Sidestep the obvious high street shopping routes and look for present inspiration at winter markets, open studios and...
London's ice-skating rinks are gearing up for the seasonal freeze
This year's lights are again the work of United Visual Artists, who worked on effects for tours by Massive Attack and the Chemical Brothers. The switch-on ceremony will feature snow falling from the market building, live reindeer on the piazza, a...
Gaze up at Alfred Waterhouse's stunning Natural History Museum from the 1,050m square outdoor ice rink, or the smaller rink for children. Spectators can take in the scene with a hot chocolate or mulled wine from the balcony café/bar overlooking...
The show welcomes into office the new Lord Mayor of the City of London. The three-mile-long parade involves 6,000 people, 1,550 of them servicemen and women, 202 horses, 24 marching bands and 71 floats featuring people from a huge variety of...
A number of the 50 independent shops at Gabriel's Wharf and neighbouring Oxo Tower Wharf are offering discounts and free giftwrapping for this shopping event. The day coincides with the Lord Mayor's Show fireworks, which take place on the river...
Ready to do the Mashed Potato, the Twist or jive in the street? In anticipation of Carnaby's fiftieth anniversary next year, the Christmas decorations in the 12 streets of the area have a 1960s theme - the hippie concerns of Love, Hope, Joy and...
The cold, bleak weather is no excuse to forego the exciting outdoors for a night in front of the telly. Catch some...
The grand eighteenth-century courtyard at Somerset House provides one of the most impressive skating backdrops in town. The skate school offers lessons for beginners and there are special sessions for families, students and disabled people, as...
In a spot surrounded by vertiginous towers, skaters can glide serenely across the ice, down a dram in the rinkside Moose Bar or just watch the action from the viewing gallery. The rink is located next to the new Park Pavilion which houses bars...
Hyde Park's seasonal makeover takes place for the third year running in late November. We may have had reservations about the ice rink last year (it was just too narrow for us to demonstrate our prowess) but the lights of the Giant Wheel added a...
Small and independent businesses gather at this annual fair to offer traditional furnishings, home and garden decorations, jewellery, handcrafted toys and regional food and drink not available on the high street.
Swedish food, gifts and kitchenware, Christmas decorations, paper goods, candles and Glögg are on sale; there's also a tombola and lottery.
The university's annual festival features screenings from established directors alongside works by students on the film studies programme. Thursday sees Alfonso Cuarón participate in a roundtable discussion following a screening of his 2005...
The Old Truman Brewery becomes a one-stop Christmas shopping experience with independent retailers, gifts markets, designer sales and a pop-up emporium taking over the T1 space.
Offering a grand historical setting for seasonal skating sessions, the rink in the dry moat features views of London's ancient fortress. Ice guides are available for supervised group skating. As at fellow Historic Royal Palace Hampton Court,...
Offering something a little bit different for skating enthusiasts, the ice track at Wembley Stadium runs right around the pitch in a 360m-long promenade for speedy sprinting or careful gliding (and there's a nursery track for young skaters). The...
The two West End streets are presenting joint Christmas lights this year, themed to link in with Disney's 'A Christmas Carol'. Public events including carol singing take place on Regent Street, Oxford Street and in the City of London until Jan 5...
Set in front of Henry VIII's picturesque old pad, this 900-square-metre rink has space for 250 skaters. Sessions last an hour, and the adjacent Frost Fayre café serves hot drinks to counteract exposure to the elements. Wheelchairs are welcome on...
We round up London's best bike shops - whether you're in need of a brand new bike or just need to get a puncture...
Summer might be slipping away, but autumn in London won't disappoint. From art to dance and from theatre to clubbing,...
Annual jewellery showcase in the Olivier foyer, featuring more than 3,000 works for sale by 75 designers from around the world.
Exhibition about the Hammer film company, which cornered the horror market between the 1950s and the 1980s and is about to release a new film, 'Let Me In'. On show are original posters, rare photographs of Hammer stars including Christopher Lee,...
Take a drive into Buckinghamshire to catch Pinewood Studios' first ever public drive-in movies, projected on to Europe's largest bluescreen on the Paddock Lot, complete with refreshments delivered direct to your car. The drive-in will be...
A real German Christmas market along Queen's Walk (from the Southbank Centre to the London Eye) with decorated wooden chalets selling a wide range of hand-crafted gifts and German delicacies such as Glühwein (mulled wine), bratwursts and Kölsch...
The bars, restaurants, sights and sounds that comprise the creme de la capital
Celebrations to accompany the switching on of the Christmas lights in Putney High Street include stalls from 30 local retailers selling food and gifts, plus carol singing and children's activities including a bouncy castle and a treasure hunt.
Like its sister event, Taste of London, this food festival operates on 'currency' called crowns that visitors buy and exchange for taster-sized portions of chefs' seasonal dishes. The 18 restaurants represented at the show include L'Anima (winner...
Bond Street will be transformed into a one-day winter wonderland featuring snow, fir trees, reindeer and carol singers for this special Christmas shopping event in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital. At 6pm a celebrity TBC will switch on the...
Seventy stalls selling gifts ranging from monogrammed socks to specialty cheeses, plus activities such a human table football pitch for children to try out.
A huge range of festivals, special events, ice skating and fireworks.
The first national art show to be curated by serving prisoners encompasses film, music and writing alongside the visual arts. The work, drawn from more than 5,000 submissions from secure establishments across the UK and abroad has been selected...
The art of truffle making is covered at this workshop. Those attending will take home their creations.
Get acquainted with the city while finding ways to make your money go further and investigate a whole new world of...
A small, circular outdoor ice rink tucked away behind Liverpool Street station. The rink is available for private hire on Monday to Thursday evenings (£450 + VAT per hour), and private or group lessons are available at an extra cost. Broomball...
Raise money for Cancer Research UK by stocking up on Christmas presents from companies including Lunn Antiques, The Book People, Tom the Cheeseman and Mind Bender Puzzles. There's also a silent auction with prizes such as a week in a chalet in...
Run by My Chocolate, these workshops take place every Sunday throughout the year, with occasional weekday availability. The two-and-a-half-hour classes are limited to 14 people and start with a lesson on the history of cocoa and the process that...
This paid-for exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery explores the iconography of sixties pop culture through 150 images and memorabilia tying in the music and fashions of the day. Featured artists include the Fab Four, David Bowie, The...
One of Britain's biggest antiques fairs, featuring more than 500 stalls selling furniture, object d'art, glassware and more. Plus a valuation roadshow with leading London auctioneers.
Fairtrade gifts and ethical fashion including furniture made of reclaimed goods by the Longboard Furniture Co, toys and baby carriers by Sleepy Nico and knitwear by Keep & Share. Plus a DIY craft corner, recycled gift wrapping and a free swap...
Original architectural drawings, sketches, publications and models from the early careers of influential architects including Archigram, Norman Foster and Richard Rogers, Renzo Piano, Rem Koolhaas, Herzog and de Meuron and Zaha Hadid.
Former 'Eastenders' actress Michelle Williams will be doing the honours. There's entertainment including a light show before the event, and the following week a German-style Christmas market launches in Croydon's North End pedestrian area (Nov...
Led by photographer Lou Smith and run by London Photo Tours, these walking tours are for small groups of four participants. The sessions cover aspects of photography including exposure, creative composition and how to get the best out of the...
Myleene Klass hosts Raymond Gubbay's seasonal production, which features sopranos Alison Jiear and Stephanie Corley and tenor Jon Christos with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The programme includes traditional and modern Christmas music and...
Roll up for a tour on a Routemaster painted black and redecorated in a gothic vein, to hear half-factual, half-fictional tales about the sinister side of London, delivered by an on-board troupe of actors, stand-up comics and cabaret performers....
Led by enterprising young architect Ike Ijeh, these walks take place all over London and cover themes such as 'Financial London' and 'London Churches'. There's no minimum group size. To book, visit the website, pick a walk, then call or email...
The largest, and oldest, occupied castle in the world, Windsor (one of the Queen's official residences) encapsulates 900 years of British history in its 26-acre site. St George's Chapel, one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in...
These open studios are a great chance to support independent designer-makers and pick up unique gifts (for Christmas or for yourself) that you won't find on the high street. Whether you're after furniture, lighting, jewellery, fashion...
Discover where Charles Dickens worked and set his novels, and take in some period architecture including picturesque Leadenhall Market and the Royal Exchange. City of London Guides will set the scene by describing the Christmas traditions of...
|
|
|
|