How to get Cheap London Attraction Ticket Deals

By <a href="#author-bio">Stuart Bak</a>
By Stuart Bak
Tourist on Westminster Bridge by Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that London is not a cheap place to visit. Indeed, it’s regularly cited alongside the likes of Hong Kong, New York, Singapore and Sydney as one of the most expensive cities in the world. That’s largely due to its well-deserved reputation as one of the planet's top bucket-list destinations, with household-name attractions like Westminster Abbey, The Shard, Oxford Street, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the Tower of London around almost every corner. And, as surely as night follows day, high demand means high prices.

But London isn't just for lottery winners, celebrities and Russian oligarchs. No! This vast playground of historical attractions, world-class museums, stellar theatrical performances, and destination dining is for everyone to enjoy. And it is possible for savvy travelers to visit on a shoestring, as detailed in our self-explanatory blog ‘How to Visit London on a Budget’ right here. Read on below as we take a deeper dive into how to get cheap ticket deals at London attractions, including all the most highly sought-after landmarks and theaters.

The London Pass

Serious sightseers who plan to hit up a lot of major attractions and tours should consider The London Pass – basically a catch-all way of ticking off the big (and little) hitters in town while saving cash in the process. It’s the only pass of its kind that gives you access to Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral and Tower Bridge (plus some 80 or so additional attractions and tours across London), and it’s conveniently stored on your phone or mobile device for speedy scan-through access at each address. And here’s how it works. You choose a duration for your London Pass package – (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 10 consecutive days) – download the Go City app to your phone and you’re good to go.

Your pass activates as soon as you scan in at your first attraction and is valid for consecutive days (not 24-hour periods), so you should make sure to start early on your first day of sightseeing. The London Pass can save you up to 50% on gate prices if you make full use of it and visit several attractions each day, but its value weakens when you only visit one or two places each day. Fear not though: the pass’s savings guarantee means that, if you visit at least three attractions each day for the duration of your pass, and don’t save money, you can apply for a refund of the difference. Some of the 80+ attractions you can visit with your London Pass include:

  • The Tower of London – William the Conqueror’s notorious 1,000-year-old fortress on the Thames.
  • The View from The Shard – dizzying panoramic views from atop the UK’s tallest building.
  • London Zoo – a family favorite with over 750 species of weird, wonderful and downright cute critters.
  • Hampton Court Palace – the grand former home of gouty serial monogamist Henry VIII.
  • Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre – lovingly reconstructed replica of the bard’s 17th-century London playhouse.
  • Kew Gardens – kaleidoscopes of colorful wildflowers, tropical foliage, treetop walkways and more at London’s best botanical garden.

Get The London Pass here.

More Cheap London Attraction Ticket Deals

There are several other straightforward methods of making savings on tickets to London attractions. Traveling to London by train? National Rail runs a promo that gives you 2-for-1 prices on major London attractions when you buy train tickets. There’s a decent list of attractions included in the promo, such as Madame Tussauds, London Dungeon, the ArcelorMittal Orbit and the Tower of London. You’ll need to register on National Rail’s Days Out website, from where you can then download and print vouchers for your chosen attraction. Present these with your train ticket (bearing the National Rail logo) at each attraction to claim your discount. You’ll get these when you take pretty much any train into London (with the exception of the Tube and some airport trains), or you can get them by buying a London Travelcard at any London railway station (as opposed to Tube station) such as Victoria, Liverpool Street, Paddington, Charing Cross and Waterloo. Remember to check your chosen dates are available before pitching up at the attraction – some of the biggies have blackouts on the 2-for-1 offers during peak periods.

Other potentially money-saving options include the likes of the Merlin Pass, which includes access to Merlin attractions like the London Eye, London Dungeon, SEA LIFE London and Madame Tussauds, but has a lot of date restrictions during school holidays on the cheaper basic passes. Then there are cash-saving voucher sites like Groupon and Wowcher, which are great for finding bargain London attraction tickets, especially outside of peak season.

Cheap London Theater Tickets

The West End’s reputation for astronomical ticket prices is almost as famous as its world-class plays and musicals. We’re talking the likes of Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Matilda and The Mousetrap (only the world’s longest-running play, fact fans). Incredibly, it is in fact possible to bag cheap last-minute tickets to all of these and more, as long as you’re a) savvy and b) willing to queue for several hours at the box office on a wing and a prayer.

Here’s the lowdown: very few shows are ever completely sold out and many West End venues offer day seats. Tickets for these are cheap and are generally released between 9AM and 11AM for same-day performances, so you’ll need to be flexible and yes, for the more popular shows, you’ll definitely have to queue and may still end up disappointed. Some shows also run lotteries via their website or app. This is much the same as the day-seat option, but means you can avoid schlepping to the venue and do it all from the comfort of your armchair. Winners are chosen at random.

You can also get last-minute bargains from the tkts booth on Leicester Square, again for shows that same evening. If you can afford to be really flexible about your plans, it’s also well worth taking a gamble on ultra-last-minute cheapies direct from the theaters. And by ultra-last-minute we mean, like, an hour before the performance begins. The Royal Court does 10p tickets. Yes, that’s just ten new pence. These are standing only but hey, that’s a small price to pay, right? Similarly, the hip Donmar theatre in Covent Garden has been known to release £10 tickets for same-day performances, and you can bag tickets to the pit at Shakespeare’s Globe for £5-£10 at most performances. An absolute bard-gain.

Save on things to do in London

Save on admission to London attractions with the London Pass. Check out @londonpass on Instagram for the latest top tips and attraction info.

Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak
Freelance travel writer

Stu caught the travel bug at an early age, thanks to childhood road trips to the south of France squeezed into the back of a Ford Cortina with two brothers and a Sony Walkman. Now a freelance writer living on the Norfolk coast, Stu has produced content for travel giants including Frommer’s, British Airways, Expedia, Mr & Mrs Smith, and now Go City. His most memorable travel experiences include drinking kava with the locals in Fiji and pranging a taxi driver’s car in the Honduran capital.

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The London skyline at night, including The Shard
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Observation Decks in London

Gazing across the London skyline now, it’s difficult to believe that St Paul’s Cathedral – a shrimp at 364 feet – held the title of tallest building in town for over 250 years, only being superseded in the 1960s when the likes of the BT Tower and Millbank Tower sprang up. Nowadays, of course (and especially following the noughties’ skyscraper boom), you can barely throw a stone without hitting some sort of superstructure. The race ever skywards may not look so pretty from ground level, but one happy side effect is the proliferation of observation decks it has spawned, from the View from The Shard to the ArcelorMittal Orbit and, of course, the London Eye. Got a head for heights? Climb aboard for our tour of the best observation decks in London. The London Eye The South Bank’s massive Ferris wheel requires very little introduction. 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Board the elevator in the stunning Art Deco turbine hall for a thrill ride that launches you to the top of one of the iconic chimneys faster than a puff of smoke. Your destination: a 360-degree glass observation deck with far-reaching views across Battersea, Lambeth and beyond from more than 350 feet up. Up at the O2 If you prefer to work for your views, we have just the thing for you. Up at the O2 is a 90-minute experience that requires you to scale – yes, scale – the Greenwich landmark. A guide will ensure you’re suitably well versed in safety procedures, as well as being suited, booted and harnessed before you begin the ascent to a not inconsiderable 170 feet above terra firma. Intrepid climbers are rewarded with sweet views of Canary Wharf, the Olympic Park, Greenwich and Old Father Thames, which look particularly magical on sunset climbs, with city lights illuminating the skyline. Tower Bridge At over 130 years old, Tower Bridge is one of the oldest London observation platforms on our list – and also the most photogenic. Pap your souvenir snaps from the banks of the Thames then make for the glass-floored walkways up top of this extraordinary feat of Victorian engineering. Not only do these provide views of the red double decker buses and black London cabs crossing the bridge far beneath your feet; time it right and you might even get a bird’s eye view of the bridge’s bascules rising to let a boat pass through. You can also expect fine views of landmarks including the Tower of London, HMS Belfast and St Paul’s Cathedral.  Entry to the glass platforms at Tower Bridge is included with The London Pass, which can save you money when taking in multiple London attractions, tours and activities over a few days. ArcelorMittal Orbit Britain’s largest piece of public art, the ArcelorMittal Orbit is the looping, swirling Anish Kapoor-designed behemoth that forms the centerpiece of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. Ascend 260 feet up to the observation deck for views that take in the Shard, Big Ben and the O2 Arena, as well as the very tracks where Olympic records were made back in 2012. But you don’t go to the top of the ArcelorMittal Orbit for the views alone. No! You can also take the fast lane back to ground level via the planet’s tallest and longest slide, an awesome 12-loop beast designed by maverick German artist Carsten Höller. Those of a more delicate constitution may of course choose to descend via the stairs or elevator. The Sky Garden London’s highest public garden is free to enter, but you’ll likely want to book your slot in advance to avoid disappointment. This one’s up top of The Fenchurch Building (better known as the Walkie-Talkie due to its distinctive shape), and couples lush greenery with panoramic London views that include Tower Bridge, St Paul's Cathedral, The Shard and many more. Grab a sundowner at the Sky Pod Bar or treat yourself to a posh fish dinner at the fine-dining Fenchurch restaurant, and note that guests with restaurant reservations need not book a time slot! Monument Built in the 1670s to commemorate the Great Fire of London, the Monument stands 202 feet tall, the same as the distance from its base to the spot where the devastating 1666 blaze began on Pudding Lane. Complete the 311-step climb to the observation platform near the top of of this Portland stone monolith, where you’ll be rewarded with fine views across the city and Thames, as well as an official certificate to prove you made it all the way to the top! Entry to this, London’s oldest ticketed attraction, is included with a London Pass. View from The Shard Well, whaddya know: we’ve saved the loftiest for last. And what better way to conclude this list of the best observation decks in London than with one of the best on the entire planet? Scoot up to the 72nd floor of the UK’s tallest building in just 60 seconds and, once you’ve got your breath back, step out onto the partially open-air deck that towers an epic 1,000 feet (give or take) above the streets of Southwark. This architectural masterpiece (or monstrosity, depending who you ask) contains some 11,000 panes of glass and 36 elevators as well as boasting, on clear days, panoramic views that stretch for up to 40 miles, taking in the Thames Estuary, the South Downs and everything in between. Epic and also, it just so happens, included with The London Pass. Save on London Activities, Tours and Attractions Save on admission to 90+ London attractions with The London Pass. Check out @LondonPass on Instagram for the latest top tips and attraction info.
Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak
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The London Eye
Tower of London

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St Paul’s Cathedral