5 FREE THINGS TO DO IN LONDON

1) National GalleryAddress: Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN
Timings: Daily 10am–6pm, Friday 10am–9pm


This is a behemoth of an art gallery with a formidable collection of world-class art. It might just be that you would want to see everything on display. If however, this is not possible, the Gallery itself has thoughtfully listed 30 of the top must-see paintings on their website including: Johannes Vermeer’s ‘A Young Woman standing at a Virginal’, Van Gogh’s ‘The Sunflowers’, Ingres’s ‘Madame Moitessier’, van Eyck’s ‘The Arnolfini Portrait and Turner’s ‘The Fighting Temeraire’.


2) Science MuseumAddress: Exhibition Rd, London SW7 2DD
Timings: Open everyday 10am-6pm
There’s plenty to see for children and adults alike at the Science Museum. If short of time, consider viewing the following highlights: offbeat attractions like a space toilet, a seven-toed cat and a pregnant man; space exploration including satellites, rockets (like Stephenson’s rocket) and the Apollo10 command module and the Energy Hall, containing life-size steam trains with plenty of history.Natural History MuseumAddress: Cromwell Rd, London SW7 5BD, United Kingdom
Timings: Open everyday 10am-5.30pm.
The Natural History Museum is worth a visit for just a glimpse of the great Hintze Hall itself, housing the massive T.rex dinosaur fossil. There are 36 free galleries inside the museum. The museum is divided into various colour zones: the blue zones features the diversity of life from large mammals to dinosaurs; the red zone focuses on the different life forces that have shaped the creation of the Earth; the green zone features the Earth’s evolution and the orange zone features scientists at work and the Wildlife Garden.


4) Tate BritainAddress: Millbank, London SW1P 4RG, United Kingdom
Cost: Free at all times
Timings: 10am-6pm daily
With only an hour or less on hand, a good idea would be to check out the Constable and Pre-Raphaelite paintings on display, notably Constable’s ‘Flatford Mill’ and Sir John Everett Millais’ ‘Ophelia 1851-2’. Painter Francis Bacon and also the sculptor, Henry Moore also have masterworks on display.
5) National Portrait GalleryAddress: St. Martin’s Pl, London WC2H 0HE
Timings: Sat-Wed: 10am-6pm; Thurs/Fri: 10am-9pm
This is a museum, which displays exactly what the label says: i.e. the portraits of several figures in British history. The primary collection boasts 11,000 original works of which 4000 are either paintings or sculptures and 7000 are light sensitive drawings.
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