Free Things to Do in London This Week (1-7 June 2026)

London is one of the few great cities where you can fill an entire week with world-class culture and never reach for your wallet. This week, 1 to 7 June, is a particularly good one: two of the year's biggest free festivals land on the same weekend, a brand-new gallery opens its doors, and the city's permanently free museums are as remarkable as anything you would queue and pay for elsewhere. We have pulled together the genuinely worthwhile free things on this week, then the always-free staples every Londoner and visitor should know.

The best free things happening this week

It is a rare week when the free listings are stronger than the paid ones. These are all genuinely free, and none of them are ours to sell, we are flagging them because they are worth your time.

• Great Exhibition Road Festival (Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June). South Kensington's museums throw open their doors for a free weekend marking 175 years since the 1851 Great Exhibition. Expect live experiments, a giant-puppet parade, robot football and a seven-tonne sand recreation of the Crystal Palace, led by Imperial College with the Natural History Museum, Science Museum and V&A. It is the single best free day out of the week, and brilliant for families.
• London Gallery Weekend (Friday 5 to Sunday 7 June). More than 120 contemporary art galleries open their doors for a free, city-wide art crawl, Central London on Friday, South on Saturday and the East End on Sunday. There is no ticket and no catch, just walk in.
• The new Serpentine Pavilion (from Saturday 6 June). The 25th edition of London's marquee architecture commission, "a serpentine" by LANZA atelier, opens free on the lawn beside Serpentine South in Kensington Gardens. A genuine design moment, and free to wander through until late October.
• The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration (from Friday 5 June). A brand-new London institution opens in Clerkenwell, inside a restored 18th-century waterworks, with free entry spaces and opening exhibitions. New major museums open in London perhaps once a decade, so the first week is a quiet thrill.
• World Ocean Day at the National Maritime Museum (Saturday 7 June). Free celebrations in Greenwich with ocean experts, live music, science shows, games and craft activities for all ages, from sperm whales to deep-sea monsters.
• Canary Wharf Summer Screens (from Thursday 4 June). Free outdoor films and live sport on big screens in Canada Square Park, running every evening through the summer. Bring a blanket.
• Japan House Kyotographie (ongoing). Japan House on Kensington High Street is showing its first photography exhibition, free with booking recommended.
• World Food Photography Awards (to Sunday 7 June). All 203 finalist images on free display at Mall Galleries near Trafalgar Square, a quietly gorgeous half-hour.
• London Festival of Architecture (all June). The month-long festival, themed "Belonging", runs free events across the city, from history tours to talks and installations. Plenty of it lands this week.

Always free, and always worth it

Beyond this week's one-offs, London's permanent collections are free every day, and they are world-beating. If you are visiting, or you have simply never been, here is where to point yourself.

• The British Museum (Great Russell Street). The Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures and two million years of human history, free.
• Tate Modern and Tate Britain. The permanent collections at both are free, Tate Modern for modern and contemporary art in the old Bankside power station, Tate Britain for five centuries of British art.
• The National Gallery (Trafalgar Square). Van Gogh, Turner, Van Eyck and more, free, in the heart of town.
• The V&A (South Kensington). The world's leading museum of art, design and performance, free to explore.
• The Natural History Museum and the Science Museum (both South Kensington). The dinosaurs, the blue whale and the hands-on galleries are all free, and both anchor the Great Exhibition Road Festival this weekend.
• The Wallace Collection (Manchester Square). A sumptuous town-house collection of old masters and armour, free and rarely crowded.
• The Wellcome Collection (Euston Road). Free galleries on medicine, life and what it means to be human, with one of the best museum cafes in town.
• Guildhall Art Gallery (City of London). Free Victorian paintings sitting above the remains of London's Roman amphitheatre, which you can walk through at no charge.
• Sky Garden (Fenchurch Street). London's highest free public garden, with panoramic views, free but book a slot ahead.

Add the Royal Parks, the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, and a wander along the South Bank, and you have several days of London without spending a penny.

Free music, talks and markets this week

There is plenty on beyond the galleries. On Thursday, futuretense x Skate 50 brings a free programme of live music and visuals to the Southbank Centre, celebrating skate sound and culture across two stages. The London Festival of Architecture runs free tours and talks across the city all week, from a history tour of the Waldorf Hotel to discussions on art and belonging in public space. And on Wednesday evening, the State of London Debate puts your questions to City Hall on transport, housing and the environment, free to attend.

London's markets are free to wander even if you buy nothing. Columbia Road Flower Market bursts into colour every Sunday morning in the East End, Borough Market near London Bridge is a feast for the senses on most days, and the Victorian Leadenhall Market in the City is worth a detour for the architecture alone. Add Camden, Portobello Road in Notting Hill and the canalside calm of Little Venice for a free afternoon with real character.

Free views and green spaces

Some of London's best views cost nothing. Sky Garden, the city's highest free public garden, gives you a panorama from the top of the building Londoners call the Walkie Talkie, so long as you book a free slot ahead. The viewing level at Tate Modern looks straight across the river to St Paul's, also free. For the open air, the Royal Parks, Hampstead Heath with its skyline view from Parliament Hill, Primrose Hill and Greenwich Park are all free and glorious in early June. The Horniman Museum in Forest Hill adds free gardens, an animal walk and a famously overstuffed Victorian walrus.

A perfect free day this week

Start your Saturday on Exhibition Road at the Great Exhibition Road Festival, then duck into the Natural History Museum or the V&A next door (both free). Walk up through Kensington Gardens to see the new Serpentine Pavilion, still free, then finish on the South Bank as the sun goes down. A genuinely brilliant day in London that costs nothing at all.

A note on timing: the festivals are busiest in the middle of the day, so arrive for opening or drop by in the late afternoon for a calmer visit. Many of the free museums also stay open late one evening a week, the V&A on Fridays and Tate Modern at the weekend, which makes for a lovely, crowd-free end to the day. Whatever you choose, very little of the best of London this week asks for a ticket.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free thing to do in London this week?

The Great Exhibition Road Festival (Saturday and Sunday in South Kensington) is the standout, a huge free weekend of science, art and performance. London Gallery Weekend across 120+ galleries and the new free Serpentine Pavilion run alongside it.

Are London's museums really free?

Yes. The permanent collections at the British Museum, Tate Modern, Tate Britain, the National Gallery, the V&A, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum are free every day. Some special exhibitions are ticketed, but there is always plenty to see for nothing.

Is the Serpentine Pavilion free?

Yes, the Serpentine Pavilion in Kensington Gardens is free to visit, opening Saturday 6 June and running into late October.

What free things can families do this week?

The Great Exhibition Road Festival is ideal for children, and the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich runs free World Ocean Day celebrations on Saturday. The Natural History and Science Museums are free any day.

Do I need to book free London attractions?

Most are walk-in, but a few free spaces such as Sky Garden and some museum exhibitions ask you to reserve a free slot in advance. It is worth checking the venue before you go.

When you do fancy a big paid day out or a West End show, our wider guide to what is on in London this week has the lot, or browse everything at tickadoo.