Borough Market
Borough Market is London's oldest food market, trading since the 13th century beneath the Victorian railway arches by London Bridge in London. Entry is free.
Park in London
Hampstead Heath
Partly free, partly paidSome of it costs nothing, some of it charges.
Hampstead Heath is a vast ancient heath of 320 hectares in North London with swimming ponds (free or cheap), woodland walks, and the best panoramic view of the London skyline from Parliament Hill. Free. The heath feels like genuine countryside despite being 20 minutes from central London by Tube. Budget travelers swim in the open-air bathing ponds (small per-swim charge), walk to Parliament Hill for the skyline view, and discover the London that Londoners love most.
The Heath costs nothing to enter and stays open all year. Parliament Hill is the budget headline: its summit holds one of London’s protected views, so the full skyline from St Paul’s Cathedral to the Shard is free to anyone who walks up. The three bathing ponds (men’s, ladies’, and mixed) ask only a small fee per swim, which makes open-air swimming here far cheaper than any pool in central London. The men’s and ladies’ ponds swim all year for the committed, while the mixed pond runs through the summer months. On the northern edge, Kenwood House opens its rooms and its art collection for free, with free grounds to picnic in. For a skyline-view pairing on the same trip, Primrose Hill sits to the south and is also free, and the Victorian sprawl of Highgate Cemetery is a short walk east. Within central London, the great free museums and the royal parks like Regent’s Park and Hyde Park keep the rest of the day cheap.
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Before you go
- Address
- Hampstead Heath, London
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More in London
Other places worth the walk, and what each one costs.
Brick Lane
Brick Lane is the heart of London's Bangladeshi community, a curry-house spine through Shoreditch and Spitalfields that doubles as the city's loudest open-air street-art gallery. Free to walk, and one of the best-value corners of East London for a budget traveler.
British Museum
The British Museum in Bloomsbury is one of the greatest museums in the world, and entry to the permanent collection is completely free. The Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon (Elgin) Marbles, the Egyptian mummies, and the Enlightenment Gallery are all here.
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch and one of the city's signature free sights. Nobody pays to stand at the gates, photograph the famous balcony, or watch the Changing of the Guard, which makes it a reliable anchor for a no-cost day in central London.
Camden Market
Camden Market is a sprawling complex of connected markets, stalls, and food vendors around Camden Lock in Camden Town, north London. Free to enter, and one of the city's most visited attractions. For a budget traveler it is a full afternoon that costs nothing until the moment a street-food box is bought.
Columbia Road Flower Market
Columbia Road Flower Market is a Sunday-only street market in Shoreditch, East London, where vendors pack a narrow Victorian street with flowers, plants, bulbs, and garden supplies. Free to walk and browse, and one of the cheaper ways to spend a Sunday morning in the East End, especially when paired with Brick Lane a short walk south.
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