Unique things to do in London

Peckham’s coolest hangout spot right now is in fact really rather warm. Sauna Social Club is a timber steam room which prioritises ambiance, accompanying its sessions with downtempo sounds and a lounge to hang out after your sesh. On Friday and Saturday nights, DJs soundtrack your sauna time, and you can get low-alcohol beers in the bar afterwards. Sweating alongside half-nude strangers has never been more chic. 

Time Out tip: Remember to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate before you arrive. It is hot in there so you could get thirsty!

The Broadway Market witchy shop may have closed down, but you can still get your aura photographed at She’s Lost Control’s Valentine Road studio. Sessions are accompanied by a chat about what the different colours could mean. Then, you get a nice printed out polaroid of yourself surrounded by a cloud of colour, whether you're a negative nancy brown or a sunny mellow yellow.

Time Out tip: Want to know if you and your boo are destined to be together forever or headed for splitsville? Couples aura readings are available. 

This tiny museum is the life's work of Sir John Soane, an obsessive collector who rammed every inch of his house full of paintings, furniture, and ancient Greek statues (toned male torsoes feature prominently). A notable eccentric, he even built a cell for fictional monk ‘Padre Giovanni’ (we all need an imaginary friend). Go for an after dark visit and see its treasures loom out at you in the eerie half-light. 

Time Out tip: Sir John Soane’s Museum's lates are some of the best in London. 

Put down that crowbar! You don't need to commit desperate acts to get into HMP Brixton. Just book a table at The Clink, which is staffed by inmates training for catering qualifications. They'll serve you deliciously sophisticated dishes in a buzzy dining room: well worth the security checks you've got to pass to get to your table.

Time Out tip: Remember to bring a valid form of ID

London’s only bookshop dedicated entirely to romance and smut novels. Grab all the volumes that have blown up on BookTok – from the wildly popular A Court of Thorns and Roses series, to Bridgerton, Heated Rivalry and of course, the OG smut queen, Jilly Cooper. As well as selling all manner of steamy novels (one corner of the shop is dedicated to erotic fiction), Saucy Books hosts author’s talks, book signings, speed dating events and more.  

Lounge Bohemia is a very mysterious and kitsch cocktail bar that’s accessed by appointment only. Drinkers enter through an unmarked red door around the corner from Shoreditch High Street station. Once inside, they’ll discover a mid-century-decorated subterranean drinking den replete with Czech ephemera. The bar serves quizzical drinks that come disguised in paint tubes, noodle bowls, and steaming tea pots. 

Time Out tip: Booking is required. Phone or WhatsApp to secure your entry. 

London is not wanting for Italian restaurants, but Senza Fondo has a unique twist. This restaurant right out of a Billy Joel song has a name that translates to ‘bottomless’ and that’s what they’re here to do: serve unlimited lasagne (beef shin or veggie) for £20 until you pass out/admit defeat/call an ambulance. For those of us with more in common with pasta-addicted puss Garfield than we’d like to believe, it’s a dream come true.

Time Out tip: Can’t stomach all that lasagne? There’s a short but lovingly crafted risotto and pasta menu too. 

You could easily live your whole life in London without hearing about Eel Pie Island. Frankly, this eccentrically-named isle in the Thames sounds like it's been made up, with its rock'n'roll heritage and artsy leanings. But head to this little-known Twickenham mudflat and you'll be treading on territory of a former hippie commune that housed gigs by The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd, before evolving into a ramshackle collection of artists’ studios. Keep your eyes peeled for Eel Pie’s open days when you’ll get the chance to visit this secretive hidden community.

Time Out tip: Eel Pie Island is also home to 26 artists’ studios that open to the public twice a year. Take your chance and visit!

Clerkenwell’s new DIY cinema is a stellar addition to London’s movie-going scene. Beginning life as a pop-up in pubs across the city, the Nickel opened as a permanent venue in June 2025 after owner Dominic Hicks crowdfunded £15,000 to open London’s first proper grindhouse cinema. 

With its 37 cinema seats rescued from the now-closed Odeon Covent Garden, a lobby decorated with vinyl records, VHS tapes and film reels and a cosy little bar and video shop in the basement, it’s a delightfully quirky haven for the city’s film buffs, screening everything from Italian crime flicks to German industrial cinema, 70s neo-noir to pre-Code Hollywood gems, with regular Mystery Movie screenings and at least one film print per week. 

It might look more like a grand old library or train station from the outside, but this surprisingly beautiful building is actually home to am amazing feat of Victorian engineering: a former sewage pumping station that was part of Sir Joseph Bazalgette’s revolutionary waste system. Quite a far cry from the sewers of today, inside this ‘masterpiece of engineering’ you will find what has been called a ‘cathedral’ of spectacular ironwork. The Crossness Pumping Station offers guided tours on select Tuesdays and Sundays, where you will discover how Bazalgette invented the sewer system to save London from the Great Stink of 1855. 

Time Out tip: On certain days the station’s magnificent Prince Consort beam engine is switched on at full steam. Check the website to see the machinery in action. 

Slowburn isn’t like other restaurants. That’s because Slowburn almost isn’t a restaurant, it’s a slap-up dinner party in a working denim factory. The best seat in the house is next to a gigantic industrial washing machine, scrappy paper patterns for jeans line the walls and there’s a lingering smell of starch in the air. It’s not just a gimmick though; chef Chavdar Todorov whips up a hearty and eclectic menu that spans tacos, gyoza, curries, pasta and more. 

Time Out tip: Slowburn is only open Friday-Sunday, so bear that in mind when booking. Check out the great value lunchtime spread for £26 a head.

Not many of the curry-hunters or fashion fans thronging Brick Lane know that there's a miniature farm just minutes away. Spitalfields City Farm makes a unique spot to wile away the afternoon, but why not up the quirky ante? It offers a wittily named selection of animal encounters to book for £60 per group, including a a ferret walking session where you can parade about the farm with a furry pal on a leash.

Time Out tip: Spitalfields City Farm also offers a wittily named  ‘meet and bleat’ sheep interaction.

Ever wanted to play sleeping lions, for real? Now's your chance. London Zoo has built fancy little lodges where you can have a sleepover in (well, next to) the lion enclosure. It's not the cheapest way to walk on the wild side, but there are plenty of perks, including private guided tours, exclusive access to animal enclosures after hours, and a two-course dinner and buffet breakfast are included. Hakuna matata!

Time Out tip: 

Also check out the zoo’s daily programme of talks which lets you hear from and speak to the zoo keepers as they look after the animals. 

Down a perfectly normal-looking street in East Dulwich, you'll find a perfectly not-normal-looking abode. Taking the concept of one man's trash being another man’s treasure, artist Stephen Wright is in the process of covering every available surface of this home in his kitschy mosaics. Everything here comes together in a magical hideaway that’s periodically open to the public, generally on the last Saturday of the month.

Time Out tip: The East Dulwich Tavern is a great place to grab a local drink while you're there.

Sorting out your own life is hard. So why not get a robot to do it? Nope, I'm not talking about Chat GPT: these are the decidedly more lo-fi creations of cartoonist Tim Hunkin, who's created automatons who can grant you a quickie divorce, take you to sunnier climes, or help you lose a pound or two: all for the humble cost of a quid per go. 

Time Out tip: Our favourite is Test Your Nerve – a slot machine that invites you to place your hand beneath the jowls of a huge, red-eyed, growling dog. Scary or what? 

1940s-themed bar Cahoots was once an underground station, used as an air raid shelter during the dark days of WW2. Now, it's a subterranean dive where you can drink your way through Blitz-era London, and nibble on ration-inspired snacks. Choose a pew on its loving-restored train and you can relive the glory days of legal drinking on the tube, before killjoys brought in the alcohol ban.

Time Out tip: You can hire rooms in Cahoots for special occasions

If the grey weather has put you in search of some glorious colour, then feast your peepers on an endless expanse of neon signs at God’s Own Junkyard, artist Chris Bracey’s collection of his work at Walthamstow. This fascinating spot will introduce you to the wonders of an artform he's used to ornament everything from strip clubs to bars to Hollywood movies.

Time Out tip: Go and enjoy a pint afterwards at the local breweries, Wild Card and Pilars.

Think white-water rafting and you might be having visions of dramatic rivers wending their way over rocks in some kind of tropical jungle-type setting. But astonishingly, you can try your hand (or oar) at this daredevil sport without leaving London. Lee White Water Centre is a former London 2012 Olympic Games venue is open to the public for adrenalin-fuelled white-water rafting, canoeing and kayaking sessions – and riding the rapids that challenged the world's best makes for an action-packed experience.

Time Out tip: If you're too scared to get on the water there's also a licensed café bar, which has a terrace overlooking the course.

Step through a Pepsi-branded vending machine at the back of this Blockbuster-esque video shop in Covent Garden and you’ll find yourself in a magical world where Brexit never happened and Leo dating a 25-year-old doesn’t even raise an eyebrow.At 90’s themed adult playground Bunga 90, you can relive your glorious youth by sipping cosmos and woo woos – no fake ID needed – amid furby shrines, USA ’94 tournament posters and pin-ups of Mark Wahlberg in his Calvins. 

Time Out tip: They do a ’90s bottomless brunch. On Saturdays, for £50pp, you can belt out Britney and the Backstreet Boys at tabletop karaoke while chomping on pizza and chugging as much as you can 90 minutes.

If you find yourself yearning for red cups, beer pong and running around a stranger’s house while buzzed on rum punch, this one is for you. House Party, co-founded by rapper Stormzy, is a unique bar concept modelled around an old-school house party, slap-bang in the middle of Soho. Set across a seven-floor townhouse, you’ll find a teenager’s bedroom, complete with Page Three pin-ups tacked to the wall and a clunky, noughties-style PC; the parents’ room, where you can roll around in a double bed and queue karaoke songs; a kitchen (known to host secret gigs); a rooftop (for beer pong); a living room with game consoles and a DJ-soundtracked basement that fills up like a club. It’s like stepping right into a nineties teen movie. You almost expect Stifler’s mom to show up any second. 

Time Out tip: If you want to book out your own room in the house you can do that! There's the basement, a treehouse terrace and even bedrooms available. The max time is 2 hours but that's more than enough time to explore.

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Pull on a pair of the supplied waders and get covered in the sticky stuff on a guided walk at low tide around Deptford Creek. This post-industrial area is a haven birds, bees, and all kinds of flora and fauna. Your two-hour walk will introduce you to this wondrous habitat, and release your inner toddler into the bargain. 

Time Out tip: Wear appropriate footwear or regret it!

The Grade II-listed former Victorian waste water pumping station Walthamstow Pumphouse stopped sloshing around sewage a while ago and is now home to something far more palatable. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, it's home to Latin American supper clubs where you can feast on a six-course tasting menu in a vintage tube carriage. Dimmed lights, an atmospheric soundtrack, and dishes from Mexico to Patagonia set the tone for a memorable night on the rails.

Time Out tip: Look out for the model trains and train tracks.

If you want to instantly feel like you've plunged back through the centuries, explore Dennis Severs' ornate Huguenot house, which has been decked out to recreate snapshots of life in Spitalfields between 1724 and 1914. A tour through the ‘still-life drama’, as American creator Dennis Severs put it, takes you through the cellar, kitchen, dining room, smoking room and upstairs to the bedrooms. 

Time Out tip: Opt for one of the silent candlelit visits on a Friday night for maximum historic atmosphere.

Glide down the Thames in a bovine boat as part of this alternative sightseeing tour. A two-man vessel decorated with a black and white cow print will be your mode of transport. Just head to Hackney Wick barge'The Milk Float' to be outfitted with a canoe and oars, before splashing down the river and back to base camp for cocktails on the water.

Time Out tip: Stop by for drinks and a pizza at Crate on the river side once you're done.

Indulge your taste for the macabre at this tiny Mare Street curiosity shop, which is decked with a plethora of shells, skulls, taxidermy specimens and assorted oddities including a lock of Elvis’s hair, the skull of Pablo Escobar’s hippo and a mermaid skeleton. Stick around for an absinthe or tarot reading to make your inner witch cackle with glee.

Time Out tip: Don’t leave without trying one of the bar’s absinthe cocktails. They're strong and scary. But what else would you expect?

Gorilla Circus's flying trapeze school sets up camp on the north-west side of Regent’s Park for the summer with expert acrobats teaching all sorts of fancy tricks on the highly strung bars. Even beginners aim to be ‘caught’ by the hands of a (trustworthy) instructor by the end of a two-hour session. 

Time Out tip: If you've ever dreamt of being in the circus this might just be your way in...

A few years back, The Cheese Bar made all our dreams come true when it opened a cheese conveyor belt restaurant in the West End, and we are forever thankful for it. It’s just as you hope it’ll be and more: an unending supply of quality, artisan cheese dishes gliding around a shared dining table. Plates start from around £4.35. You’re in for gouda times. 

Time Out tip: On a Wednesday you can enjoy unlimted plates of cheese for £29.50. Can you think of anything more brie-lliant?

Are you a sucker for a pretty plate decked out with delicate herbs or dabs of coulis? Learn to focus on what really matters at Dans le Noir?, an Islington restaurant where you eat in complete darkness, putting all the focus on the taste, smell and texture of the food. Before being led into the pitch-black basement by the restaurant’s blind waiters, you select one of four colour-coded mystery menus. The best part? If you spill anything down your top, no one’s going to notice. 

Time Out tip: They also offer blind wine tasting and perfume workshops.

An entire museum dedicated to a coquettish cooling method? We are a fan. This beautiful building is the world’s first museum dedicated to the history of handheld fans and the craft of fan-making. Housed in a pair of newly restored Georgian townhouses, it holds more than 3,000 specimens from all over the world, some dating back to the eleventh century. Entry costs just £5, and it's just on the edge of Greenwich Park for a picturesque stroll afterwards.

Time Out tip: At Christmas time you can visit the fan museum by candlelight at night. They'll be mulled wine on offer, too.

The proposition of a drink in a public loo has never been a very appealing one. That was until WC opened up inside an old toilet in Clapham. But don’t be put off your Martini: not only is it surprisingly beautiful, it’s – dare we say it – romantic. Spend a penny on a well-curated wine list and a selection of cheese and charcuterie. WC, geddit?

Time Out tip: The blackberry negroni was a personal favourite.