Cheap and Cheerful London

 

Some things in London are very expensive for residents and visitors alike. However, there are many things that are free or very cheap. Here are some suggestions:

Many of out museums are free; some have always been, and the national museums that had an entrance fee, dropped them in the Millennium.

 

The free museums are listed under Basic but Vital but they include the British Museum, the British Library, the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum and the V&A.

 

Some of the museums have late night openings which is a great way to spend the evening. Not all of the galleries will be open but you can't do them all in one evening anyway. So here's great way to spend a week and then you can stay at home on Sunday and Monday!

 

Tuesday
British Library until 8pm
Sir John Soane Museum 6-9pm 1st Thursday of every month

 

Wednesday
National Gallery until 9pm

 

Thursday
British Museum until 8.30pm
National Portrait Gallery until 9pm
Museum of London until 9pm on the first Thursday of every month

 

Friday
British Museum until 8.30
National Portrait Gallery until 9pm
Tate Britain First Friday of every month
Tate Modern until 10pm
Victoria and Albert Museum until 10pm (selected galleries)

 

Saturday
Tate Modern until 10pm

The Dana Centre at the Science Museum has many evening activities just for adults, too many to mention here but including evenings on a theme of Sinful Science and An Experiment in Kissing. www.danacentre.org.uk

 

Some museums have free music, especially on late night openings. At the V&A they will have 18th century music played in an 18th century room.

 

I know I keep going on about museums and galleries but you'd be mad not to make the most of them. Many of them have some great free activities, especially for children, there is more information under the London for Parents section.

 

There is free music in the foyer on the National Theatre between 5.45 and 7.15pm every evening that the theatre is open and on Saturday lunchtimes. They have a huge range of music including flamenco, jazz, french chanson and latin. www.nationaltheatre.org.uk.

The half price ticket booth, as everyone knows or, to give it its proper title, tkts is the building right in the middle of Leicester Square - watch out for other so-called half price ticket booths in the area. Their opening times are Mon-Sat 10am-7pm and Sunday 12 noon - 3pm. You can check out what is available online on www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk, clicking on the tkts link.

 

If you are a student you can often get student reductions but make sure that you will have your ID.

 

The Prince Charles Cinema, 7 Leicester Place in Chinatown how's last year's top releases and many rarer European films for only a couple of pounds. www.princecharlescinema.com.

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre has groundling tickets for £5 for each performance. You don't sit, rather you stand in front of the stage. Great atmosphere and cheap!
www.shakespeares-globe.org.

 

Similarly, every summer from July to September the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall sells day tickets for £5 to stand. (The people who buy these tickets are the 'Promenaders' after whom the concerts are named). Tickets go on sale 30 minutes before each concert, at Door 11 for the Arena and Door 10 for the Gallery, cash on the door.

 

The National Theatre, the Royal Opera House and the English National Opera often have cheap tickets for sale on the day. Check out their individual websites: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk, www.roh.org.uk and www.eno.org.

 

The Royal College of Music in South Kensington has a vast programme of concerts and performances, many of them free, some in their own building on Prince Consort Road and some in nearby buildings such as St.Mary Abbots church. They are of a very high standard, so fantastic for those who like music, and just as good for those who know little of music but would like to know more. www.rcm.ac.uk.

 

Similarly, students at the Royal College of Dramatic Arts (RADA) on Malet Street in Bloomsbury have a whole programme of plays at their new theatre with very reasonably priced tickets. You may well discover the next Kenneth Branagh, Anthony Hopkins, Juliet Stevenson or Alan Rickman. www.rada.org.

 

Not only are we great at ceremonies but many of them are free. If you can't afford to go to the Tower of London you could get tickets for the Ceremony of the Keys. And, of course, any can go to see the Changing of the Guard. For more information look up the section on Top Ten Ceremonies.

 

On the 3rd weekend in September each year thousands of buildings usually closed to the public or with restricted access open their doors at London Open House weekend. The event is run by an architecture charity whose is to make us more aware of our own architecture and our surrounding environment. Plan carefully and you could really see a great deal. www.londonopenhouse.org.uk.

 

It is possible to get some good restaurant deals. Go to a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown where they have chopsticks and huge portions. Head to Gerrard Street between Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road.

 

The Belgo chain of restaurants has a special deal called Beat the Clock; the times vary from one branch to another so look it up before you go but basically the price of your meal is the time at which you order eg £6 for the menu ordered at 6pm. Check out the details on www.belgo-restaurants.co.uk.