Rain in London is rarely dramatic. It is a steady grey drizzle that soaks your shoulders while you insist you do not need an umbrella. The sensible response is not to push on through a walking tour regardless, but to build the day around interiors: two or three stops, short hops between them, and something to sit down for in the middle. London is unusually good at this. What follows are the options worth knowing, plus a plan you can copy wholesale when you cannot face making decisions.

Museums that reward a slow afternoon

The British Museum is free, which makes it the obvious first stop, and its Great Court is fully under cover. The mistake is trying to see all of it. Pick two rooms — the Egyptian sculpture gallery and the Enlightenment gallery, say — then leave. Arrive within an hour of opening or after three in the afternoon; the middle of the day is shoulder to shoulder.

South Kensington is the other reliable cluster. The Victoria and Albert Museum is free, and its warren of rooms rewards wandering over planning; the tiled refreshment rooms, decorated by Morris and his contemporaries, are worth the visit on their own. The Science Museum and Natural History Museum sit on the same street, so a serious downpour can swallow a whole day within one short walk of the Tube.

Smaller places work when you want an hour rather than an afternoon. The Wellcome Collection on Euston Road is free and rarely crowded. The Museum of London Docklands, also free, occupies a former warehouse in Canary Wharf and suits anyone already east. Most of these have cloakrooms, which matters more than you think when you are carrying a sodden coat.

Galleries, big and small

The National Gallery is free, and its Friday late opening shifts the crowds along nicely. Tate Modern is free too, and the Turbine Hall justifies the trip even if the current exhibition is not to your taste.

For quiet, go smaller. The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House holds a compact, excellent collection and takes about ninety minutes, which is the right length for a wet afternoon. Sir John Soane's Museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields is free, eccentric and capacity-limited, so book a timed slot before setting out. For a view without the weather, the Sky Garden is free but needs booking, and the Barbican conservatory opens only on selected days, so check ahead.

Markets and covered walks

Several markets are largely under a roof. Old Spitalfields Market is covered and open every day. Leadenhall Market, all wrought iron and painted roofs in the City, is mostly a weekday affair. Borough Market is partly sheltered by the railway viaducts, closed on Sundays and heaving between noon and two, so arrive early or after the lunch rush clears.

For a route that keeps you dry, link the arcades: Burlington Arcade and Piccadilly Arcade run off Piccadilly, and the Royal Opera House arcade is a covered passage between Bow Street and the Covent Garden piazza. Add the Apple Market and you have an hour of browsing without once opening an umbrella.

Something to watch instead of the weather

A matinee is the classic answer to a wet afternoon. Most West End shows run afternoon performances on Wednesdays and Saturdays, though it varies by production, so check before booking. In winter, the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at Shakespeare's Globe stages candlelit indoor performances, which is a fine thing to do while rain runs down the windows.

Cinemas are easier at short notice. BFI Southbank, the Prince Charles Cinema off Leicester Square, and the Curzon and Everyman sites all screen films through the afternoon for less than a West End seat. For music, try the lunchtime concerts at St Martin-in-the-Fields or an evening recital at Wigmore Hall.

Cosy corners: bookshops and long lunches

Bookshops are underrated rainy-day destinations, partly because nobody minds how long you stay. Daunt Books on Marylebone High Street is the prettiest, with its galleried room at the back. Hatchards on Piccadilly has been trading since the eighteenth century. Foyles on Charing Cross Road is the one to lose an afternoon in.

Then eat properly. A long lunch is the most London response to bad weather, and a table by a window beats queueing for a sandwich. For something grander, book afternoon tea ahead: the well-known places fill up at weekends, and turning up wet and hopeful rarely ends well.

A ready-made wet-day itinerary

If you would rather not decide anything, copy this South Kensington plan. It works because every stop is a few minutes from the last.

1. Arrive around ten and start at the Natural History Museum; use the Exhibition Road entrance if the main doors are queuing.
2. Break for lunch at the V&A café or a pub on nearby Gloucester Road, and let your coat dry.
3. Spend the early afternoon in the V&A, choosing two or three galleries rather than attempting the whole building.
4. Walk to the Science Museum for its final hours, or catch a film if you have had enough of glass cases.
5. Return through the tiled pedestrian subway to South Kensington station, which keeps you out of the worst of it.
6. Finish with an early dinner somewhere you booked in advance, then travel home off-peak if you can.

Practical notes for a rainy day

• Check opening times before you travel. Smaller museums often shut on Mondays, and last admission is usually thirty to forty-five minutes before closing.
• Book free timed tickets for the big museums at weekends and in school holidays. They cost nothing, but they do run out.
• Use the cloakroom. Almost every large museum has one, and carrying a wet coat for four hours is miserable.
• Take the bus rather than the Tube if you want to see the city. A seat upstairs at the front gives you the view without the soaking.
• Wet stone and painted Underground stairs are slippery. Hold the handrail, especially at the older stations.

Plan fewer things than you think you should. Two museums and a long lunch will leave you fonder of London than a sprint between six soggy landmarks. Keep a contactless card or Oyster handy, check TfL for planned closures before setting off, and accept that one damp walk between stops is simply part of the deal.

Photo: andriusm / Pixabay