Summer NOT on Holiday Challenge: Go Sightseeing

Summer NOT on holiday challenge 2026 weekend 2 Let's go sightseeing

It’s Weekend Two of the Summer ‘NOT on Holiday’ Challenge! Once again we have a new theme to boost your leisure time and bring that ‘on holiday’ feeling into your everyday life.

This weekend’s theme is Go Sightseeing. Imagine you’ve gone away on holiday, and you spent a day or two settling in. Now it’s time to see the sights and go exploring.

Plan your weekend around visiting new places, and perhaps also look at more familiar locations with different eyes.

Wherever you live, there’s probably somewhere not too far away where you can do some low-cost sightseeing. Plan a couple of day trips, or take a wander around the nearest town. What’s nearby-ish that you can go and check out?

A few sightseeing ideas to get you started

Need a little inspiration? Try one of these:

Natural beauty

Visit a natural beauty spot and take in the scenery
Plan a walk on a nature trail you haven’t tried before
Visit some botanical gardens
Walk around a nature reserve or other environmental project
Do a photography trip around your own neighbourhood – see it from a new perspective (for example, look up or look down to see it from a different angle)

Arts & culture

Go to a museum or gallery you haven’t visited (most are free)
Attend a new exhibition somewhere, even if you’ve seen other things there before
Follow a free scupture tour or public art trail
Attend a one-off event such as an art fair, talk or special screening
Find cheap tickets to theatre shows, or go to an open air performance
Hunt down free music recitals or gigs
Go to an area that’s known for buskers and street performers
Time your visit to see a carnival or parade

Architecture & history

Go inside a new-to-you church, cathedral, town hall, temple, library or other public building
Climb up to a public viewing point
Get out and look at all the architecture in a specific area
Download an audio tour or do an augmented reality walk
Find out about National Trust properties in your county, or the next one along
Join an organised walking tour, or make up your own
Go to the visitor centre at a nearby historical site
Attend a traditional folk or heritage event

Even more ideas

Get the train to a big town or city not too far from home
Ask a friend to show you around where they live
Go to an annual fair, local fête or street party
Check local information, from the council website to tourist information centres
Go to the best street market in the area, grab a snack and find some souvenirs
Look up cheap tickets for days out, including theme parks, bus tours, boat trips and more (try Wowcher, Groupon UK, BuyAGift UK, and 2-for-1 offers for at DaysOutGuide.)

That’s a quick list of things to try, but I’m sure you can come up with plenty of your own too.

The main collections at museums and galleries are usually free in the UK, and the gardens of many castles and manor houses are free to walk around, so it’s possible to have a very cheap and interesting day out. Don’t forget to check for discounts such as group bookings, under 25s or retiree rates, Universal Credit or ‘kids go free’ offers.

You might be able to take a flask or a picnic, or have a cheap lunch nearby. Also, there’s no need to exit via the gift shop… unless you want to! Your trip doesn’t have to be too big or too grand, just get yourself a change of scenery and get out of your everyday weekend routine.

What we might get up to here

I live within easy reach of Central London, so I have quite a few options to try. If the weather’s good we’ll probably end up doing an architecture or local history walk of some sort, or have a stroll along a section of the Thames.

If inspiration fails to strike, there are always weekend listings for free and cheap events at TimeOut London, Londonist, and plenty of other places. Oh, and there’s always a fair or second hand market etc listed on Eventbrite, in case it’s a free event that requires a ticket.

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Have fun being a tourist and going sightseeing for a couple of days.

Will you look at your usual surroundings in a different way, or will you go somewhere completely new?

Summer NOT on Holiday Challenge: Go Sightseeing