10 things to do in London on a £3 budget

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At this time of year we’re all tightening our belts, and not just in the eating sense. The post-Christmas blues leave our wallets gasping, but before you start locking yourself in the bedroom til April, check out our 10 top London tips for under £3 each.

THE MONUMENT

Part of the deal of living in London is taking everything around us for granted, so a fiscal dry spell is the perfect time to get out and explore the parts of London you haven’t seen yet. At 202ft (62m), fact fans can dine out on the fact that this is the tallest isolated stone column in the world. Everyone else can fork out a paltry £2 to climb its 311 steps for great views of London and -  hurray!- a certificate afterwards.

THE OLD BAILEY

Located in the centre of the City in EC4, you can get in for nothing on weekdays to watch trials from the public gallery, but the ghoulish should expect a queue during high-profile murder trials. Leave the kids at home though, under-14s are not admitted.

HIT THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT

You know, that massive building you go pass on the bus every now and then? If you’ve got the balls, drop your MP a line – they’re honour bound to take you for a free tour and that’s the best way to get all the gossip. If you are scrupulously well-behaved you might be able to persuade them to take you for a drink in one of the members-only bars afterwards.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER’S GALLERY

Galleries and museums are the perfect place to start given that there are loads that are free to get into. Just up the road from the similarly free National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery is this highly influential gallery, which shows the best in classic and contemporary photographic work.

ENDLESS BREAKFAST

As we all know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and if you play your cards right in Clapham, the longest. Breads Etc, located under the Old Clapham banner on Clapham High Street, does DIY Toast. For £2.50 you get a toaster, butter, and access to endless sorts of homemade bread and around 20 types of jams and confections to put on them. There’s not limit either, so get stuck in.

BOROUGH MARKET

It’s all too easy to spent an hour wandering around the stalls grazing on the samples in this tasty London institution. Get a well-balanced diet by trying chocolate truffles, snacks, cheese and falafel – and if you find the mythical person selling oak smoked cherry tomatoes, tell them the London paper’s got a bone to pick with their lack of regular appearances.

CEREMONY OF THE KEYS

Join in a 700 year-old ceremony by watching the Tower of London being locked up at precisely seven minutes to 10pm each night. It’s free, but due to the amount of pomp and circumstance involved space is limited, so make sure you apply in writing at least two months in advance. Click here for more details.

WATCH A LIVE SHOW

An old favourite of cheapskate Londoners is booking tickets to watch TV and radio shows being recorded. The BBC is the obvious choice, whether it’s catching new talent on BBC7 or watching the Late Edition, but production companies for popular shows such as Have I Got News For You often arrange their tickets separately so have a hunt around.

THE LONDON FREE LIST

If your poor spell looks set to last for the foreseeable future, this site needs to be added to your favourites straightaway. With over 1000 listings for events in town added each day, none of which cost more than £3, there’s guaranteed to be at least 10 things for you to add to your diary for cheap.

LUNCHTIME MUSIC RECITALS

Forget the horror of your school concerts, the free classical concerts dotted around London offer a far higher standard in under an hour. Bishopsgate Institute in the City and St Giles-In-The-Fields church just off Charing Cross Road both attract the cream of London’s music students as well as passing pros like award-winning vocal octet Voces8.