01
Free is not second-best
Eleven of England's finest collections charge nothing. This is national policy, not a discount, and it makes a wet week in London genuinely cheap.
£0 forever
Money
What a day in England actually costs.
Three daily budgets built from receipts, every major attraction priced with a verdict, and the three lines where the money genuinely hides. No ranges so wide they mean nothing.
3 budget tiers14 attractions pricedFeb 2026 pricesLondon vs elsewhere
- £152
- Median mid-range day outside London
- 28%
- Cheaper outside London, on average
- £0
- The eleven best museums
Three speeds
Pick a tier and read across.
Per person, per day, including a bed, three meals, local transport and attractions. Sharing a twin room; solo travellers should add roughly 40% to the bed line.
Thrifty
£60
Per day, London
£44
Elsewhere
Hostel dorms, supermarket breakfasts, one hot meal a day and free museums. Genuinely comfortable if you like walking and do not mind a bunk.
| Line item | London | Elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| Bed | £34 | £24 |
| Breakfast | £3 | £3 |
| Lunch | £6 | £5 |
| Dinner and a drink | £11 | £9 |
| Local transport | £6.00 | £3 |
| Attractions | £0 | £0 |
Per person per day · sharing a twin room
Middle
£210
Per day, London
£152
Elsewhere
A three-star room or good guesthouse, café breakfast, a pub lunch, a proper dinner and one paid attraction a day. What most visitors actually spend.
| Line item | London | Elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| Bed | £118 | £82 |
| Breakfast | £11 | £9 |
| Lunch | £16 | £14 |
| Dinner and a drink | £29 | £25 |
| Local transport | £8.90 | £5 |
| Attractions | £27 | £17 |
Per person per day · sharing a twin room
Comfortable
£451
Per day, London
£318
Elsewhere
A boutique room, breakfast where you sit down, lunch out, a booked dinner and taxis when it rains. Diminishing returns start around here.
| Line item | London | Elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| Bed | £265 | £186 |
| Breakfast | £22 | £18 |
| Lunch | £34 | £28 |
| Dinner and wine | £68 | £54 |
| Local transport | £24 | £14 |
| Attractions | £38 | £18 |
Per person per day · sharing a twin room
Attractions
Fourteen prices, and whether to pay them.
The verdict column is ours, and we are happy to argue about it. The pattern is consistent: the national collections are free and superb, and the ticketed viewing platforms are neither.
| Attraction | Price | Verdict | How to do it |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Museum | £0 | Free, always | Go late afternoon; the Egyptian rooms empty out after four. |
| National Gallery | £0 | Free, always | Ninety minutes is enough. The Dutch rooms and the Turners are the point. |
| Tate Modern | £0 | Free, always | The tenth-floor terrace has the best free St Paul's view in London. |
| V&A | £0 | Free, always | Vast. Pick two galleries and accept you will not see the rest. |
| Natural History Museum | £0 | Free, always | Book a free timed slot in school holidays or queue for forty minutes. |
| Sky Garden | £0 | Free with booking | Book three weeks out. Better than any paid viewing platform. |
| Tower of London | £34.80 | Worth it once | First slot of the day, straight to the Crown Jewels, then the walls. |
| Roman Baths, Bath | £28.50 | Worth it | Genuinely remarkable. Book the earliest slot and use the audio guide. |
| Stonehenge | £26.50 | Worth it, just | Book the first entry. By eleven it is a car park with stones behind it. |
| Westminster Abbey | £30 | Worth it | Or attend Evensong for free, which is arguably the better experience. |
| St Paul's Cathedral | £26 | Worth it for the dome | The 528-step climb is the reason to pay. Skip if you dislike stairs. |
| London Eye | £36 | Skip it | Half an hour of queue for a view the Sky Garden gives you free. |
| Madame Tussauds | £39 | Skip it | Expensive wax. Two free national museums are ten minutes away. |
| Windsor Castle | £33 | Worth it | Check it is open — it closes for state occasions at short notice. |
2026 adult walk-up prices · online booking is usually £1–3 cheaper
02
Pay for the singular things
The Tower, the Roman Baths, a cathedral dome. Places that exist nowhere else and cannot be approximated for free.
£26–35
03
Skip the packaged views
Paid viewing platforms and wax museums sell convenience, not experience. There is a free alternative within a mile of each.
Save £75
Cards and cash
Contactless everywhere, £20 in your pocket.
England is close to cashless. Buses do not take cash at all, market stalls take cards, and most pubs would rather you tapped.
- Always pay in pounds. Declining a machine's currency conversion saves 3–7%.
- Use one card for all transport taps or the daily cap will not apply.
- Carry about £20 in notes for chippies, honesty boxes and village buses.
- Cash machines inside banks and supermarkets are free. Standalone ones in shops charge £1.50–2.
- Check for a 12.5% service charge before adding a tip in a restaurant.
Where the money goes
A mid-range budget, divided.
46
Accommodation
The only line worth attacking
24
Food and drink
18
Transport
12
Attractions
A real total
Seven nights, two cities, one honest number.
Four nights in London and three in York, mid-range, for two people sharing. Flights excluded because they depend entirely on where you start.
- £0
- Per person, seven nights
- £0
- Average per day
| Line | Total | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| London, 4 nights | £472 | Mid-range double, £118 a night |
| York, 3 nights | £234 | Guesthouse inside the walls, £78 a night |
| London → York → London | £96 | Advance singles, booked twelve weeks out |
| Local transport, 7 days | £56 | London weekly cap plus York on foot |
| Food and drink, 7 days | £392 | Café breakfast, pub lunch, proper dinner |
| Attractions | £124 | Tower, Minster, Jorvik, plus the free museums |
| Contingency | £46 | The rain taxi and the second pint |
| Total per person | £1,420 | Sharing a twin, flights excluded |
Checked February 2026 · one person travelling alone should add roughly £320
Money questions
Asked while the spreadsheet is open.
How much cash should I bring?
About £20 in notes, and only because a handful of chippies, footpath honesty boxes and rural buses still insist on it. Everything else — including every London bus — takes contactless.
Is England more expensive than the rest of Europe?
London is comparable to Paris or Amsterdam and cheaper than Zurich or Oslo. Outside London it is noticeably cheaper than most of Western Europe, and the free national museums shift the balance further.
What is the cheapest month to visit?
Late January and early February, followed by November excluding the last week. Flights, rooms and trains all bottom out, and the museums are empty. It is also dark by four.
Should I get a tourist attraction pass?
Only if you will genuinely visit three or more paid attractions every day. Because the flagship museums are free, most visitors never reach that rate. Price your actual shortlist first.
Are restaurant prices with or without service?
Menu prices include VAT. A discretionary service charge of 12.5% is commonly added to the bill afterwards in restaurants — never in pubs. You may ask for it to be removed.
How much does a pint cost?
£5.40 on average nationally, £6.50–7.50 in central London, and £4.20–4.80 in the north. Ordering a half is entirely normal and nobody will comment.
Budget check
Send us your number and your dates.
We will tell you what that budget buys, which tier it lands in, and the two lines worth moving to make the trip better.
Call the bureau
+44 20 7790 1050
Email
support@rate.ie
Office
222–226 Jubilee St, Stepney Green,
London E1 3BS, United Kingdom
London E1 3BS, United Kingdom