This year’s Open House London will be on 22nd and 23rd September. There are a number of places that are only accessible by advance booking or via a ballot which will be released today, so check out the Open House site and keep an eye out for additional buildings being added in the coming weeks.
Open House London is a once a year chance to explore some of London’s extensive architecture, and in particular some special and unique buildings that are not normally open to the public. Included in this are: private homes, government buildings, historic sites, educational establishments, and many others.
Open House was started in 1992 by a small, not for profit organisation to promote public awareness and appreciation of the capital’s building design and architecture. In recent years it has become an event all over the world in cities including New York and Prague, check out the full list.
Most buildings are open on a first come first served basis which means queuing patiently on the day. Although this means that you can decide last minute, and subject to weather. Here are my Open House London tips for first timers, after having visited a few events over the years.
Open House London tips
1. Prepare a list of what you want to see in advance and read up on it if you have time, as it will make the experience more enlightening.
2. Apply for buildings that need advance booking, or ballot applications in plenty of time.
3. Purchase a programme – available on the Open House website, and there is also an app which can come in handy when navigating around the city. It’s worth having a few extra buildings on your short list in case the queues are long.
4. Check the tfl website for how to get there and whether there are any engineering works to avoid etc.
5. Bring ID with you, as some of the official buildings require this before allowing you in, and it’s best to have this than reach the front of the queue and be turned away.
6. Get an early start and you will not be disappointed, as it gets busy with everyone descending on London later in the morning. Head to the places you really want to see first thing.
7. Travel light and don’t carry too much in your bag as it will inevitably be subject to searches. However, bring an umbrella (due to the London weather) but refrain from bringing your penknife or other items that may pose a risk of being rejected, along with yourself, by security.
8. Bring lunch with you, or grab something en-route to take with you, as there will be plenty of time, whilst waiting, to eat it.
9. Use toilet facilities at every opportunity as some buildings do not have them available, or they will be busy.
10. Maybe avoid the new additions, unless they are likely to be a one off, or you are ok with queuing for hours. These will always be very popular and busy.
A few suggestions
Need some ideas of where to visit.
1. St Mary’s Axe/Gherkin
- Best for: If the weather is fine and the sky is likely to be clear this is must visit for the great views.
- Prepare: Notorious for long queues and you may be disappointed if you reach the top after a long wait and it’s raining, as we did.
2. The Bank of England
- Best for: Special one off talks – they we covering some interesting insights on bank notes during our visit. The museum itself is open throughout the year so unless there is a talk that is of interest to you, I would skip this for a normal day.
- Prepare: Long queues, which on our visit were disappointing as after 2 hours we got no sight of the vaults inside, just briefly saw them through a doorway and the special access area was ‘dull’.
3. City Hall
- Best for: Great views of Tower Bridge, on a clear day. It’s worth queuing just to walk the spiral staircase down to the purple-carpeted chamber on the ground floor, both an impressive spend of tax payers money.
- Prepare: For security checks but queue’s tend to be shorter than most buildings.
4. Horse Guards
- Best for: Informative guides – with access to both the cellars, the cockpit, and the Duke of Wellington’s former office.
- Prepare: Keep an eye out for the original desk in the Duke of Wellington’s former office.
5. Foreign and Commonwealth Office
- Best for: Short queuing time.
- Prepare: Take your time there are a lot of displays put on here. Keep watch for the beautiful ceiling.
6. Royal Courts of Justice
- Best for: Experiencing life in court. With interactive cases which you can take part in, as well as spectate, it’s quite fun and definitely informative. It’s interesting just wandering around a selection of the court rooms and listening to some of the presentations, particularly if you’re short on time.
- Prepare: You will need a little longer than many of the other buildings, if you want to take part in one of the scripted cases, as well as to look around the holding cells.
7. Admiralty House
- Best for: Seeing the room where Nelson’s coffin laid in state put it up there in the list of highlights.
- Prepare: Extreme security measures.
