London is, in many ways, Europe’s most expensive city, with lots of pricey sights but, fortunately, lots of free sights too. If you budget wisely, your money will last longer than your trip.
For an informative, entertaining introduction to London, take a walking tour ($10) or a big-bus, hop-on, hop-off tour ($25-$35). The bus tour provides the better overview, giving you a once-over-lightly look at all the biggies.
The queen is charging big time to open her private sights to the public. Buckingham Palace ($25, open in August and September only) and the queen’s art gallery and carriage museum (about $12 each) are engaging but expensive. British pageantry, however, such as the famous changing of the guard, is free.
Gimmicky private enterprises can charge sky-high prices, like the gruesome London Dungeon ($24, avoid at all costs) and fun and popular yet over-priced Madame Tussaud’s Waxworks ($40, but $25 after 5 p.m.).
Big-ticket sights worth paying for include: Kew Gardens ($15), Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre ($16, includes a tour), and the Cabinet War Rooms, with its fine new Churchill Exhibit ($18). The London Eye Ferris Wheel is an unforgettable experience ($22) and the Vinopolis wine museum provides a classy way to get a buzz and call it museum-going ($22 entry includes five small glasses of wine).
While London’s prices might give you sticker shock, luckily some of the best things in life are still free. Many of the city’s biggest and best museums won’t cost you a dime. Free must-see sights include the British Museum (famous for Greek and Egyptian antiquities, such as the Rosetta Stone) and the British Library (full of original literary treasures, from “Hamlet” to “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”).
Art lovers will be drawn to these free sights: the National Gallery (European paintings from 1250 to 1900, starring Botticelli and da Vinci), the National Portrait Gallery (from Henry VIII to Lady Di), the Tate Britain (British art), the Tate Modern (modern art), and the Wallace Collection (Dutch masters in a rich man’s mansion).
Scientists will enjoy exploring the free Natural History Museum (great dinosaur collection) and Science Museum (a kid-friendly, hands-on museum). Other winners without an admission charge include the Victoria and Albert Museum (world’s greatest decorative arts museum) and the Museum of London (2,000 years of city history).
Some of the free museums request about a $5 donation for admission, but whether you contribute or not is up to you. Many museums offer essential audioguides for around $5. If I spend the money on an audioguide, I don’t feel bad about not donating otherwise.
Having given up asking for donations, the big sightseeing churches, Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral, charge $14 to get in. But they offer free Sunday organ recitals and evensong services (virtually daily and always beautiful).
More freebies to consider: You can view legal trials at Old Bailey (a historic courthouse) and the legislature in action in the Houses of Parliament. Take in any number of free concerts, such as the lunch events at St. Martin-in-the-Fields on Trafalgar Square. People-watching is always good, particularly at Covent Garden, an outdoor shopping market.
Fans of the “thee-a-tah” seek out the freestanding “tkts” booth at Leicester Square to get discounted tickets to London’s famous shows. Theater tickets are sold for that day only, and the booth tacks on a $4 service charge. But it’s still a good deal, offering discounts from 25 to 50 percent.
These days, London doesn’t come cheap. But with its many free museums and affordable plays, this cosmopolitan, cultured city offers days of sightseeing thrills without requiring you to pinch your pennies (or your pounds).
Rick Steves of Edmonds (425-771-8303, www.ricksteves.com) is the author of 30 European travel guidebooks, including “Europe Through the Back Door.” He hosts a new public radio show, “Travel with Rick Steves” (Saturdays at 2 p.m. on KUOW 94.9 FM) and the public television series “Rick Steves’ Europe” (most weeknights at 7 p.m. on KCTS). This week’s schedule:
Monday: Scotland’s Islands and Highlands
Tuesday: Surprising Bulgaria
Wednesday: Rome: Baroque, After Dark
Thursday: Eastern Turkey
Friday: London: Royal and Rambunctious
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