The Time Out London blog team

Need to book a holiday to get you through this dreary London winter? Here’s just the thing: British Airways has announced a new direct route from London to a premier Italian beach destination for this summer. The capital is getting a new service to the seaside city of Olbia in Sardinia. Olbia, for those not in-the-know, is best known as a beach paradise with white sands and the glittering Tyrrhenian Sea. It’s a gateway to Sardinia, offering easy access to the island’s many resorts, and about a half-hour drive from the majestic Costa Smeralda.  BA’s new service will run twice a week, connecting Olbia with London Stansted. Launching on May 23 – just in time for spring half term – and lasting until September 27, one-way fares will start from £127. The two-and-a-half-hour flights will operate on Saturdays and Sundays.  Photograph: Shutterstock The Stansted service is the latest addition to BA’s range of options for flying from London to the historic Sardinian city. The UK’s national carrier already runs flights to Olbia from City and Heathrow airports. Flights from City to Olbia will also increase to up to five times per week during the summer. Booking an Olbia trip? Here’s Time Out’s guide to the best hotels in Sardinia. Find out more about BA’s new service on the airline’s website here. Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time...

Arôme Bakery – which features in Time Out’s list of the best bakeries in London – is opening up a third branch. The cult-worthy French-Asian bakery already has branches on Mercer Street in Covent Garden and Duke Street in Marylebone, and will be launching on Shaftesbury Avenue this spring.  The bakery combines Parisian patisserie flair with global flavours, stocking the likes of housemade shokupan (Japanese milk bread), sausage and cheese croissants with Japanese bbq sauce, tomato confit pain suisse and miso bacon escargot with spring onions and coriander. The new branch will reportedly offer soft serve ice cream as well as the traditional Arôme bakes and pastries. You’ll find it at 92 Shaftesbury Avenue, W1D 5EA at some point this spring. Want to know where else to eat in Chinatown? Take a look at our list of the top 20 places in the central London neighbourhood, spanning Malaysian, Korean, Singaporean, Thai and Taiwanese cuisine alongside regional Chinese flavours like Sichuanese, Cantonese and Gansu style classics – not to mention an entire alley of pan-Asian dessert options. Also check out our guide on how to celebrate Lunar New Year in London. In 2026, Chinese New Year falls on Tuesday February 17, ushering in the Year of the Horse.  The best bakeries in London, according to Time Out. Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free...

Since Earl’s Court’s Mosaic Rooms closed at the end of 2024, London has been without one of its finest specialised art museums. The gallery, which celebrates Arabic culture from Morocco to Syria, shut for a major refurb.  But as of February, London’s Arabic art devotees will be able to breathe a sigh of relief. The non-profit space has announced a date for its reopening. Even better, its refurb is looking very swish indeed. When the Mosaic Rooms reopens on February 18, the space will boast a new entry hall, refreshed galleries and an upgraded bookshop.  So what exhibitions can we look forward to post-refresh? Walking through the garden into Mosaic Rooms’ new entry hall, you’ll be immersed into ‘Four Moons From Home', a permanent site-specific work by Palestinian architect, visual artist and academic Dima Srouji. Expect immense stained-glass windows carved in Jerusalem stone by artisans in Bethlehem. And that’s not all. The serious facelift has led to the creation of a new creative learning space called the Play Room and an upstairs room named The Salon for screenings and gatherings. The gallery’s distinctive tower has been transformed into a space for experimental broadcasts. Film fans can also revel in the gallery’s next phase, which will host the UK’s first ever public solo exhibition by artist Bouchra Khalili. Titled ‘Circles and Storytelling’, its three films dig into the legacy of 1970s activist collective the Movement of Arab Workers and its theatre groups, led by...