The Royal Wedding

Whatever you feel about the monarchy, a big, ceremonial London event is always fun, especially when it means an extra day off. The ceremony at Westminster Abbey begins at 11am. Kate will travel by car at 10.51am, starting at the Goring Hotel near Victoria Station, then travelling along the Mall, Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall and Parliament Square. View the procession map at www.timeout.com/royalmap

At 12.15pm, the couple, along with members of the royal family will travel in a procession of horse-drawn carriages along the same route to a reception at Buckingham Palace. Big screens relaying the event will be set up in Hyde Park, Trafalgar Square and Walthamstow.

At 1.25pm, the Queen and the bride and groom will appear on the balcony at Buckingham Palace, and at 1.30pm there will be a flypast by the Royal Air Force and a Battle of Britain memorial flight.

Read our guide to traditional and alternative royal wedding events in London at www.timeout.com/royalwedding

For all royal wedding-themed events click on www.timeout.com/royalevents

A number of road closures will be in effect for parts of the day, including Grosvenor Place, Haymarket, Hyde Park Corner, Knightsbridge (east of Sloane St), Park Lane and Piccadilly. There will also be some wedding-related road closures on Apr 27 2.30-7am. As the royal wedding day is a bank holiday, it has been designated a congestion charge non-charging day. All tube lines will be running, with no planned engineering work.

It's not just the monarchists who will turn out on William and Kate's long-long-awaited big day to critique the bride's dress and comment on the cuteness of the bridesmaids. There are those who will go along to enjoy the atmosphere and the feeling of being a part of the crowd and of a moment in history. Even for those who find the whole business rather tedious, there will be all sorts of advantages: the rare silence that will descend when the rest of the city is watching the service on the telly; the normally hard-to-come-by tickets that will be available for once - and the chance to head off for a long weekend away (the following Monday is the early May bank holiday), without dipping into your holiday allowance.

A limited-edition, commemorative Oyster card, featuring a portrait of the couple, is available from Apr 21; a £5 deposit and £5 minimum top-up applies.