Our pick of free things to do in London this week. Get earlier access to this article, delivered straight to your inbox for free every week, via our newsletter.
Christmas light switch-ons
November’s barely begun when London’s Christmas light switch-ons get started. Carnaby is among those leading the charge, with its ’90s-themed illuminations switched on from Wednesday, with a special event. Regent Street lights up from Thursday, and goes pedestrianised for the afternoon, making way for various stalls and entertainment. We expect the Oxford Street Christmas lights might go on sometime this week too, though no date has been confirmed at time of writing. Freshly pedestrianised, you’ll be able to walk right beneath them.
See the dates for all of London’s 2026 Christmas lights.
From 4 November.
The aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot
Ahead of Bonfire Night on Thursday, the National Archives looks at what happens after Guy Fawkes was caught attempting to blow up Parliament. In an online talk on Wednesday evening, collections specialist Dan Gosling delves into what official records can tell us about the immediate aftermath, including the hunt for Fawkes’ co-conspirators, and the plotters’ trial.
4 November.
London through a camera obscura
Remember the camera obscura which popped up at Ally Pally over the summer? Experience it again, this time indoors at the East Court, thanks to a free display showcasing photos taken from the summer installation — all displayed upside down, as if being projected live.
4-17 November.
Free fireworks in central London
Wherever you are in London this week, expect to hear plenty of whizzbangs as firework displays take place all over town. The majority require a paid ticket to get close to the action, but there is one FREE display on Bonfire Night itself, and it’s in central London.
Fireworks Night at Coram’s Fields in Bloomsbury is free to attend, with gates open from 3.30pm, and live performances on stage followed by the fireworks display. Note that due to the rules of Coram’s Fields, no adults will be admitted without children.
5 November.
Stay late at the Royal College of Physicians
On Thursday, the Royal College of Physicians Museum stays open for an evening focused on its new exhibition, Patient Voices: Power, Truth, Understanding.
Join a free tour with senior curator Liz Douglas, focusing on the lived experiences of healthcare shared through diaries, letters, images, oral histories, objects, artworks and more. There’s also a chance to explore the rest of the museum, including its apothecary jar collection and collection of fine art.
5 November.
Exhibition in an old house
Safehouse 1 in Peckham, a derelict-house-turned-event-space, hosts the exhibition Figurings of the Real. It involves three artists — Andrew McDonald, Thomasina Smith and Matthew Swift — transforming their embodied pasts and lived encounters into creative forms, including mask-like faces and hairy, abstract mixed-media works.
5-8 November.
Wander through the Ever After Garden
Back for Christmas 2026, the Ever After Garden opens at Duke of York Square in Chelsea on Thursday night, with more than 30,000 glowing white ‘roses’.
Anyone can visit, and though there’s no admission fee, the installation raises money for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, so consider donating if you can. Alternatively, dedicate a rose to a loved one (minimum suggested donation £15).
5 November-21 December.
The Colombian Exchange
Sir John Akomfrah’s Arcadia is a film installation exploring the Colombian Exchange — the mass movements of people, species, goods and disease between the Americas, Afro‑Eurasia and Europe. The piece mixes landscape and sea imagery with a layered soundtrack of nature sounds, opera and poetry. It’s screened at the Natural History Museum from Friday.
From 6 November.
Celebrate Diwali at the National Maritime Museum
Greenwich’s National Maritime Museum goes big for Diwali on Saturday, with a huge free day of family-friendly celebrations. Watch dance performances, have a go at Rangoli art or lantern-making, or try on a selection of traditional South Asian clothing. Things culminate in a lantern parade through Greenwich Park accompanied by the rhythms of Eternal Taal’s dhol drummers.
7 November.
