London on a Shoestring from The World's Greatest Honeymoons

With all those glitzy shops and grand hotels, you can easily spend a fortune in London. But you don’t have to. Few of the world’s great cities offer so much opportunity to have a good time for absolutely nothing—or at least for very little money.

On-a-Shoestring Sightseeing • Accommodations •

Shopping Showtime • Snacking • Shopping

Sightseeing on a Shoestring

To enjoy London free of charge, just walk through it! It’s a huge city, but central areas are compact enough to explore on foot. Visitor Information centers provide plenty of ideas for self-guided walks. For an inexpensive sightseeing tour, take one of the many organized walks; they typically cost around £6 per person (some are free).

At any time of year, London seethes with activity and spectacle. Each of its neighborhoods is different—even those well off the tourist trails can be full of surprises. A sharp-eyed stroll through London’s historic quarters reveals a fascinating array of architecture and public monuments, the backdrop to a heady bustle of metropolitan street-life. Keep an eye out for “Blue Plaques” on buildings; they indicate the celebrity status of former residents. Discover the Square Mile’s mazelike alleys, where Roman walls rub shoulders with Christopher Wren churches and glittering modern office blocks. Follow the river along the Thames Path, or take a panoramic overview from any of its bridges. Soak up the scent of summer roses in Regent’s Park, or the jewel-bright rhododendrons of Richmond Park’s Isabella Plantation.

»»More ways to save money on your honeymoon

If your feet get tired, just hop on a London bus. It’s amazing how much you can see from the top of a double-decker. Lines 9, 11 and 15 take you past many central sights (on an old-fashioned Routemaster bus, if you’re lucky). To see less obvious aspects of London, take the above-ground Docklands Light Railway (DLR) through the rapidly regenerating East End, or a tram-ride through the southern suburbs. Cheapest way to use London’s public transport system is by prepaid Oyster Card, valid on buses, tubes, trams and the DLR.

London has well over 200 free museums and galleries, and many others cost less than a fiver. You can visit the permanent collections of world-class institutions such as the British Museum, the two Tates (Britain and Modern) the National Gallery, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the Science and Natural History Museums completely free of charge. Not to mention dozens of smaller, specialist museums scattered all over the city. Track down the Clockmaker’s Museum, the Bank of England Museum, the Museum of Garden History and the weird and wonderful Sir John Soane’s Museum. It would take months to explore them all, and there’s always something new on London’s listings. Latest treat is the avant-garde, admission-free Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea. Then there are the commercial art galleries—all welcome visitors who browse as well as buy—and, at the other end of the scale, the Bayswater railings where you can enjoy a free al-fresco art show.

If you’re an avid sightseer and want to catch lots of pay-to-enter attractions as well as free ones, consider one of the inclusive deals available, such as the London Pass (50+ pay-to-enter attractions). Be warned: to make the most of a pass like this means setting yourself a fairly grueling schedule.

Accommodations on a Shoestring

Accommodation is likely to be your biggest expense. Many London hotels are expensive, but there are ways to cut the costs. Pre-booked packages or special breaks can be excellent value, especially if arranged online through a reliable operator. For the best deals, either book well ahead or at the last minute. London is busy more or less all year round (mid-Jan/Feb is the nearest it gets to low season), but many business hotels charge lower rates at weekends. It’s always worth asking for a discount on rack rates. Check whether breakfast, VAT and service charges are included. Several budget hotel chains are well represented in London, including Travelodge, Premier Inn, and Ibis (pictured).

Also try London's official visitor site, which gives a "best-price" guarantee on hotel prices.

Showtime on a Shoestring

Tickets for top West End shows may cost a mint, but lots of London entertainment is completely free. Ceremonial occasions like the Changing of the Guard, the State Opening of Parliament, and the Lord Mayor’s Show attract many visitors, as well as street festivals and annual events. Chinese New Year, the London Marathon, the Notting Hill Carnival, and the Great River Race are regular fixtures on the capital’s social calendar. Jugglers, buskers and mime artists please crowds all summer in Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, and the South Bank.

To save booking fees on theatre seats, book in person at the box office rather than through a ticket agency. Avoid touts—those tempting offers may not be genuine. Some theatres, notably the National, offer a handful of standby or cheap same-day tickets for every performance (early birds snap up bargains as soon as the box office opens). The Globe Theatre sells standing-room tickets for just a fiver. Leicester Square’s theatre ticket kiosk run by London theatres—it’s known as Tkts—sells same-day top-price tickets at half-price (plus a service charge). Fringe theatre and cabaret or comedy shows at pubs and clubs generally start around the £10 mark, compared with £25+ at most of the main theatres, while drama school productions may be free.

You can pay the best part of £20 for a superior seat at one of the top West End cinemas in Leicester Square, but just a stone’s throw away in Leicester Place is the Prince Charles, an independent repertory cinema with showings from £4.00 (even cheaper for members). Mainstream chain cinemas such as Odeon or Cineworld sometimes offer cheap deals before midday, or on quiet weekdays.

Look out for free music in many of the city’s churches (lunchtime concerts take place somewhere most weekdays) or bands in public parks. There are free jazz sessions at the National Theatre and the Barbican foyer, and live opera is sometimes relayed in summer on huge outdoor screens in Covent Garden piazza or Trafalgar Square. Lunchtime rehearsal concerts are free or very cheap at London’s music conservatoires (Royal Academy of Music and Royal College of Music), and studio audiences can attend BBC broadcasts from Maida Vale free of charge too (book well in advance for these). Most famous of London’s musical happenings are the Proms or promenade concerts at the Royal Albert Hall and Cadogan Hall, where same-day standing-room-only tickets are sold for £6 or so.

If you’re over 60, ask about price breaks (take some identity); some reductions are available for disabled visitors too.

Snacking on a Shoestring

If you’re on a strict budget, opt for self-catering. Buy ready-made sandwiches or market provisions and enjoy them in local parks or squares, just as many Londoners do during their lunch hours. Choose self-service cafés or snack-bars in less fashionable parts of town rather than conventional restaurants, though set-price lunches or pre-theatre suppers can be very good value, even in famous establishments. Well-known, reliable chains like Spaghetti House or Pizza Express can fill you up for a moderate outlay. Gastropubs offer flexible dining and drinking throughout the day. The best serve excellent “modern British” cooking, but drinks can easily add as much to your bill as food.

Ethnic eating is amazingly varied in London—few national cuisines aren’t represented somewhere in the city (the fastest-growing ethnic cuisines these days are Thai and Japanese). Brick Lane’s Bangladeshi curries and Jewish bagels are famous, while in Chinatown you can stoke up on dim sum for very little money. For something more homegrown, try afternoon tea, pie-and-mash, or fish-and-chips. Check your bill, and don’t feel obliged to leave tips in pubs and bars, or if service is already included.

Shopping on a Shoestring

There’s no charge for window-shopping. You can visit the Silver Vaults and ogle designer wear at Harvey Nichols or jewelry in Hatton Garden without a penny in your pocket. Sales hit London in January and July, when canny shoppers turn out in force to snap up bargains. Best-value mainstream department stores are John Lewis (“never knowingly undersold”) and Marks and Spencer. Check out second-hand or discount shops like Rokit or Beyond Retro for vintage and designer clothing. London’s markets are always full of life and color. Berwick Street and Borough are good for specialist food products, Columbia Road for flowers, Camden Passage and Portobello Road for antiques and collectables, Greenwich and Covent Garden for arts and crafts. Best hunting grounds for second-hand books are Charing Cross Road or Riverside Walk under Waterloo Bridge (South Bank).

And do remember that visitors who live outside the European Community and leave within 3 months can claim back the VAT (value added tax) charged on most goods sold in the UK. You need to fill in VAT 407 refund form from the store and have it stamped by the VAT refund office at the airport or port. »»A VAT overview

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Thanks to VisitBritain & Lindsay Hunt for this article, which WGH has edited. Photos: Dilliff (London at Dusk) and UniSouth (bus)—both under GNU license)