The 25 best things to do this May bank holiday in London

Is it warm enough to swim outdoors yet? Well, kinda? The end of May marks the crossover between the period where only the truly hardcore swim outside, and the period where hobbyists in impractical swimwear flood London's watering holes. It's the perfect time to test your nerve, before the crowds descend.

In the 19th Century, Utagawa Hiroshige produced thousands of prints capturing the landscape, nature and daily life in Japan during the Edo period. He became one of Japan’s most famous and prolific artists, and continues to influence art today. Now there’s a rare chance to see many of his never-before-seen works on display at the British Museum, with several pieces believed to be the only surviving examples of their kind in the world. Hiroshige: artist of the open road will be the first exhibition of his work in London for a quarter of a century, giving an insight into Japan during a time of rapid change presaging the end of samurai rule. It will span Hiroshige’s 40-year career through prints, paintings, books and sketches.

With all the doom and gloom going on in the world, it’s nice to be able to deliver a bit of good news, especially when it pertains to something cute and cuddly. After four years away, deer have returned to Greenwich Park. Isn’t that lovely? From now, visitors will be able to fawn over the fallow deer in southeast London. They’ve returned after their sojourn to Richmond Park while their paddock was improved and extended, Greenwich Wire reported. The  £12 million Greenwich Park Revealed project saw the construction of a new wildlife meadow and learning centre, aimed at helping locals to better connect with nature, and a new herd of eight fallow deer was released on Wednesday, April 30. They have access to new woodland and are able to roam around a larger area. The made over paddock also has new fencing and wildflowers, while piles of logs were moved in that will allow scrub to regenerate so the deer can graze. Deadwood was also added to become a habitat for bugs and fungi. They’ll likely be a bit shy as they settle into their new habitat, but visitors are welcome to go and say hello. 

From swanky skyscrapers to casual warehouse hangouts and hidden pub terraces, London has a real crush on a rooftop bar. To enjoy a heatwave high, we are blessed with all kinds of rooftops which offer a winning combination of wicked city views and perfect drinks. So take your pick from stylish Shoreditch, buzzing Soho and Covent Garden, trendy Peckham and more – it’s time to soak up those sunsets, with rooftop bar season now upon us.

When it comes to baby animals to cuddle up to in spring, tiny lambs are obviously the GOAT. Surrey Docks Farm, a sweet little site right next to the Thames with its own blacksmithery, puts on lamb-feeding sessions almost every day during the season. Sessions take place at 12.45pm and 4.40pm, and they sell out pretty quickly – well, who wouldn’t want to feed these fluffy little cuties – so snap up a spot asap! 

American playwright David Adjmi's massive hit drama Stereophonic is the most Tony-nominated play of all time, so its arrival in London is obviously pretty exciting for theatre fans. But musos might want to look into it too, because this fictionalised account of the legendarily tense sessions that led to the birth of Fleetwood Mac’s all conquering Rumours album has songs by Arcade Fire’s Will Butler. Running at over three hours, it's long but very likely to be worth it. 

Having begun life as a whimsical jape in a Sydney bar, The Empire Strips Back is indeed a Star Wars-themed bulesque show that takes up residence at Riverside Studios for a walloping three-and-a-half months. We’re not entirely clear if it’s simply pitching to the horny nerd market or if there’s a bit more to it than that. But if your main takeaway from the original trilogy was the Princess Leia bikini scene the you’re definitely in luck.

Jordan Fein's kitsch-free outdoor staging of classic musical Fiddler on the Roof was a massive hit last summer. Now, it's back at Regent's Park for another spin, ready to entrance audiences with its moving meditations on community and tradition and a rendition of 'Sunrise, Sunset', carefully timed to be sung just as the sun dips under the horizon. 

Put a bit of jazz pizazz into your Friday nights with this concert series, held in a new Battersea venue. World Heart Beat Gardens is an intimate 200-seater concert hall that's been built for optimal acoustics (and nope, it's not outdoors as the name might suggest). It's perfect for filling your ears with the sounds of some jazz greats, from 1920s classics from the Julian Joseph trio to new compositions by Henry Spencer to soulful sounds from Grammy Award-winning tenor sax giant Jean Toussaint.

This spring, eleven installations will fill every corner of the Barbican Centre with unexpected sounds that'll explore how what we listen to shapes us. The Centre’s underground car parks will turn into a club space, while the lakeside terrace will reverberate to new kinds of sound. Meanwhile, theatre space The Pit will host a 1989-style virtual reality acid house rave, showing how music can get us travelling in time.

The British Museum's new exhibition will take you back to the roots of three major world religions – Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, showing how they emerged from obscurity to shape the lives of two billion people around the world. 2,000-year-old sculptures, paintings, drawings and manuscripts will reveal the stories behind these ancient, fascinating belief systems. 

Camden is getting a brand new attraction this month that's a homage to the neighbourhood's musical heritage. Six different rooms will take you through different eras of sound, from Beatles’ ’60s, to ’90s Britpop, culminating in a never-before-seen live hologram performance from The Libertines, using ‘state-of-the-art’ tech. Novel or naff? You decide.

Founded during the Arab Spring in 2011, biennial festival Shubbak has become one of London’s largest celebrations of contemporary Arab and South West Asian & North African (SWANA) culture. Engaging with the hopes, ambitions and artistic excellence of this part of the world, the 2025 edition of Shubbak (which means ‘window’ in Arabic) features a plethora of performances, exhibitions and community-driven events. This year’s festival launches at the Southbank Centre with The People’s Catwalk (May 23), a powerful and inclusive showcase of SWANA fashion modelled by models of all shapes and sizes. This is followed by the largest Palestinian theatre production staged in the UK for 25 years, as Palestine theatre collective Khashabi Ensemble performs striking visual theatre piece MILK (May 24-25). Check out the full programme here.

In 2014, the Tower of London was surrounded by tens of thousands of ceramic poppies to commemorate Victory in Europe Day. This month, those red blooms are making a comeback (on a smaller scale) to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Buy a ticket to the Tower of London to see the full display, or see part of the installation from the public footpath that runs alongside it.  

Roll up ageing ravers, curious young clubbers and anyone who just fancies hitting a dance floor and still being home in time for Emmerdale. This hour-long virtual reality experience promises to transport you back to the height of the Acid House era during 1989’s Summer of Love. Having premiered at the London Film Festival back in 2022, the hour-long experience takes over the The Pit at the Barbican for ten weeks this summer. The handiwork of filmmaker Darren Emerson and is soundtracked by some of the era’s biggest bangers, from Joey Beltram’s ‘Energy Flash’ to Orbital’s ‘Chime’. Sadly, there’s no discount for anyone old enough to remember Shoom. 

Yeah, Netflix’s South Korean gameshow Squid Game is meant to be a satire of capitalism at its worst, but that clearly hasn't stopped a lot of people from daydreaming about having a go. And if you're one of them, this official immersive experience might be for you. Opening on Bank Holiday Monday, it's full of non-lethal recreations of iconic challenges from the show, including the glass bridge, marbles, and – of course – Red Light, Green Light (featuring that horrifying doll thing).