Open House Festival 2026

For nine days each September, London unlocks its front doors. Open House Festival returns for its 35th edition from 12 to 20 September 2026, opening hundreds of buildings that are normally closed to the public – completely free. Run by the architecture charity Open City, the festival covers the full range of the built city: landmark buildings and new developments, much-loved heritage, industry and infrastructure, places of work and private homes. The 2026 programme is the biggest yet, with 621 listings announced so far (and more to come), including 143 places entirely new to the festival. Highlights include ever-popular tours of No 10 Downing Street, BBC Broadcasting House and the BT Tower; the Lloyd’s Building, Richard Rogers’ inside-out icon, joining the festival for its 40th birthday; the Zaha Hadid Foundation archive appearing for the first time; the rarely-opened Punchdrunk Enrichment Stores in Wembley; Coldershaw Road, the Huntley family home and Black British cultural archive; and the West Ham Pumping Station. The majority of the programme is open to spontaneous drop-in visitors, but some places require advance booking – bookings open at midday on 19 August. The festival is free to attend; donations support Open City’s work. Browse the full programme at programme.openhouse.org.uk.