Things to do in London this week

Major art galleries are reopening on or around May 17, including shows from Matthew Barney, Zanele Muholi and Jean Dubuffet, but there are dozens of galleries in London that count as ‘non essential retail’ and are already open to visitors. Right now you can see exhibitions of work by Rachel Whiteread, Gilbert & George and Damien Hirst. Check with the galleries before your visit to see if you to book an appointment.

Okay, so it might be a smidge early, but we are right on the cusp of bluebell season. Between April and May these guys come out to play, bursting through the ground out of nowhere to create a carpet of cobalt across the country. Some have already begun to appearare the best places to catch them in London. Want to hunt them down? Try our bluebell map. Just remember, no picking them – these native flowers are a protected species.  

Until recently, the Museum of Youth Culture was more of a concept than a bricks-and-mortar building, but you can find out what the museum is all about at its lively new pop-up shop, gallery and event space at 3 Carnaby Street. Inside, you’ll find books and zines on youth counterculture, photo exhibitions and a ‘Reconstructed Teenage Bedroom’. It’s a one-stop nostalgia shop, and just like your youth, it won’t be around for long. Find out more here. 

This isn’t a drill. By the end of this month you will once again be able to meet up to six people in the park for a picnic in London. Blankets. Grass. Conversation. Scotch eggs. Clouds. All those wonderful things you associate with a classic British picnic. Now, there are a lot of places that do great hampers. Hampers you have to order to your home. Boring! 2021 is the year we act like debauched emperors. 2021 is the year we have all of our food and drink sent to the park. Here are our top picks for green-space groceries. 

Londoners bloody love a lido, so it’s a good thing we have 17 of them. They don’t get much better than Hampton Pool, in south-west London, which is, of course, famous for its very charming and popular midnight swims. No word on the starlight sessions yet, but booking for daytime swims (via the pool’s dedicated app) is now open. New sessions become bookable every day at 8am, so set your alarm. Places will get snapped up quickly because when it comes to lidos, Londoners are insatiable. If you’ve got any questions, there’s an enquiries form on their homepage.

We’ve got a bit of a wait until indoor dining kicks in. To save yourself the absolute cruelty of having to decide what to make yourself for dinner YET AGAIN, try ordering a recipe box from a great London restaurant. Some of our favourite new additions to the DIY-meal scene are Berenjak’s gormeh sabzi – a lamb and bean stew, served with tahdig (crispy saffron rice) and salad – as well as all the slow-cooked meats you can choose to fill corn tortillas with via Tacos Padre’s at-home kits and the massive weekend kit from Shuk. Read on to find your dream meal kit. 

We’ve been living like lonely sea captains for the last year, all we’re missing is a ship of our own. From Monday 29, you can actually DO outdoor activities with your friends, and that includes renting a little boat. With GoBoat in Paddington, you can hire and self-drive your own boat with a crew of up to six pals and make your way across London's canals. Depending on how good your steering skills are, you’ll be traveling past London Zoo, through Regents Park and Camden Lock. Prices start at £79 for 1 hour. Sound good? Come on, let’s blow this popsical stand. 

Lots of London’s art galleries have announced they’re reopening, which is great and all, but plenty have also seen their spring 2021 plans thrown in the bin, and May is feeling pretty far away right now. ‘Allez la France’ is a group show of four of Gaul’s most promising young painters – Jin Angdoo, Mathieu Julien, Hams Klemens and Kevin Pinsembert. It was meant to have gone on display at Saatchi Yates’s Cork Street gallery on March 3. Obviously, that wasn’t going to happen, so they’ve moved a selection of the works down the road to fancy-pants Burlington Arcade and stuck them in some shopfronts as ‘window viewings’. ‘Allez la France’ version deux is on show until May 15, so you can stroll along with a group of six and create your own chin-stroking outdoor gallery tour.