The Time Out London blog team

Here we go again. Round two of London’s current bout of tube strikes is on the way. Following four days of industrial action in April, next week the London Underground network will be hit by two 24-hour strikes spread across four days. The strikes are the result of a dispute between the RMT union and TfL. The main issue is a ‘compressed four-day working week’ for tube drivers, with the RMT saying that London Underground management is attempting to compress the hours of a normal working week into four days. The union has raised concerns about shift lengths, working time arrangements and the potential impact on fatigue and safety. The April walk-outs were nowhere near as severe as the strikes back in September 2025, with TfL able to run a reduced service on most tube lines. Plus, there plenty of ways to get around the city without the tube, like buses, trams, e-bikes, National Rail trains, the Overground and the Elizabeth line. The purple line isn’t a London Underground service, so its drivers don’t take part in tube strikes. Here’s what you need to know about using the Elizabeth line during the industrial action on May 19-22 2026. RECOMMENDED: 🚇 How to get around London during April’s RMT industrial action. When are the spring 2026 tube strikes? There are four more remaining tube strike dates, spread across eight days. The two May periods of industrial action are in bold below: May 19-20 (12pm to 11.59am) May 21-22 (12pm to 11.59am) June 16-17 (12pm to 11.59am) June...

Georgian-style buildings, picturesque cottages, abundant trees, a wealth of swanky gastropubs and access to gorgeous green spaces like Waterlow Park, Highgate Wood and Hampstead Heath make Highgate one of the fancier parts of north London. So you might be surprised to hear that a local community group has made complaints about an ‘unsightly hole in the middle of Highgate Village’. They’re talking, it turns out, about the former 271 bus stop on the corner between South Grove and Highgate High Street.  The Highgate Society, which is run by local volunteers, has asked Camden Council to green-light a new scheme to transform the ‘eyesore’ into a 324 square metre square. If approved, the currently disused space could soon be home to new trees and benches, as well as a Visit Highgate board to help tourists find their way around. The glow-up would also deck it out with York stone paving and granite kerbs, as well as an electrical hook up for market stalls. The site fell into disuse when TfL axed the 271 bus route in 2023. Since 2025, a mini farmers market of just four stalls has sometimes been run there by an independent operator, but new plans would provide a more significant and permanent upgrade to the space at the heart of the village.  The local group has called the square an ‘exciting community project’ and has submitted plans to the council ‘hopefully on the basis of “what’s not to like”,’ according to Elspeth Clements, co-chair of the Highgate Society planning committee....

Since launching in 2024, the Pinnacle Guide has established itself as a who’s-who of the world’s most glamourous and innovative bars. And the Michelin-style list – which dishes out ‘Pins’ instead of ‘Stars’ – has been a fan of London’s drinking holes since its inception. Of its 192 featured bars around the globe, an impressive 33 are in the Big Smoke. The Pinnacle Guide awards one, two or three Pins to establishments that are either ‘excellent’, ‘outstanding’ or ‘exceptional’. Up to very recently, only one bar in the world had three Pins: London’s Lyaness, which you can read a five-star Time Out review of here. This week 46 new bars were added to the Pinnacle Guide, including three new three-Pin spots (meaning Lyaness is no longer the greatest drinkery in the world, in Pinnacle’s eyes). Several new bars were also added in London, with one place getting two Pins and two receiving one Pin. So, which London bars are now Pinnacle-approved? Well, the two-Pin addition is The Emory Rooftop Bar. The sky-high Knightsbridge spot sits atop The Emory, a 60-room hotel by the owners of Claridge’s, and has a cocktail menu that was created in collaboration with Tato Giovannoni – a globally-renowned mixologist based in Buenos Aires. The newly one-Pinned spots are a couple of slick hotel bars: American Bar at The Savoy and St James Bar. Time Out London Food & Drink Editor Leonie Cooper paid American Bar (pictured below) a visit last year and awarded the place a full five stars. She...