Step inside the story of one of London’s most iconic buildings.
17.09.2025
–
31.03.2027
Get ready to explore the City of London’s rich array of ancient and modern buildings for free during Open House Festival 2026
Open House Festival is an annual and free London-wide festival celebrating London’s buildings, architecture, and neighbourhoods.
From Saturday 12 to Sunday 20 September, the City of London invites you to explore historic landmarks, livery halls, modern buildings, with fascinating expert tours and talks.
A fantastic opportunity to visit ‘secret’ spaces and venues which are not often open to the public! And all for free.
This year’s Open House Festival in the Square Mile is supported by the City of London Corporation’s Destination City Partnership Fund.
Open House Festival information on this page
- Do I need a ticket for Open House Festival?
- Visit the Open House Festival Hub
- Selection of City of London landmarks and activities
- Livery Halls and other historic halls
- Guided walks around the City
- Full Open House Festival programme
Do I need a ticket for Open House Festival?
Some talks, walks and tours are ticketed, with limited numbers, and are available to book on the Open House Festival website.
If you didn’t manage to get the tickets you wanted, don’t despair! There are plenty of drop-in activities during the festival, for which you just need to turn up on the day.
From the Lloyd’s Building to the Bank of England Museum, and from the Barbican Conservatory to the neighbourhoods of Aldgate and Fleet Street, there are plenty of iconic and lesser-known places to explore during Open House Festival. Follow our guide!
The Lloyd's building
Visit the Open House Festival Hub at the London Centre
The Festival Hub at the London Centre will be a welcoming base for visitors exploring the City of London. The London Centre is in the West Wing of the Guildhall complex.
Drop in to browse Pocket London guides, pick up festival information and enjoy a programme of free, bite-sized talks using the London models to uncover the stories behind the capital's neighbourhoods, architecture and changing landscape.
When: Saturday 12 and 19 September. No need to book.
Go back to the top of the page
The London models at the London Centre
A selection of City of London landmarks and activities during Open House Festival
- Billingsgate Roman House and Baths: one of Roman London’s most fascinating remains, hidden in the basement of an office block, opens for guided tours on Saturday 12 and 19 September (booking essential). Drop-in guided tours on Wednesday 16 September in the evening.
- Guildhall Art Gallery and London's Roman Amphitheatre: home to many famous and much-loved pictures and displays, sitting above the remains of one of the most important buildings in Roman London. The gallery is open for general access between 10am to 5pm (last admission at 4.45pm) during Open House Festival 2026. Drop-in tours from Tuesday to Sunday at 12.15pm and 1.15pm, with additional tours on 19 and 20 September.
- Guildhall Great Hall and Guildhall Yard: on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September (10am-4pm), visit the third largest civic hall in England, where royalty and state visitors have been entertained down the centuries. It has been the setting for famous state trials, including that of Lady Jane Grey in 1553. And on Sunday 20 at 1.30pm, join the Pearly Kings and Queens of London in Guildhall Yard as they celebrate their traditional Harvest Festival. A Cockney knees-up guaranteed! No need to book.
- Guildhall Library: on Saturday 19 September, from 3 to 6pm, explore London's Historic Architecture at Guildhall Library, navigating through an extensive exhibition and display of books and images which will take you on a journey through time from Norman to Brutalist architecture. No need to book
- Mansion House: the official residence of the Lady Mayor of the City of London, in all its 18th century glory, with superb plasterwork and wood carving, opens for guided tours on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September. Booking essential. Due to enhanced security measures, ID will be required on the day for entry and security screening will be in place.
- Open House Family Day: on Saturday 12 September, Guildhall Art Gallery is joining forces with cultural sites across the City to create a day of free family activities exploring architecture, heritage and placemaking. Join Guildhall Art Gallery, the Insurance Museum, London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE, St Paul’s Cathedral and Dr Johnson’s House for a full day of creative fun with your little ones. We highly recommend that you reserve a spot.
- St Lawrence Jewry: the official church to the City of London Corporation, designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1671 and faithfully restored after World War Two, opens its doors on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September, for organ recitals, talks by the Historic Towns Trust, and general visits. No need to book.
- And the City Information Centre: opposite St Paul’s Cathedral, the City Information Centre is the place for visitors to get advice on everything there is to see and do in London and beyond. Come on Saturday 12, Sunday 13, Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September to grab a map of the City and learn everything you need about the City! No need to book.
Go back to the top of the page
Guildhall Great Hall
Livery Halls and other historic halls in the City of London
- Armourer’s Hall: this late Georgian Livery Hall, rebuilt in 1839, offers guided tours on Saturday 12 September. Booking is essential
- Barnard's Inn Hall: home of Gresham College, the historic Barnard’s Inn Hall opens on Wednesday 16, Thursday 17 and Friday 18 September for visits and history talks. No booking needed
- Carpenters’ Hall: designed as a showpiece for the craft of carpentry, can be visited on Saturday 19 September. No booking needed
- Coopers' Hall, a late 17th century, timber-framed merchant's house with a Georgian frontage, can be visited on Saturday 19 September during an open day. No booking needed.
- Drapers’ Hall: twice destroyed by fire and rebuilt, this livery hall with an opulent Victorian interior is open on Sunday 13 September. No booking needed
- Founders' Hall, built in the 1980s with a striking and eclectic design, can be visited on Saturday 12 and 19 September. No booking needed.
- Haberdashers' Hall can be found in a brick building with traditional lime mortar and handsome lead roof, standing around a peaceful courtyard. Visit on Saturday 19 September. No booking needed
- The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple opens to the public on Sunday 13 September. Visit Middle Temple Hall, one of the finest Elizabethan Halls in the country, completed in 1574, the Library, Garden Room, and the three Bench Apartments, dating from the 19th century. You can also visit the Inner Temple Gardens and the Temple Church to explore 800 years of history. No booking needed, but expect to queue!
- Ironmongers' Hall is decorated in the Arts & Crafts style, and resplendent with art and treasures. Guided tours on Tuesday 15 September. Booking is essential
- Leathersellers' Hall: located at St Helen’s Place, redeveloped in the 1920s, the Hall welcomes visitors on Saturday 19 September for guided tours. Booking is essential
- The Maughan Library at King's College London, was London's first ‘fireproof’ building, built to house records of the Court of Chancery in the 19th century. Can be visited on self-guided tour on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September. No booking needed
- Painters' Hall sits in a neo-Georgian building, and opens its doors on Saturday 12 September. No booking needed
- Stationers' Hall: this elegant 17th century livery hall with courtroom and garden awaits you on Sunday 20 September. No booking needed
- Temple Bar: the 350 year old gateway to the City of London, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, can be visited on Saturday 12, Sunday 13, Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September. No booking needed
Go back to the top of the page
A view of St Paul's Cathedral and Temple Bar. Photo Grant Smith
Open House Festival walks around the City of London
- Aldgate walking tour: a guided walk around the fascinating and often overlooked area of Aldgate in the City of London. Monday 14 and Wednesday 16 September. Booking essential
- Brutalism & High-Tech Architecture Tour: a guided architecture walk exploring London’s post-war transformation, from the Brutalist vision of the Barbican to the High-tech Lloyd's Building and contemporary towers of the City. Sunday 13 September. Booking essential
- The City at night: this walking tour will explore buildings and spaces, well known and lesser-known, in darkness, and will tell the history of night-time in London. Tuesday 15 September. Booking essential
- Film Locations of the City: walk around places in the City you might recognise (or not) from the silver screen. Visit the impressive sites used in major films, including Harry Potter, Mission Impossible, James Bond, and many more.. Tuesday 15 and Thursday 17 September. Booking essential
- The Great Fire of London: on this walk, you will explore the dramatic story of the 1666 tragic event, discover the causes and outcomes of the fire and see how Christopher Wren helped rebuild the city from the ashes. Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September. Booking essential
- Historic & Modern Buildings in the City: step into the heart of London for a journey that bridges centuries of ingenuity and see a diverse range of historic and modern buildings, starting at Guildhall Yard and moving through a route that highlights the dramatic shifts in London’s skyline. Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September. Booking essential
- Historic Monasteries of London: 500 years ago, the City was dominated by rich and powerful monasteries, before they were all destroyed. Thursday 17 September. Booking essential
- Leadenhall Market and Roman ruins: on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September, discover Leadenhall Market's 2,000-year history, including exclusive access to Roman ruins beneath the Market. Booking essential
- The Literary City: a walking tour of the City, visiting key areas associated with famous writers, from Shakespeare, Dr Johnson, Oscar Wilde, and many others. Thursday 17 and Friday 18 September. Booking essential
- Making public spaces and making spaces public: on the borderlands of the City of London, this walk explores how authority and ownership shape our public spaces. Saturday 19 September. Booking essential
- Rhymes and Reasons: the City of London through nursery rhymes. From 'London Bridge is Falling Down' to 'Oranges and Lemons', you will uncover the real places, and experience, and sometimes darker stories that may lie behind these innocent verses. Sunday 13 September. Booking essential
- Romans in London walk: absorb the fascinating history of ancient Londinium, visiting sites where the Romans lived, worked, and played. Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September. Booking essential
- Secrets and Symbols of the City: a curious and enlightening wander through the City of London led by an expert guide, to discover clues to the City’s past in strange marks and curious symbols along the route, keeping an eye out for honeybees, demi-maidens and sunbursts. Monday 12 and Friday 18 September. Booking essential
- Slavery and the City: a guided walking tour to explore sites and institutions with direct links to the history of slavery, whilst wandering within the story packed streets and alleyways of the Square Mile. Saturday 12 and 19 September. Booking essential
- Spitalfields - stories of people: for hundreds of years, Spitalfields has been a place where those seeking safety, work, and community have settled. They all leave their mark in streets buildings in an area rich in history and architectural interest. Sunday 13 September. Booking essential
- Taming the Thames: Londoners and London's river: from ancient monument, to medieval bridge building, Victorian engineering, to today’s iconic views and new super sewer – the riverside reveals Londoners' evolving relationship with the Thames. Wednesday 16 September. Booking essential
Go back to the top of the page
A walking tour by the City of London Guides. Credit: Patrick Honey
Full Open House Festival programme around the City of London
Visit the Open House Festival website for more information. You will find a useful map as well as curated collections to make the best out of your visits.
Go back to the top of the page
