now. It sprawls across a lot of Greenwich including the covered market and the area next to the cinema further up. You can also get an Uber boat there if you're staying more centrally, which is lots of fun.

Camden Passage ( in Islington go figure , Angel Tube) is a good but pricey market for mooching. You could go and get someOttolenghi food afterwards. Or walk dow Chapel Market which is a very traditional London street market, going up Chapel Market is a must for most Islington residents on a Saturday afternoon.

If no one has recommended it already Borough Market is fun. Its a foody market that usually has free samples.

It's busy though.

It's busy though.

I dropped £50 in cash last time I was at Borough Market. I'm imagining someone enjoyed a bumper purchase at the chocolate stall....

My favourite chocolate stall isn’t at Borough Market any more :(. Artisan du Chocolat used to sell misshapes there but stopped around 2020.

Oh no! That was my favourite too! was going to suggest this when someone else was talking about the cost of things at Borough but as I’ve not been for some time I didn’t know if they were still doing them. Sad times!

Brilliant thread. Some great ideas. Sorry to derail slightly, but does anyone have any handy hints how to get cheaper tickets for Matilda The Musical? Would love to take my little girl in October, but tickets seem to be over £100 each!

For tube lovers, Westminster Station is fantastic. The lift from the Elizabeth Line to Liverpool Street station runs on a diagonal next to the escalator

@WelshMoth we stayed in a Premier Inn just behind the London Eye. It was about £75 a night for a family room sleeping 4 - we did book nearly a year in advance though! Premier Inn breakfast is good as under 16s eat free with a paying adult so you can fill up for a reasonable price before heading out.

So many great suggestions!.
Yes, use Tesco vouchers and Too Goid to Go to eat cheaply.
Markets, Borough, Portelbello, Spitalfields.
Museums, the Brands Museum is a paying museum but really lovely, looking at how brands and packing have changed. Science Museum is good fun.

Walking, all the big parks. Boat or DLR to Greenwich Park and Market. Walk through the foot tunnel, by the Cutty Sark, under the Thames.Walk along the Thames round Southbank. Walk at Greenwich to the O2and have a look around. Get the cable car over the Thames. You can go to the Flood Barrier at Charlton.
Graveyards, Nunhead Cemetery and Highgate are beautiful for walking round.

DLR, tubes, Elizabeth line all great for cheaply travelling and seeing lots of London .

Outside of central London, paying bit not expensive are Chislehurst Caves. Interesting and amusing tour. Caves were used for gigs and as air raid shelters in the past.

You'll be able to find lots to do which won't break the bank. Have a wonderful time.

Thanks @Gufo @Prettydress @viques and @LBOCS2 - this is exciting!

I love visiting London but we went without a plan last time and DH said we'd mooch. Our 'mooch' turned into walking 12 miles and just walking past everything!