London is home to some of the world's most reputable art galleries — and it has some of the free-est too! From globally-renowned collections to less-on-the-radar enterprises, here's our roundup of the best free art in London.
National Gallery, Trafalgar Square
The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein the Younger. Jan van Eyck's The Arnolfini Portrait. The Fighting Temeraire by Turner... the National Gallery's permanent collection allows you to clap eyes on some of the most-admired paintings in the world, and stroll out with your bank account the same as it was when you came in. Of late, there are pesky queues to be contended with due to heightened security — but when is a trip to the National Gallery not worth it? National Gallery
National Portrait Gallery, Trafalgar Square
A reinvigorated National Portrait Gallery emerged in 2023, with an Instagrammable escalator and portrait-studded doors by Tracey Emin. The National Gallery's smaller-but-still-not-that-small neighbour has never looked finer, its free permanent collections oscillating between Henry's VIII's wives and Panini football stickers. National Portrait Gallery
Tate Modern, South Bank
Nigh-on five million visitors pour into the Tate Modern each year, and while many will be here for a paid-for show, many more will have drifted into the cavernous Turbine Hall with its neck-craning walk-through installations just to see what's occurring. From here escalators sweep you up into more free galleries, where Bacon, Warhol, Pollock and Guerrilla Girls await. Tate Modern
Tate Britain, Pimlico
Sometimes overshadowed by its younger sibling (above), Tate Britain is in fact a good deal more eclectic. Its walls are studded with art from John Bettes' sincere 16th century portrait A Man in a Black Cap, through to David Hockney's iconic A Bigger Splash — and anything outside of the special exhibitions won't cost you a dime to ogle. The neoclassical building encasing it all — tinselly though it is — is rather remarkable too. Tate Britain
Serpentine Galleries, Kensington Park
Whether you've plotted a visit or are sheltering from a rain shower, the two Serpentine Galleries (North and South are within a beat of one another) offer bijou displays of art, which are as bitesized as they are eye-openingly kaleidoscope. Lauren Halsey, Yinka Shonibare and Judy Chicago have all featuredlately. Look out too for the annual Serpentine Pavilion; again, it won't cost you to enjoy it. Serpentine Galleries
Wallace Collection, Marylebone
The Wallace Collection is not for everyone. Ian Nairn clubbed it with his acerbic wit, bemoaning "an overwhelming, suffocating display of expensive 19th century taste... it feels exactly like a provincial French museum." If you don't mind your Rubens, Canalettos and Velázquezes surrounded by the velvety waft of ostentation, however, look no further. And the chance to see the Laughing Cavalier for free is enough to make anyone crack a smile. Wallace Collection
Guildhall Art Gallery, City
The gallery itself may look like The Future going to a party dressed half-arsedly as The Past, but inside this free-to-nosey venue there are gems aplenty. They include The Ninth of November, 1888 (the glumness of this should-be celebratory scene underscored by the fact it was painted at the height of the Ripper murders), and John Singleton Copley's The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar, so insanely large, the gallery was specifically shaped around it. Even the special exhibitions are free. Guildhall Art Gallery
White Cube, Bermondsey and Mason's Yard
Living up both to their name, and the stereotype of a blank-canvas modern art gallery, both White Cubes are the antithesis of the National Gallery and Tate Britain, pointedly letting the artworks do all the talking. The remit is contemporary, mind-expanding stuff, though the exhibitions — which tend to spotlight one artist at a time — will often be by someone you've heard of: Theaster Gates, Antony Gormley, Damien Hirst, Rachel Kneebone. White Cube
Whitechapel Gallery, Whitechapel
The baronial form of the Whitechapel Gallery has ushered art lovers inside since it opened in 1901, and from thenceforth exhibited everything from Picasso's Guernica to Mark Rothko's debut British show. Though you'll have to fork out for the (often excellent) special exhibitions, entry to the permanent collection is on the house. Whitechapel Gallery
Gagosian, Mayfair and Burlington Arcade
Stationed in a couple of Mayfair spots, as well as the nearby Burlington Arcade (not to mention sundry sites globe-wide), Gasgosian's exhibitions are as prolific as the galleries themselves. True, you may find yourself next to some revoltingly rich type weighing up which Cy Twombly would go best in the dining room, but honestly, if you can get close to the work of greats minus the crowds, and without a 25 quid entry fee too, then you're onto a winner. Gagosian
Halcyon, Bond Street and Harrods
If we listed all the free-to-enter boutiques around Mayfair that also sell the works for brow-wiping fees, this article would go on for months. Halcyon, though, is certainly one of the better-known of the genre — and worth knowing about, because if you can see a bunch of Warhols and Pissarros for free en route to the Apple Store, then why on Earth wouldn't you. Halcyon
The Curve, Barbican
London's most bent gallery — and we mean that in the best possible way — the Curve hosts both paid-for and free exhibitions, in a uniquely curvaceous space, which almost seems to pull you around it in some arty orbit. In recent times, the Curve's freebies have included Citra Sasmita's Kamasan-inspired Into Eternal Land, and the Bishopsgate Institute-curated Out and About! Fans of thrift should also acquaint themselves with the Martini Bar's 2-for-£17 cocktail happy hour. The Curve
gallery@oxo, South Bank
Enjoying the kind of footfall most places can only dream of, gallery@oxo presides over the juicy stomping ground of the South Bank, and is regularly used to hang exhibitions that are free to wander into. Next time you're walking by, remember to slow down and press your nose against the glass to see what's on. gallery@oxo
The Gilbert + George Centre, Spitalfields
You wouldn't expect Yayoi Kusama or Jeff Koons to be sat waiting for you when you wandered into one of their retrospectives, but Gilbert + George? That's another matter. The tailored twosome — who played a key role in the Pop Art movement — consider themselves part of the art at this newish gallery space, festooned with the salacious canvases and stained glass panels that have already secured them a spot in the great artists hall of fame. The Gilbert + George Centre
Leake Street Arches, Waterloo
Though strictly swerving clear of street art in this roundup, such is Leake Street's renown, it can't really be missed off. London's longest (legal) graffiti wall is a brick-lined canister of free-to-soak-up art — stupefyingly talented artists daub massive meerkats, Darth Vaders and unicorns in a never-ending palimpsest of colour and cartoonery. These days you can even pick up the Liquitex and leave your own mark... although you'll pay for that particular privilege. Leake Street Arches
Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries@ IWM London, Kennington
War: what is it good for? Not much, although it does tend to stir up beautifully bitter artworks reflecting the hell of it all; think John Singer Sargent's epic Gassed, and Olive Edis' photography of war-worn landscapes. These are among the 500+ works on show at IWM's Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries, which — though just one component of the museum — is a visit in its own right, and free to enter. Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries@ IWM London
Orleans House Gallery, Twickenham
You can be wed in the Palladian octagon that is part of Orleans House Gallery, although that certainly won't be without its financial implications. However, to enjoy the small exhibitions (which range from centuries-old to up-to-the-minute artworks), there's no charge. A pleasant way to break up a wander along the Thames. Orleans House Gallery
William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow
The symmetrically vegetative output of William Morris adorns spendy wallpaper, curtains, bedspreads and notebooks the world over, so what an unexpected treat that the largest collection of his work anywhere waves you in through the door, toll free. Occupying Morris' former family home in Walthamstow, William Morris Gallery not only flaunts many of his greatest hits, but has free temporary exhibitions digging deeper too. Make sure you buy something nice from the gift shop — a notebook maybe. William Morris Gallery
South London Gallery, Camberwell
Art is in the blood of this leafy stretch of Camberwell; the South London Gallery has been peddling it to the masses for over 125 years, and this ornate building — its main hall illuminated with a glazed roof — is inextricably linked with the surrounding Camberwell College of Arts, nurturer of Maggi Hambling and Syd Barrett. The free shows will only occupy half an hour of your time or less, but there are also free events — not to mention the companion Fire Station gallery across the road, also free. South London Gallery
Two Temple Place, Embankment
The first time you encounter this gothic riverside pile built for William Waldorf Astor, you might wonder why they bothered putting on a show here. The Three Musketeer-studded staircase, and coruscating landscapes set in stained glass are more than enough entertainment for one day. Nonetheless, this remarkable building plays host to occasional art exhibitions — which are both better, and free-er than they need to be. Two Temple Place
Nunnery Gallery, Bow
Shuffle about in hushed reverence in this former convent building, as you absorb slender exhibitions, which are always free, and often themed around east London. Every summer the Bow Open Show invites a different curator to fill the space with locally-made art that ruffles their truffles. Nunnery Gallery
Lauderdale House, Highgate
Perched primly on the edge of Waterlow Park, the colonnaded Lauderdale House might initially give off 'minted rich person's private residence' energy, but it is in fact a pillar of the community — free music recitals, children's activities, and art exhibitions you can wander in and enjoy. Shows aren't exactly sprawling, but are often two or three on at any given time. Lauderdale House
Newport Street Gallery, Vauxhall
Damien Hirst remains a controversial figure; if not for his formaldehyde-submerged sharks, then the way he's since decided to backdate them. Despite banking many millions since bursting onto the Britart scene some 30 years ago, Hirst has at least given something back to us, the hoi polloi, in the shape of Newport Street Gallery. A spiky-haired building with six spaces, the gallery shows off Hirst's own collections of art in longish-running residencies. Newport Street Gallery
Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art, New Cross Gate
Damon Albarn, Antony Gormley, Sarah Lucas and considerable others might not be the artists we know today, were it not for their Goldsmiths education. At the university's Centre for Contemporary Art — a Victorian bath house reshaped by Turner Prize-winning architectural collective Assemble — you might even chance upon the next big thing. If not: well, it didn't cost you anything. Whenever you're in the area (en route to the Shirker's Rest perhaps) put your head around the door. Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art
Royal Academy, Piccadilly
Sadly, you'll have to fork out for the Summer Exhibition, and various other temporary shows, at this Piccadilly esteemed institution. But if you've got the cheat sheet, there's free art to be had, including in the Collection Gallery, stuffed with work by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Mary Moser and Angelica Kauffman; and the Work in Progress section, which invites you to appreciate how a painting evolves from the kernel of an idea to a framed masterpiece. Royal Academy
Photographers' Gallery, Soho (free on Friday evenings)
With a continuous flurry of contemporaneous exhibitions, this just-off-Oxford-Street gallery is THE place to admire photography in London, and on Fridays it's free to see the lot from 5pm till closing. Any subject you can think of, chances are they've covered it — politics, protest, fashion, wildlife, London itself. The gallery hosts the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize from early spring-early summer, and there are a number of free talks and panels. Photographers' Gallery
Institute of Contemporary Art: ICA, The Mall
The ICA offers three types of membership: concessions, standard and plus. However, anyone can take advantage of paying just £1 to get in on Tuesdays (so not free, but pretty close). Institute of Contemporary Art: ICA
More free art worth seeing in London
- Kenwood House, Hampstead Heath: Rembrandts, Vermeers and Van Dycks occupy this surprisingly free English Heritage pile.
- Bankside Gallery, South Bank: Home to the Royal Watercolour Society and Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, and a good spot to take the weight off for a few moments while tramping the South Bank.
- Victoria Miro, Islington: Yayoi Kusama's had, like, 5,000 exhibitions in this marvellous gallery with overlapping exhibitions.
- Lisson Gallery, Edgware Road: Another of those swish, international players which sells the artworks on display, Lisson's artists include Julian Opie, Susan Hiller and Ai Weiwei.
- God's Own Junkyard, Walthamstow: Whether you class it as a gallery, or one of those movie montage scenes where people strut through a forest of neon lights, God's Own Junkyard is one of London's great freebies.
- Autograph Gallery, Shoreditch: Race, identity, human rights and social justice are on the agenda at this free east London offering.
- Camden Art Centre, Finchley Road & Frognal: Champions of over-looked and under-represented artists since 1965.
- Chisenhale Gallery, Victoria Park: Contemporary art gallery in a former veneer factory and brewery.
- Studio Voltaire, Clapham: Bijou art exhibitions of up-and-coming creatives, in a Victorian missionary hall.
- The Perimeter, Clerkenwell: Contemporary art down a cobbled Bloomsbury mews.
- Frith Street Gallery, Soho: Georgian townhouse showcasing painting, sculpture, video installations — you name it.
- David Zwirner, Mayfair: R. Crumb, Paul Klee and Yayoi Kusama are among the many artists represented by this well-known international gallery.
- Canada House, Trafalgar Square: Admire Canadian works at occasional open days, before Trump tries to invade them.
- Outernet London, Charing Cross: Is it an art gallery? Is it a cinema? Seriously, what IS it? Anyway, it's free.
