London is too big and too full of things to see to wrap it all up in less than a week. If your trip is going to be shorter than that, you have to pick and choose from all there is to see and select the few that appeal to you the most. Among others, some almost free ways of having a busy and fun filled stop at London involves walks, food, not just seeing but listening, and just wandering through the streets at any time of night and day.

To get started, you can take a walk down the South Bank.  This was where the legendary Globe Theater was, which staged the first shows of plays as timeless as As You Like It and Macbeth (William Shakespeare was once part owner of this theater). This part of London also housed pubs, music halls and vaudevilles. Even today, it is a widely recognized symbol of bohemian culture, and landmarks in its heritage, like the National Film Theater and the County Hall are located here. You should definitely step into the Borough Market. It will be crowded for the most part, but a walk through it is worth the while. You can write a book on what you are sure to experience. The same is true of Oxford Street.

London may well be described as the city of parks. If you start off from Westminster and travel towards Knightsbridge, you will walk almost entirely on neatly manicured grass. You simply must go to Hyde Park and visit the Speaker’s Corner for a taste of how loquacious Londoners can get. Regent’s park is located in the north of the city proper, and is small, but it still retains a feel of the old world English charm. If you are traveling in a group, you can picnic at any of the zany London parks.

A trip to London isn’t complete without at least a day spent museum hopping. The top three are the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National History and the Science Museum. Also try and visit art galleries, most of which offer free entry but sometimes request donations.

Parts of London are full of street performers. The Covent Garden area boasts of an eclectic ambience, with fiddlers, acrobats and musicians. There are tons of fests in the summer. A lot of churches have chamber music. There are free events of music and theater almost every day, so some research will let you choose one you like and keep you entertained for one evening.