Chiara Wilkinson

From striking documentary works from a time bygone to glitzy, high fashion editorial shoots and everything in between, London is an excellent city to explore if you’re a photography lover. There are new exhibitions popping up pretty much all of the time, allowing you to lose yourself through the camera lens.  In this list below, we’ve put together all of the best photography exhibitions out there in the city right now. We’ve been there, done that, checked them out in the flesh, and can guarantee that every exhibition on this list is worth going to.  RECOMMENDED: Top 10 art exhibitions in London12 London art exhibitions we can’t wait to see in 2025

If you’re into art, London is pretty damn hard to beat. From world-famous museums and landmark galleries to cutting-edge commercial spaces, local community hubs and striking public art on every other corner, this city is full of fascinating, beautiful, challenging things to look at. And that’s before you even get to the ever-changing lineup of temporary exhibitions.  In fact, some people might even go as far to say there’s too much art to see. But that’s where we come in. For decades, Time Out’s experts have been visiting and reviewing all the sculpture, painting, performance, photography and other art shows on offer. You name it, we’ve (probably, most likely) seen it. If you’re wondering what’s actually worth your time, start here. Check out the best art exhibitions in London right now, and be sure to come back weekly for the latest picks. Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox. RECOMMENDED: Best photography exhibitions in LondonBest free exhibitions in London

Summer 2025 is finally here. And with the warmer weather and longer days comes the jewel in summer’s crown: the much-anticipated British festival season. It’s a months-long affair, not least because the lead-up to a big festival can be just as exciting as the event itself: the group chat assembled months before, the line-up drop, the outfit planning, the last-minute supermarket dash for cereal bars, baby wipes and tinnies of beer. It really never gets old.  These days, festival season proper starts as early as April and extends all the way to the end of September and into October, with events happening all over the country. The choice is pretty overwhelming: you can pitch up at a boutique camping weekender where you can sweat out your hangover in a wood-fired sauna, go hardcore at one of the scene staples like Glastonbury or Reading and Leeds, try a dance music marathon at Field Maneuvers, Gottwood or Houghton, or cop a ticket to one of the many, many day festivals and align your trip with a city break.  To make the choice even harder, there are new events happening this year, too – such as Lido in London’s Victoria Park with headliners Charli XCX, Jamie XX, London Grammar and Massive Attack. But if you’re still deciding what is worth spending your hard-earned cash (and precious holiday days) on, one word of advice: you should probably decide soon. Festivals sell out fast, and due to tiered pricing, you’re much more likely to pay more for your ticket closer to the event date.

There’s a reason why so many romantic comedy films are set in London; quite simply, it’s one of the best places in the world to be loved up. The picturesque Little Venice, the historic Whispering Gallery at St Paul's Cathedral, and Waterloo Bridge (which has breathtaking views of the city) are among the many romantic places to visit at any time of year – and we can’t get enough. But to encourage your love to reach full bloom, it's important to pick a hotel with the right kind of vibe. Breakfast in bed, complimentary cocktails upon arrival, and pampering spa packages are the sort of special touches that can make all the difference when you’re in the mood to woo... or maybe even pop the question. Take a look at our favourite romantic hotels in London.  Updated in May 2024: To keep our curated lists tip top we always keep an eye out for any new or trending properties. And this time around we've set our sights on this hidden sanctuary in Shoreditch, and this luxury hotel in South Kenso that's all about British elegance.  Looking for more options? 🛏 Check out London’s best Airbnbs ❤️‍🔥 or London's naughtiest hotels. Who makes the cut? While we might not stay in every hotel featured, we've based our list on top reviews, hosts and amenities to find you the best stays. This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines.

Need a place to stay in London? We’re here to make it easy for you. Every year, a wealth of new hotels open in the capital which is a testament to the fact that London remains one of the most desirable places to visit in the world. However, that can make it tricky to decide which hotel to choose. But worry not because we have slept our way across the city and hand-picked our favourites for the ultimate list of London hotels, which covers locations right across the city, and every category from blowout luxury (including having your own butler, might we add) to budget basic and brilliant. In this mega list, we've listed everything from our favourite five-star hotels in Mayfair to more affordable hotels outside of zone 1. Plus you’ll be able to check out one or two of the capital's many Michelin-starred restaurants because yep, loads of them call London hotels their home. But if spending a small fortune on food isn’t your bag? There’s also an ever-increasing number of good-value food options for budgeteers, too. Throw great design and architecture into the mix, plus superb bars, world-class hospitality and the opportunity to have a home-from-home in the best city in the world and, well, you’re laughing.  Which area is best to stay in London? It's not just the range of hotels that's so impressive – you're also spoilt for choice when it comes to picking a neighbourhood to stay in London. The city is made up of a sprawling network of dynamic neighbourhoods, all with their own uniqu

Every week, a frankly silly amount of brilliant new restaurants, cafés and street food joints arrive in London. Which makes whittling down a shortlist of the best newbies a serious challenge. But here it is. The 20 very best new restaurants in the capital, ranked in order of greatness and deliciousness. All of them have opened in the past year and been visited by our hungry critics. So go forth and take inspo from this list, which is updated regularly. Check in often to find out what we really rate on the London restaurant scene.  July 2025: New additions include fun bistro action at Hello JoJo in Camberwell, sleek Ukranian comfort food at Tatar Bunar, Japanese-Italian fusion at Osteria Angelina in Spitalfields and the brand new home for Thai legend Singburi in Shoreditch They join bawdy British fare at Rake in Highbury, vegan Michelin star goodness at Shoreditch’s Plates, Iberian inventiveness at Tasca in Bethnal Green and The Most Controversial Restaurant in London™, The Yellow Bittern in King’s Cross. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. RECOMMENDED: The 50 best restaurants in London. The hottest new openings, the tastiest tips, the spiciest reviews: we’re serving it all on our London restaurants WhatsApp channel. Follow us now to tuck in.

Want a drink? You've come to the right place. This is Time Out’s list of best bars in London, our curated guide to London’s drinking scene, featuring the buzziest booze dens in the capital right now. If it’s on this list, it’s excellent. These are the 50 places we'd recommend to a friend, because we love drinking in them and have done many times over. From classy cocktail joints to delightful dives, hotel bars, speakeasys, bottle shops, rooftops and wine bars, London's got them all. But what makes a truly good bar? Well, our critieria for inclusion on this list is simple; a menu of genius drinks is important, but so is overall vibe – there’s no point having the perfect paloma if you have to drink it in a bar that smells of bins. To make the Top 50, a bar has to be fun, inclusive, and full of lovely folk as well as looking the part.  April 2025: A rash of great new bars have opened in London over the past year or so and many of them have made the immediate jump to our hallowed Top 50. The latest additions to our list include rowdy sports bar meets 80s horror movie set Bloodsports in Covent Garden, whisky wonderland Dram Bar on Denmark Street, the hypnotic Bar Lotus in Dalston, Below Stone Nest in Chinatown, Rasputin’s by London Fields, and Bar Lina, an Italian aperitivo spot underneath a famous Soho deli. Now go forth and drink. RECOMMENDED: Like bars? Then you'll love London's best pubs.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor, and she'll have a gibson marti

Glastonbury 2025 has officially begun. The gates are open, and this year’s line-up is looking pretty darn good: The 1975 took to the Pyramid Stage on Friday night, and the likes of Neil Young, Olivia Rodrigo and Rod Stewart are yet to come, joined over the weekend by everyone from Charli xcx and Doechii to The Prodigy and Nile Rodgers and Chic.  Glastonbury is the UK’s biggest music festival, attracting more than 200,000 music lovers to over 100 stages. It’s also notoriously difficult to get tickets for – but if you didn’t get round to it this year (and can’t bear the resale), you can still catch up on all of the action from the comfort of your home. Most of the big sets and highlights from the weekend will be available to watch on the BBC.  The 2024 edition saw Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA headline the Pyramid Stage, with a load of other epic performances from the likes of Femi Kuti, Confidence Man, Olivia Dean and Jamie XX – as well as some iconic secret sets. Read our on-the-ground reviews of last year’s event here. 2026 is a fallow year, meaning that the Worthy Farm festival will have a year off to look after the land. In other words? All the more reason to go all-out at Glastonbury 2025. Here is everything you need to know, including dates, line-up info and more. RECOMMENDED:⭐ Glastonbury 2025 Day 1 review: The 1975, Lewis Capaldi and Gracie Abrams⭐⭐ Glastonbury 2025 Day 2 review: Neil Young, Pulp and Charli xcx⭐⭐⭐ Glastonbury 2025 day 3 review: Olivia Rodrigo, Rod Stewar

Museums are one of the things that London does best. This city boasts grand institutions housing ancient treasures, modern monoliths packed with intriguing exhibits, and tiny rooms containing deeply niche collections – and lots of them are totally free to anyone who wants to come in and take a gander. And with more than 170 London museums to choose from, there's bound to be one to pique your interest, whatever you're in to.  Want to explore the history of TfL? We’ve got a museum for that. Rather learn about advertising? We’ve got a museum for that too. History? Check. Science? Check. 1940s cinema memorabilia, grotesque eighteenth-century surgical instruments, or perhaps a wall of 4,000 mouse skeletons? Check, check and check! Being the cultured metropolitans that we are, Time Out’s editors love nothing more than a wholesome afternoon spent gawping at Churchill’s baby rattle or some ancient Egyptian percussion instruments. In my case, the opportunity to live on the doorstep of some of the planet’s most iconic cultural institutions was a big reason why I moved here at the first chance I got, and I’ve racked up countless hours traipsing around display cases and deciphering needlessly verbose wall texts in the eleven years since. From iconic collections, brilliant curation and cutting-edge tech right down to nice loos, adequate signage and a decent place to grab a cuppa; my colleagues and I know exactly what we want from a museum, and we’ve put in a whole lot of time deliberating

If you’re dreaming of finding sand in your shoes after a long day out and queuing too long for ice cream, then you could do a lot worse than venturing out of the city and planning a trip to one of the UK’s seemingly endless coastal towns. This is an island nation, after all, which means it’s packed with rugged cliffs and windswept headlands as well as quaint fishing villages and shoreline surf spots. We might not have the sunkissed weather of our European neighbours, but when it comes to costal charm, the UK ticks a hell of a lot of boxes. Planning a trip to the seaside? Check out our list of the best coastal towns in the country, from Scotland to Cornwall.   Which UK seaside towns get the best weather?  If you’re chasing sunshine, you’re probably going to want to go south. Brighton, Margate, St Ives, Salcombe and Falmouth can clock some serious sun hours in the right season – but we can’t make any promises, so be sure to pack a raincoat to be on the safe side.  Where are the best beaches in the UK? If beach walks and swimming in the sea is what you’re after, look no further than our list of the best beaches in the UK. From the list below, we’d recommend Brighton if you’re more of a pebble person. Head to Nefyn for natural beauty and extreme quiet. Try North Berwick if you want sand between your toes and can stomach chillier waters. And for higher temperatures, head to East Portlemouth beach and stay in Salcombe.  RECOMMENDED:🌊The best outdoor swimmming pools in the UK🏖️T

Looking for the best restaurants in Mayfair? You’re spoilt for choice in this extremely swanky central London neighbourhood. There are enough Michelin stars to feed a village here and prices are fittingly fierce. But if you’re after some indulgence or looking for the perfect celebration spot, then this is where you should be taking your hard-earned cash, with hotel joints such as The Ritz and Claridge’s in-house eateries some of the area’s finest. A tip: look out for set lunch menus, which many Mayfair fine-dining restaurants such Pavyllon, Murano and Ambassadors Clubhouse offer, and make the whole experience that much more affordable. Go forth and feast: these are Mayfair’s most impressive food spots. Recommended: The best restaurants in London. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Edinburgh in 2025: Well, we don’t need to say it, do we? Soon, Edinburgh will be in the midst of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2025. Its official dates this year are August 1 to 25, but you’ll find brilliant cultural things to see and do here throughout the summer, and some Fringe shows will even start early in July. But as ever, there are plenty of reasons to visit this wonderful city, all year round. Read on for our ultimate guide.  Hayley Scott: ‘I grew up in Edinburgh and I still can’t get enough. Years spent living elsewhere have made me increasingly appreciative of the city, but it’s hard to pin point exactly where its charm lies. There’s its small size, making it extremely walkable (provided you aren’t afraid of some rain and the occasional hill), and there’s its rich and well-preserved history, meaning parts of the city feel otherworldly, even to someone who calls it home. Growing up I would wander the botanic gardens feeding bread to the squirrels, and now I stroll the cobbled streets via wine bars, restaurants and – depending on the time of night – chippies. Ready to walk, drink, dance and all the rest of it? Get your waterproof on and explore.’ 📍 RECOMMENDED: Ultimate guide to what to do in Edinburgh ✈️ The best weekend breaks from London What free things are there to do in Edinburgh? Plenty. A number of our top museums have free entry year-round, including the National Museum of Scotland, the National Gallery, the Portrait Gallery and the Modern. But it’s not ju

Le Mas de Chabran is unlike anywhere else you’ll probably ever stay – it certainly was for me. It’s not a hotel per se, but a rentable serviced villa with a level of privacy, comfort and quality that is very hard to come by, especially if it’s to be matched with picture-perfect design in every corner like this place.  Taken over from a former olive oil mill turned bourgeois family home which was falling into disrepair, Le Mas de Chabran is the baby of architect Alain Meylan and interior designer Liliana Atilova, who transformed it into an eight-bedroom luxury property. It’s part of a growing collection of five, soon to be seven, villas in the area, each thoughtfully restored to preserve original features and decked out with exquisite antique furniture, tasteful artworks and top-notch facilities.  What they’ve created is almost dreamlike, but it’s quite hard to imagine until you’re here. Large windows view out onto rolling fields where horses graze lazily with their foals. Super-sweet strawberries grow in the kitchen garden and are picked fresh, laid delicately onto homemade pistachio tarts. Fresh flowers cover a wall at the entrance, filling the hallway with gently floral aromas. Le Mas de Chabran will exceed the most idyllic, wild, fairytale vision of the south of France you’ve ever imagined – like a living, breathing Pinterest board.  Why stay at Le Mas de Chabran? Stay here for a genuinely special experience. The property is can host just 16 people in total, with five star

Le Mas de Chabran is unlike anywhere else you’ll probably ever stay – it certainly was for me. It’s not a hotel per se, but a rentable serviced villa with a level of privacy, comfort and quality that is very hard to come by, especially if it’s to be matched with picture-perfect design in every corner like this place.  Taken over from a former olive oil mill turned bourgeois family home which was falling into disrepair, Le Mas de Chabran is the baby of architect Alain Meylan and interior designer Liliana Atilova, who transformed it into an eight-bedroom luxury property. It’s part of a growing collection of five, soon to be seven, villas in the area, each thoughtfully restored to preserve original features and decked out with exquisite antique furniture, tasteful artworks and top-notch facilities.  What they’ve created is almost dreamlike, but it’s quite hard to imagine until you’re here. Large windows view out onto rolling fields where horses graze lazily with their foals. Super-sweet strawberries grow in the kitchen garden and are picked fresh, laid delicately onto homemade pistachio tarts. Fresh flowers cover a wall at the entrance, filling the hallway with gently floral aromas. Le Mas de Chabran will exceed the most idyllic, wild, fairytale vision of the south of France you’ve ever imagined – like a living, breathing Pinterest board.  Why stay at Le Mas de Chabran? Stay here for a genuinely special experience. The property is can host just 16 people in total, with five star

No matter how much we want to keep them to ourselves, you can’t help but feel a sense of pride, deep in your chest, when a beloved neighbourhood restaurant graduates to Zone 1. First Leytonstone’s Singburi, and now Dalston’s Angelina are joining the big boys under the skyscrapers. And can we blame them? Real money isn’t in date night dinners – it’s in sharing steaks you can charge to the company card.   This food is interesting and adventurous – it’s fusion but not naff or ill-thought out Osteria Angelina is the shiny new outpost of the Japanese-Italian fusion tasting menu restaurant, and it is absolutely, hands-down brilliant. With loud music, high glassy ceilings and a smell which can only be described as new, this is a swanky place, just a short walk from Liverpool Street in a former cotton factory. It’s a thoughtful rethinking of the OG with an entirely different menu – though the care, quality and spirit of the original outpost remain.  I started with a glug of peachy Soave, before tucking into small plate starters, including quite possibly the best heritage tomato salad I have ever tasted. The milk bread, fluffy but dense, was a joy to use, sponge-like, to soak up the vinaigrette dressing (though I was less sold on its accompanying marmalade, which felt like overkill). Don’t skimp on the crudo, which is delectable: especially the seared tuna, with a small kick of wasabi, swimming in a sea of garlicky green juice. The sea bream, slightly nutty and served with pear, was

The Carnaby Street-adjacent area of Soho offers slim pickings when it comes to actually good places to wine and dine, especially if you want to avoid things feeling stiff or tacky. Marjorie’s has graciously stepped in to fill that suspiciously east London-feeling gap.  Earthy escargot is presented with enough artistry to convince even the most stubborn snail-swervers This place was inspired by wine bars on the outskirts of Paris, and two glasses deep, with a candle burning on your table, they could definitely have you fooled. On a Friday evening, punters mill outside (chic-looking people too – with Labubus on their handbags): cheers-ing, chattering or else craning their necks to nosy over fellow diners’ orders. The whole front of the restaurant is open, with some tables on the pavement. The view might be of a boarded-up construction site, but we’ll let it slide; some things are just too London to be within your control. Inside, the space is classy but casual: there’s a large communal table and stools dotting a bar stretching the length of the wall. The intimate downstairs area hosts a duo of cosy nooks and a big round table beside a buzzy open kitchen. Down here, you really do feel like you’re somewhere in-the-know (and couldn’t possibly be within walking distance of M&M’s World).  It helps that both the menu and wine list are small but extremely well-curated. We ordered a bottle of Anaïs Fanti, Pampa Rosa 2023, a tastefully tart unfiltered pink pinot, and an a sourdough bag

If eyes truly are the windows to the soul, then the intensely staring, delinquent characters created by Yoshimoto Nara have a lot going on inside. As one of the best-known (and best-selling) Japanese artists of our time, Nara has earned this massive retrospective at the Hayward Gallery. It’s his largest ever UK exhibition by far: spanning not only his paintings, but also drawings, installations, and sculpture across a four-decades-long career. On entering, you’re confronted with a rickety wooden house, complete with a patchwork corrugated iron roof and glass windows revealing a homey room scattered with drawings. Rock music whirs from the TV and empty beer cans litter one corner: this feels like a place of peace, a sanctuary where Nara’s interests and comforts intersect. Here, we’re introduced to his punkish tendencies – not only in his musical tastes (in some works, he plays up to his inner fangirl, scribbling ‘thank you for Ramones’ around a rough coloured-in cartoon), but also in attitude. This is an artist that is all about playing with innocence – like sticking cigarettes in children’s mouths – and protest, scrawling slogans about ending nukes in capital letters and adding pacifist symbolism to clothing. Nara is known for his kawaii, manga-esque figures which might look lost and sad as much as naughty and demonic. Some are loud, brash: like his collection of solid-lined paint marker drawings on paper. Others, like After the Acid Rain, 2006, appear innocent until you read

What is a portrait, really? What is its role? And what makes it different from ‘just’ a photograph of a person? These are all questions that spring to mind when walking around A Thousand Small Stories, the first ever retrospective of Eileen Perrier’s photography. Since the 1990s, the London-born photographer has used her camera to capture individuals in their local communities, and this show highlights some of her finest work.  In ‘Red Gold and Green’ – a series of pictures taken of British Ghanaians in their London homes – Perrier sets up rolls of fabric in block colours, matching the Ghanaian flag, acting as a DIY professional backdrop. But elements of their private lives sneak into shot, adding a sense of intimacy: we spot framed family pictures, a vinyl collection and other nicknacks, like a Hendon rotary club wall hanging. The result feels personal, as though the family home is an extension of the self. Discrete references to the formal rituals of portraiture – the dreaded school photo day, an awkward extended-family get together – continue throughout her practice. In ‘Nation’, a series of photographs of commuters on the Paris metro in 1999, plasticky red seating doubles as a background, uniting the windswept strangers in their shared surroundings. In ‘Peckham Square Studio’, she uses Victorian photography techniques, with a hidden headrest for the sitters – but the photographs aren’t uptight, they’re vibrant, with a movement and cleanness that feels hyper-modern.  Later

The Cosmic House is one of those rare places deserving of the name ‘hidden gem’. A Victorian villa on a residential street near Holland Park station, it’s the former home of revered postmodernist landscape architect Charles Jencks, who renovated the building in the late 1970s with his wife Maggie and the architect Terry Farrell to earn its Grade I-listing. Remodelled into a liveable collage of cosmic references and playful mind-games, it can be interpreted as a mediation on our place in the universe via quantum physics, architecture and philosophy. But it’s also just an extraordinarily beautiful building; a masterpiece of light, shadow and symmetry.  Since 2021, the house has operated as a museum, and each year, the Jencks Foundation commissions an artist to respond to the surroundings. This time round, it’s a video work by Lithuanian-born musician Lina Lapelytė, composed of 12 screens dotted around the house to be hunted down like a game of hide and seek. Created in collaboration with five other artists, each screen shows a video of a musical performance taking place in the home, often right where you’re standing. In one film, singers assemble around the central spiral staircase: a dizzying kaleidoscopic shot of bodies circling a descending, twisting railing. On another screen, in the gallery basement, a performer sings a capella, sitting on the polished jade floor as light reflects in shards like a static disco ball. There is even a screen in the ‘Cosmic Loo’, complete with

Everyone is on the listening bar hype right now, from Jumbi in Peckham to Bambi in London Fields, and now Bethnal Green is getting its shot in the spotlight. Câv, hidden under the railway arches on Paradise Row, is the latest to hop on board. Its name translates to ‘cave’ in Spanish, which alludes to its dome-like interior, as well as the Spanish and Portuguese-influenced menu of bar snacks and small plates, cooked up by Tasca, who are kicking things off with a year-long kitchen residency. Dark, sultry and understated, this space is pretty big, and there are plans to install a top-quality sound system and large library of vinyl on one wall which guests will be ‘free to peruse and play at their own leisure before things get too rowdy’ – in addition to DJ decks for when the night really kicks into gear. It’s all too easy to imagine tables being pushed to one side to make way for a sizeable dancefloor. The drinks menu features a slick selection of eight house cocktails, including a lip-smacking plum manhattan, smooth lemongrass highball and a perfectly-executed dill martini. Each was complex in its own right, with a simple, sophisticated playfulness – and all were priced at a fair £12. I happily snacked on a selection of anchovies, prudo ham, and plump green olives between sips.  I have no doubts that the tried-and-tested food plus vinyl plus cool cocktails combo will be a welcome addition to Bethnal Green’s nighttime scene, who have been a little left out from the Hackney gang

The clothes we wear, the sheets we sleep on, the carpets beneath our feet. Textiles are everywhere; we can’t escape them. That’s what this show at the Fashion and Textile Museum sets out to explore: the long-running connection between us, the earth, and textiles, in just about every sense of the word.  As the exhibition points out from the get-go, we humans have relied on woven fabric to perform practical tasks for millennia, weaving reeds together to create vessels, protecting our delicate little heads from the hot sun with wicker hats and making nets to catch fish. They are the global artform. We use textiles to express our individuality through clothing, to tell stories and mark life milestones. We also use them, the exhibition argues, to communicate our deep, inherent love of animals, to show evidence of abstract thought and to interact with technology.  It sounds impressive on paper, but in practice, this exhibition lacks depth. There are certainly some beautiful, intricate, intriguing objects here: a ‘three-factorial’ weave inspired by betting odds, strings of shiny beetle wings, an applicé wearable art coat and a hand-painted Chinese wedding cloth showing a hare preparing the potion of eternal youth with a mortar and pestle. But it hops swiftly between multiple cultures and time periods, making vague points illustrated with what sometimes seems like a random assortment of objects, mainly from the last century (the most rare, and one of the oldest pieces in the collecti

You know what London is missing? A colossal bar in the middle of Covent Garden where you can watch Nightmare on Elm Street, The Omen and The Shining on 30 silver screens while simultaneously cheering on the Europa League. Said no one ever. Yet Bloodsports, from the same minds behind Meatliquor, seems to really be onto something here. This is the sort of unpretentious late-night fun that has been lacking in central London for far too long. A quick stroll from Covent Garden tube, and slyly hidden down a corridor entrance sandwiched between a coffee hatch and a Tesco, this place is a Tardis: a vast, windowless den where it could be 10am or 10pm - you wouldn’t know for the glare of red neon lights and lack of windows. A generous bar lines one side of the room, another is closer to the back, and the whole space is kitted out with stacks of tables and benches as well as arcade games and pool. There’s plenty of organised fun to be had if you fancy it, though take caution if you choose to do karaoke: it is ‘on demand’, meaning pretty much the whole venue will watch (and hear) your rendition of ‘My Heart Will Go On’. This kind of huge, big-booking place could be hellish – hello, Brewdog Waterloo – but somehow, it’s not. Bloodsports is cool in a sort of self-consciously cringey way, working well because it truly goes all-in on the ‘horror movie meets sports bar’ theme. There’s a ‘bloods’ menu, with lip-smackingly good tomato-based cocktails (your classic bloody marys, as well as tequil

Watching 'Playfight', you’ll be transported back to adolescence: from opening the envelope on exam results day to competitive playground gossip. You’ll bump into former friends who exist only in memory (or your hometown pub on Christmas Eve) and feel at once grateful and melancholic that you’ve grown up a bit since then. ‘Playfight’ is a three-man drama following a group of friends over the course of 10 years, through their GSCEs to navigating their first sexual experiences and working out what they want to do with their lives. There’s Kiera (played with excellent command by Sophie Cox): the brash, over-the-top and slightly misguided northerner who recounts losing her virginity on a tennis court with close to no filter. There’s Lucy (Lucy Mangan): ditzy, Christian and somewhat secretive. Then, there’s Zainab, played by Nina Cassells: the headstrong, sceptical, intelligent lesbian who realises she has feelings for her friend. The whole thing plays out around ‘tree’, their playground meeting point, represented in Hazel Low’s gorgeous, simple set by a luminous ladder in the middle of the floor. The cast walk, climb and swing around it, as tensions unravel in the circle staging. Certain moments are so heavy, you’ll let out audible gasps. Other times, you’ll be laughing out loud, or sitting awkwardly in your seat as sexual tension feels palpable.  As years pass and scenes play out with a great, compelling pace, we see the girls grow in distance – summed up best by the scene where

A shipping container in Cambridge Heath might not sound like the most glamorous place for a facial, but there’s an undeniably east London sort of cool about re:lax – the studio feels at once homey as it does chic and edgy. Opt for their personalised facial for a tailor-made session suited to your skin needs. I arrived with concerns about my acne scarring, and after a considered consultation, I had targeted microneedling alongside a thorough cleansing and hydration, plus a gentle exfoliation, and left with my skin looking (and feeling) visibly smoother and plumper. That was great, but the highlight had to be the deep but gentle massage all over the shoulders, scalp and face: bliss. You’ll leave with a tonne of reccs for your skincare routine as well as feeling genuinely relaxed and your skin lighter and rejuvenated. £89, 60 mins.

If looking at more than 1,700 pieces of art isn’t enough for you, there are some great games you can play with yourself while walking around the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition. Spot the famous artist. Guess the price of a painting. Or, my personal favourite: channel interior designer and pick works to 'imaginary decorate' your overpriced rented basement flat in Clapton.  The RA Summer Exhibition has been held every year since 1769, and in 2025, it’s been coordinated by renowned British-Iranian architect Farshid Moussavi. You’ll see architectural drawings, models and nods to our built environment dotted throughout the exhibitoin, not bound by one room. There will be no bright yellow or turquoise walls this year – it’s all cleanly white – and the whole thing feels calmer, less cluttered, with more space for works to breathe (and less craning of your neck to see the stuff up top).  It is, as usual, open to all. There’s plenty of the big dawgs here: you’ll see scribbled heads by Quentin Blake, a (Juergen Teller) photograph of Marina Abramović looking all witchy, a warm, washed-over Frank Bowling canvas, a collaged photographic face by Cindy Sherman and much more. But there also is, undoubtedly, a lot of shit art. Horrid, boring geometric neon stencils. Cats. Flat, unfinished-looking canvases. Sculpture which looks like it belongs in Primark’s home section.  But getting hung up on the crap is not really the point: it’s about the spectacle, the discovery, the loose themes you

The space around Tate Britain at Millbank is set to undergo a major green transformation – and now we’ve got a taste of how it will look, after seeing first-stage designs for the revamp of the gallery’s outside area.  Developed by landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith Studio and architects Feilden Fowles, who were selected for the project last year following an open competition, the new Clore Garden has been ‘carefully designed to complement and enhance the gallery’s neo-classical architecture and withstand the UK’s changing climate’. It will feature pathways navigating flowers, trees and a wildlife pond, as well as a reimagined café terrace and a freestanding classroom to host school groups and adult learners, in addition to an area for outdoor programmes and activities.  The plans were made in partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) with funding from the Clore Duffield Foundation. The garden will also feature sculptures by British artists from Tate’s collection as well as integrated seating, an interactive water feature and bench circle.  ‘These innovative designs demonstrate the role museums can play in our cities, places where contemplation and relaxation can go hand in hand with joy and creativity,’ said Alex Farquharson, Director, Tate Britain. ‘We hope the garden will offer new ways to engage with Tate’s Collection, for both visitors and local residents alike.’  Tom Stuart-Smith said: ‘It’s a wonderful opportunity to create a haven for people, plants

Remember the Zabludowicz Collection? That converted church in Chalk Farm which housed a vibrant free art programme? After closing its doors at the end of 2023 – the Zabludowicz family had its fair share of controversies due to its links to Israel, though the collection claimed the closure had no connection to an ongoing boycott or the war in Gaza – the space at 176 Prince of Wales Road is now being re-launched. Enter Camden Arts Projects, an all-new not-for-profit space with a focus on contemporary art and film. The new cultural hub opened its doors on May 9 with an exhibition featuring Martin Creed’s interactive installation, ‘Work No. 3891 Half the air in a given space (2025)’, in which a sea of balloons takes over the gallery, inviting visitors to feel them, move them and play with them as they navigate the room. The work was last on display in London more than ten years ago, for its Hayward Gallery debut in 2014. Photograph: Guzel Photography Services Creed is also making his mark outside the gallery: visitors will be welcomed into the building by the Turner Prize-winning artist’s iconic 12-metre neon text piece, ‘Work No. 1086: EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT (2011)’.  The building, built in the 1860s as a place of worship, has a long history of supporting creatives. The London Drama Centre took it over in the ’60s before it was turned into an art gallery in 2017 by AHMM architects. For its new era, Camden Arts Projects promises to ‘exhibit the works of both est

Step foot in the National Gallery’s new-look Sainsbury Wing and you’ll be greeted with a genuine sense of anticipation. A sanctuary from the pigeons, buskers and walking tours crowding Trafalgar Square, neutral limestone shades and vast expanses of glass encompass a wide, open foyer. Your eyes are immediately drawn to one of three digital HD screens – a large horizontal stretch at the back of the room, and a smaller two on pillars to your left – each showing a slow-moving pan of a painting housed in the floor above. Look closer, and you can see every crack of oil paint, every scratch, every immaculate stroke. Now this is a proper welcome to one of the world’s greatest art museums.   Photograph: Edmund Sumner / National GallerySainsbury Wing Foyer looking North Designed by US postmodernists Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, the Sainsbury Wing originally opened in 1991 as an addition to the main gallery building – but the foyer was dark and low-ceilinged, cluttered with false columns and dimmed by shaded windows. Needless to say, not everyone was a fan. During the wing restoration last year, contractors discovered a regretful note from benefactor Lord Sainsbury inside one of the hollow columns, writing: ‘Let it be known that one of the donors of this building is absolutely delighted that your generation has decided to dispense with the unnecessary columns.’ Old Sainsbury might have been glad to hear that after two years and a £85 million spend, the refurbished Sainsbur

Film lovers, this is one for you: a landmark Wes Anderson exhibition is coming to London later this year, and it looks genuinely quite brilliant. But you’re going to want to act fast: tickets have now gone on sale, and we expect them to sell pretty fast.  As the director’s first-ever retrospective, ‘Wes Anderson: The Archives’ at the Design Museum will feature more than 600 items from the filmmaker’s back catalogue: costumes, storyboards, sketches, props, motion puppets, handwritten notebooks and the three-metre wide model of The Grand Budapest Hotel which was used to capture the building’s façade for the iconic 2014 film.  You’ll have the chance to see all sorts of recognisable stuff up close – like vending machines from Asteroid City and the FENDI fur coat worn by Gwyneth Paltrow as Margot Tenenbaum in The Royal Tenenbaums. There will also be a rare screening of Anderson’s 1993 Bottle Rocket 14-minute short film that went on to be remade as his first feature. If you fancy it, tickets are priced from £19.69 and the exhibition opens in November, running through to July next year. Tim Marlow, Director and CEO of the Design Museum, said: ‘Wes Anderson has created some of the most visually distinctive and emotionally resonant films of the last two decades — from the melancholic charm of The Royal Tenenbaums to the youthful adventurism of Moonrise Kingdom. ‘He’s an utterly compelling creator of cinematic worlds, whose singular vision and attention to detail are underpinned by a

I know we say this every month, but May really is looking like a particularly great time for art-lovers – not least because you have two bank holidays to fill with shows, as well as two major institutional openings as the V&A East Storehouse opens its doors and the National Gallery unveils its refurbished Sainsbury Wing. Of course, there are a load of excellent art and photography exhibitions already on, but if you want to see what’s brand-spanking new, look ahead for our round-up of the best exhibition openings this month. From the Tate Modern’s eagerly anticipated Genesis Exhibition, where you can see Do Ho Suh’s vast, architectural fabric installations in the flesh, to Alberto Giacometti’s spindly human-like sculptures and another photography takeover of Somerset House, London is basically bursting with new things to see and ponder over. All you need to do is find the time to go.  The best new London art exhibitions in May 2025 1. ‘The Genesis Exhibition – Do Ho Suh: Walk the House’ at Tate Modern The home, migration, global displacement: these are all themes Do Ho Suh explores in his work, consisting of videos, drawings, and large translucent fabric installations of interiors, objects, walls and architectural structures. Often brightly coloured, skeletal and encompassing, this survey exhibition at Tate Modern will showcase three decades the celebrated Korean-born, London-based artist, including brand-new, site-specific works on display.  ‘The Genesis Exhibition – Do Ho

Hundreds of Just Stop Oil protestors marched through the streets of London today for a ‘last day of action’ – after announcing that the group would be ‘hanging up the hi-vis’ after winning its demand to end new oil and gas licences. Orange-clad demonstrators rallied from St James’s Park to Waterloo, holding signs and occasionally blocking roads. For the last three years, the climate group has made headlines for its controversial direct action protests, which included throwing soup at Van Gogh paintings in the National Gallery, spraying Stonehenge with orange powder paint and bringing part of the M25 to a standstill for four successive days. The group claims that more than 3,300 people have been arrested for their cause, as well as 180 jailed – their website stating that ‘eleven people are in prison right now for doing everything they can to limit climate catastrophe’.  In an official statement shared last month, the group said: ‘Just Stop Oil’s initial demand to end new oil and gas is now government policy, making us one of the most successful civil resistance campaigns in recent history. We’ve kept over 4.4 billion barrels of oil in the ground and the courts have ruled new oil and gas licences unlawful.’ The claimed victory comes as the Labour government said it will not issue licences for new oil and gas exploration. However, the BBC reported that some members of Just Stop Oil admitted that new powers on policing disruptive protests ‘made it almost impossible for groups

Amateur d’art ? En 2025, Londres mérite largement le détour. Entre ses collections permanentes parmi les plus prestigieuses au monde, ses galeries pointues, ses lieux culturels de quartier et ses installations en plein air à tous les coins de rue, la capitale britannique déborde d’art sous toutes ses formes. Et c’est sans compter son calendrier d’expositions temporaires, toujours plus riche et passionnant. Autrement dit : s’il y a une ville où prendre un aller-retour pour se gaver de culture cette année, c’est bien Londres. Peut-être même trop d’expos pour tout voir – un doux problème, on vous l’accorde. Heureusement, Time Out est là. Depuis des décennies, nos critiques passent en revue les expos majeures (et aussi les plus discrètes) pour dénicher la crème de la crème : peinture, photo, sculpture, performance… on a tout vu, tout testé. Voici donc notre sélection des meilleures expos à voir en ce moment à Londres. De quoi justifier un petit saut de l’autre côté de la Manche. Les 10 meilleures expositions d’art à voir à Londres Ed Atkins, Tate Britain Considéré comme l’un des artistes contemporains les plus influents du Royaume-Uni, Ed Atkins s’offre une grande rétrospective à la Tate Britain. L’exposition couvre 15 ans de carrière à travers des vidéos générées par ordinateur, des animations, des sculptures, des installations, du son, de la peinture et du dessin. Pourquoi y aller : Parce qu’Atkins dissèque les angoisses, les absurdités et les fragilités de notre époque, dans

Ever fancied snoozing next to a Cezanne? Resting your head beside a Rembrandt? If you’ve ever dreamed about dozing off next to world-famous artworks, you might just be in luck.  The National Gallery is still going big on its 200th anniversary celebrations, and as part of it, the gallery is offering one lucky person the chance to sleep overnight in a bed ‘within sight of the world’s greatest paintings’. The winner will be the first member of the public to see the newly refurbished Sainsbury Wing following its two-year closure and rehang of its collection C C Land: The Wonder of Art. The sleepover will take place on Saturday, May 10, and the winner will also cop a private tour of the space with a National Gallery curator, and dinner for two at Locatelli, the National Gallery’s restaurant, as well as a breakfast hamper. Then, they’ll be able to enjoy the gallery’s 1000-plus artworks all to themselves before the Sainsbury Wing opens for its fist public visitors at 10am.  Fancy your own Night At The Museum? You can enter the draw from 9am on Monday April 7 if you’re over 18 and subscribe to the Gallery’s newsletter. The competition is open until 6pm on Monday April 28 after which one lucky winner will be randomly selected. All current subscribers will be automatically entered into the draw.  Don’t miss these amazing new London art exhibitions in April 2025. SXSW London has just revealed its huge music line-up. Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews

With its vast, manicured grounds, swanky spa and fine dining restaurant, Gleneagles is one of Scotland’s best-known – and perhaps most-loved – hotels.  Situated in Perthshire on a sweeping countryside estate, the hotel has recently launched a Highland cow ‘safari’, which gives guests the chance to admire Scotland’s long-haired native species (often locally referred to as ‘coos’) via an off-road four-by-four tour.  Billed as the ‘Highland Cow Safari’, visitors will load onto a fleet of the estate’s Land Rover Defenders and head through farmland into the Ochil Hills to spot the creatures out in the open. A local guide will also be on hand to share facts and answer any questions about the breed. The hotel website wrote: ‘These gentle giants might even come closer for some unforgettable photo opportunities, though direct handling will not be permitted.’ The experience is part of a set of new outdoor activities being introduced at the hotel for 2025, alongside an off-road driving adventure, where visitors can travel on Land Rovers through ‘steep hills, rocky tracks and breath-taking vistas across the Perthshire Highlands’. Gleneagles also offers guided Atlantic salmon fishing on the River Tay, as well as horse riding lessons and tree climbing experiences.  The Highland Cow Safari experience will cost £320 per car for up to four guests on a one-hour private tour, and £50 thereafter with up to six guests maximum per vehicle. Find out more here.  Check out our five-star review of G

London is never short when it comes to exhibitions, but this month is looking particularly great, packed with awe-inspiring art shows, brilliant photography and much more. Spring has most definitely sprung and Londoners are coming out of hibernation, seizing the city with both hands, milking it for all it has to offer. This month’s cultural calendar is appropriately packed, with a load of new exhibition openings set to add to all of the excellent ones already showing. From the brilliant but unsettling Ed Atkins at Tate Britain to multi-disciplinary works interrogating language at the ICA, to a blockbuster photography takeover of Somerset House and experimental bodily sculptures at White Cube Mason’s Yard, London is packed with plentiful opportunities for thought-provoking visual indulgence. These are the best exhibitions to see in London in April.  The best new London art exhibitions in April 2025 Photograph: Luke Hayes 1. ‘Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style’ at the Design Museum This one technically opened at the end of March, but we gave it a well-deserved four stars, so it would be a miss for us all not to include ‘Splash!’ in this round-up. The Design Museum is celebrating all things swimming – from Pamela Anderson’s Baywatch swimsuit, to a rainbow display of budgie smugglers – via the pool, the lido and nature, and features a selection of swimwear from throughout the ages as well as some pretty Wes Anderson-style photography. ‘Splash! A Century of Swimming and St

It’s pay weekend (for most of us), and the lure of a night out to soothe our souls after a week of corporate monotony is calling. Will it be sinking one too many Neck Oils on that same pavement beside the pub around the corner from the office? Cocktails with the girlies at the usual? A few tinnies in the living room before ‘seeing where the night takes you’?  We know it’s all too easy to fall into habits of sticking to what you know when it comes to nights out. But – despite what the headlines might have you think – London nightlife is thriving, and new stuff is actually popping up all the time. There’s something for everyone in this city, at all price ranges: jazz, amapiano, jungle and baile funk nights, cinema all-nighters, lesbian supper clubs, 30+ hour raves, sex parties, audiophile listening sessions, galleries, late-night saunas, spoken-word events, supper clubs, niche karaoke, jam sessions, moonlit plays. You just need to know where to look, and our all-new list of the 50 best nights out in the city in 2025 is a good place to start. Coming in at number one in the list was Pop Never Dies, the alt-pop party that jumps between The Lexington in King’s Cross and The Waiting Room pub in Stokey. Pop music has had something of a renaissance in the last year, and a genre that has previously been snubbed for being cheesy or tacky is now genuienly cool. With artist-specific nights and a happy-go-lucky atmosphere, Pop Never Dies is a deserved number one – it even saw Charli xcx ma