London For Free - Top 10 Things to do for Free

You'll have to apply for a ticket about six months in advance (at least!) but this will be a highlight that you'll remember forever. The Ceremony of the Keys is the traditional locking up of the Tower of London after all the tourists have gone home, and has been taking place every night for more than 700 years. You'll get led inside by one of the Yeoman Warders and then watch as he gets challenged by an armed guard, then he'll walk you under the Bloody Tower porcullis and stand you in the shadow of the White Tower, where you'll hear them blow the Last Post.

This is usually the first thing that tourists think of when they're writing their London itinerary, as shown by the gargantuan crowd that gathers outside Buckingham Palace beforehand. It regularly attracts thousands of people (literally thousands) all lining the streets to watch the Foot Guards march past with their trumpets and drums. If you get there early enough then you can grab a spot by the railings and watch the changeover ceremony taking place on the Buckingham Palace forecourt.

Lots of skyscrapers have an observation floor at the top, but how many have got a tropical garden as well? The 35th floor of the Sky Garden is almost like the Palm House at Kew, with tropical plants, flowers and ferns, plus a couple of bars and restaurants. It also has some of the largest windows in London, three-storeys high, looking out of St Pauls, Tower Bridge and the Tower of London

Every tourist takes a photograph of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, but how many realise they can actually go inside for free? You don't even need a ticket. All you have to do is go up to the visitor entrance on Mon-Thu and ask if you can sit inside the House of Commons or House of Lords. You'll then be shown into the 1,000 year old Westminster Hall and up some stairs to the Strangers' Gallery, where you can sit and watch the MPs debating in the chamber below.

Attending the choral Evensong service at St. Paul's is a great way to see a small part of the cathedral for free. You'll have to queue up outside after closing time, then you'll be ushered in to the seats around the altar, and the choir will file in and treat you to some spectacular singing in the quire. If you enjoy this service then they put on a similar evensong service at Westminster Abbey as well

London has some of the best museums in the world: the British Museum, Natural History Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, Science Museum, Museum of London and Imperial War Museum. And all of them are free! The British Museum is great for Greek, Roman and ancient Egyptian artefacts, the Natural History Museum is good for kids into dinosaurs and animals, the V&A is for fashion, art and design, and the Science Museum is good for kids interested in space.

The National Gallery is one of the world's greatest galleries with works by the world's great painters like Raphael, Rembrandt, Titian, Da Vinci and Van Gogh. Tate Britain concentrates on British painters like Turner, Constable and Gainsborough. If you're more interested in contemporary art then try the Tate Modern or Saatchi Gallery.

If you don't fancy paying the high prices at the Shard and London Eye then here's a nice view you can have for free -- One New Change. If you walk round the back end of St Paul's you'll see a shopping centre over the road. If you ride the central lift all the way to the top you can step out onto their open-air roof terrace and take in this spectacular view of the cathedral dome.

There are three hills in London where you can get a great view of the skyline, but my favourite is Greenwich Hill in Greenwich Park. That's also where you'll find the Royal Observatory. It looks down on Queen's House and the National Maritime Museum, with the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf in the distance. The next place to try is Primrose Hill, north of Regent's Park, and much closer to the centre of town. And if you don't a tube ride and a long walk then try climbing Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath.

Covent Garden is a great place to do some people watching, and there are two places were you can catch some professional buskers. My favourite place is downstairs in the piazza where they sometimes have an opera singer belting out a bit of Bizet, or a classical quartet playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons. The other place is outside the front of St Paul's church (and I do mean the church, not to be confused with the cathedral!). This is where they have the acrobats and magicians.