- I've been making videos about London for many years now,
and I've always been pretty upfront
about the high cost of visiting and living in this city.
But there are so many things you can do in London
that don't cost you anything.
So today I'm gonna show you
some of my favourite places in London
that are completely free to visit.
I've also got my brand new Google Pixel 6 Pro with me,
so I'm gonna be showing you
some of the amazing new features on this phone
as we go through our day.
Let's go to the first spot.
(gentle music)
London's markets are really something special.
Rich in history and traditions,
some of them even date back centuries.
It's an essential visit,
even if you're not looking to spend any money,
as London markets are a great way to get a real feel
of what the city is really like
and to see a variety of food, drink, and bits and bobs
that vendors from around London are selling.
I'm here in Brixton, within Brixton Village and Market Row,
which is one of my favourite markets to come to in London.
The history of this area and this market
goes back to the 1880s,
when one of the streets that the market is on,
Electric Avenue, was named that
because it was one of the first streets in London
to get electricity.
The products sold throughout this entire market
reflect the diverse community that live in this area.
There's a lot of African and Caribbean influence
as well as influence from a bunch of nationalities
that are scattered throughout London.
(gentle music)
After exploring the market,
we're gonna move on to a free museum that is in the area
that often gets overlooked
in other guidebooks and recommendations.
So let's go.
(excited babbling)
(gentle music)
There are over 170 museums in London,
and, actually, a lot of them are free.
From prehistoric artefacts
to futuristic science exhibitions
to really old paintings,
there is a museum for almost all kinds of interests.
(gentle music)
So this is the Black Cultural Archives,
the only national heritage centre
that is dedicated to preserving, collecting, and celebrating
African and Caribbean people here in the UK.
This is a small little place, but I like coming here
because they have a rotating exhibition
that changes every once in a while,
so there's always something new to see.
Plus, they've put together this amazing timeline
that takes you through centuries of Black history
here in the UK,
and there's lots to learn.
And it's super easy to get here.
It's just a couple minutes walk from Brixton Tube Station
and right by Brixton Village and Market Row,
so you can stop there after for something to eat.
Quick note that whenever you come to some place like this
that is free for you to visit,
always try to leave some kind of monetary donation
because places like this rely on donations
to be able to stay open for all of us to enjoy,
(gentle music)
Okay, I'm feeling cultural now,
so I think we should head east
and go to see some street art.
(gentle music)
London is one of the world's best places to see street art,
which can include memorials, statues,
portraits, graffiti, and more.
In certain parts of the city,
it's completely acceptable for anyone
to create a piece of street art on the sides of a building
or on already existing structures,
so much that you might see one piece one day,
and then in the same location the next day,
it will be completely different.
(gentle music)
This is the place to go to,
and, of course, it's completely free to visit.
Oh my god!
- [Distorted Voice] Oh my god!
- Probably the most famous place to see street art in London
is on or off of Brick Lane in Shoreditch,
where we are now.
So if you wanna spot some free street art,
this is the place to come.
This area is also the hub
of the Bangladeshi community here in London.
So Brick Lane is famous for being lined with curry houses,
where you can have a bite to eat.
And as you explore,
you'll see some other Bangladeshi influences
on businesses and other things around here.
One of the really good features for when you're travelling,
on this phone,
is that it does live translate of signs and menus.
So let me show you with one of the signs over here,
which is in Bengali.
Lens mode, translate, and then if we zoom in,
see how it says "Brick Lane?"
It's translated it from Bengali to English.
There you go.
If you want something fun to spot
while you're going around Brick Lane,
there's this artist, Adrian Boswell,
that does all little broccoli art all around the area.
So you can play a game and see how many of the broccoli
that you can spot while you're walking around.
(gentle music)
Now that we've seen some street art,
the next free thing is going to be in a nice green space.
So let's go.
(gentle music)
London is one of the greenest cities in the world,
with more than 3000 parks,
and almost all of them are completely free to visit
for everyone.
It's really what makes London so special for me,
the mixture between city vibes and green outdoor space.
There are parks for all sorts of tastes,
big, small, royal, famous, you name it.
and anywhere in London,
you're never far from some kind of green space.
You might've seen me talk about Victoria Park before.
I think it's my favourite park in London,
not only because it's huge and beautiful,
with its tree walks and water features
and historical elements, like the Chinese pagoda,
but also it's just where east Londoners
come to gather and walk their dogs,
to have a coffee at the cafe, to exercise,
and to meet their friends and enjoy this beautiful park
that we're so lucky to have.
It's great.
(gentle music)
To the person who was disappointed
that we have not ever really filmed in the rain,
you got your wish today.
(gentle music)
The craziest thing about the Google Pixel 6 Pro
is the magic eraser tool,
which takes out any things in the background
that you don't want to be in your picture.
So I'll show you.
Let's take this picture of the pagoda.
We have this pole here.
So we just go into the editor.
You go to "Tools," "Magic eraser,"
and then I'll go in...
(gentle music)
And it just got rid of it.
There's a little bit of the sign left.
You can get rid of that too.
And it's like the pole wasn't even there.
You can even fix the sky.
So if you want it to be more vivid, radiant, amber...
Ta-dah!
(gentle music)
Now that we've seen a beautiful free park to visit,
we're gonna go to a free viewpoint.
So let's go.
(gentle music)
Ah, the views over London.
Some popular places to have a good look over the city
are from the Shard, the London Eye,
and from the top of Tower Bridge.
Although those can be nice,
I found them a bit too touristy,
and, of course, they're not free.
(gentle music)
Now we're on the top of One New Change,
which is a retail development
right in the heart of the city of London.
I love coming up here because I like to see the contrast
of the very sleek and modern buildings in city
versus the very, very old St Paul's Cathedral,
which is, obviously, behind me.
(bright music)
This rooftop is completely free to visit
every single day from 10 to 6:00 PM.
And if you come up here in the evening,
sometimes St Paul's is lit up,
and it looks so beautiful from up here.
(gentle music)
And there you have it,
a bunch of fun, free things
that you can do while you're in London.
I've been super happy with all of the pictures and videos
I've taken on my new Pixel 6 Pro
and all of the other features that I've done.
And because I put the phone on battery save mode,
it means that even though I have been using the phone
the entire shoot day today,
it still has lots of battery left, so love that.
For more info about the Pixel 6 Pro,
click the link in the description box of the video,
and for more tips for your trip to London,
click one of the boxes popping up around me.