Things to do in London when it rains
London has more than a hundred wet days a year, but it also has the best free indoor culture of any city in Europe, so a rainy day here is rarely a lost one.
23 picks that fit, best first. The order assumes the conditions in the title; the live forecast only nudges it.
British Museum
Bloomsbury
Two million years of human history under one glass roof, free to enter.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Natural History Museum
South Kensington
Dinosaurs, the blue whale and a cathedral of a building, free to enter.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Sky Garden
City of London
A free indoor garden and viewing gallery at the top of the Walkie Talkie.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Free, but book a slot
Tate Modern
Bankside
Modern art in a former power station, with a free viewing level over the river.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Half a day
Free; special exhibitions are ticketed
Borough Market
Southwark
London's great food market, mostly under cover beside London Bridge.
Mostly under cover.
- Under £10
- In and out
- Under 2 hours
- Fine in rain
Free to wander; budget for lunch
National Gallery
Trafalgar Square
Van Gogh, Turner and Vermeer on Trafalgar Square, free, open late on Fridays.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Science Museum
South Kensington
Rockets, steam engines and hands-on galleries; the best wet-day museum for children.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Free; Wonderlab and IMAX ticketed
V&A
South Kensington
Art, design and fashion across seven miles of galleries, with Friday lates.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Half a day
St Paul's Cathedral
City of London
Wren's dome, the Whispering Gallery and a climb to a view over the City.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter.
- Over £25
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Free to attend a service
Thames river bus
The river
The commuter boat that doubles as the cheapest sightseeing cruise in London.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter.
- Under £10
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
Westminster Abbey
Westminster
Coronation church of English monarchs since 1066, with Poets’ Corner and the royal tombs.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter.
- Over £25
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Tower Bridge
Tower Hill
Walk the glass floor forty metres above the river, then see the Victorian engine rooms.
Mostly under cover.
- £10 to £25
- In and out
- Under 2 hours
- Fine in rain
- Good with kids
Free to cross; exhibition ticketed
Barbican Conservatory
Barbican
A tropical glasshouse hidden inside a Brutalist arts centre.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Free; book a slot, opening days vary
London Museum Docklands
Canary Wharf
The story of the river and the port, in a Georgian sugar warehouse on West India Quay.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
Brixton Village and Market Row
Brixton
Covered arcades of small restaurants that turn into one big dinner party by evening.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter.
- Under £10
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
London Eye
South Bank
A slow half-hour loop over Westminster in a glass capsule.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter.
- Over £25
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
The Postal Museum and Mail Rail
Clerkenwell
Ride the tiny underground railway that carried London’s post for 75 years.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter.
- £10 to £25
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
Leake Street Arches
Waterloo
A legal graffiti tunnel under Waterloo station, repainted daily and dry in any weather.
Mostly under cover. Free.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
- Fine in rain
Camden Market
Camden Town
Street food, vintage stalls and the canal lock, busy from lunch until the pubs close.
Mostly under cover.
- Under £10
- In and out
- Half a day
- Fine in rain
West End theatre
Theatreland
Forty theatres within a few streets; same-day tickets are easier than people think.
Comes alive in the evening.
- Over £25
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Soho and Chinatown
Soho
Dinner, dim sum, cocktails and the theatres, all within five minutes of each other.
Comes alive in the evening.
- £10 to £25
- In and out
- Under 2 hours
- Fine in rain
God's Own Junkyard
Walthamstow
A warehouse of neon signs from films and Soho clubs, with a café in the middle.
Runs on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Maltby Street Market
Bermondsey
A weekend street-food lane under the railway arches, smaller and calmer than Borough.
Runs on Saturdays and Sundays.
- Under £10
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
- Fine in rain
Good to know
What can you do in London on a rainy day?
Head indoors. London has 23 rain-proof picks on this list, from free museums and galleries to covered markets and food halls. The list is re-ordered for the live forecast, so the strongest indoor options come first when it is actually raining.
Are there free indoor things to do in London?
Yes. Look for the "Free" label on the cards. Almost every major museum and gallery in London is free to enter, and so are the royal parks, the markets and the river walks.