With today’s depressingly low U.S. dollar to British pound rate, anything cheap or free in London is certainly worth passing on.

The journal Time Out, supported by Arts Council England, is presently promoting an initiative titled “First Thurdays.” These evenings out take place on the first Thursday of every month, when galleries and museums throughout East London stay open until 9 p.m. Most if not all of the participating venues will offer free entry. Don’t know where to begin? Go online and sign up for a professionally guided bus tour that will take you to an ever-changing cross-section of museums and galleries.

To make the most of your evening out, go to the museums’ Web sites beforehand and see what kind of shows and exhibits will be offered on the night of your visit. August’s offerings ranged from photographs made without a camera to installations composed of crumpled up shopping bags to an exhibit with “junk” as its theme. So presumably with a little research, you should be able to find something that piques your curiosity