The London Pass gets you lots of entries

London is among the most expensive cities in the world, and there’s heaps to see and do! But you want to see London’s iconic landmarks without a pain in the pocket, right? To save over 50% of gate prices – get the London Pass.  To be honest, the pass is relatively pricey too – from £79 for adults and £56 for children for a one-day pass. And with more days added, the prices can go up to £137.  BUT, it can be so worth it if you have less time and want to see many of the city’s attractions in a limited period of time.

Get around town with the Oyster Card

A pre-loaded Oyster Card, is best to travel at a fraction of the cost of paper tickets!  Oyster Cards can have a capped amount, depending on whether you’re travelling off-peak times or not, and how many London Travel Zones you pass. Once you reach the cap, the rest of your travel is free for that day. You may choose a weekly cap too, if you’re planning to be around in London longer.

Walking is a pleasure (with comfy shoes)

Don’t know if you noticed, but London isn’t huge. So get immersive! Walking gives you unexpected delights as you explore the city on your feet. You’ll feel more connected, encounter more of London’s charming allure, find secret nooks and hideaways, quirky weirdness and stories at every turn!

More on a single bus fare

Public transport (even on your Oyster card) gets you rubbing shoulders with locals on a route that takes you leisurely past a ton of London’s sights. Window-watching is cool when you take the number 11 bus that gets you from Fulham to Liverpool Street, through Chelsea, Westminster Abbey, The Houses of Parliament + Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, The Strand, St Paul’s Cathedral and the Bank of England along the way. Cameras on the ready, for candid Instagram-able shots.

Taste the world through street food

No longer the cliché as the fish-n-chips capital – London serves up the world’s best cuisine and is full of enticing spots for you to try, including markets full of budget street food. For starters, you’ve got to get to Flat Iron Square and Maltby Street Market when hunger strikes.  World food and fresh produce to power you on your explorations.

Theatre is good and cheaper at off-West End venues

How can you not watch a play while in London!  Even if you are on a budget, you can experience the less expensive off-West End shows at The Old Vic, The Young Vic, The Donmar Warehouse, The Almeida and The Bridge Theatre. And if it’s sold out, you can get day tickets. We suggest you check early and book – you won’t be disappointed. Love Theatre keeps you updated on what’s on.

The weird and wonderful off well-trodden paths

Get an immersive, multi-sensory experience at the ruins of the Roman Temple beneath the Bloomberg Buildings. They have hundreds of excavated artifacts taking you back to London of AD 240. And there’s the British Film Institute Southbank’s Mediatheque, where you can choose and view British film and TV archives with over 85000 titles – for free!

Free walking/self-guided tours

Our favourite recommendation – where guides give you their particular insights and views of historical London. There are loads of free walking tours of London – from food to Harry Potter to Winston Churchill’s war rooms – anything that gets your fancy. While not exactly free, since tips are encouraged, they are technically pay-what-you-want tours. If you are totally broke, you don’t have to pay. But it’s good to reward the effort of the guides who inform and entertain you.

Some wonderful museums are free

From the big showstoppers such as The National Gallery, The British Museum, The Natural History Museum in Kensington and the Tate Modern on South Bank to smaller delights such as The Petrie Museum, London has a wealth of cool museums for you to explore. Even better… many of them are free.

Do the South Bank

Get an early start and begin walking first to get all the pretty sights in before being completely distracted by all the amazing fun stuff – from film festivals to orchestras, poetry readings to musical performances, you cannot get enough. To focus your walk, begin at the iconic Tower Bridge, get a look at the Tower of London, and make your way along the amazing views of The Southbank Centre, The London Eye, The Shard, London Bridge, The Globe Theatre, St Paul’s Cathedral, and The Houses of Westminster along the way. Keep walking if you’ve still got energy and go all the way to Richmond because the walk just gets prettier!

Taste-sample tidbits as you stroll through Borough Market

What’s it like to visit a market that’s over 1000 years old? Buzzing! Borough Market is every food-lover’s paradise, featuring cuisine from all corners of the globe. Do look around and keep an eye out for free samplings of delectables as you stroll before you make up your mind to tuck-in.  The market is located under Victorian railway arches, and open Monday to Saturday. You can grab-and-go breakfast or an inexpensive takeaway lunch and have it all sitting on the stepped seating areas in Jubilee Place with free water fountains near Maria’s Cafe, for you to refill your water bottle.  

London views to get you higher

Soak up amazing views from  the Queen Elizabeth Hall Roof Garden. You can access the top by climbing the quirky yellow staircase until you find the hidden garden which features a wildflower meadow and a woodland garden with spectacular views of the Thames river.  The Culpeper pub, with a secret rooftop garden complete with a greenhouse and a cocktail bar open in the summer. The Kyoto Garden in Holland Park is a typical oriental Japanese garden. And to top them all, the famous Kew Gardens, and other centuries old Royal Gardens in magnificent royal palaces, where famous royals strolled.

If these diverse experiences have only gotten your travel tastebuds tickling and you want to relish more of the London high, check out our itinerary for a weeklong adventure in this grand, old city!