Get us in your inbox

Search
April Things to do this Month
Photograph: Julia Zavalishina

The best things to do in London in April 2024

Plan an amazing April 2024 with our selection of the best events, exhibitions and things to do in London

Written by
Rosie Hewitson
,
Alex Sims
&
Liv Kelly
Advertising

April is an underrated month if you ask us. Winter is finally over and we’ve all started to emerge from hibernation, ready to properly commit to socialising again. The sun has put in a few appearances, London’s parks and gardens are in full bloom and the city feels alive with all the possibilities of summer, but without all the sunburn and sweltering, sleepless nights. 

There’s also a handful of spring music festivals, some cracking art exhibitions and theatre (including the first open-air shows of the year) and plenty more amazing things going on around the city. 

Check out our roundup of the best of them, and start planning an amazing month now. 

Best things to do in London in April

  • Things to do

Running a marathon is a truly gruelling feat requiring countless hours of training, so the 50,000 brave souls who are taking part London Marathon on Sunday April 21 2024 very much deserve our support. Check out our route guide to find the best spectating spots and track down nearby pubs and bars for when all that whooping and clapping leaves you feeling nearly as thirsty as the runners. Remember: your presence at this monumental sporting occasion makes it absolutely fine to drink lager or rosé in the street at 10am on a Sunday. 

 

  • Things to do
  • Exhibitions
  • Aldwych

Step away from the mess of consoles in your bedroom and get immersed in the latest experimental games from across the world at Somerset House’s video-gaming extravaganza Now Play This. Into 8-bit 1-uping or cutting-edge new releases? The fest is all about interacting with thoughtful, inventive games that draw from the world we live in. It’s the 10th addition this year and, as ever, it will be showcasing games around a particular theme – this year: ‘Liminal: Playing Between Worlds’. 

Advertising
  • Things to do
  • Festivals
  • Chalk Farm

Originally built as a railway turntable back in the 19th century, it turns out the shape of The Roundhouse’s cylindrical brick building gives it pretty stunning acoustics. This ten-day fest uses its tubular shape to full effect, staging a unique line-up of bespoke shows, one-off collaborations and surprise gigs designed to immerse you in eclectic sounds and get you closer to your favourite artists. Artists on the programme include Tirzah, Lucy Rose, Samara Joy and The Songs of Joni Mitchell featuring Emeli Sandé, Eska, Kate Stables (This Is The Kit), Lail Arad, Sam Amidon, and Vashti Bunyan, hosted by Cerys Matthews. 

  • Theatre
  • Drama
  • Seven Dials

Aussie director Benedict Andrews’s 2012 Young Vic production of Chekhov’s ‘Three Sisters’ was a swooningly uninhibited, hugely inventive masterwork, and by all accounts his 2011 Sydney production of ‘The Seagull’ was no slouch. Somewhat over a decade later and he’s finally returning to wistful Russian titan Chekhov with a take on ‘The Cherry Orchard’ that will drop into the bijou confines of the Donmar as part of Michael Longhurst’s final season. Andrews’s take on the story of a Russian landowner who revisits the estate she loves dearly only to sell it off comes with some intriguing initial casting: German star Nina Hoss – a regular in Berlin’s many prestigious theatres until her screen career took off – will make her UK stage debut as Ranevskaya, while acclaimed Brit actor Adeel Akhtar (pictured) will return to theatre for the first time in almost a decade to co-star as Lopakhin.

Advertising
  • Music
  • Music festivals
  • Brick Lane

We all know by now that London’s jazz scene is young, cool, underground and genre-blending. Taking place across ten venues including Rich Mix, Rough Trade East and the Village Underground, the Brick Lane Jazz Festival may be in its early iterations, but it sums up just how exciting our city’s musicians are. Better yet, the event is also teaming up with Tomorrow’s Warriors, the pioneering talent programme responsible for the success of the likes of Moses Boyd and Ezra Collective. This year’s line-up features Oscar Jermone, Ego Ella May, Tara Lily and Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange.

  • Things to do
  • Food and drink events
  • South Bank

A whopping 12,000 pint lovers are set to visit this year’s edition of mega beer festival BrewLDN, which is on the Southbank this year with a slew of craft brewers from around the UK and further afield exhibiting. Plenty of London favourites will be in attendance, including Toast Brewing, Renegade Brewery, Jiddler’s Tipple, Moot Brew Co, Flowerhorn Brewery and SXOLLIE. There’ll also be street food to soak up the pints, and DJs spinning tunes throughout your seshing. Good luck hauling yourself onto the dancefloor after all that boozing.

Advertising
  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs
  • King’s Cross

Car boot, but make it classy. Unlike your usual boot sale, there’s no tat being flogged out of the back of a Ford Fiesta here. Instead Granary Square and Coal Drops Yard at King’s Cross are gearing up to be dotted with rare classic vehicles from which vendors will be selling vintage fashion, homewares and collectibles. Mobile eateries will be dotted between the old-school cars and campervans, while DJs will be impressing purists and pop lovers with vintage vinyl. 

 

  • Things to do

London has an amazing energy on bank holidays and Easter weekend is particularly blessed, because it’s a rare double bank holiday, meaning we get four whole days of work-free fun from Good Friday on April 7 to Easter Monday on April 10.  

The capital has plenty to keep you occupied over your extra-long weekend. Check out our top picks for Easter weekend 2023 below. 

Advertising
  • Things to do
  • Beckenham

Keep your fingers crossed for good weather. This wholesome-sounding book festival, which is new for this year, is forgoing the venues where literature events are usually held and is putting on a big ol’ book bash in the park instead. ‘Books in the Park’ will fill Lewisham’s beautiful Beckenham Place Park with author talks, guided walks, writing workshops and an interactive children's programme. Unsuprisingly, ‘nature’ is the theme and authors appearing include Claire Ratinon, Emilia Hart, Ben Jacob, Alex Falase-Koya and comedian Isabel Losada.

There’s a range of free and ticketed events, head to the website for full programme information.  

  • Art
  • Trafalgar Square

Caravaggio was the most dramatic of all Renaissance painters, both in his work (darkness! shadow! light!) and life (murder! revenge! syphilis!). In his final years he produced his most dramatic works. This small, free display focuses on what is possibly his last painting, ‘The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula’ on loan from Italy, and it’s full of death, violence, blood and darkness. Genuinely can’t wait. 

Advertising
Ceramic Art London
  • Things to do
  • West Kensington

For two decades Ceramic Art London has been showcasing – and selling – the most exciting pottery from the UK and overseas. This year the work of 119 ceramicists will be on show, as well as examples from the current crop of Royal College of Arts students. A programme of talks on ceramics techniques and aesthetics also accompanies the event.

 

  • Things to do
  • Hampton

Henry VIII’s former gaff is already one of the most splendid-looking buildings in London, but fill it with 10,000 tulips and you’ve got something mighty special to look at. Hampton Court Palace’s Tulip Festival is one of the biggest planted displays of the colouful flowers in the UK and is a good excuse to celebrate the start of spring. See the buds pouring out of the Tudor wine fountain and in floating tulip vases, and spot rare, historic and specialist varieties. There are also expert talks on the flowers and craft activities themed around them.

The palace’s expert gardeners predict the displays will look at their best in mid-April, so don’t wait around to visit. 

Advertising
  • Things to do
  • Festivals
  • King’s Cross

Ahead of Earth Day, taking place on April 22, non-profit organisation Camden Clear Air Initiative have organised the first-ever Earthfest. The event, taking place over the preceding weekend consists of a programme of speakers, workshops and immersive exhibitions to discuss the pressing issue of the climate in a way that’s engaging and interactive. A fashion zone will feature sustainable brands and upcycled masterpieces, and there’ll be talks by experts at the Future of Greentech summit. April 18 is invite only, and April 19 is an industry day, but all events on 20 and 21 are free to the public!

  • Theatre
  • Shakespeare
  • Covent Garden

Unstoppable acting legend Ian McKellen and revered director Robert Icke join forces for this incredibly exciting new show, Icke’s own adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘Henry IV’ Parts 1 and 2 starring 84-year-old Sir Ian in the great role of dissolute knight John Falstaff in his sixth play since turning 80. Human precedent suggests he’ll have to reign in the demanding lead roles at some point, and what a high point this would be to go out on if it were his final big stage part. We don’t know a huge amount about the adaptation, but Icke is renowned for mining new meaning out of classic texts, so who knows what route he’s going to take? It ooks like a shoo-in for one of the theatrical events of the year, regardless of whether McKellen retires after or not.

Advertising
  • Things to do
  • Aldwych

Possibly the first photography exhibition where actually seeing the photographs on display isn’t needed, this unique show from Canon at Somerset House displays images in a new way letting everyone, including blind, and partially sighted, experience the work. Discover startling images from across the world while hearing vivid descriptions from the photographers themselves in immersive, soundscaped audio, or read the stories through embossed in braille. Tactile printing will also let visitors feel the images’ textures and compositions. 

  • Things to do
  • Lambeth

The Garden Museum is filling up with pots, plants and lots of soil for its annual spring plant fair. Expert plant growers and specialist nurseries from across the country will gather their best-fledging blooms to sell to London’s green-fingered folk. From shade specialists to plants for pollinators, meet the growers and find out what will flourish in your garden, balcony or allotment. There’ll also be a series of talks and workshops on everything from attracting wildlife in small spaces to cookery demos. 

Advertising
  • Things to do
  • Festivals
  • Covent Garden

Twenty million people worldwide celebrate Vaisakhi, a celebration of Sikh and Punjabi tradition, and as many as 30,000 of them have attended the London festivities in past years. The 2024 edition will see the free festival take place at Trafalgar Square. Expect demonstrations of Gatka (martial arts), turban tying workshops, educational talks, community and food stalls and free light bites and Langar (Indian tea). 

  • Theatre
  • Drama
  • Charing Cross Road

Although it may seem a bit on the nose for Brian Cox to make his long-awaited stage return playing the ailing patriarch of an American family, this is absolutely not ‘Succession’. Eugene O’Neill’s ‘Long Day’s Journey Into Night’ is a strong contender for the greatest American play of all time, a three-hour-plus semi-autobiographical epic that O’Neill refused to share publicly in his own lifetime, and won him a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 1957. The story follows a family’s implosion over the course of a single day, as long-held resentments emerge between father James (Cox), his addled wife Mary (award-winning US actor Patricia Clarkson) and their embittered sons Edmund (Laurie Kynaston) and James Jr (Daryl McCormack). Louisa Harland rounding out the cast as their maid Cathleen. Jeremy Herrin directs what may or may not prove Cox’s stage swansong. It should in any case be a monumental night at the theatre.

Advertising
  • Theatre
  • Musicals
  • South Bank

The incomparable Polly Jean Harvey – aka PJ Harvey – has been an intriguingly low-key player in the works of director Ian Rickson for some years now, contributing the odd song here and there for well over a decade without it quite becoming a big deal. Thrillingly, ‘London Tide’ sees her assume a more central role, as a topline creative in Ben Power’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’s ‘Our Mutual Friend’, rechristened ‘London Tide’. Directed by Rickson, it follows the chain of events set into motion when a body is pulled out of the Thames. The cast includes Bella Maclean, Tom Mothersdale and Ami Tredea.

Advertising
  • Things to do
  • Walks and tours

The capital’s special colourful spectacle that signals warmer days are on the way is here. Cherry blossom season in Japan is a major event, with vistors from around the world flocking over to get a glimpse of the petals in full bloom. If you can’t make it over for this year’s sakura season London has plenty of bloomin’ marvellous places to see the flowers.

  • Things to do
  • Trafalgar Square

This celebration of Eid-al-Fitr, which marks the end of fasting for Ramadan, will take over Trafalgar Square for a family-friendly day of activities and events. Live music and performances will fill the main stage and street food stalls will offer fayre from India, Venezuela, Somalia and more. You’ll also find stalls dedicated to face painting and Mehndi, plus a ‘Creative Art Zone’ with calligraphy, storytelling and drama workshops. 

Advertising
  • Things to do
  • Consumer shows and conventions
  • Brick Lane

Reckon you can tell your Square Mile from your Allpress? Got some serious opinions on microfoam? This four-day coffee bonanza at Brick Lane’s Truman Brewery is probably for you. From latte art masterclasses to a barista tournament and a jam-packed programme of interactive demonstrations, workshops, talks and tasting sessions has something new to teach even the most avid bean connoisseurs. You’ll leave feeling more passionate about the black medicine than ever before, and not just because of the copious amount of caffeine coursing through your veins.

Open to the public on Saturday and Sunday. Thursday and Friday are industry days.  

 

  • Theatre
  • Drama
  • Hammersmith

‘Minority Report’ is now best known for the action-packed 2002 Spielberg sci-fi movie starring Tom Cruise. That was, in fact, a sexed-up adaptation of Philip K Dick’s dystopian 1958 novella, which played out more like a Cold War thriller than the hovercar-tastic excesses of the film. Nonetheless, its central vision remained the same: a future in which criminals are arrested before they commit a crime thanks to the efforts of seemingly infallible telepaths. David Haig’s adaptation promises to cleave more closely to the book. But it looks like it will still be very much its own thing, with a new setting, characters and possibly even premise. Telepaths are not mentioned in the copy, which raises the distinct possibility that in Haig’s adaptation the Pre-Crime division is actually based on AI – something already being discussed as a possibility IRL. Max Webster directs this eye-catching opener to the Lyric Hammersmith’s 2024 season.

Recommended
    You may also like
    You may also like
    Bestselling Time Out offers
      Advertising