Amy Houghton

It’s no secret that London can be very, very pricey if you’re not careful. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any options if you’re on a budget. Both big chains and beloved independents offer some very affordable rooms in the Capital – you just have to know where to look. Obviously, being ‘on a budget’ is pretty subjective, but every hotel on this list has rooms for under £200, with many starting under £100 – and even some shared dorms for £12 per person.  Every hotel highlighted here by Time Out’s experts is good value; whether that be because of its location, design, or quite simply, the price. Staying in one of these will give you the kind of buzz only a good deal can deliver. So get booking and then use all the cash you’ve saved on more important stuff. Like, erm, going to the pub.  🛌 Our guide to the best Airbnbs in London Which area is best to stay in London for a good price?  Honestly, it depends on what you’re looking for. There’s cheap options in Shoreditch, just off the South Bank and even in the heart of the West End – so you can save and still be in walking distance to Theatreland or London’s best museums. Or, go further afield to find deals that way, in more residential areas further out. To get a better grip on your options, here’s our handy guide on where to stay in London.  How we curate our hotel lists Headed up by editor Joe Mackertich, our team at Time Out London spend their time reviewing hotels all over the Capital – new openings, old classics and ever

The final stretch of 2025 is upon us. And now that we’ve said so long to summer, London’s institutions have begun to enter full festive planning mode. In a matter of months, the city’s skies will be sparkling with Christmas lights, its venues will fill up with classic Christmas tunes and its streets will be lined with colourful Christmas markets. Of course, December isn’t just about Christmas, and there’s plenty more brilliant things to do besides all the festive stuff. Notably, the acclaimed Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo is making its UK debut, it’s the first full month of the Design Museum’s hotly-anticipated Wes Anderson exhibition and the last full month of the bonkers jukebox musical Titanique. Plus, there are the ice-skating rinks, the winter pop-ups and the chilly winter walks followed by cosy pub hangouts. And that’s before we even get on to New Year’s Eve!  Here’s our guide to the finest events, parties, cultural happenings and things to do in London over December 2025.  London’s best things to do in December at a glance: 🧀 Best for foodies: Future of Food, Science Museum 🎭 Best for thespians: Ballet Shoes, National Theatre 🎬 Best for cinephiles: Backyard Cinema, Bermondsey 🎨 Best for aesthetes: Wes Anderson: The Exhibition, Design Museum 🧛 Best for night owls: Christmas lights, citywide 📚 Best for families: Winter Funland, Kensington RECOMMENDED: Time Out’s definitive London events calendar.

Do you smell it? That faint waft of pumpkin spice latte in the air? Summer’s sunny days and balmy nights may be behind us, but now it’s time to embrace all the wonderful, cosy things autumn has to offer.  For some, this time of year is all about spooky season, for others it’s about candle-lit evenings in front of the telly with a steaming mug of hot chocolate. For others, it’s about pumpkins galore – a golden excuse to get picking, carving and cooking. As the weather drops, farms in and around London become gourd wonderlands, littered with bright yellow and flaming orange pumpkins. Often there’ll be photo opportunities, craft workshops and spooky goings on thrown in so you can make a real outing of it. Just make sure you book in advance to make sure you get a decent pick of the crop. So, whether you want to stock up on pumpkins to carve into Halloween lanterns or to make masses of soup and pies, here are our favourite places near London for pumpkin picking in 2025.  London’s best places for pumpkin picking at a glance: 🎃 Pumpkin smashing fun: Rogate Pumpkin Patch, Petersfield 🪄 Magical village vibes: Marsh Farm, Chelmsford 🧙🏻‍♀️ Best for witches on a budget: Cobbs Farm, Essex 🦇 Best for spooky night-time picking: Foxes Farm, Chelmsford ⚡️ Best for little adventure-seekers: Hobbledown Heath, Hounslow  RECOMMENDED: The best things to do in London in October 2025

When someone utters the word ‘Wimbledon’, we’d bet big money that the first thing you think of is tennis. Normally a quieter part of town, SW19 erupts with energy every summer when it hosts the mighty Wimbledon Tennis Championships (one of the oldest and most prestigious sports tournaments in the world), with thousands of people queuing for tickets from four in the morning, roaming around in their all-white fits and guzzling down plastic cups of Pimms. When the crowds disperse, Wimbledon is once again demoted to simply being somewhere very, very far away from the rest of London.  🏘️ Ultimate guide to where to stay in London But we’re here to assure you that Wimbledon is actually worth the trek year-round, and it has loads more going for it beyond racket sports. There’s the homely pubs, the locally loved restaurants, the underrated theatres and the lush green plains. Yes, it feels a world away from the cool hordes of Hackney and the hectic hubbub of Camden, but when you need a little breather from the city without actually leaving the city, there are few places better. Go on – venture to the end of the District line and discover the best of what Wimbledon has to offer.  RECOMMENDED 🍽️ The best restaurants in Wimbledon🍺 The best bars and pubs in Wimbledon⬅️ The best things to do in west London📍 All of Time Out London’s area guides

Greece is, quite simply, king of the holidays. It’s a country full of sprawling cities, beautiful islands and some of the best beaches in the entire world, and the food? Don’t even get us started on the food. There’s a hell of a lot of islands, and our editors have been to a hell of a lot of them, but for the on-the-ground knowledge that only a local has, we’ve roped in our Greece expert Demetrios Ioannou, who grew up in Athens but has travelled all over the country. Whatever you’re looking for, here are the best places to visit in Greece.  Where should I go for my first time in Greece? We’re firm believers that everyone should go to Athens at least once in their lives. So if it’s your first time visiting the country, you should probably start there. But the good news is that in Greece, you can pretty much do it all. So don’t stay in Athens for a full week – spend a perfect weekend there before heading out on a ferry to Aegina, Poros, Hydra and more. If you’ve ticked off Athens already, consider Greece’s latest destination dupe, Paros, which is set to this year’s ‘new Santorini’ (just without the crowds).  📍 RECOMMENDED: Discover our ultimate guide to Greece Which is the best Greek island to visit? If we’re talking most popular, Santorini and Mykonos are always going to be top of the list. But Greece has more than 6,000 islands and islets, each with its own unique vibe and all worth visiting for entirely different reasons. Crete is Greece’s biggest island, in the south of th

Boxing Day has all the magic of Christmas Day, just without the stress of cooking a colossal feast or the pressure of keeping the whole family happy. The in-laws have departed, the gifts have been handed out and now you can spend the day slouched in sweatpants, binging festive specials and demolishing chocolate reindeer while nursing a mild hangover. As enjoyable as all that is, we’re here to make the case for getting out and about on December 26.  The day after Christmas, London is mostly free of its usual crowds (except for shopping districts like Oxford Street packed with bargain hunters). That means that, should you leave your house, large parts of the capital city are yours for the taking.  There are the parks and riverside paths for frosty winter walks or the Christmas lights to admire while you brave the Boxing Day sales. The city’s pop-up ice skating rinks are normally open, pantomime season is still in full swing and there are even a few parties lined up . Here are some great ideas for how to spend your day off. RECOMMENDED: Find more festive fun with our full guide to Christmas in London.

There are few things that we’d willingly brace the cold for during winter in London. But ice skating is one of them. From around October each year, pop-up ice rinks fill the city, decked out in fairy lights, hosting DJ takeovers and inviting folk to skate late into the night. So, dig out your warmest hats and scarves – soon, you’ll get to romantically glide (or awkwardly stumble) with your loved ones under the backdrop of landmarks like Somerset House, Battersea Power Station and Hampton Court Palace.  Keen to flaunt your best ice moves? Determined to skate at least one lap without clinging onto the wall for dear life? We recommend you book a spot at your chosen rink as early as you can. Here are some of the best rinks to soar across this winter. We’ll be topping up this list as more rinks for the 2025/26 season are confirmed. How much does it cost to go ice skating? The cost to skate at London’s various permanent and pop-up ice rinks varies quite significantly. So far, this year’s cheapest option is Queens Skate Dine and Bowl, where adult tickets are available from £8 (during off-peak hours). The most expensive adult ticket in 2024 was £26 for peak hours at Skate at Somerset House. For cheaper tickets, consider visiting at less popular times.  London’s best places to go ice skating this winter: ⛸️ Best for the biggest rink in town: Winter Wonderland, Hyde Park 💃 Best for ice dance parties: Somerset House, Aldwych 🏛️ Best for south London skaters: The Queen's House, Green

It’s hard not to fall in love with Wales. This nation may be small but best believe it is crammed with irresistible Celtic charm, spectacular wilderness and vibrant culture. Even after growing up in Bannau Brycheiniog and spending family holidays up north and along the coast, I still cannot get enough. It’s the perfect place to rejuvenate, to give your mind a rest and to bathe in the warm hospitality of Welsh people. It’s also a hugely overlooked arts and music hub. From Michelin-star establishments, to gorgeous hikes, an official book town and several critically acclaimed festivals, whatever kind of getaway you're after, this is the very best of Cymru.  RECOMMENDED: 📍 The best places to go in Wales 🍴 The best things to do in North Wales 👀 The best things to do in Cardiff🌤️ The best things to do in the UK This article was recently updated by Amy Houghton, a writer from Bannau Brycheiniog, Wales. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. This guide includes affiliate links, which have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines. 

Whatever your vibe (and whatever your budget), London’s got it all – and anyone will find something they love here. Historic pubs, leafy parks and gardens and an unmatched restaurant scene make this city worth visiting year-round, but before you’ve booked anything in London, you kind of have to know where you’re going to be based. To get you started, we’ve rounded up the city’s best Airbnbs available to book right now, with expert tips from our local editors.  Should I choose an Airbnb or a hotel in London? London is not short on lovely hotels, ranging from budget to luxury and just about everything in between. But it’s fair to say that even the cheaper options cost a pretty penny – and you’ll often find them in more central, touristy areas in the city. If you want to live like a Londoner, an Airbnb can allow you to properly immerse yourself in a more residential area of London – and all the locally-loved bars, pubs and restaurants that come with it. You’ll find lots of our local tips below, but for a detailed breakdown of the best neighbourhoods to stay in London, check out our ultimate area guide. More of a hotels guy? No problem. Here’s our list of the best hotels in London.  📍 RECOMMENDED: Ultimate guide to the best hotels and Airbnbs in London Who makes the cut? While we might not stay in and review every Airbnb featured, our writers have based our list on expert knowledge of the destination covered, editorial reviews, user reviews, amenities and in-depth research to

August 2025 update: There's new songs being added to karaoke machines on a regular basis, so we see it as our duty to keep this list bang up to date. Our latest additions include a modern British classic from Lola Young, as well as the bounciest anthem to emerge over the past 12 months from Blackpink's Rosé and Bruno Mars. Whether you’ve got the voice of an angel or you’re totally tone deaf, karaoke unites us all. But heed our warning: choosing the right song is crucial (aka, don’t opt for that Whitney Houston tune if you haven’t the range. And if you don't have good enough flow, steer clear of rapping. Kapeesh?) So we thought we’d help out a little bit. In our list of the best karaoke songs ever, we’ve got everyone from Adele to Toto, and from Frank Sinatra to Ricky Martin. There's even recent singalongs from Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan. Something for everyone. So down that shot, grab that mic and take to the stage. Your audience awaits you. Here are the best karaoke songs ever.  RECOMMENDED:❤️ The best love songs☀️ The best summer songs🎉 The best party songs🕺 The best albums of 2025 so far  

Cardiff is arguably one of the best-kept foodie secrets in the UK. While it might get overlooked in favour of some more famous destinations, all that means is there’s more scrumptious food on offer for those who are wise enough to buck trends and head to the Welsh capital.  Many of the UK’s most innovative chefs have set up shop here, including the likes of Pembrokeshire’s Tom Simmons, and restaurants across the city have inventive, artistic dishes flying out of their kitchens – but don’t get us wrong, Cardiff also knows a thing or two about classic, hearty, comforting food too. Be you after a posh, Michelin-starred spot for a special occasion or just a trusty, locally-recommended spot for a day of sightseeing, here is our handpicked roundup of the city’s best restaurants. RECOMMENDED:🎨 The best things to do in Cardiff🏩 The best Airbnbs in Cardiff🌉 The best things to do in Wales☀️ The best things to do in the UK This guide was recently updated by Sophie Williams, a writer based in Cardiff. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. 

Things are getting more and more expensive here in Europe, and many of our reliably ‘cheap’ cities aren’t so cheap anymore. The hotspots in Greece, Spain, Italy and more are plagued with overtourism and prices are starting to look similar across the board. But don’t fear: if budgets are tight this year, there’s still plenty of spots that won’t break the bank.  The best part? These are the spots with less tourists and less crowds, and the flights there are likely to be much cheaper too. Of course, it goes without saying that a ‘cheap city’ is highly subjective, depending on a whole load of factors: which city you’ve travelled in from, what time of year you’re visiting, how bougie your tastes are and all the rest of it. On our list of cheap destinations in Europe, we’ve got everything from thriving capital cities to underrated towns. Ready to see a different side of Europe and afford dinner out? Read on for the cheapest (and best) cities to visit in Europe in 2025.  RECOMMENDED:🌃 The most underrated travel destinations in Europe🏰 The best city breaks in Europe📍 The most beautiful places in Europe🌊 The best places to ‘coolcation’ in Europe At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. This guide includes affiliate links, which have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines. 

In 1978, Zofia Rydet decided that was going to photograph the inside of every Polish household. Aged 67, she began knocking on doors and asking occupants if they’d be willing to partake in her project. She continued to knock on doors for the next three decades, collecting everyday stories and creating ‘one of the most important achievements in 20th century Polish photography’. More than 100 of Rydet’s prints will be on display at the Photographers’ Gallery alongside books and personal letters offering extra insight into her sociological mission.

One hundred years ago, a strange curtained box appeared on Broadway in New York City. If you went inside and slotted in 25 cents, you’d emerge with eight sepia tinged photos of yourself in a matter of minutes. It was the Photomaton – the world’s first fully automated photobooth. Fast forward to the 21st century and photobooths are in bars, train stations, cinemas, record shops and on streets all over the world. The Photographer’s Gallery is marking a century of the machines with Click!, an archival exhibition exploring their imperfections, their quirks and their most famous fans. Naturally, there’ll be a working photobooth for visitors to take their own snap.

The UK’s first major retrospective of acclaimed Ukrainian artist Boris Mikhailov is coming to the Photographers’ Gallery. A ‘kind of proto-punk’, Mikhailov has been capturing and commenting on life in Ukraine since the 1960s – from the everyday consequences of the collapse of the Soviet Union to the realities of people living on the edges of society – through photography, conceptual work, painting and performance art. Ukrainian Diary brings much of that work together to illustrate the tumultuous social and political changes that have shaken Eastern Europe over the past fifty years.

When a place rates itself as assuredly (in huge bold letters, no less) as Good Hotel does, it’s natural to feel a little sus. But it’s true: Good Hotel really does make you feel good. Service is cheery and laid-back without being overly casual, the food leaves nothing to complain about and – maybe it’s the luxurious silence of the area or perhaps the proximity to gently lapping water – I visited in 2024, and I don’t know if I’ve ever had a better night’s sleep in the city. Aside from all that, guests can walk out of Good Hotel feeling extra gratified by virtue of its ‘do good’ DNA. Why stay at Good Hotel? As you walk along Royal Victoria Docks, this huge black shipping container is impossible to miss. Originally built as a Danish prison, this floating hotel docked in London in 2016 after sailing across from Amsterdam. Its founder, Marten Dresden, had come up with the Good Hotel concept four years prior while travelling in Guatemala. Now, each night you spend there pays for a week of school for a child in South America, with profits also going towards hospitality training for long-term unemployed locals (lots of whom become Good Hotel employees).  The hotel also hosts regular community workshops and events that guests can attend. There are comedy nights, yoga classes, salsa classes, kids art clubs and, if you’re in the mood to be extra good, litter-picking around the local area. What are the rooms like at Good Hotel? Throughout the hotel, the interiors are slick, earthy-toned

One of the more recent additions to Wimbledon Village, Good Fortune Club is bright and buzzy with a sprawling menu of Cantonese dishes, the best known of which is its handmade dim sum. Stop by with a large, hungry posse to pack your table with bamboo steamers and sample har gau (shrimp-filled dumplings,) xiao long bao (pork soup dumplings), cuttlefish cake and more.

Of its four south-west London outposts, DropShot’s Leopold Road location serves up hefty brunches on the daily. The portions here are breathtakingly generous, and the tennis-themed menu goes well beyond the standard eggs benny or avocado on toast; think mozzarella and chilli jam-filled potato pancakes andbig fat slices of French toast laden with monterey jack cheese and fresh pesto, or loaded with tiramisu cream and berries. The coffee is fantastic, too.

Crack Comedy Club brings pre-party laughs to Tunnel 267 – Wimbledon’s only nightclub – every Saturday night from 8pm to 10pm. For standup sets from four or five comics, tickets are £25 for general admission on the door or £21.50 if you book online in advance. You can also buy tickets that include dinner from a local restaurant beforehand, and if you stick around afterwards you’ll get free entry to Tunnel’s clubnight. Three in one. 

This quirky, tiki-themed minigolf course first popped up in Dalston's Efes in April 2015. A decade later, that debut site is no more, but you can now find Plonks outdoors in London Fields and under the arches at Borough Market. The Hackney course, which recently got a big ol’ refurb, takes you through a ‘Polynesian themed putt paradise’ complete with a tiki forest, a volcano canyon and octupuses. There are plenty of satisfying holes that fire your ball onto tricksy little mechanisms, a loop the loop, and a lot of impossibly steep ramps. All in all: it’s a great place for a plonking party. Prices start from £9.35 per person per play. 

There's a real sense of fun to this deliberately rough-around-the-edges course. Party tunes blare from speakers, graffiti jazzes up the walls and it's made from ‘twisted junk, car booty and charity shop shizzle’. Junkyard Golf Club has four courses – Gary, Pablo, Dirk and Bozo – that are all fabulously chaotic and mildly freaky. Depending on which challenge you take on, you’ll be putting past pirate pigs, dishevelled nightclub urinals, terrifying giant clown heads and a UV rave room. There's also a second location in Camden for more of the same.  Prices start at £12 for nine holes at off-peak times (Sunday to Thursday) and go up to £21 for 18 holes on busier days (Fridays and Saturdays). And as any good crazy golf should, Junkyard has a menu of themed cocktails to keep lubed up before, during and after your game. 

What is it?  Technically several adjoining markets, this sprawl of stalls stretching from Camden Town tube to the Regent’s Canal is London’s fourth most popular visitor attraction. In its recent heyday, around 250,000 people came here every week to shop, sample street food and soak up the distinctive, still-grungy atmosphere. Camden Lock Market is an arts-and-crafts haven while the Stables Market is a trendy spot for everything from quirky furniture to fetish clothing. Nearby Buck Street Market on Camden High Street has had a shipping container revamp. As you saunter through the different markets, don’t be surprised to see grungy teenagers and old punks on the street corners. Camden feels more mainstream than it did in the ‘90s, but it’s still one of London’s most rock ‘n’ roll neighbourhoods. Why go?  To get lost in a one-of-a-kind maze of art, garms, antiques, accessories, books and endless street food.  Don’t miss The Cheese Bar – London’s only fully fromage focused restaurant – for all manner of gooey, cheese-based delights in a classy, low lit space in Stables Market.  Ticket info  No tickets needed.  When to visit  Camden Markets are open everyday of the week from 10am until late.  Time Out tip If you find the lunch queues and options a bit too much in the main Camden Lock Market, cross the road to Buck Street Market where you’ll find food that is just as great and are more likely to find a free spot to sit.  RECOMMENDED: London’s best markets

What is it?  In business for over 300 years, Fortnum & Mason is as historic as it is inspiring. A sweeping spiral staircase soars through the four-storey building, while light floods down from a central glass dome. The iconic eau de nil blue and gold colour scheme with flashes of rose pink abounds on both the store design and the packaging of the fabulous ground-floor treats, such as chocolates, biscuits, teas and preserves. A food hall in the basement has a good range of fresh produce; Fortnum’s Bees honey comes from beehives on top of the building. There are various eateries, including an ice-cream parlour. The famous hampers start from £60 – though they rise to a whopping £6,000 for the most luxurious. A sweeping spiral staircase soars through the four-storey building, while light floods down from a central glass dome. The iconic F&M eau de nil blue and gold colour scheme with flashes of rose pink abounds on both the store design and the packaging of the fabulous ground-floor treats, including chocolates, biscuits, teas and preserves. What does it sell?  A food hall in the basement has a good range of fresh produce; Fortnum’s Bees honey comes from beehives on top of the building. There are various eateries, including an ice-cream parlour. The famous hampers start from £60 – though they rise to a whopping £6,000 for the most luxurious. The first floor is for homewares: china- and glassware as well as finishing touches such as silver scoops for stilton, F&M coloured linen

What is it? Part of an esteemed UK chain, Harvey Nicks is a one-stop shop for luxury fashion and lifestyle goodies. Though it may have been in its Knightsbridge pad since 1831, it stays true to its ethos of bringing new and innovative products to a wider audience.  What does it sell?  Makeup junkies should head to the ground floor beauty and perfumery space to pick up established brands like Charlotte Tilbury and Shu Uemura, or to glowup with treatments from the Light Salon, Shavata, Duck & Dry and Nail’d It. Womenswear takes up the next three floors, with swimwear and a Denim Gallery on the third levels, while menswear can be found down in the basement. The clothing rails are full of top labels such as Alexander Wang, Balenciaga and Givenchy, and there’s an excellent array of accessories and beauty buys from luxurious brands such as Tom Ford and COR (whose soap contains real silver). Finish off proceedings with lunch on the fifth floor, where the buzzy food department is located along with The Fifth Floor Cafe, Burger & Lobster, Trullo and Madhu’s Brasserie.  Opening times Monday to Saturday 10am – 8pm, Sunday 11:30am – 6pm (browsing from 11.30am – 12pm).  Time Out tip  Forget Vinted and Depop – if you’ve had a recent wardrobe cull, Harvey Nichols will take any high-end pieces that are still in decent condition. It’ll do all the hard selling work for you, all you need to do is drop the items off. Once they’ve found a new home you can get  a Harvey Nichols voucher with a sw

January is a famously dreary month of the year. The Christmas magic has worn off, everyone is swearing off anything fun and the days are dark and cold. In short, exactly when we could all do with an extra injection of light. And for the past decade, Canary Wharf has been providing just that.  At the start of each year, the Winter Lights festival sets out to help you beat the January blues and transforms the financial district into a kaleidoscopic outdoor gallery of light art. Now, we can reveal that it’ll be returning on January 20, 2026. The lights are completely free to see and will switch on every evening from 5pm to 10pm until January 31. For 2026, the festival’s theme is ‘Dreamscape’, which promises an ‘an exploratory journey of the surreal and ethereal’.  Expect interactive displays, colourful projections and magnificent installations from world-renowned light artists, as well as pop-up food stalls to keep you fuelled along the way.  Photograph: Canary Wharf Group Pippa Dale, an associate director at the Canary Wharf Group said: ‘Winter Lights started as a glowing idea to brighten the dark January nights and bring joy through art to Londoners. Over the past decade, this idea has grown and brightened into one of the capital's most ambitious light art festivals, with this year's Dreamscape theme representing our boldest vision yet.’  Last year, the installations included a piece that reflected sunlight during the day and became a dazzling choreographed light show by ni

For Londoners, mainland Europe is just one train ride away. Heck, the Eurostar makes cross-Channel travel so easy for people living in the capital, they can hop over to Paris in the morning and be back in the UK before dinner. It’s not so convenient for anyone who has to travel several hours to get to London St Pancras in the first place, but that may soon change as two cities further north could get their own direct trains to Europe.  Birmingham and Manchester could get routes to mainland Europe thanks to Virgin. Richard Branson’s company is one of several European train operators bidding to create a train service to rival the Eurostar and end its monopoly of cross-Channel services. If Virgin gets approved as a competitor, it wants to include Birmingham and Manchester in its planned routes to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.  In a submission to the Office of Rail Road (ORR) back in July, Branson wrote that Virgin would explore ways ‘to enhance onward connectivity to the wider UK rail network’ if it’s chosen. The trains would have to run via the West Coast Main Line before diverting across north London to join the Channel Tunnel route at Stratford.  Virgin also reportedly wants to reopen Ashford International and Ebbsfleet International stations, which have both been shut since Eurostar services were suspended there in 2020. Other bidders for Eurostar competition Gemini Trains and Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane have similar ambitions.  If Virgin wins the bid, it’ll run 20 daily

When Dave blasted onto the scene with single ‘Thiago Silva’ in 2016, he quickly soared to legend status. That track was named one of grime’s most impactful songs of the 2010s, then his 2018 song ‘Question Time’ won an Ivor Novello Award and his 2019 debut studio album Psychodrama earned him the Mercury Prize and had the most first-week streams for a UK rap album to date.  Nearly a decade on, the Brixton-born rapper is releasing third studio album The Boy Who Played the Harp. And now, Dave has revealed that he’ll be heading on a huge tour to go with it.  In his first major tour since 2022, Dave will be stopping by arenas across the UK and Europe next year. This is everything you need to know if you want to get your hands on tickets.  When is Dave going on tour in the UK? He’ll be playing arenas across the country in March 2026.  What tour dates have been confirmed so far?  Wednesday March 2: OVO Hydro, Glasgow Friday March 6: The O2, London Saturday March 7: The O2, London Friday, March 13: Utilita Arena, Birmingham Monday, March 16: Co-op Live, Manchester When do tickets go on sale?  General sale for Dave’s The Boy Who Played The Harp tour begins at 9am on Thursday, October 23. You’ll be able to buy on Ticketmaster here and AXS here. Presale details There’s an artist presale that’ll go live at 9am on Tuesday, October 21. Fans can only get access to that if they pre-order Dave’s upcoming album here by 10am on Monday, October 20.  Look out for the O2 Priority presale which w

The Stirling Prize, handed out every year by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), is one of the most prestigious architecture awards out there. Each year, extraordinary new buildings across the UK, from skyscrapers to social housing, are pitted against one another as RIBA judges decide which one has made the most ‘significant contribution to the evolution of the built environment’. Now, the 2025 winner has been revealed.  In a ceremony at the Roundhouse last night (October 16), RIBA’s Stirling Prize for the best new building in Britain went to Appleby Blue Almshouse in Bermondsey – a housing complex built to combat loneliness and provide affordable homes for over-65s.  The almhouse, built on the site of a disused care home, was designed by Witherford Watson Mann for United St Saviour’s Charity, a local organisation that has been addressing social needs in the community for almost 500 years. It’s made up of 59 flats spread across five floors and communal facilities including a roof garden, courtyard, civic room and community kitchen.  Photograph: Philip Vila Appleby Blue follows last year’s unlikely winner, the Elizabeth line. Judges described the building as ‘a provision of pure delight’ and praised it for setting ‘an ambitious standard for social housing among older people’.  Ingrid Schroder, director of the Architectural Association School of Architecture and jury chair, said: ‘This project is a clarion call for a new form of housing at a pivotal moment. ‘Bui

When festive season arrives, pretty ice skating rinks start to pop up all over London. Throughout November and December, thousands of us whizz (or, let’s be real, nervously shuffle) across the ice in front of gorgeous monuments like Somerset House, Battersea Power Station and Queen’s House Greenwich. But what if we told you that a new rooftop ice rink is coming to town, from which you’ll be able to admire dozens of landmarks all at once?  This winter, an ice skating rink is opening at Peckham’s Bussey Rooftop Bar, offering 360-degree views of London while you glide. When the brand new ICE at Bussey Rooftop Bar launches on November 17 it’ll be one of the highest rinks in the city. Replacing the seasonal Rooftop Film Club, the venue will also be laden with Christmas trees and twinkling fairy lights for the occasion.  ICE at Bussey Rooftop Bar prices Tickets are £9 for kids, £14 for adults and £35 for families (but you can get a nice 15 percent off if you book before the end of October). Opening dates Slots are available until 11pm every day from November 14 until January 1.  You can book a skating slot at ICE at Bussey Rooftop Bar here. What else is on at the Bussey Building? Once you’ve scuttled off the ice, you can head for Bussey’s heated rooftop bar for boozy hot chocolates, winter-themed spritzes and festive mocktails. On Fridays and Saturdays, the rink will hot up with high-energy sets from some (yet to be revealed) BBC Radio DJs.  The best places to go ice skating in L

Would you hitch a ride in a taxi without a driver? For Londoners, that question won’t be a hypothetical for much longer. Yep, robotaxis are on their way.  In the summer, we reported that Uber, along with tech firm Wayve, would be launching London’s first self-driving cabs. But now, it looks like another company will beat them to it. US company Waymo has announced that it plans to bring its driverless vehicles to the capital next year. Here’s everything you need to know about when Waymo’s driverless taxis will land in London and what to expect.  When will London get driverless taxis?  Waymo said that it’ll begin to ‘lay the groundwork’ for driverless taxi services over the coming months, which will include working closely with Transport for London and the Department for Transport to secure the permits needed for fully driverless rides in 2026. You may spot their cars (white, with huge cameras on the roof) roaming around the city as part of testing over the next few weeks.  Under current government legislation, the cars can’t run without a human safety driver on board until spring 2026. After that, the trials of 100 percent autonomous vehicles can commence, but a full rollout won’t happen until the Automated Vehicles Act of 2024 fully takes effect in late 2027.  Who are Waymo?  Backed by Google, Waymo is already well established in several American cities, including San Francisco and LA, and has recently launched in Tokyo. If everything goes according to plan, London would bec

Planning on upping sticks from London next year, but still want easy access to all the wonderful stuff going on in the capital? There’s actually plenty of choice.  Lifestyle site Muddy Stilettos has gone on a road trip of Britain, searching far and wide for the best places to live in 2026. The result is a list of 260 city spots, towns and villages with brilliant schools, wholesome communities, great places to eat and drink and, in the case of the Home Counties, convenient links to London.   The publication chose seven to eight places in each Home County as part of its best places to live list, meaning that there are 48 places within a commutable distance of the capital city that it reckons are well worth the move. So, let’s get into it.  In Berkshire, it picked Cookham as one of the top places to live for its ‘village life that’s got more going for it than your average rural idyll’ and Twyford for its riverside location and access to the Elizabeth line, which runs from the town to Bond Street in less than an hour.  Photograph: Shutterstock Saffron Walden, which was the Sunday Times’ best place to live in the whole of the UK for 2025, was one of Muddy Stiletto’s picks for Essex, while Amersham, recently named one of the UK’s best places to retire to, was a top pick for Buckinghamshire thanks to the surrounding beauty of the Chilterns, the top-notch restaurants (including one Michelin-starred) and its collection of National Trust properties and period cottages. Milton Keynes

London might be packed with teeming roads and foreboding skyscrapers, but we’re surprisingly spoiled for choice when it comes to lovely green walks. And, if you’re willing to travel a little further afield, there are also countless hikes and trials within easy reach of the city to suit every preference and ability. Like the sea breeze through your hair? Head for the Kentish Coast. Want a chilled saunter along the river? Then the Goring Gap and Thames Path is for you. After a forest stroll with some ancient ruins along the way? Take the Central line to Epping Forest.  But if you’re a stairs-not-lift kinda person, up the ante and take on the incline at Box Hill, which we recently named one of the most scenic walks near London.  There are several different routes you can take depending on how long you’re willing to walk, but for a moderate challenge, we recommend the 6.4km Box Hill Juniper Top route, which takes around two hours.To get to the start of the trail, you first have to trudge up 272 steps to the top of Box Hill – that’s roughly equivalent to 14 storeys. Once you reach the peak, take a minute to admire the panoramic views (read: get your breath back) before turning left and head towards the woods.  Photograph: Shutterstock The trail then continues through woodland and grassy plains, onto another hill named Juniper Top, which looks out onto the North Downs, then through Juniper Bottom (aka Happy Valley).  For post-walk refreshments, sink pints at the aptly named Step

Nick Jones knows a thing or two about hotels. Thirty years ago, he opened the very first Soho House above his Greek Street restaurant Cafe Boheme, kicking off what would become an worldwide empire of members-only hotels, with more than 40 outposts across Europe, North America and Asia. So, it’s big news that Jones is now opening his first hotel since stepping down as Soho House’s CEO in 2022.  St Clement Hotel will open at 180 the Thames in 2026. It’ll sit above Jones’ recently opened Corner Shop 180 on Arundel Street. which is home to a huge salad bar, an ice cream counter, a deli full of products from independent London brands and a well-stocked wine bar. As it happens, Soho House’s flagship 180 House is just a stone’s throw away.  There’s not loads of information about the hotel at this stage. All we know so far is that it’ll have 90 bedrooms, 15 apartments, a gym and a rooftop restaurant. Oh, we also know that the bath amenities will be provided by English perfumer Lyn Harris.  The hotel will be in good company. The complex at 180 the Thames is already home to Time Out favourites like the delicious Toklas Bakery, the west African-inspired eatery Ikoyi and art gallery 180 The Strand, as well as a collection of offices and studios.  The best boutique hotels in London right now, according to Time Out’s experts.  One of London’s best pubs is being reopened by one of Britain’s greatest artists.  Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events a

LIDO festival debuted this summer with a bang. Over two weekends Charli xcx, Massive Attack, Jamie xx, Turnstile and many, many more took to the stage in Victoria Park’s Lido Field, with a programme carefully curated by the headline acts themselves. Now, LIDO has confirmed that it’s coming back for another year, and has revealed its first big act.  Electronic duo Maribou State (made up of Chris Davids and Liam Ivory) are the first LIDO headliners for 2026. Following the band’s 2025 tour for their latest album Hallucinating Love, this’ll be their biggest ever gig in London. They said: ‘We’ve made some of our best memories touring in London, from our first ever show at Oslo through to playing Alexandra Palace earlier this year. We're over the moon to announce our biggest show yet in the city next summer, alongside a line up of some of our favourite artists. This is going to be special.’ Already dreaming about next festival season? From prices to presale, here’s everything about securing tickets for Maribou State at LIDO 2026.   When is Maribou State playing LIDO? The duo will be performing at LIDO on Saturday, July 20.  Photograph: Outside Organisation When do tickets go on sale? Tickets will go up for grabs in a general sale at 10am on Friday, October 24. You’ll be able to get them on Ticketmaster here.   Is there a presale? If you want to get your hands on tickets earlier than everyone else, there’s a LIDO festival and artist presale going live at 10am on Wednesday, October

It’s easy to forget just how powerful the British passport is. With that little book, we can enter nearly 200 other countries without the need for a visa. That’s a lot more that can be said for other passports around the world. Still, the number of places that Brits can freely access has depleted over the years, and that little navy (or burgundy) book is actually far less powerful that it was a decade ago.  Four times each year, the Henley Passport Index from Henley & Partners ranks 199 of the world’s passports based on how easily their holders can travel. And in the latest ranking, published on October 14, the British and Northern Irish passport has slipped to it’s lowest place ever. With visa-free access to 184 countries, the United Kingdom now ranks eighth in the world alongside Croatia, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United Arab Emirates. That’s two spots down since the index was last published in July, when Brits had access to 186 countries and six positions down since last year. Our passports still grant us a lot of privilege when travelling the world, but gone are the glory days when the British passport ranked first for three years in a row (from 2013-2015).  Our passport isn’t the only one to hit a record low, though. The US has dropped out of the top 10 for the very first time and is now in 12th place next to Malaysia. That’s a major tumble compared to its 2024 rank in seventh place and an even bigger fall compared to the number one spot it held in 2014. The in

London is positively bursting at the seams with unmissable cultural events this month. The London Film Festival is well underway, with hyped films like Frankenstein, Hamnet and No Other Choice all making their UK debuts; esteemed contemporary art fair Frieze London has begun; Black History Month is being marked by book festivals, orchestra showcases and exhibitions and London Literature Festival is kicking off in the coming weeks with appearances from Zadie Smith, Malala Yousafzai, Reese Witherspoon and more.  With all those things going on, it’s only natural to feel a bit of FOMO, especially if your wallet doesn’t stretch quite far enough to cover them all. The good news is that there are almost as many brilliant events happening across the city that are completely free of charge.  From DJ nights at the BFI and an ultimate celebrations of all things chocolate to a free art trail and Diwali festivities from east to west, here are all of the most exciting free things happening in London over the next three days.  RECOMMENDED: 📍 The best things to do in London this weekend.⛔️ London travel disruption to watch out for this weekend: full list of tube and train closures. The best free things to do in London this weekend, October 17-19 1. Celebrate movie-making at the London Film Festival  The London Film Festival is touted as the most accessible of the world’s big film festivals for good reason. Besides the glitzy galas and buzzed premieres, there’s a bunch of free, unticketed s