Cheap things to do in London: 50 fun things to do for less than the cost of a pint

Dive into the Renaissance equivalent of a mosh pit by getting a £5 standing ticket at Shakespeare’s Globe. The Bard’s goriest, bawdiest moments were designed to whip ‘groundlings’ into a frenzy. Turn up early and you’ll be so close to the action you can lean on the stage. Make sure to book early to grab these cheap, in-demand tickets. 

Shakespeare’s Globe. Blackfriars. £5.

Do you have a penchant for schlocky horror and low-budget sci-fi? Then you’ll probably love Bar Trash, a monthly film club hosting bargainous screenings encompassing all manner of cult, campy, B movie magic in Genesis Cinema’s brick-walled upstairs bar. As well as your chosen film, expect intros, themed cocktails, and prize giveaways to add to the fun. Or if you prefer blockbusters to B movies, adult tickets at the Mile End institution are just £7.25 from Monday to Thursday. 

Bar Trash. Genesis Cinema. £3.50.

The maverick architect who designed Tooting's stunning cinema-turned-bingo hall took inspiration from Russian churches, filling the space with grand gothic arches, intricate wood carvings and delicate paintings. Turn a night on the dabbers into a religious experience at this bonkers, beautiful venue. Prices vary by day and session, but more often than not, you can grab 18 tickets from just £1.50.

Buzz Bingo, Tooting. From £1.50.

Head to old-school Soho boozer The Blue Posts on a Wednesday or Sunday night, and you'll get to see a formidable line-up of comedians for just a fiver. Soho Comedy Factory assembles professional funny people, from telly stars to hot rising talents, into a surprise line-up that's bound to get you chuckling – or at least giggling nervously into your pint. If you want to guarantee entry, book online for an extra 70p. 

The Blue Posts. £7.

Learn how to reach a state of “thoughtless awareness” with the help of meditation experts Sahaja Yoga. All of their classes across London are completely free of charge, so you can find inner peace without worrying about your purse strings. You'll leave so zen you’ll be able to handle whatever dramas the rest of the week throws at you.

Various locations. FREE.

Sure, the London Aquarium is ever so big and has a shark pool, but good things also come in smaller packages. The Horniman’s more modest space can take you on an equally magical journey to the big guns, transporting you through the rivers and oceans of the world, from British ponds to Fijian coral reefs.

Horniman Museum. Forest Hill Overground. Museum entry free. Aquarium £6, £3 children.

Get a totally free education in cinema history at BFI's enjoyably named mediatheque, or film library. Each booth comes equipped with its own screen and headphone jack, letting you immerse yourself in a vintage flick, whether your tastes run to golden age musicals, retro sci-fi, or screwball comedy. If you can't make it to the library, you can stream from the archive online, too. 

BFI. Free. 

Treat your ears to some spinetingling sounds at Cecil Sharp House, which hosts Sharp's Folk Club, a series of open mic folksong nights on Tuesday evenings. You'll hear all kinds of traditional songs, from music hall ditties to folk ballads to retro skiffle. Feeling brave? You can sign up to share your own performance when you arrive, and you’ll get a £1 off entry for being so bold.

Cecil Sharp House. Tuesdays, from 7:30pm. £5, £4 for participants.

The history of Crystal Palace is full of thrills, spills, and hubris: once, an elaborate glass pavilion delighted millions of Victorian punters until financial ruin and fiery disaster razed it to the ground. Get the full story in an entertaining guided tour that runs on the first Sunday of the month all summer. But be warned, dino fans! The tour focuses only on the upper part of the park, and so contains no content about the infamously misshapen dinosaurs in the park's lower reaches. You'll have to mug up on those all by your lonesome.

Crystal Palace Museum. £5

Get up early and fill your arms with gorgeous blooms at Columbia Road Flower Market, which sells bargain flowers to a mix of professional florists and botanical thrillseekers. Tulips in spring, roses in summer, hydrangeas in autumn... If you plump for the pretty petals that are in season, then you'll be able to snag a bargain that'll brighten up your home for days.

Columbia Road Flower Market. 8am to 3pm. Prices vary.

Boat travel might seem like the kind of fancy-schmancy activity that's reserved for Londoners with cash to burn, but Thames Clipper's services are aimed at commuters, making them seriously affordable. Routes run right the way from Putney in the west to Barking in the east: time your trip at sunset for beautiful views over London's riviera. Sailing from Putney to Cadogan and Canary Wharf to Barking will cost you £5.60, but venturing into the waters in the central zone will set you back more.

Uber Thames Clipper. Prices from £5.60 for a single Oyster ticket.

In a city of endless Prets, switch up your lunch with something truly special. Go back in time at Rothe’s gloriously old-school deli that’s been making sandwiches every which way since 1900. It’s still run by the same family that opened it and serves up all the favourite fillings every lunchtime, except Sundays. 

Paul Rothe & Son. Bond St. Around £5.

If the phrase ‘Let’s play Seven Wonders’ means more to you than a Fleetwood Mac-related DJ request then you’re going to be pretty darn excited at the prospect of Draughts, a bar and café with more than 500 board games available to play at customers’ leisure. Access to the games library is available from £7.50 per person for up to three hours of gaming. The library includes everything from Articulate and Cranium to newer (and more complex) classics Carcassonne and Pandemic. Can’t decide what to play? A resident ‘game guru’ is on hand to offer guidance on which will suit your group best and how the rules work. And there’s draught beer, Ozone coffee and an all-day menu of burgers and tacos to keep you fuelled up as you play.

Draughts. £7.50 for one to three hours.

RECOMMENDED: Where to play board games in London

London’s very own cable car is a quixotic rival to the more pedestrian ways of getting around by walking, bussing and tubing. It offers gorgeous views over the Thames from inside a gently swinging gondola – what lingering motion sickness you might feel as you reach the route’s peak will soon dissipate as your eyes explore Greenwich’s fascinating, fast-changing docklands.

IFS Cloud Cable, between Greenwich Peninsula and Royal Victoria Docks. North Greenwich. £6.

Each night, the Yeomen Warders continue a 700-year-old key-swapping ritual – one of the oldest surviving enactments of its kind – as they lock up for the night. Its kept the Crown Jewels and, until the royal family moved out, many a monarch safe for centuries.

Tower of London. Tower Hill. £5.

Unless you’re supervising young children, it’s not usually appropriate for grown adults to be thrashing about in ball pits. At Ballie Ballerson, though, things are different. Return to the simple joys of childhood – aka submerging yourself beneath a ton of plastic balls – at this big kids' playground from just £6.50 between Sunday and Thursday.

South London’s indie-cinema stalwart PeckhamPlex has a powerful USP: all the hottest new movies at ’90s prices. Cheap tickets mean you can afford to take a chance, whether it’s braving a messed-up horror flick or checking out the work of local filmmakers. Pick up some popcorn and settle in. 

PeckhamPlex. Peckham Rye Overground. £5.99.

Why is Beigel Bake an institution? The answer’s in the window. A huge slab of succulent salt beef, carved to order. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a cheap eat in London more iconic than that stuff in a beigel. Order with as much mustard as you can handle and a whopping gherkin at any time you like – this joint is open 24 hours, seven days a week. 

Beigel Bake. Shoreditch High St Overground. £6.50.

This city’s greatest alumni are buried in the morbid marvel that is Highgate Cemetery. In the newer extension of East Cemetery, seek out the graves of Claudia Jones, mother of Notting Hill Carnival, and painter Patrick Caulfield, who designed his own headstone, spelling out the word ‘dead’. Does exactly what it says on the plinth. The East side is also the eternal resting place of the cemetery's most famous resident, Karl Marx. 

East Cemetery entry only £7 (does not include entry to full cemetery).

On the first Sunday of every month, visitors can see the 40,000-sq ft Baroque murals covering Greenwich’s Painted Hall for just a fiver. ‘Britain’s Sistine Chapel’ was painted more than 300 years ago and underwent a two-year restoration recently, keeping it fresh for many more years to come. 

Old Royal Naval College. Cutty Sark DLR. £5 on the first Sunday of each month, £16.50 otherwise.

Okay, it might seem ludicrous to fork out merely for the privilege of sitting down. But hear us out. Hiring a deckchair is more than just a way of preserving your summer linen suit from the scourge of grass stains: it's a way of joining London's lounging elite for a precious hour or two. Pretend the grass before you is your own rolling lawn, sip a Pimms in a tin, and you'll never want to go back to slumming it on ordinary benches again.

Various royal parks. £4 for an hour.

Get the lift to the top of the Walkie Talkie, and you’ll emerge in a garden with sublime views of London. Spot Tower Bridge, The Shard, Wembley Stadium and more. Or kick back among the ferns and succulents that lushly carpet its floors to immerse yourself in nature in the middle of the city. 

Sky Garden. Monument. Free.

Named with commendable straightforwardness, the Monument is one of London’s OG tourist attractions. This 61-metre stone pillar memorialises the Great Fire of London and was built a few years after the 1666 disaster. The spiral staircase isn’t for the faint-hearted, but at least you’ll get your step count skyrocketing – and get to enjoy a piece of history while you’re at it.

The Monument. Monument. £6

The watery arteries that run through London are equally full of discarded shopping trollies and fascinating stories. Discover the latter at the London Canal Museum, which is packed with artefacts from the waterways’ heyday. The museum also boasts its own dock, complete with narrow boats and boat trips throughout the summer season, so you can get the full canal experience right here.

London Canal Museum. King’s Cross. £7.50.

Brixton's best-kept secret is a fully operational, 200-year-old windmill, which sits in secluded gardens just a short walk from Brockwell Park. It's usually closed to the public but opens its doors for one weekend a month when you can book a spot to climb its narrow winding staircase and hear its surprising history. Don't leave without a bag of freshly ground flour: the finest white powder to come out of Brixton. 

Brixton Windmill. Tours £5.

Boating excursions are a rom-com staple for a reason: floating, swan-like, above birdshit-filled water is extremely romantic. Take a date on a pedalo ride in Crystal Palace Park for a peek at the dinosaurs, in Dulwich Park to circumnavigate a secret island or in Greenwich Park to see geese galore. You won’t be able to recreate getting caught in the rain mid-row á la ‘The Notebook’, though – if rain is forecast, the service will be suspended.

Dulwich Park. West Dulwich rail. From Easter until the end of October. £6.

Greenwich Park. Maze Hill rail. From Easter until the end of October. £4.40.

Crystal Palace Park. Crystal Palace Overground. From Easter until the end of October. £6.

Pretty much everyone can spit a verse in the privacy of their own home. But could you do it in front of a crowd? Find out at Hip Hop Karaoke, where rap fans make like Drake or Cardi B on stage (and get a free drink for their efforts). Get practising, stat.  

Boxpark Shoreditch. Fridays from 6pm. Free

As far as niche museums go, the Fan Museum is up there as one of the most specialist in the city. Housed in a pair of Grade II-listed Georgian houses, the space pays fan-tastic tribute to the noblewoman’s most essential accessory. The collection includes a fan painted by artist Paul Gauguin, glam numbers from the ’20s and even concertina-ed retro adverts. Special exhibitions also deep dive into the use of different materials or the different events fans were used at the years.

The Fan Museum. Cutty Sark DLR. £5.

Open as wide as you can for Voodoo Ray’s extremely huge slices of very good New York-style pizza. The best in London? That’s a matter of opinion. But we do reckon these perfectly sloppy segments are the best you can get in Dalston or Peckham after midnight. A slice starts at £4.40 (for a piece of classic margherita) and tops out at £5.60. You can even sit in to enjoy your cheesy treat.

Voodoo Ray’s Dalston. Dalston Kingsland Overground. From £4.40 a slice.

The Barbican’s light-filled conservatory is an Instagram influencer hotspot for a reason: brutalist architecture and sculptural succulents are a combo made in design heaven. Explore its leafy delights for free on Sundays. Don’t forget to jot down the names of your fave ferns, intend to seek them out as houseplants and then never get around to it. If there’s a special exhibition on in the conservatory, you may need to book your free ticket in advance, so check before you visit.

Barbican Centre. Barbican. Free.

This sticky-carpeted paradise of Rowans is all about revisiting simple pleasures: playing arcade games, dancing to tinny R&B and getting brain freeze from a neon slushie (it comes in many flavours – they all taste identical and great). Entry is cheap, but prepare to spend more money for extras, like bowling and karaoke. 

Rowans. Finsbury Park. £1-£5 entry.

Don’t want none unless you got buns, hun? Well, you’re in luck, because Bun House offers towers of Cantonese-style pillowy steamed numbers filled with everything from pork to custard. If fluffy comfort food is what you’re craving, this house should become your home from home.

Bun House. Leicester Square. £7.60 for two.

Are there any Londoners hardier than the all-weather swimming crowd at Hampstead Heath Ponds? These bargain-hunting tough nuts get their thrills and chills for just £4.70, which allows access for a whole day. Sack off the gym pool and experience swimming al fresco – if you dare.

Hampstead Heath Bathing Ponds. Hampstead Heath Overground. £4.70.

London’s museums lead something of a double life, getting up to all sorts once the sun has set. South Kensington’s most venerable institutions have monthly after-dark openings that let you flit around their collections, dance to DJ sets and try your hand at activities inspired by their current exhibitions. The lates at the Science Museum and Victoria & Albert Museum are all free, although you can upgrade to a VIP experience for £12 at the former. 

South Kensington. Free (some lates are ticketed).

Come nose to nose with the most soulful of animals at Vauxhall City Farm, where you can get close up to and feed the goats. The farm’s furry friends will submit to a pat in exchange for a generous handful of grass nuts from the farm’s feed dispenser. Once you’ve got your goat fill, check out the rest of the menagerie – including alpacas, guinea pigs, sheep and more.

Vauxhall City Farm. Vauxhall. Free entry, donations welcome (suggested £3).

Don’t let tourists hog the Santander bikes. Those ruby numbers are your ticket to a whole load of adventure. A 30-minute ride time costs just £1.65 (every extra 30 minutes is another £1.65), or you can bag a £3 day pass for unlimited half-hour rides (again, rides longer than 30-minutes incur more charges). That means for less than a fiver, you could spend an hour cycling along the Thames from Battersea Park or spinning through the birthplace of GMT itself in Greenwich.

Various locations. £1.65 for a 30-minute ride.

Regent’s Canal offers an incredibly varied mix of things to look at. Start with the cybergoths of Camden Market, then head west to get a peek at London Zoo’s wild dogs, which live in a canalside enclosure. Enjoy watching them wolfing down hunks of meat suspended on a zipline by wily zookeepers. It’s almost like you’re in ‘The Lion King’.

Regent’s Canal. Camden Rd Overground. Free.

Want to feel like the fanciest diner in town? Head to Wright Brothers in Battersea, South Kensington, Soho, Borough Market or Spitalfields on weekdays between 3pm and 6pm. The long-running seafood sellers will let you knock back oysters for a pound a pop in the most luxurious happy hour around.

Wright Brothers. Various locations. £1 per oyster.

Sure, you can get a whole margherita pie at Pizza Union for £5.95, but did you know its frozen margaritas are even cheaper? Its locations might not be glamorous – including King’s Cross and Old Street roundabout – but with delicious drinks this cheap, you can at least pretend you’re living out your Miami pool party dreams.

Pizza Union. Various Locations. £5.50.

You might be surprised to learn that La Mer, arguably the fanciest purveyor of moisturiser in the world, dishes out free 15-minute facials at its counter in Harrods. There are five personalised services to choose from, with the company’s experts ready to tell you just how to make you skin sparkle. Bag yourself the golden-hued skin of a person much richer than you.

Harrods. Knightsbridge. Free.

Why pay a small fortune to watch Fulham men’s team kick a ball around, when you can see its women’s squad play at Craven Cottage from just five quid? The women’s team are part of the London and South East Regional League, meaning if you catch the footie bug, it’ll also be easy to follow them around away matches too.

Motspur Park. New Malden. £5. 

London's first mochi bar has come to Japan Centre, and it's a great place to indulge your taste for all things sweet, sticky, and glutinous. The mochi doughnuts (£1.99) are a perfect entry-level choice, or you can opt for ice cream, cookies, or traditional daifuku.

Japan Centre. From £1.99.

With a name that would make JRR Tolkien sit up and take notice, Severndroog Castle in deepest south London is a tiny but lofty folly built by an eighteenth-century lady as a memorial to her husband. Visit for panoramic views of the capital, ancient woodland and general spooky chills, then relax with a slice of homemade cake from the ground floor tea room.

Severndroog Castle. Falconwood rail. Saturdays and Sundays. £4.

Battersea pub/all round fun palace Four Thieves has bargainous entertainments galore, including quizzes, comedy, and karaoke. So it would be easy to overlook its upstairs floor of arcade games, but why would you? Test your prowess at childhood faves like Dance Dance Revolution or table hockey, or check out the rare retro games and VR booths.

The Four Thieves. From £2.

Holborn alternative art den Novelty Automation is full of mechanical weirdness putting a DIY spin on traditional seaside arcades. Grab a fistful of tokens and try your hand at ‘Is It Art?’, which will cast an expert (robotic) eye over your creations, or learn quantum physics with the ‘Small Hadron Collider’. A good, kitschy time is guaranteed. 

Novelty Automation. Holborn. £5 per five tokens.

Bao’s steamed buns might get all the glory, but the Taiwanese joint’s soft drinks are under-the-radar gems of hydration. Think peanut milk or ice-cream floats made with Yakult (easily London’s most fun way to improve your gut flora). Once you've quenched your thirst, head to the private karaoke rooms out back to sing your heart out. 

Bao Borough. London Bridge. £5.50-£5.75.

Combine the brain-sapping properties of beer and the brain-stretching qualities of a good quiz and you've got a perfectly balanced night out. London's pubs are great at laying on weekly quizzes, with approaches that vary from straight-up trivia to hands on rounds where you've got to fiddle about with bits of plasticine. Check out this handy interactive map documenting all 517 of London’s pub quizzes and find your local.

Cocktail aficionados will know that sometimes the price of a lovely concoction can be more eye-watering than the drink itself. That’s not the case at Swift during Aperitivo hour – every Monday to Friday before 6pm you can nab one of their aperitif cocktails for just £7. Whether you opt for a mandarin Bellini or miru mira, be warned – these bad boys are strong.

Swift. Tottenham Court Road. £7.

If you've got an insatiable appetite for all things rich and chocolatey, you might still find your match at Italian Bear, which serves up hot chocs so thick they demand to be eaten with a spoon. Order yours with an additional triple chocolate drench and your entire mug will come coated in three colours of molten goo. Delicious, but oh so very messy.

Italian Bear, Soho and Fitzrovia. From £6.90.

It's rare you can find big slabs of stuffed sandwiches in London for cheap these days, but St John Bakery in Neal's Yard has got our backs. Their sarnies are some of the biggest you've ever seen, but will only set you back £5.50. There are three flavours on offer, and a wealth of other sweet and bready treats to indulge in, too. 

St John Bakery. Neal's Yard. £5.50.