Free things to do in London this week.
Enter the ballot for West End Live queue jump
Huge musical theatre festival West End Live is back in Trafalgar Square this June. Once again, it's free and unticketed, which has caused a few overcrowding issues in recent years, with many unable to get in. For the first time, queue jump tickets are available for the 2026 event — but only 100 for each of the two days, and only via a competition. To be in with a chance, enter the free online competition, open now.
Eye-up some masterpieces in Croydon
We've already told you about the facsimile National Gallery masterpieces strewn around the borough of Croydon. Now, in a newly-reopened space at the Museum of Croydon, you can view a selection of artworks taken from the council's 2,000-strong stockpile — each matched (from various different angles) with prints of original works from the National Gallery. Croydon Art Collection: Matching Masterpieces is open Wednesdays-Saturdays.
Until 20 June.
Catch a free lecture about William Morris
Thursday's lunchtime lecture at the V&A South Kensington features Jenny Lister, curator of fashion and textiles, discussing the life and work of William Morris. Though he was better known as a poet and social activist in his own lifetime, find out why his repeating patterns are still so popular in interior design today.
26 March.
Celebrate all things Star Trek at a museum late
This year marks 60 years of the Star Trek franchise, which the Science Museum is celebrating with a special series of events. It begins at this month's free Science Museum Late on Thursday, which has a Star Trek theme, including the launch of a new Star Trek Trail around the museum, and a costume catwalk.
26 March. The V&A South Kensington also holds a free late, on Friday this week.
Explore Islington's transport heritage
On the last Thursday of the month, Islington Archives opens up for a public drop-in (3pm-6pm). This time, you're invited to pore over photos and documents relating to transport history: think horse-drawn trams, bombed out Tube stations and a hidden canal tunnel. Reserve a spot.
26 March.
Seek out London's latest sculpture trail
Just in time for the Easter holidays, the Elephant Trail marches into Battersea Power Station. 21 sculptures of elephants, each individually designed, are dotted around the Power Station ready to be found. Use the app to tick them off, for a chance to win prizes.
26 March-26 April.
Delve into different perceptions of ageing
Wellcome Collection's new, free exhibition The Coming of Age uses 120 artworks and objects to explore different people's perceptions of ageing, and how those experiences are shaped by environmental, social and cultural factors. Your assumptions about life stages might be challenged, as you find out what greater longevity means for all of us.
26 March-29 November.
See an Unseen Tours photo exhibition
We're big fans of Unseen Tours, purveyors of eye-opening guided walks around London, as led by formerly homeless people who know various stomping grounds like the back of their hand. For three days this week, art'otel in Hoxton hosts a free exhibition of Jennie Blythe's photography — Street Level — which captures the guides at work.
27-29 March.
View paintings by a great British artist
While Serpentine North Gallery holds a free David Hockney exhibition, across the water at Serpentine South, works by British painter Cecily Brown go on display in new show, Picture Making. It's something of a homecoming exhibition, as Brown has spent the last three decades living and working in New York, and this is a chance to see works dating back to 2001, alongside more recent creations.
27 March-6 September.
Watch hundreds of boats race down the Thames
The Oxford-Cambridge Boat Races are next weekend, but there's plenty of action on the river this Saturday too, in the form of the Head of the River Race. Teams of eight are pitted against each other along the same course as the Boat Races, but in the opposite direction along the Thames, from Putney to Mortlake. Up to 400 crews take part, meaning there's plenty to watch — and it's free to do so. Head to the river's edge anywhere along the course.
28 March.
Hear about historic female sailors
Hear fascinating accounts of women dressing as men to live and work at sea in the 18th and 19th centuries. The free talk, at London Museum Docklands, is part of the venue's Women's History Month programme, and is a chance to hear about adventurous women from pirate Mary Read to female sailor Anne Jane Thornton.
28 March.
Find free things to do in the Easter holidays
With many schools breaking up this week, we've put together a guide to things to do in London in the Easter holidays. It includes a section dedicated to free entertainment and activities, and if you've got little ones, it's worth checking out our guide to playgrounds in central London — many of them tried and tested by our own little Londonists.
And finally, something to do for a fiver...
Brixton Windmill — built in 1816, at a time when Brixton, even if it wasn't exactly all cornfields, was definitely some cornfields — has its first open weekend of the year. Explore the historic landmark, and learn how it still makes flour to this day.
28-29 March.
