The good news is that some of London’s biggest attractions don’t cost a penny. Here are three ways you can see the sights of London for free.

1. Museums and art galleries
All public museums and galleries are free (though donations are always appreciated). The British Museum has been free since it opened in 1753 and as a pure museum (rather than a museum / art gallery like the Louvre in Paris or the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC) it is unrivalled in the world. This is where you can see some of the world’s greatest treasures, including the Parthenon Marbles, and the Rosetta Stone. It’s also a very cool building with the stately 18th century architecture combined with the Norman Foster-designed Great Court.

Other major museums and galleries, such as the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, the Tate galleries, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Natural History Museum, have been free since 2000 and are funded by public lottery money.

2. Parks and gardens

London is deservedly famous for its parks and gardens. Go for a walk or a picnic in Regent’s Park, join the skaters in Hyde Park (or take to the road on an organised street skate), visit the Peter Pan statue or the Princess Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens, feed the ducks in Green Park or St James’s Park. (See the Royal Parks website).

Slightly further afield, you can visit the Japanese Garden in Holland Park, picnic by the Buddhist Peace Pagoda in Battersea Park, go horse riding where Henry VIII hunted at Richmond Park (the horse riding is not free, though the park is), or enjoy the best views in London from Parliament Hill after swimming in the natural pools at Hampstead Heath.

An honourable mention goes to Highgate Cemetery, where Karl Marx and George Eliot, author of Middlemarch, are buried among others. There’s a £3 entry fee so it’s not quite free but it’s good value.

3. Walks

Walking is a good way to see the city and keep fit. Guided walks are good value but if you don’t want to pay, there is nothing to stop you from taking your own walking tour. One of my favourite walks is from London Bridge (through Borough Market if it’s a Friday or Saturday) and along South Bank, past the Shakespeare’s Globe and the Tate Modern, and across the Millennium Footbridge to St Paul’s Cathederal. Other areas worth exploring include around Buckingham Palace and Mayfair, Kensington and Chelsea, Tower Bridge, and Hampstead. Thanks to English Heritage, buildings are marked with blue plaques to show where famous Londoners of the past have lived.

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This is part two of a five-part series on how to save money when visiting London. Yesterday we looked at transport and tomorrow we will investigate cheap entertainment. Don’t forget to add Roaming Tales to your favourites or subscribe via RSS.

Please share your money saving tips in the comments field.