You can visit these 12 iconic London landmarks for free thanks to the National Lottery

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Hermione Blandford's avatar
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Queen Victoria monument at Kensington palace
(Image credit: Getty Images)

I’ll bet that getting a ticket for The National Lottery at your local corner shop is a core memory for most Brits – the thrill of a scratchcard quickly replaced by the thin red receipt-like ticket which you usually forgot to actually check on a Sunday morning. Lovely stuff, eh? The National Lottery really is the gift that keeps on giving whether you have actually ever won something or not, as their annual Open Week is back for 2026.

The National Lottery Open Week takes the form of seven days of free or heftily discounted tickets to dozens of attractions across the country. Running from 7th March until 15th, the week allows National Lottery funded venues to show their thanks to all participants for their role in helping raise money which keeps charitable causes running. The annual, week-long woohoo offers up free or discounted entry to visitors across the UK, and all they need to do is show a lottery ticket upon entry. Venues include plenty of classic historical sites, galleries, museums, protected nature spots, and even some stunning indie cinemas.

London has plenty of attractions included in National Lottery Open Week this year, including The Tower of London, Kensington Palace, Hampton Court Palace, Tate Modern, RAF Museum. HMS Belfast, The Design Museum, The Science Museum, The Charles Dickens Museum, Greenwich Observatory, Cutty Sark all of which are offering discounts across tickets, including plenty of 2-4-1s.

an image of the Tower of London taken at sunset

(Image credit: Joe Daniel Price / Getty Images)

Osterly Park and House, The Brunel Museum, Eltham Palace and Gardens, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Ham House & Garden, Fenton House, Rainham Hall, 2 Willow Road, Belsay Hall Castle, are all offering free entry as part of the celebrations.

You can also do free tours of Marble Hill, BBC Studios, and the Royal Geographical Society.Kentish Town City Farm is also offering a free tour, and it’s open on Mother’s Day which you can take how you wish.

Cult classic Amelie is having a moment with plenty of free tickets available for showings at a number of beloved London cinemas. Most of the included cinemas are showing the film on 10th March but timing vary. Forest Cinemas in Walthamstow is offering two free tickets for 10th at 7.30pm, Battersea Power Station’s cinema is offering the same (5.30 showing), as is The Phoenix Cinema in east Finchley, and Clapton’s Castle Cinema has the showing at 9pm. Rich Mix Cinema is the only odd one out, running the two free ticket offer on March 9th at 6pm.

As well as free entry and discounts, there are a range of workshops and classes running for free like watercolour sketching, lunchtime yoga, and an ecotherapy taster.

Basically, if you’ve ever wanted to up the culture without downing the ol’ bank balance, this is a perfect opportunity. You can check out all the offers and the details of each discount at National Lottery’s website, here.

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Hermione Blandford
Hermione Blandford
Content Editor

Hermione Blandford is the Content Editor for Shortlist’s social media which means you can usually find her scrolling through Instagram and calling it work, or stopping random people in the street and accosting them with a mini mic. She has previously worked in food and drink PR for brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Gordon's, The Singleton, Lagavulin and Don Julio which means she is a self confessed expert in spicy margaritas and pints, regularly popping into the pub in the name of research.

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