The Time Out London blog team

Spring has finally sprung, and as the capital’s parks and gardens start to burst into life, its art scene is also a hive of activity. Some brilliant shows have opened in the last few weeks – there’s Beatriz González at the Barbican, Catherine Opie at the Portrait Gallery and Hurvin Anderson at Tate Britain, to name a few – but it’s about to get even busier for the city’s major galleries and museums.  Alongside the arrival of three massive new venues – V&A East (opening on April 18), the Museum of Youth Culture (opening on May 15) and the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration (also due to open in May) – Londoners can expect loads of brilliant exhibitions on everything from Gilded Age portraitists and monumental sculpture to Baroque masters and avant garde couture. Grab your diary and get planning with our guide to the truly unmissable shows coming up over the next few months.  10 London art exhibitions we’re most excited about in spring 2026 1. Michaelina Wautier at the Royal Academy Until relatively recently, few art historians believed that paintings bearing 17th century artist Michaelina Wautier’s signature could possibly have been made by a woman, instead attributing them to her brother or other male artists. And yet she did it all; flowers and still lifes, portraits and large-scale history paintings, mastering subjects typically reserved for her male peers. Twenty-five pieces feature in this landmark exhibition, the first in the UK to be devoted to this rediscovered...

Drivers: beware. London’s loveliest pink bridge will be closed to all vehicles until 2027, the council has announced.  Albert Bridge, the pink and white structure connecting Battersea with Chelsea, has been closed for repairs since early February 2026. Now an investigation into the bridge – which first opened in 1873 – has found that the structure might be in worse condition than was previously thought. As only one of two London bridges that have never been replaced (along with Tower Bridge), it’s no surprise that that Grade II-listed crossing is in need of some extra care and attention.  Kensington and Chelsea Council has decided that Albert Bridge needs a full repair and will have to be closed for at least another year. The investigation discovered that the cast iron component of the bridge has cracked, affecting a key component that supports a joint between the catenary/cable-stay/edge-girder. This joint is now unstable and is rocking when things like temperature, wind and traffic levels change. Simply: it’s not safe to drive over right now. However, Albert Bridge still fine to cross on foot, and the bridge remains open to pedestrians and cyclists. It’s currently being monitored by sensors that were installed to measure its movements and make sure its condition doesn’t worsen.  The council has now kicked off £8.5 million worth of works that are expected to take around 12 months. It will see the cracked part fully repaired, unseizing the axle in the structural joint that...

When it comes to Britain’s most appealing neighbourhoods, everyone wants to call their corner of the country the best. That’s why there are all sorts of lists and rankings naming the UK’s top locations to live – from the coolest streets (our number one is Blackstock Road), to the trendiest areas (we crowned Camberwell one of the world’s coolest in 2025).  Now the Sunday Times has released its ranking of Britain’s best places to live in 2026. To determine Britain’s top neighbourhoods, the newspaper sent a team of judges to every corner of the country to chat to locals, soak up the atmosphere and try out the amenities. They also considered other stuff like the quality of transport and schools, as well as broadband speeds. Seven London locations were included in this year’s ranking. Here’s what they were.  Richmond   Photograph: Shutterstock This leafy southwest London borough is no stranger to accolades. It’s frequently named London’s happiest neighbourhood, and it often tops lists of the best places to live in the city. That’s why it was the Times’ overall winner for London this year. The paper called this area known for its peaceful parks and great schools with easy access into central London the ‘most serene corner of the capital’. The average house price in TW10 is a mega £916,900, so it’s no wonder the residents are all so happy – they’re rich!   Bermondsey to Waterloo Photograph: cktravels.com / Shutterstock.com The Times named this stretch of Southwark ‘a hotspot...