Westminster Abbey is £27.13 until 1 September, then £31. Buckingham Palace is £33 in advance, and three of the best things here cost nothing. Prices checked.
Westminster has a problem no other London borough has: the famous things in it are so famous that the good things get buried. The Abbey and the Palace are on every list. A free house full of Old Masters five minutes from Selfridges is not, and neither is the fact that four pelican chicks have hatched in St James’s Park for the first time in over 360 years.
Every price and opening time below was checked against the venue’s own website on 9 August 2026. Two of them are time-limited in ways that matter this month.
The two things to book before September
Westminster Abbey is temporarily cheaper. Because of the government’s reduction of VAT to 5% over the summer, the Abbey’s adult ticket is £27.13 until 1 September 2026, with children aged 6 to 17 at £12.25 and seniors and students at £24.50. From 2 September it returns to £31 for an adult, £14 for a child and £28 concession. Under-6s are free either way. The Abbey is closed to general visitors on Sundays, when it is a working church.
Buckingham Palace is only open until 27 September. The State Rooms open for the summer each year, and the 2026 season runs 9 July to 27 September. An adult ticket is £33 booked in advance or £37 on the day, a child aged 5 to 17 is £16.50 or £18.50, and under-5s go free. If you are on Universal Credit or another named UK benefit, the Royal Collection Trust sells £1 tickets, which is the single best-value thing in this borough.
Free, and worth the trip
| Where | What you get | Open |
|---|---|---|
| The Wallace Collection, Manchester Square W1U 3BN | A Marylebone townhouse of Old Masters, armour and French furniture, free to the permanent collection | Daily 10:00–17:00 |
| Tate Britain, Millbank SW1P | Five hundred years of British art and the world's largest free display of Turner | Daily 10:00–18:00 |
| St James's Park, SW1A | The pelicans, fed daily at about 2.30pm, and the best view of the Palace from the bridge | All year |
| The Photographers' Gallery, Ramillies Street W1F 7LW | Free entry to all exhibitions every Friday after 5pm, and always free for under-18s | Thu–Fri to 20:00 |
The Wallace Collection is the one Londoners keep forgetting. It is Hertford House, a private collection left to the nation on condition that nothing ever leaves it, and entry to the permanent collection is free with no booking. It sits in a garden square a few minutes north of Oxford Street, which makes it the sanest thing to do on a Saturday in the West End.
St James’s Park has genuine news this summer. Four pelican chicks have hatched in the park, which the Royal Parks says is the first time the sound of pelican chicks has been heard there in over 360 years. The Royal Parks is keeping them in a secure area away from visitors until they are around three months old, when they are expected to join the adult birds on the lake. The adults are fed fish daily at about 2.30pm, and extra feeds have been added while the chicks are being reared.
What the paid attractions actually cost
Churchill War Rooms, Clive Steps, King Charles Street SW1A 2AQ
The Cabinet War Rooms as they were left in 1945, plus the Churchill Museum, under Whitehall. Adults from £29.75, members and under-5s free. Open 9am to 6pm with last entry at 5pm through the summer; from 1 September to 31 May it opens at 9:30am. Book ahead: this is one of the busiest sites in the borough and it is underground, so there is nowhere to queue in comfort.
Lord’s Tour and the MCC Museum, St John’s Wood NW8
An hour and forty minutes through the Long Room, the pavilion and the media centre, with the MCC Museum and the Ashes urn included. £32.95 adult, £26.95 for seniors, students and accessible tickets with a carer free, £22.95 for children aged 5 to 15, under-5s free but they must still be included in the booking.
One thing to know: the MCC Museum cannot be visited on its own. Entry is only with a tour booking, or with a valid match ticket on a match day. On match days it is free during internationals, The Hundred and Vitality Blast, and £5 for adults and £3 for concessions during county championship and MCC fixtures.
Household Cavalry Museum, Horse Guards, Whitehall SW1A 2AX
A working stable you look into through a glass screen, with the ceremonial uniforms and the regiment’s history alongside. £11 for adults 16 and over, £8 for children 5 to 15, and £29 for a family of two adults and up to three children. Carers and access companions go free. Open 10:00 to 18:00 from April to October and 10:00 to 17:00 from November to March, last admission an hour before closing. A multimedia audio tour in nine languages is included in the ticket.
Handel Hendrix House, 25 Brook Street, Mayfair W1K 4HB
Two adjoining Mayfair houses: Handel’s, where he wrote Messiah, and the top floor flat next door where Jimi Hendrix lived in 1968 and 1969. One ticket covers both. £14.50 adult, £10.50 student, £5 for 13 to 17-year-olds, and children of 12 and under go free as part of a family group of up to six. Carers and National Art Pass holders are free. Open Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00, last entry 16:00, closed Monday and Tuesday.
The Photographers’ Gallery, 16-18 Ramillies Street, Soho W1F 7LW
Three floors of photography off Oxford Street, currently showing Japanese Women Photographers. £12 on the door or £10 booked in advance, £9 or £7.50 for students, jobseekers, disabled visitors and over-60s, and free for everyone on Fridays after 5pm. Under-18s are always free. Open until 20:00 on Thursdays and Fridays, 10:30 to 18:00 Monday to Saturday and 11:00 to 18:00 on Sundays.
London Waterbus, Little Venice to Camden
The Regent’s Canal narrowboat service between Little Venice in Maida Vale and Camden Market, 45 minutes each way, from £17. It runs in both directions, on either a historic narrowboat with live commentary or a wider cruiser with a bar. Walking the towpath from Little Venice is free and takes about an hour to Camden.
A day out that costs nothing
Start at Warwick Avenue on the Bakerloo line, walk down to Little Venice and follow the Regent’s Canal towpath east along the water. Cut up into Marylebone for the Wallace Collection, which is free and takes as long as you give it. From there it is twenty minutes on foot through Mayfair to St James’s Park and the pelicans, and another ten to the river at Westminster Bridge. Total cost: a Bakerloo line fare in and a fare out, so £7.20 at peak.
Frequently asked questions
What is free to do in Westminster?
The Wallace Collection in Marylebone and Tate Britain at Millbank are both free with no booking, all the Royal Parks are free, and the Photographers’ Gallery in Soho is free to everyone on Fridays after 5pm and to under-18s always.
How much does Westminster Abbey cost?
£27.13 for an adult until 1 September 2026, while the temporary VAT reduction applies, then £31 from 2 September. Children aged 6 to 17 are £12.25 rising to £14, and under-6s are free. The Abbey is closed to general visitors on Sundays.
Can you visit Buckingham Palace in 2026?
Yes, but only until 27 September. The State Rooms are open for the summer from 9 July, at £33 for an adult booked in advance or £37 on the day. £1 tickets are available to people on Universal Credit and other named UK benefits.
How much is the Lord’s tour?
£32.95 for an adult, £26.95 for seniors and students and £22.95 for children aged 5 to 15. The MCC Museum is only open to people on a tour or holding a match ticket, so a tour is the only way to see the Ashes urn on a non-match day.
What is there to do in Westminster with children?
The Household Cavalry Museum at £8 a child, with a working stable to look into, is the easiest win. Handel Hendrix House lets under-12s in free with a family group. St James’s Park and the pelicans cost nothing, and the Little Venice to Camden waterbus is a 45-minute boat ride from £17.
What is open on a Monday in Westminster?
Tate Britain, the Wallace Collection, the Household Cavalry Museum and Churchill War Rooms all open daily. Handel Hendrix House is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Related
- Westminster Tube and train times: how to reach all of these, and what a day of travel costs.
- Westminster roadworks and travel: if you are driving, what it costs to park near each of them.
- Westminster house prices: what it costs to live within walking distance.
Sources
- Westminster Abbey prices and entry times, checked 9 August 2026, for the summer VAT-reduced prices and the prices from 2 September.
- Royal Collection Trust: Buckingham Palace for the 2026 opening dates, the advance and on-the-day prices and the £1 benefit tickets.
- IWM Churchill War Rooms for the from-price, opening hours and address.
- Lord’s Tours and Museum for the 2026 tour prices and the MCC Museum access rules.
- Household Cavalry Museum: visit for prices, seasonal opening hours and the audio tour.
- Handel Hendrix House: visit for admission charges and opening days.
- The Photographers’ Gallery: visit for prices, the free Friday evening and opening hours.
- The Wallace Collection: visit for free admission, hours and address.
- Tate Britain for free admission and opening hours.
- The Royal Parks: pelicans of St James’s Park for the 2026 chicks and the daily feeding time.
- London Waterbus Company for the Little Venice to Camden journey time and from-price.
Prices and opening hours change, and the Abbey’s summer price is explicitly temporary. Check the venue’s own site before you travel.
Have your say
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