London has a reputation for being expensive, and it's not entirely undeserved. But a brilliant Easter weekend in the capital doesn't require a massive budget. Some of the best West End shows start from under £25, many of the city's finest museums are completely free. There are parks, markets and riverside walks that cost nothing at all.

The trick is knowing where to look. Here's how to fill four days over the Easter bank holiday without emptying your wallet.

West End Shows Under £35

Theatre doesn't have to be a big-ticket expense. Several excellent West End productions have entry-level prices that compete with a cinema ticket.

MAMMA MIA! at the Novello Theatre starts from just £19, which is extraordinary value for a full-length West End musical. It's been running for over 25 years and still fills the theatre every night. The ABBA soundtrack is irresistible, the audience energy is always high and by the finale everyone is on their feet. 2 hours 35 minutes.

The Play That Goes Wrong at the Duchess Theatre starts from £32 over the Easter weekend. It's a slapstick comedy about an amateur dramatic society whose murder mystery production falls apart in increasingly spectacular fashion. You don't need to know anything about theatre to find it hilarious, and the physical comedy is astonishing. 2 hours 5 minutes.

Kinky Boots at the London Coliseum starts from £27. The Coliseum is the largest theatre in the West End, originally built as an opera house, and seeing a musical in that space is a genuine treat. Kinky Boots has a Cyndi Lauper score, a heartwarming story and a finale that brings the house down. 2 hours 20 minutes.

Free Museums and Galleries

London's national museums are free to enter, which gives you some of the finest cultural institutions in the world at no cost. Over Easter, they make perfect rainy-day alternatives or morning activities before an afternoon show.

The British Museum in Bloomsbury houses over eight million works spanning human history. The Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles, the Egyptian mummies. You could spend a whole day and barely scratch the surface. If you want a guided experience, tickadoo offers British Museum entry with an audio tour from just £4.

The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square has one of the greatest collections of Western European paintings in the world. Van Gogh, Monet, Turner, Rembrandt, all free. It's a 5-minute walk from most West End theatres, which makes it an ideal pre-show stop. For a guided tour, a guided tour starts from £19.

The Tate Modern on the South Bank is free for the permanent collection, which includes works by Picasso, Rothko, Warhol and Dalí. The building itself, a converted power station on the Thames, is worth seeing even if you're not particularly into art. The views from the upper floors across to St Paul's Cathedral are stunning.

The Natural History Museum in South Kensington is free and brilliant for families. The dinosaur gallery alone justifies the visit. Over Easter the museum runs special activities for children, and a reserved entry ticket with audio tour (from £7.50) guarantees you skip any queue.

Parks, Walks and Free Outdoor Activities

Easter is when London's parks come into their own. The cherry blossom, the magnolias, the daffodils. Everything is waking up and the city feels different.

Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens together form a vast green space in central London. You can walk from Marble Arch to Kensington Palace along the Serpentine lake, stopping at the Diana Memorial Fountain and the Peter Pan statue. It's a couple of hours of gentle walking and it's completely free.

Regent's Park is another beauty, with formal gardens, a boating lake and views across to the Primrose Hill summit. Climb Primrose Hill for one of the best free panoramic views of the London skyline. It's particularly lovely in the late afternoon light.

The South Bank walk from Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge takes about 45 minutes and passes the London Eye, the Southbank Centre, Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe, Borough Market and City Hall. It's one of the best free walks in any city and works at any time of day.

Greenwich Park is slightly further out but worth the trip. The view from the top of the hill, looking back across the Thames to Canary Wharf and the City, is magnificent. The Royal Observatory is at the summit (entry from £20 if you want to go inside), and you can stand on the Prime Meridian line for free in the courtyard.

Affordable Experiences Worth the Spend

Some things are worth paying a small amount for. These experiences all come in under £20 and punch well above their price.

A Thames sightseeing cruise from Westminster to Tower Bridge costs from just £14 and gives you a 30-minute river trip past the major landmarks. It doubles as transport if you're heading east.

Tower Bridge (from £16) lets you walk across the glass-floored walkways 42 metres above the Thames and visit the Victorian engine rooms. The views up and down the river are worth every penny.

Lift 109 at Battersea Power Station (from £22) takes you up through one of the iconic chimneys to a viewing platform with Thames views. It's the cheapest ticketed viewpoint in central London.

The View from The Shard (from £19) gets you to the top of London's tallest building for less than the price of a round of drinks. Go in the late afternoon and you'll see the city transition from daylight to dusk.

Budget Food Over Easter

Eating well in London on a budget is entirely possible if you know where to look. Borough Market (open Good Friday and Saturday, closed Easter Sunday and Monday) is brilliant for grazing. You can sample cheese, charcuterie, fresh bread, pastries and street food from around the world. Budget roughly £10 to £15 for a filling lunch from the stalls.

Camden Market is open throughout the Easter weekend and is one of the best places in London for affordable street food. Thai, Korean, Japanese, Mexican, Ethiopian. The variety is vast and most dishes are between £7 and £12.

For pre-theatre eating on a budget, most West End restaurants offer set-price pre-theatre menus that are significantly cheaper than their evening à la carte. A two-course pre-theatre meal in Covent Garden or Soho typically runs £18 to £25 per person, which is reasonable for central London.

Chinatown (a 2-minute walk from Leicester Square) has some of the best-value dining in the West End. A full meal for under £15 per person is easy to find, and the quality at the best places is excellent.

Insider Tips for a Budget Easter Weekend

Book your show tickets as far in advance as you can. The cheapest seats sell first, especially over Easter. Midweek performances during the school holidays (before Good Friday or after Easter Monday) tend to have better availability at lower price points.

Use the Tube wisely. A daily cap on contactless payments means you'll never pay more than the daily maximum, no matter how many journeys you make. Over bank holidays some lines run reduced services, so check before you travel.

Pack a water bottle and snacks. Theatre interval prices and attraction café costs add up quickly. A reusable bottle filled at any public water fountain saves you £3 every time.

If you're doing multiple attractions, check whether a Go City London Explorer Pass (from £54 for 2 attractions) works out cheaper than individual tickets. For three or more paid attractions over the weekend, it often does.

Book everything through tickadoo to keep your e-tickets organised and join the free tickadoo+ membership to earn rewards on every booking. Over a full Easter weekend of shows and activities, those rewards add up meaningfully.

A Brilliant Weekend Without Breaking the Bank

You can genuinely have a spectacular Easter in London for far less than you'd expect. A West End musical from £19, free world-class museums, the best riverside walk in Europe, street food markets and a viewpoint from £13. The city's most expensive experiences are often not its best ones. Some of the finest moments cost nothing at all: a walk through blooming Hyde Park, the view from Primrose Hill, the buzz of the South Bank on a spring evening.

Plan smart, book early and let London do what it does best.

Browse all West End shows and London experiences on tickadoo, and join the free tickadoo+ membership to earn rewards on every booking.