Budget-friendly things to do in London this week for £5 or less.
Looking for more free things to do in London? Here are 102 of em! We've also compiled this epic map of free stuff in London, and have a helpful guide to where to see art in London for free, and where you can catch cheap and free comedy.
Catch the final week of Lives Less Ordinary
View an important art exhibition and get a peek inside an impressive venue, all for free. This is the final week of Lives Less Ordinary at Two Temple Place, which takes a deep dive into working-class representation in British art through more than 150 works by working-class artists, spanning painting, photography, film, sculpture and ceramics. It challenges the notion that art is the domain of the middle and upper classes.
Free, until 20 April.
Hunt out the giant Easter eggs
Get into the Easter spirit by joining in with the Big Egg Hunt, a free trail of 100+ large decorated eggs dotted all over central London — from Canary Wharf to Kensington, and Marylebone down to Battersea. Download the app for a map to help you find them all, or simply wander around central London and see what you stumble across.
Free, until 27 April. Find other egg and bunny hunts and Easter-themed activities happening this week (though not all are free).
Check out 1960s/70s brutalist drawings
Last chance to check out Croydon Urban Room's display of brutalist drawings, as drafted for local authorities during the 1960s and 70s — perfect for those who get off on pictures of hulking great concrete structures. The Urban Room is in Croydon's Whitgift Centre, and is a great venue in general to find out what's planned for the borough, and how you can get your voice heard.
Free, 15 and 17 April.
Visit the Sweet Room by Pepsi
Pepsi launches a free 'Sweet Room multisensory experience', to promote its new zero sugar Strawberries 'N' Cream, and Cream Soda flavours.
Head to Future Stores at 95 Oxford Street, which has an arcade where you can win a range of sweet prizes and the chance to try out the flavours. Tokens to use the arcade are handed out on arrival. Play on a penny pusher (a new take on a coin slider game featuring Pepsi tokens instead of pennies), a claw grabber where you might win a Pepsi plushy, or an interactive touch screen reaction game to collect as many points as possible in 30 seconds.
Depending on your final scores, you can collect plushies, hoodies, t-shirts and tote bags at the end of the experience.
Age 16+.
Free, 16-20 April, Wednesday-Friday 12pm-8pm, Saturday 10am-8pm and Sunday 10am-6pm.
Learn about the real Dick Whittington
Tying in with the current exhibition (which is also free), Guildhall Library hosts City of London Guide Pete Smith to give a free talk about Dick Whittington. Though he's been widely presented in fiction (and panto), this is a dive into the truth of the man behind the myth. (Dick Whittington that is, not Pete Smith.)
Free, 17 April.
Visit Wellcome Collection's new exhibition
In 1880, Milan hosted the Second International Congress on Education of the Deaf, which unfortunately had a far-reaching negative influence on Deaf education around the world: the teaching of sign language was sidelined and suppressed, resulting in exclusion and stigma for Deaf people.
Wellcome Collection's new exhibition, 1880 THAT, is a reflection on this episode, using recent works by artists Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader to explore the idea of language as a home, and what it means to live with the threat of losing one's language. Film and sculpture feature, with all exhibits accompanied by British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation.
Free, 17 April-16 November.
See London's newest David Shrigley artwork
The latest exhibit at Horniman Museum is The Mantis Muse, a three-metre steel and fibreglass sculpture of a praying mantis with an animatronic head, by artist David Shrigley. View it for free on selected dates in the museum's Victorian conservatory.
Free, 17-18 and 20-21 April.
See the Easter story played out in Trafalgar Square
As is tradition on Good Friday, a 100-strong cast comes to Trafalgar Square for two free performances of the Easter story. The Passion of Jesus by the Wintershall Players depicts the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus by the Romans, before he miraculously rises from the dead on Easter Sunday. Live horses, donkeys and doves feature, and three crucifixes are erected in the centre of the square.
It's free, no ticket required, but is very popular so get there early to get a good view. Also note that it may not be suitable for younger children due to the depiction of crucifixion.
Free, 18 April.
Celebrate Vaisakhi with the Sikh community
Vaisakhi — the Sikh and Punjabi cultural festival — falls on 14 April this year, but London's main celebration returns to Trafalgar Square a few days later, on Saturday. The free festival features live entertainment and performances, martial arts demonstrations, a showcase of Sikh art, plus food and drink stalls
Free, 19 April.
Watch film and theatre created by Islington teenagers
As the inaugural C3 Festivals — celebrations of the creative output of Islington's young people — draw to a close, there's a chance to watch a collection of film and theatre productions this Saturday, with an afternoon and an evening lineup, featuring themes such as dreams, relationships, loss and navigating teenhood. For those who can afford it, full-priced tickets are £10+ booking, but as the organisers want these shows to be accessible to all, you can also get a ticket for £5, £3 or free.
From free, 19 April.
