The Time Out London blog team

This weekend, the cost of riding the tube is going up. Of course, as soon as prices are hiked up, it’s easy for everyone to be up in arms about it. But what if we told you that, when you take inflation into account, central London tube fares are pretty much the same as they were two decades ago? And, in real terms, the daily cap on fares is actually cheaper now than when it was first introduced.  Researchers at Tube Alerter have dug into 21 years of Mayoral Decision documents and TfL press releases to track just how much tube fares have changed in that time. The data covers every tube zone from 2005 (when the Oyster daily capping was first introduced) to 2026. In that time, a Zone 1 peak single fare has risen by 82 percent from £1.70 to £3.10. That might sound like a staggering increase, but when you adjust for inflation, those prices are roughly the same in real terms. The same goes for Zone 1 to Zone 2 and Zone 1 to Zone 3 fares.  Image: TubeAlerter     Image: TubeAlerter And while daily caps have risen – £5.20 for Zone 1 to Zone 2 in 2005 versus £8.90 in 2026 – they’ve actually decreased when you adjust for inflation. By today’s money, the 2005 cap was £9.67.  However, when you look at Zone 1 to Zone 6 peak single fares, there is more of a gap in real terms. These days that journey costs £5.60 but back in 2005 it was £2.10 which, adjusting for inflation, is equivalent to £3.83. That means that travelling in and out of London’s outer zone is 54 percent more...

When Kiwi coffee brand Allpress opened its first London outpost in 2010, it fit right into trendy east London. Artisan coffee shops serving cups of cold brew and flat whites by the bucket-load are as much a part of Shoreditch or Dalston as single gear bikes, artsy tote bags and home-cut mullets. Allpress expanded its footprint beyond the E postcode area in 2023 with the launch of a northern hub in Manchester, but Londoners have still been having to schlep eastwards to get their caffeine fix from the New Zealand roasters.  That is, until now, because Allpress has announced it’s opening a new site in Farringdon in early April. Expect the same high-class brews and beans from the cafe’s other outposts, including signature blends alongside rotating single-origin coffees. As for food, the obligatory pastry selection and in-house cakes will also make a daily appearance.  The new coffee bar combines elements of Scandinavian, Japanese and mid-century design. Think oiled oak furnishings, vintage-inspired rice paper ceiling hangings and sleek porcelain tiling. A central bar makes the Farringdon spot meeting-friendly, while leaner bars lining the internal walls are perfect for a quick espresso pit-stop. Sunnier days will make good use of the wooden seating and tables out front.  Photograph: Allpress Located at 88-89 Cowcross Street, Allpress takes over an address which was previously home vegan grab-and-go joint Flipside.  The new location – Allpress’s fifth in the UK – overlooks...

My one rule of theatre is that while it’s nice to travel to see shows out of town, there’s never any point in having FOMO because everything that’s actually any good will probably end up coming to London anyway. And March 2026 certainly proves the hell out of that rule, as we’re treated to transfers of the most acclaimed Broadway show of last year (John Proctor is the Villain), the first production from Michael Sheen’s Welsh National Theatre (Our Town), and transfers from such exotic locales as Bristol (Choir Boy) and Leicester (Kinky Boots). Plus plenty of homegrown magic including a massive luxury National Theatre production of Maxim Gorky’s Summerfolk, and the great director Robert Icke helming a new production of Romeo & Juliet starring Sadie Sink. The 10 best new London theatre openings in March 2026 Photo: Empire Street ProductionsNoah Jupe and Sadie Sink 1. Romeo & Juliet What a joy it is to live in an era in which Robert Icke and Jamie Lloyd – arguably the two most exciting mainstream theatre directors alive – are basically now in charge of West End celebrity Shakespeare. Following Lloyd’s superlative Much Ado last year, Icke picks up the baton again with his own take on Romeo & Juliet, this one with Stranger Things starlet Sadie Sink as one half of of the doomed teenage power couple and Noah Jupe – best known for his role in the Quiet Place films – as her Romeo. Expect (as ever with Icke) an emotional but unsentimental production that’s liable to find new...