London's free museums make its paid attractions compete on genuine value. Some justify the price several times over and some are famous for being famous.
Clearly worth it
The Tower of London. Expensive and justified — the Crown Jewels, the Norman White Tower, the ravens, and the Yeoman Warder tours included in the ticket, which are genuinely excellent and led by former senior servicemen. Go at opening; the Jewels queue builds sharply.
Westminster Abbey. The coronation church, with the graves of monarchs, Newton, Darwin and Hawking, and Poets' Corner. Audio guide included.
Attending a service is free — but that is a service, not a visit, and should be treated as one.
The Churchill War Rooms. An underground bunker sealed in 1945 and largely left as it was, map-room pins still in place. Among the most affecting sites in the city.
St Paul's Cathedral, specifically for the dome climb — the Whispering Gallery, the Stone Gallery, and the Golden Gallery outside at the top.
Kew Gardens, for a half day, with the Victorian glasshouses and the treetop walkway.
Depends what you want
The London Eye. A fine view at a high price. The Sky Garden is free with a booking, and One New Change's roof faces St Paul's — both give comparable views, and both include the Eye in the picture.
Buckingham Palace State Rooms — open only in summer, a limited visit for the price. Changing the Guard outside is free and on a published schedule.
The Shard viewing platform — the highest, the most expensive, and often in cloud. Booking a drink at a bar in the building costs less and gets a similar view.
Skip
Madame Tussauds. Expensive, long queues, and the same experience exists in a dozen cities.
The London Dungeon, similarly.
Hop-on-hop-off buses. London's ordinary buses cost a fraction and go more places — the 11, 15 and 24 pass most of the centre.
The free tier, which beats most of the paid one
The British Museum, National Gallery, V&A, Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Natural History Museum, Science Museum, National Portrait Gallery. All free permanent collections.
The Wallace Collection — a mansion full of art and armour, free, and almost empty.
Sir John Soane's Museum — an architect's house left exactly as he arranged it, crammed with antiquities. Free, small, and one of the strangest places in London.
The Horniman, the Imperial War Museum, the Museum of London Docklands.
Worth the money and rarely mentioned
Hampton Court Palace — Tudor and Baroque in one building, with the maze and the gardens, half an hour by train.
The Old Operating Theatre, a pre-anaesthetic surgical theatre in a church attic.
Highgate Cemetery, the West side by guided tour only.
Eltham Palace, a medieval hall attached to an art deco mansion.
Practical
Contactless caps daily and weekly — tap in and out, and the system charges you the best fare.
Book the free things too. The Sky Garden and some museum exhibitions require a free timed reservation.
Theatre day seats and the TKTS booth sell genuine same-day discounts; matinees cost less.