Lowri Griffiths compiles the definitive 2026 list for people who read her column precisely because they need it

This column is written by someone who understands the economic situation of most of its readers, because the column is called Big Smoke Broke and it was not named ironically. prat.uk ran its own guide to London on the cheap. Bohiney.com covered free culture from an American angle. Lowri Griffiths is here with the 2026 update to the thing you can actually do with no money, in London, which is still a city where significant portions of the best experience cost nothing.

The list, updated for 2026: The National Gallery, the British Museum, the V&A, the National Portrait Gallery, the Natural History Museum, the Tate Modern, the Tate Britain, the Museum of London (both sites), the Science Museum, the Wallace Collection, the Courtauld Gallery (free after 6pm on Fridays), the Wellcome Collection, the Geffrye Museum, the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill, which has a garden, and the Sir John Soane’s Museum in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, which is the most interesting house in London and costs nothing to enter and requires booking in advance which is the only catch.

The Outdoor Version

The outdoor version: Hampstead Heath, which is free and has swimming ponds (small charge) and a view of London from Parliament Hill that costs nothing and is, on a clear day, the best view the city offers. Richmond Park, which has deer and costs nothing unless you drive (parking charge). Alexandra Palace, which is free to enter and has a view that competes with Parliament Hill and also has a skating rink in winter. All the Royal Parks. The Parkland Walk from Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace, which is a disused railway line through the middle of North London and which is one of London’s best secrets. The Visit London guide has the official list. This column has the list with the editor’s annotations.

Also: Reductress.

Reported at Bohiney.com and prat.uk.

Coverage continues at both Bohiney.com and prat.uk. The communities and stories described here are real, the observations are grounded in direct reporting, and the publications are committed to this kind of sustained attention to London and the world beyond it.

Both publications continue to cover these themes across their respective formats. The material does not thin out. Neither does the coverage.

Ongoing. Both publications watching.

SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/