Six free days out around Chiswick, from a 65-acre Palladian garden to two free museums, plus 2026 prices checked this week and a VAT cut ending 1 September.
Chiswick has an unusual concentration of things worth an afternoon, and an unusual number of them cost nothing. Two of the borough’s three historic houses are free, the museum in Gunnersbury Park is free, and the most impressive garden in west London is free every day of the year. This is what is actually open, with prices read from each venue’s own website in the week of 9 August 2026.
One thing to know before you book
The government has cut VAT to 5% on admission to qualifying family attractions, including museums, heritage sites and botanical gardens, for admissions between 25 June and 1 September 2026 inclusive (GOV.UK). It applies to all admissions, not just children’s, and the government has said it expects the saving to be passed on. Some of the prices below are therefore lower than they will be in the autumn. If a day out is flexible, the cheap window closes on 1 September.
The six free ones
Chiswick House Gardens. Sixty-five acres of the garden that invented the English landscape movement, free to everyone, every day, from 7am until dusk, and until 9.30pm in June and July. The Kitchen Garden is free too, Thursday to Sunday from 10.30am to 3.30pm. Free volunteer-led garden tours run Fridays and Sundays from noon to 1pm, no booking (Chiswick House and Gardens).
Hogarth’s House, Hogarth Lane. William Hogarth’s country retreat, now owned by the council and free to walk into: Tuesday to Sunday and bank holiday Mondays, noon to 5pm, last entry 4.45pm. There is a free digital guide through the Bloomberg Connects app and a mulberry garden behind (Hogarth’s House).
Gunnersbury Park and Museum. The park is 72 hectares and open daily from 7am to dusk; the museum, in the Rothschilds’ old house, is free and open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4.30pm. It holds around 50,000 objects, and 2026 is its centenary year as a public park. An outdoor photographic exhibition, Spot The Difference: A Walk Through Time, runs until February 2027 (Gunnersbury).
Boston Manor House, Brentford. Restored Jacobean house with some of the best plasterwork in London, free entry, Tuesday to Sunday and bank holiday Mondays, noon to 5pm. Ten minutes’ walk from Boston Manor station, café on site, limited paid parking in the park with a four-hour weekday limit (Boston Manor House).
Strand-on-the-Green and Chiswick Mall. The two riverside walks, one at the Kew Bridge end and one at the Hammersmith end. No opening times, no tickets, and better at low tide.
Bell Square, Hounslow. Watermans programmes outdoor performance in the square in Hounslow town centre, and the tickets are free. Next up is the Basque company Ertza with Otempodiz, dance, acrobatics and juggling, on Saturday 22 August at 1pm and 3pm, followed by a run of French companies in late September. Free, but you book a time slot (Watermans).
What the paid ones cost
| Place | Adult | Child | When it is open |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chiswick House | £13.50 | £6.50 | Thu to Sun, 10.30am to 3.30pm, until 27 September |
| London Museum of Water & Steam, Brentford | £12.00 | £4.00 (5-16) | Daily 10am to 4pm to 2 September, then Thu to Sun |
| The Musical Museum, Brentford | £15.00, or £12.00 for Hounslow residents | £5.00 | Fri, Sat, Sun 10am to 4pm |
| Syon House, Gardens and Great Conservatory | £16.50 online, £17.50 on the door | £9.50 online (5-16) | Sun and bank holidays self-guided; Mon and Tue guided tours only |
| Osterley Park and House (National Trust) | £18.00, or £19.80 with Gift Aid | £9.00, or £9.90 with Gift Aid | House 11am to 3.30pm, garden 10am to 5pm, park 9am to 5pm |
| Syon gardens and conservatory only | £7.00 online, £8.00 on the door | £3.50 online | Sun, Mon, Tue 10.30am to 3.30pm |
| Osterley gardens only | £10.00, or £11.00 with Gift Aid | £5.00 | Non-bank-holiday Mondays and Tuesdays |
Chiswick House
The house itself opens for the summer only, this year from 21 May to 27 September 2026, Thursday to Sunday, 10.30am to 3.30pm with last entry at 3pm. Adult admission is £13.50, children £6.50, a family of one adult and three children £18.50 and two adults and three children £29.50; jobseekers pay £6.50. Free audio guides are narrated by Elizabeth McGovern for adults and Sophie Ellis-Bextor for children, and there are free drop-in house tours on Thursdays and Saturdays from noon. Families get 50% off on Fridays with the code Family2026 (Chiswick House and Gardens).
London Museum of Water & Steam
The old Kew Bridge pumping station, and the best value of the paid options with children: £12 adult, £4 for 5 to 16s, under-5s free, or £25 for two adults and two children. It runs daily 10am to 4pm through the summer to 2 September and Thursday to Sunday in term time. Worth knowing before you go: the 90 and 100 inch Engine House is closed for renovation, so not everything is on show (London Museum of Water and Steam).
The Musical Museum
Three galleries of working self-playing instruments beside the river in Brentford, open Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 4pm, with guided demonstrations at 10.30am, 12.30pm and 2.30pm. £15 adult, £12 concession, £5 child, and £12 if you live in the borough, which is a discount worth claiming (The Musical Museum).
Syon House, Isleworth
Robert Adam interiors and the Great Conservatory, in Capability Brown parkland, open from mid-March to the end of October. The pattern catches people out: the house is self-guided on Sundays and bank holidays from 10.30am to 3.30pm, and guided tours only on Mondays and Tuesdays, first tour 10.30am and last at 2pm. House, gardens and conservatory is £16.50 online or £17.50 on the door; gardens and conservatory alone is £7 online, which is the cheap way in (Syon Park).
Osterley Park and House, Isleworth
The National Trust’s Adam house on the edge of the borough. On a summer day the house opens 11am to 3.30pm, the garden 10am to 5pm and the park 9am to 5pm. Non-members pay £18 for house and gardens, or £19.80 with Gift Aid, and £10 for the gardens alone. Parking is £7 through the JustPark app, location ID 80636, and free for members, Blue Badge holders and motorbikes (National Trust).
Two more, with a caveat each
Watermans, Brentford is the borough’s arts centre, with a cinema, live performance and exhibitions. When we checked on 9 August 2026 the site was carrying a notice that the cinema was closed because of a projector fault, with a further update promised, though the summer family programme was going ahead as planned. Check before you set off (Watermans).
The Gtech Community Stadium is Brentford FC’s 17,250-seat ground beside Kew Bridge station, and the most reliable big day out in the borough between August and May. Tickets and any behind-the-scenes tours go through the club rather than the venue.
Frequently asked questions
What can you do in Chiswick for free?
Chiswick House Gardens, 65 acres and open daily from 7am; Hogarth’s House on Hogarth Lane, free Tuesday to Sunday from noon; Gunnersbury Park and its free museum; Boston Manor House in Brentford, also free; and the riverside walks at Strand-on-the-Green and Chiswick Mall.
How much does it cost to get into Chiswick House?
£13.50 for an adult and £6.50 for a child, with family tickets at £18.50 for one adult and three children and £29.50 for two adults and three children. The gardens around it are free. The house is open Thursday to Sunday until 27 September 2026.
Is Gunnersbury Park Museum free?
Yes. Entry to the museum is free, and it opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4.30pm. The park around it is free too, open daily from 7am until dusk.
What is the cheapest day out with children in Chiswick?
Free, if you use the four free houses and gardens. Of the paid attractions, the London Museum of Water & Steam is the cheapest for a family at £4 a child and £25 for two adults and two children, and the Musical Museum charges Hounslow residents £12 instead of £15.
Are attraction prices going up after the summer?
Some will. The reduced 5% rate of VAT on admission to qualifying family attractions applies only to admissions between 25 June and 1 September 2026, so prices set with that rate in mind are likely to rise once it ends.
What is open on a Monday in Chiswick?
Less than you would like. Chiswick House, Hogarth’s House, Gunnersbury Museum and Boston Manor House are all shut on Mondays other than bank holidays. Syon opens on Mondays for guided house tours and its gardens, and Osterley opens for gardens only. The gardens at Chiswick House are open every day of the year.
Related
- Chiswick trains to London: every place on this page is walkable from a District line or South Western Railway station.
- Chiswick roads and travel: parking, the ULEZ and which river crossings you can still drive over.
- Chiswick house prices: what living next to all this costs.
Sources
- Chiswick House and Gardens: opening times and tickets and visit Chiswick House for the free gardens, the house season and every price.
- Hogarth’s House: visit us for the free admission and opening hours.
- Gunnersbury Park and Museum for the free museum, park hours and current exhibition.
- Boston Manor House: visit us for free entry, hours and parking.
- London Museum of Water and Steam: plan your visit for prices, hours and the closed engine house.
- The Musical Museum: visit us for prices, the resident rate and tour times.
- Syon Park visitor information for the season, the Monday and Tuesday tour pattern and prices.
- National Trust: Osterley Park and House for opening times, prices and the car park charge.
- Watermans and Bell Square for the cinema notice and the free outdoor programme.
- GOV.UK: temporary reduced rate of VAT for children’s meals, tickets and family attractions for the 25 June to 1 September 2026 window.
Prices and opening times were read from each venue’s own website in the week of 9 August 2026 and change without much warning. Check the venue before you travel, especially on Mondays.
Have your say
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