The Time Out London blog team

London’s historic Curzon Chelsea is reopening this autumn – and here’s a first look at what to expect from the brand new King’s Road venue. Curzon’s new flagship venue is part of a redevelopment that has left the Art Deco façade intact but reimagined the 20,000 sq ft cinema beneath it as ‘a multi-purpose environment for the wider creative community’. Alongside the 300-seat main auditorium, the venue will boast a space for big gatherings and live programming, two studio spaces for podcasts, writers’ rooms and ‘experimental screenings’, a video and audio recording studio, and a bar, café and creative special space. Originally opened at the Gaumont Palace in 1934, Curzon Chelsea was shuttered in 2018 and demolished a year later. Photograph: CurzonThe Atrium at Curzon Chelsea The new venue, says Curzon CEO Philip Knatchbull, will be a place ‘where audiences can move fluidly between formats – film, audio and live events – for a truly immersive experience.’ He adds that Curzon Chelsea is designed ‘to support a generation of creatives whose work spans platforms, from film to audio, digital content and live formats’. ‘We’re excited to return to such an historic location with a new flagship that will actively promote the creation and exhibition of the very best of British and international art and culture.’ Photograph: CurzonThe Pod at Curzon Chelsea Curzon Chelsea is designed by Takero Shimazaki Architects, the designers of Curzon Bloomsbury and Curzon Camden.  The new-look...

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....