India Lawrence

Earlier this year a certain black-haired pop star declared that ‘the dancefloor is dead’. We can confirm that this is not true. In London, the dance floor is well and truly alive. Yes, there has been all sorts of talk about the demise of the capital’s nightlife, with the loss of legendary clubs like Corsica Studios and G-A-Y. However, when one door closes, a window opens (and in the case of G-A-Y, that window is to the new witch-themed queer hangout Coven). London’s late-night scene is resilient. It will never die, only evolve. And lets not forget that the Big Smoke is still home to some absolute world-leading clubs where you can go for a proper dance. We’re talking smoke, strobe lights and an absolute stomper of a sound system. We promise you, it’s good for the soul. London’s best clubs at a glance: 🎸Best club for live music: Moth Club 🪩Best intimate club: Club Cheek 🏳️‍🌈Best LGBTQ+ club: Coven   ⛓️Best techno club: FOLD  💅Best bougie club: The Box Time Out’s editors and contributors have stacked up years of experience across all kinds of London dancefloors, and we know what separates an average club from a venue which will have you itching to come back week after week. From Sunday day raves at FOLD to secret line-ups at MOT and no-nonsense pop nights at Moth Club, we are home to some absolutely banging nights out in this city. You just need to know where to look. That said, the best thing about going out in London is the sheer variety on offer. You can go to a huge d

Sometimes you want hotel beds, fluffy robes and a breakfast buffet laid out for you. But sometimes, you really just want your own space, and to live like an actual local – and for those trips, only an Airbnb will do. Our editors agree; some of our most memorable trips feature memories of playing vinyl and cooking scrambled eggs in a light-filled kitchen, and wandering out to our favourite local bar every evening.   There are endless lists out there of the most extravagant, out-there and one-of-a-kind Airbnbs in Europe – the kinds that get splashed in print magazines and featured on Airbnb’s homepage. But often these stays are booked up for the next three years or, ahem, a little out of our budget. Instead, we thought we’d show you the Airbnbs we’ve actually booked ourselves and fallen in love with lately. Some are rare finds, some are unique, and some are just exactly what we needed – filled with character, comfort and perfectly placed for exploring the city. That’s what we’re all about here at Time Out, after all. So for a bit of holiday inspo (or even your next holiday stay), read on, friends – here are our favourite Airbnbs right now.  ➡️ READ MORE: Our ultimate guide to hotels and Airbnbs in Europe Ella Doyle is Time Out’s Europe editor. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by experts across Europe. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For mo

It might be tempting to spend August lost in fantasies about escaping on a luxury holiday with no sweaty commutes, overcrowded beer-gardens or un-air-conditioned restaurants to contend with. But London’s hottest, stickiest month can also be pretty damn lovely if you know how to do it right.  August has got a festival feel, and the biggest party on its line-up is Notting Hill Carnival – which takes over the streets of west London for the bank holiday weekend. When you’re not having a riotous time dancing to tinnitus-inducing dance hall with a pocket full of Red Stripe, there are plenty of other ways to get your fill of live music this month. All Points East and Body Movements are among the many festivals pitching their tents and blasting music across various parks in London. It wouldn’t be summer in London without outdoor theatres like Shakespeare’s Globe or Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, which serve up spellbinding performances that’ll bring magic to the long summer evenings. Or keep your cool with some of this city’s more chill ways to spend an afternoon, like lido swims, lazy days in the park, outdoor-cinema sessions and all the other alfresco pleasures that summer in London has to offer, before September puts an autumnal chill in the air.

July 2026: There's a brand new Number 1, with the exceptional Impala in Soho taking the top spot as our favourite new restaurant in London. Other fresh additions include Auguste and Teal in London Fields, Cue Point in Notting Hill, Jackson Boxer's Vesper in Clerkenwell, All Roads in Brixton, Bar Etna in Newington Green and the nearby Golden Tooth gastropub, as well as a sensational supper club at Haggerston cafe, Logma. Hungry yet? 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 over the past 12 months 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. And look here for all the info about the best new openings in August 2026. London's best new restaurants at a glance: 🥩 Central: Impala, Soho 🍷 North: The Golden Tooth, Newington Green 🦐 South: The Victory, East Dulwich 🍝 East: Holy Carrot, Spitalfields 🥗 West: Maai by Nikita, Fulham 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 revi

Ranking the greatest pubs in the UK is, obviously, very tricky business indeed. Pub preference is such an intimate, personal thing – one person’s dream boozer might not remotely appeal to another. That said, when it comes to Britain’s absolute finest pubs there are universal marks of excellence: convivial atmosphere, charming staff, charismatic decor and, above all, a varied selection of well-kept, well-served drinks. Time Out’s 2026 ranking of Britain’s greatest pubs was compiled with the assistance of our UK-wide network of drinking aficionados, and features all kinds of establishments. Pint enclaves built in barren deserts, atop blustery mountains and on isolated beaches. Sturdy booze bastions, age-old no-fuss pubs, innovative craft alehouses and everything in between.  Some of these pubs are old favourites though plenty are more recent obsessions; they’re almost all independent (with a couple of worthy exceptions). Mostly, though, they’re united by one thing: a sense of community. A pub is made by its cast of regulars, and you’ll find quality company in each of the institutions below.  (Oh, and for the most part these pubs are outside London. You can find a list of the capital’s top drinking holes here). RECOMMENDED: The best gastropubs in the UK.  

July 2026: If you’ve had the pleasure of strolling down Exmouth Market recently, you’ll know the historic Clerkenwell strip is the buzziest pedestrianised street in London, full of al-fresco fun, convivial pintspeople and sidewalk tapas as far as the eye can see. Which is pretty much all down to the new Number 1 in our list of the best bars in London. Congratulations are due to Cafe Kick, the breezy Euro-chic sports bar about to celebrate 30 years of tricking your brain into thinking you’re on holiday. The rest of our Top 50 features bars old and new, posh and divey, and cheap and pricey, but all of them with great drinks and an unparalleled vibe. Fancy 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, which features the greatest bars in the capital right now. These are the places we’d recommend to a friend, because we love drinking in them and have done many times over. From classy cocktail counters to delightful dives, sleek hotel bars, rooftop bars and places to sip wine, London’s got them all. You’ll find historic drinking holes here as well as brand new openings. But what makes a truly good bar? Our critieria is simple; a menu of great drinks is important, but so is the overall energy of the place – there’s no point having the perfect paloma if you have to drink it in a bar that smells of bin juice. To make it into our Top 50, a bar has to be fun, friendly, convivial and inclusive, as we

When it comes to art and exhibitions, London has it all. From the niche spaces, to the avant garde galleries, and the massive crowd-pleasing museums, our city is packed with shows that will perplex, challenge, inspire, educate and leave you feeling awestruck.  The problem is... there’s absolutely tons to see. Too much, you could say. Lucky for you, Time Out exists. For decades, our experts have been visiting and reviewing all the sculpture, painting, performance, photography, history, fashion and other types of exhibitions 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 museum exhibitions and art 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

It will come as no surprise that Amsterdam is overrun with exceptional places to stay. And we mean every kind: 18th-century canalside mansions, converted bridge keepers’ houses, luxury historic hotels that have hosted royal weddings – the lot. But that isn’t to say that every stay here will blow the budget – there are plenty of affordable options in Amsterdam too, if you know where to look. On our list, we’ve made sure to include a bit of everything, all individually reviewed and rated by Time Out’s very own travel experts. Read on for five-star luxury, budget boutiques and everything in between. And for 2026, one hotel sits firmly at the top of the list: Rosewood Amsterdam, a spectacular new canalside stay that’s quickly become the city’s most talked-about address. What is the best neighbourhood to stay in Amsterdam?  There isn’t necessarily one answer to this, as each of Amsterdam’s districts offers something totally unique. If it’s your first time in the city, Centrum is best to access touristy experiences. For something more off-grid (and often more affordable), you’re best off catching the free ferry to Noord, Amsterdam’s creative warehouse district. But for a reliable all-rounder? We love hipster haven Oost, where you’ll find many of the city’s coolest bars, restaurants and hotels. For more, check out our full area guide.  🏘️ Looking for even more options? Check out our guide to Amsterdam’s best Airbnbs Amsterdam’s best hotels at a glance 👑 Best overall: Rosewood Hot

The smog and stress of London can really take its toll on your skin. That’s why there’s nothing better than a regular facial (or a one-off treat) to give you that much-needed top-up, leaving you feeling glowing, fresh-faced and dewy.  Just thinking about what we put our skin through is enough to give you frown lines. That’s thanks to the combined efforts of pollution and air-conditioned offices, as well as the added bonuses of harsh weather, booze, sun exposure, dehydration and – our least favourite – the inevitable passing of time. Happily, there are loads of great spas, treatment rooms and estheticians in London who can give your face a break and a much-needed zhuzh. Whether you’re after a relaxing, soothing facial massage, some instant radiance, a total skincare overhaul or something a little more intense such as microneedling or laser treatment, read our pick of facials in London.  RECOMMENDED: The best spas in London. 

The United Kingdom has a heck of a lot going for it. Here, you can traverse rugged peaks, bathe on gorgeous beaches, hang out in world-famous bars, eat incredible food, dance at some of the biggest festivals on the planet and admire some of the world’s most significant artworks free of charge. The roster of things to do is truly endless, whatever it is you’re into.  Time Out spends all year travelling the length and breadth of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and scouring cultural calendars for exciting goings on. So, we know a thing or two about what is actually worth your precious time. In our list of the best things to do in the UK right now, we’ve got classic crowd-pleasers (they’re popular for good reason) alongside lesser-known events and sights that you really should have on your radar. From experiencing the energy of Notting Hill Carnival to surfing Cornwall’s waves to a bizarre but brilliant little crab museum, these are the best things to do in the UK.  RECOMMENDED: 🇬🇧 The best places to visit in the UK in 2026.🏖️ The UK’s greatest seaside towns. 🍻 Britain’s 22 best pubs in 2026.📍 The UK’s most underrated city breaks.🏛️ The top museums in the UK.

June 2026: From Asian patisseries to sourdough specialists and beigel gurus, when it comes to bakeries London is one big doughy goldmine. This means whittling down the very best bakehouses in the city is no mean feat. But, we’ve risen to the challenge and eaten our way through the lot to round up London’s yeasty royalty. The best London bakeries at a glance: 🥐 Best for croissants: Toad, Camberwell 🍩 Best for beignets: Fortitude, Bloomsbury 🍯 Best for sticky buns: Bunhead Bakery, Herne Hill 🍞 Best for bread: Dusty Knuckle, Dalston 🫓 Best for flatbreads: Babans Naan, Finsbury Park 🍰 Best for mankoushe: Edami, Hackney Whether you want fluffy naan breads from north London institutions, exquisitely-made pastries, perfectly-proved sourdough, or heritage-grain flaky goodness, there’s an oven in London cooking up something for you. Why not pair your pastry goodies with a hot drink at one of the best cafés and coffee shops in London?  RECOMMENDED: London's best cheap eats. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. The hottest new openings, the tastiest tips, the spiciest reviews: we’re serving it all on our London restaurants WhatsApp channel. Follow us now.

We’re firmly past 2026’s halfway point and it’s already been a stacked year for excellent new music. The race for song of the summer is a packed field, big-name pop titans – Olivia Rodrigo, Madonna – have delivered lauded albums and there’s been a formidable number of breakout bands. 2026’s end-of-year round-ups are already looking like contentious business indeed.  Looking to inject something new into your mid-year listening habits? Time Out’s music geeks have got together to put together a list of the albums we’ve loved so far in 2026. Raving dance-pop, grotty death metal, stratospheric jazz-funk, paranoid techno, the year’s biggest pop records… whatever’s your jam, you’ll find it here.  Read on for the best albums of 2026 as of July, according to Time Out editors and contributors (they’re in alphabetical order – you’ll have to wait until the end of the year for the definitive ranking). RECOMMENDED: The 10 songs of the summer for 2026.

If you’re a mother, do you get to be a person too? A separated woman who comes out as a lesbian is torn between motherhood and selfhood, duty and freedom, in Anna Cazenave Cambet’s brutal custody drama.  Love Me Tender is based on the bestselling novel by Constance Debré and inspired by Debré’s own life. Vicky Krieps plays Clémence, a make-up free, short-haired, scooter-riding ex-lawyer with a carabiner hooked through her belt loops. Clémence has left her highly paid legal job to become a writer. She has an amicable relationship with her ex-husband Laurent (Antoine Reinartz) who she left three years ago, and the pair share joint custody of their eight-year-old son Paul. But when Clémence tells Laurent she now dates women, he files for sole custody. What ensues is a bitter years-long custody battle fueled by Laurent’s infuriating, and borderline evil, determination to take Paul away from Clémence entirely.  Cazenave Cambet lucidly lays out the impossible expectations and ridiculous hypocrisy mothers face. Clémence is completely at home in her new queer life – her days without Paul are marked by discipline, as she spends them writing in her modest flat, swimming at the pool and occasionally meeting friends at cafés and bars. At the same time she embraces her erotic life with women with full abandon, organising rendezvous in the pool changing rooms, effortlessly picking up women in queer bars and dancing until sunrise at techno clubs. And why shouldn’t she? None of this makes he

Ever wondered who was England’s ‘polyamorous’ king, where in the West End there are secret sex tunnels used by a former monarch, and why you should never trust someone named Molly White? You’ll learn about all that and more in this comprehensive walking tour of the West End.  From life as one of the biggest slums in London, to a red light district and a flourishing working-class market, Covent Garden and Seven Dials had long and sometimes sordid histories before they became the bougie shopping locations we know them as today.  The brilliant Misfits of Covent Garden Walking Tour, run by Rebel Tours, reveals the alternative and fringe histories of WC2. My tour is led by seasoned storyteller Charlotte, who is warm and captivating as she feeds us tidbits about the Fourth Earl of Bedford, King Charles II and West End actress and OG It Girl Nell Gwynn. She walks and talks us through the area that has been home to a booming palmistry industry, the first women entrepreneurs (wily brothel owners posing as proprietors of ‘coffee houses’), unlicensed gin shops, and proto curry houses.  You’ll visit sites like St Paul’s Church (AKA the actor’s church, home to memorials for Charlie Chaplin, Barbara Windsor and Noel Coward), a children’s playground built atop a burial ground, one of Britain’s first housing associations, former Mollyhouses (safe spaces for homosexual men in the 18th and 19th centuries), and an erstwhile police station that held some very high profile in-mates. And all the w

It’s quite nice up in St John’s Wood, isn’t it? The bougie neighbourhood isn’t somewhere I venture very often – mainly because it takes me two Tubes and an Overground to get there – but when I do I’m always delighted by the sight of wide, leafy streets populated with quaint pubs, prim cafés and plant-filled restaurant terraces brimming with people who smell like they just strolled out of an Aesop store.  A delicate coil of taglioni looks beautiful No Forty Nine is one of these delightful establishments. Directly opposite a branch of The Ivy, this all-day bakery, bistro and wine bar has a lovely outdoor patio, perfect for enjoying a glass of Gamay and watching well-to-do locals go by. It’s the newest venture by the team from Cinder just up the road (which was named ‘Best Local Restaurant of the Year’), and has talented young head chef Ella Williams – whose CV includes stints at Hausu, Crispin and Mountain – in the kitchen.  Inside, No Forty Nine has the same exposed bricks as Cinder, alongside brown leather banquettes and pop art that could be described as ‘zany millennial industrial chic’ (road signs, Lego figurines and cartoonish cowboys). Given the heatwave, we plonk ourselves outside for the evening and kick off the festivities with a refreshing blood orange negroni (although I’m told this will be their last one, as they are going back to the classics after tonight).  The menu is New York bistro meets Mediterranean. Some dishes are fantastic. The fat gamberi rossi are won

Quince Bakery seems like the kind of place your granny would like, if she also happened to be a De Beauvoir darling who dresses in gingham Damson Madder dresses and cutesy headscarves. This homely bakehouse whips up gloriously imperfect buns, tarts, cakes, pies, cookies, scones and all manner of other pastries. Using seasonal produce, expect to see things like a peach and custard bun or a ratatouille galette. Their brown butter bun is a staple. The pillowy roll has a nugget of butter baked into its centre, and is topped with a crunchy craquelin. The taste is treacly and a little bit salty. Quince also makes fantastic bread (which you can experience via a whole loaf or one of their tasty sandwiches), sells produce and hot and cold drinks. Keep an eye out, because Quince also has plans to open a café across the road.

Journalists have been banned from entering Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023. In Daniel Rugo’s new documentary, a group of international medics act as first-hand witnesses to the conflict.  ‘You’re not seeing what I’m seeing,’ is the documentary’s opening gambit, delivered by the straight-talking Dr Victoria Rose, a British plastic and reconstructive surgeon. With the absence of international media on the ground in Gaza, Rugo claims that what most people are learning about Israel’s action in Gaza are ‘lies’. Filmed from October 2023 to 2025, the 10 physicians featured, which includes surgeons, paediatricians and obstetricians, are here to set their record straight.  Life Support is forensic in its delivery. Understated, to-the-point and rational, it lays out the war in chronological order, splicing footage of Gaza, iPhone videos and sobering interviews with the doctors. We see the erosion of life in Palestine first-hand. Heartbreaking footage from 2022 shows a teeming beach: horses walk along the shore, people lounge under beach umbrellas, and children play in the surf. On Dr Rose’s first filmed visit in late 2023, she arrives with 23 suitcases packed with medical equipment. Returning almost a year later, she’s only allowed one medium-sized piece of luggage, which she fills with children’s clothes, food, and a few essential medical instruments.   We see the erosion of life in Palestine first-hand Talking into their grainy iPhone cameras, the medics

Teenagers often get a bad rap. Since the ‘50s, they’ve been labelled everything from rebels without a cause to couch potatoes, yobs and feckless youths. In the 2020s, young people are branded as or anxious snowflakes, or entitled and workshy phone addicts. Finally, the Museum of Youth Culture (MOYC) has said: Enough! We have a lot to thank young people for, actually.  London’s newest permanent museum celebrates teenagers and all their messy, hedonistic, hormonal, rebellious and naive edges. It’s the world’s first permanent archive of items relating to young people. Founded in 1997 by Jon Swinstead, a photographer who ran Sleazenation magazine in the late ’90s, the MOYC started as a grassroots effort to preserve photographs, flyers and stories, before becoming a digital archive in 2015.  After almost 30 years, this is the museum’s first brick-and-mortar space. The collection spans more than a century of youth culture history from across the UK, Europe and beyond. Through photos and objects collected from and submitted by members of the public, it tells uplifting, funny and moving stories from real lives. Visitors enter on the ground floor to find a bar/café and merch shop decked out with commissioned neon illustrations by Mark Wigan and a gallery of Camden nightlife flyers and photographs. Don’t miss the custom foosball table created by artist Katie Town, populated by characters from different subcultures.  Below this are two more galleries – one space for temporary exhibiti

Lunch at Vesper begins how all good meals should: with crisps and dip. More restaurants should do this, I think, as I gleefully dunk golden salt and vinegar discs into creamy sweet smoked onion with day-glo trout roe.  Jackson Boxer’s menu delivers modern European bites with a wink Celebrated chef Jackson Boxer’s (Brunswick House, Dove, Henri and Below Stone Nest) newest restaurant is on an airy corner at the edge of Exmouth Market. He’s taken a leaf out of the St John book of interiors and gone for a chic all-white design with the odd flourish of silver. In the bathroom things get a bit more arty, with scribble-covered cubicles that look like a graffiti-laden club toilet had a baby with an Egon Schiele drawing.  In true laissez-faire style, a large part of the restaurant is reserved for walk-ins; an unexpected lunchtime rush means our mains are a bit slow to arrive, and it takes a while to flag down a glass of wine. But as for the food? Practically flawless.  Boxer’s menu delivers modern European bites with a wink. As well as my beloved chips-and-dip, starters include a revelatory spring onion pancake topped with velvety tuna and an adorable coil of anchovy inside an olive. Gilda, who? Also great is mackerel with a beautiful scattering of peas and raspberries.  Call me basic, but if there’s a burger, I’m ordering it. Vesper’s off-menu one is a beast – no flimsy smashed patties to be found here. Instead, a handsome, perfectly-charred hunk of beef in a brioche bun towers maje

In April this year a Yung Lean music video went viral. Depicting schoolboys in Leeds, the excellent video shows the rapper as a menacing bully, cigarette dangling from his mouth, as he flushes heads down toilets, gets high in classrooms and rides through corridors on wheely tables. It also features some mesmerising choreography by Damien Jalet. Now this video is on display as part of a film exhibition at 180 Studios.  Created by Gener8ion, a creative duo comprising film director Romain Gavras and producer Surkin (real name Benoit Heitz), Visions of 2034 is promoting an audiovisual album, Love & Tears, made by the pair. It’s also a way for Gavras to show off several of his highly acclaimed music videos, created for the likes of MIA, Jamie xx, Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis and 070 Shake.  So what is the exhibition about? Imagine that it is the year 2034. Gavras and Surkin have created a series of short films (or are they music videos?) that postulate all the terrible things that will be happening in the world: Athens is uninhabitable thanks to toxic algae blooms; volcanoes are erupting; schoolboys are getting high on lithium from 6G antennas and bullying each other from within an inch of their lives.   Gavras and Surkin appear to have predicted the future In some of these films Gavras and Surkin appear to have predicted the future. In videos shot in 2010, 2018 and 2019, respectively, ICE-style raids round up redheads for social cleansing; an AI-type machine creates a hyper

Caia has been through various iterations since it opened in 2022. Back then, the Notting Hill restaurant was one of the first places to jump on the Japanese listening bar trend – since before smoking was back in and everyone was wearing Tabis. It’s had a few different head chefs, too. Now at the helm is one of London’s coolest cooks, Aussie firebrand John Javier, who has arrived at Caia after departing Fitzrovian celeb haunt The Tent (at the End of the Universe). Each bite is a perfect little party in my mouth With a brash menu that fuses Chinese and Italian flavours, Javier is all about putting fun – and decadence – into Caia’s sharing plates. Think; cheung fun noodle cacio e pepe, caviar and tuna cannolo and ube matcha tiramisu.  Here, the starters are the real stars. Each bite is a perfect little party in my mouth. Fat oysters are delivered with a sweet and tart sprinkling of calamansi citrus and chilli. Juicy baked scallops come coated in crispy pangrattato and a bright chervil sauce. Adorable savoury cannoli are stuffed with fresh bluefin and salty caviar. I wasn’t prepared for the flavour explosion of warm flatbread with bottarga taramasalata – the bread is soft and doughnutty with a dusting of za’atar, while the golden halo of dip, swimming in olive oil, is seriously umami.  Perhaps ordering a triplet of carbs and fried foods – carbonara, schnitzel and risotto – for our main course was a bit much, but when in Notting Hill… The off-menu cheung fun carbonara is so rich

What do you get if you cross a Greek tragedy with stark British social realism? Effi O Blaenau. In this ferocious Welsh-language film, Marc Evans has adapted Gary Owen’s acclaimed one-woman play Iphigenia in Splott, which transforms the doomed Iphigenia into a working-class Welsh woman. Here, the battle ground is not Troy, but the underfunded NHS. Scrappy Effi (Leisa Gwenllian) spends her days in a pink fluffy dressing gown eating Pot Noodles on the sofa with her housemate and chugging vodka from a mug. Her nights are spent drinking herself into oblivion at the local clubs of Llandudno. A chance encounter with an injured soldier shows Effi a glimmer of a better future. But what starts off as a giddy romance becomes a brutal tale of ghosting, which soon turns into something even worse – a maternity care horror story that lays bare the ravages of austerity.    In Evans’s version of this story the Cardiff neighbourhood setting is transplanted for something far bleaker: Blaenau Ffestiniog, a former slate mining town in the heart of Eyri (Snowdonia), where there are no jobs and nothing for young people to do. Effi’s nan (Carys Gwilym) works nights at the fish and chip shop, while Effi’s neighbour (Mared Llywelyn), a mother of three, struggles to put food on the table. Blaenau looks impossibly desolate on screen, thanks to cinematographer Eira Wyn Jones’ endless shots of mountains shrouded by mist, rows of identical grey pebbledash houses, washed out hills, fields and lakes, and th

BST is back again this summer, bringing some of the world’s biggest pop stars to Hyde Park for its 13th edition. Headling for 2026 are Lewis Capaldi, Pit Bull, Depeche Mode, Garth Brooks, and more. Taking place across weekends in June and July, Hyde Park will host an upmarket festival vibe complete with food, drink and a posh VIP area. Here’s all you need to know about the BST Hyde Park’s 2026 edition.  When is BST Hyde Park 2026? As in previous years, BST Hyde Park takes place over several dates in late June and early July. This year the festival takes place on June 27, 28, July 3, 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12.   How much are tickets? Tickets typically range in price depending on who’s playing and what kind of access you want. The cheapest general admission tickets cost £99.95 plus booking fee, with VIP tickets costing up to £350.95 plus booking fee. Check the website for the full range of tickets and prices. There are also a number of free community events taking place throughout the weeks as part of the BST Open House series. These usually include things like Wimbledon screenings, an outdoor cinema, outdoor theatre shows, DJ sets and gigs. Who’s on the lineup? Country singer Garth Brooks will headline on June 27. This will be his only European performance in 2026. South Korean boyband Ateez headline on June 28, followed by Maroon 5 on July 3 and Mumford and Sons on July 4. Duran Duran headline on July 5, joined by Scissor Sisters and Nile Rodgers & Chic. Pitbull will play on July

Is it art, or is it maths? It’s a question even MC Escher himself couldn’t answer about his own work. While the Dutch printmaker known for his infinite staircases, metamorphosing tessellations and paradoxical buildings was rejected by the art world, he was revered by mathematicians, and is now one of the most famous optical illusionists of all time.  The OG creator of images that make you go ‘Huh?’ is going under the microscope in London with a blockbuster exhibition celebrating his life and work this summer. Created by Italian company Arthemisia and the immersive peeps at Fever, MC Escher: The Exhibition has arrived at Somerset House as part of its world tour.  The family-friendly display is surprisingly big. With more than 150 artworks on show, it tells the story of Escher’s life and work in chronological order, before it gets to the biggies – the ones that have been wheeled out in maths classrooms for decades – towards the end. You’ll see the originals of ‘Waterfall’, where water appears to run upwards, ‘Ascending and Descending’, the looping staircase that goes up and down simultaneously, and ‘Belvedere’ depicting an impossible tower. And you’ll learn about the techniques and mathematics that make these illusions possible along the way.  The meticulous craft that went into his totally baffling work is evident. On a personal level, I can see why Escher was rebuffed by the art world. Many of his works seem like something from a bad acid trip: giant, bulbous ants; monstrous

Workers at the V&A museums in London are going on strike.  Earlier this week, employees at the V&A East Storehouse in Stratford voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action over ‘Amazon-style’ working conditions. Staff members in the Prospect union are in a dispute with the museum over what they say are inadequate toilet and hydration breaks.   Why are V&A workers going on strike? The dispute mainly centres around officers who facilitate the ‘order an object’ service in the Storehouse, which allows visitors to order any object from the museum’s vast archive. Many of the people who work at the Storehouse were recruited from the local area.  The union is asking for workers to be given two paid 15-minute breaks per day as well as a four percent wage increase and time-and-a-half pay for bank holidays. One Prospect union member told the Guardian that ‘order an object’ workers currently get one unpaid lunch hour.  Staff at other V&A sites in London also voted to strike over pay, working conditions and the museum’s refusal to become an accredited Living Wage employer.    Photograph: DJSully / Shutterstock.comV&A East Storehouse   When is the V&A strike? The strike dates have yet to be decided – we’ll update this page when we have more information.  Which V&A museums will close during the strike? This is also still to be confirmed. We don’t yet know if the strikes will affect whether the museums will be able to open or not.  What’s been said about the strikes? Workers to

For the second year in a row, a DIY sweatbox on a south London industrial estate has been named the best club in London.  Time Out has just released its annual ranking of the best nightclubs in the capital, with the 45-long list spanning legendary techno venues, massive superclubs, former working men’s clubs and tiny independent nightspots.  Taking the crown for the second year in a row was MOT in south Bermondsey. You might know it as Venue MOT (the club dropped the first part of its name in 2025) – the brilliantly ramshackle warehouse has been blowing clubbers away since it opened in 2018.  Tucked between a hose manufacturer and a property maintenance company, the location might not be where you’d expect to find London’s top night out. MOT has made a name for itself for its bone-shaking sound system, excellent programming and for fostering an up-for-it crowd that comes to listen to music and have a good time.  Expect to hear anything and everything across the spectrum of electronic music and beyond at club nights run by local promoters cutting their teeth and more established alike. Sometimes, the venue attracts big names like Jamie xx and Peggy Gou, but the line-ups here are full of quality, no matter how famous the DJs. Occasionally, in the summer months MOT opens its courtyard for day parties, so keep an eye out for those too. See you front left.    🔊 Find Time Out’s full list of the best clubs in London here.  ICYMI: Legendary nightclub Fabric is curating events at the

We love it when the Tate Modern is taken over by massive participatory artworks. In the past two decades, the gallery has hosted Carsten Höller’s snaking silver slides, the enormous crack by Doris Salcedo and Yayoi Kusama’s colourful ‘Obliteration Room’. This summer, the Tate is hosting a playful new artwork that is all about audience participation. A large maze installation has taken over the Turbine Hall from now until the end of August. ‘Serendipity Island’, created by artist and composer Lina Lapelytė, sees a maze constructed out of wooden barriers – modelled after airport queue dividers – in the hall. Upon entering, the audience will become part of a piece of mass choreography. Visitors are guided by ‘Conductors’ through one of six ‘scores’: a short set of instructions directing simple actions, such as stomping, humming and swaying. Moving in a line through the barriers, participants follow the score to perform actions in time with audio cues. The maze is accompanied by a layered soundscape of sounds recorded across London provided by field recordist Peter Cusack. As different groups perform, the multiple scores, sounds and actions overlap with one another, creating moments of unexpected crossover and crescendo. Photograph: Tate / Reece StrawLina Lapelytė - Serendipity Island Originally trained as a classical violinist and composer, Lapelytė is interested in experimental music, amateur performance and collaborative creation. Her works aim to be a mixture of art and pla

It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Over the past few months Time Out’s thirstiest editors and contributors have been scouring the UK to create the definitive ranking of Britain’s best pubs.  Whether you’re a craft beer quaffer, looking for a boozer with a raucous dancefloor, or are simply searching for the drinking den with the best view in Blighty, our list has you covered.  We can now reveal the boozer that clinched first place. Drumroll, please... Manchester’s The Peveril of the Peak – or the Pev, as locals say – has been named the best pub in the UK.  Photograph: John B Hewitt / Shutterstock.comPeveril of the Peak, Manchester The magnificent yellow and green-tiled watering hole on Great Bridgewater Street is what some might call a ‘proper pub’ – it’s kitted out with a pool table, dart board and jukebox and pours a damn good pint. The three-floor joint has been serving patrons for more than two centuries, and while being fairly large, it’s crammed with cosy nooks, vintage stools and sticky tables, as all good pubs should be.  ‘The Pev is the kind of pub that’s so perfect, it deserves to serve as the venue for the wetting of your head, your wedding and your wake. And, preferably, as much life in between,’ wrote Time Out contributor Kyle MacNeill. ‘The boozer — rumoured to be both a former brothel and a haunt for ghosts — has been overseen by legendary landlady Nancy Swanick, who still lives above the bar and is now well into her 90s, for over 50 years.’ 🍻 Thirs

Retro seaside resort Great Yarmouth is well-and-truly in the midst of a renaissance. Earlier this year Time Out revealed its list of the best seaside towns in the UK to visit in 2026. Coming in at number 16 was the Norfolk town, known for its long, sandy beach, amusement park and old-school pier.  Why is now a good time to visit Great Yarmouth? Well, this year the town’s boardwalk was named Britain’s Pier of the Year thanks to a recent 2.2 million revamp. Britannia Pier beat 62 other seaside promenades for the title – following its massive renovation it has new food stalls, an improved amusement arcade (now triple its former size) and a generally spruced-up appearance.  Photograph: Visit Great YarmouthBritannia Pier, Great Yarmouth Yarmo is also home to Britain’s only scenic roller coaster. Found at Pleasure Beach, the scenic railway is the only surviving ride of its kind in the UK. Built in 1928, Great Yarmouth’s Roller Coaster began life in Paris before being shipped to Norfolk and opening to the public in 1932. The attraction is so unique that it’s the only one of its kind to be controlled manually by a seated operator using a lever. Isn’t that quaint? Photograph: ShutterstockRoller Coaster, Great Yarmouth And that’s not all, this year it was revealed that Great Yarmouth is going to undergo a ‘once-in-a-generation’ renovation that will completely transform its North Quay, and see multiple historic landmarks restored to their former glory. The project isn’t expected to

Forget Subway Surfer, Candy Crush or Wordle, because the London Underground comes equipped with its very own game.  If you didn’t already know about this, every tube station in London has its own ‘labyrinth’. These artworks have been entertaining commuters since 2013 when they were created by artist Mark Wallinger to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the London Underground.  Now, there’s an app that allows travellers to ‘collect’ every single labyrinth and they travel through the tube network. Each of the 272 artworks has its own distinct pattern and number. The labyrinths are numbered according to the route taken by contestants in the 2009 Guinness World Records Tube Challenge, and features a distinctive design: black on white vitreous enamel with a red cross. Mind the Maze, a free iPhone and Android app, allows users to tick off each one as they discover it.  Photograph: CapturePB / Shutterstock.comLabyrinth artwork on the London Underground Created by Ryan Dobson, the app lets users upload photos of the labyrinths as they go along, so they can track their progress. Some of the labyrinths are quite well-hidden – if you can’t find the artwork at a certain station, you can ask the app for a clue. All your ticked-off stations then appear on a map with a green pin.  Dobson told Londonist: ‘What I’ve found fascinating is that there’s a small but enthusiastic community of people using the labyrinths as a reason to explore parts of London they’d never otherwise visit. Hunting t

Fabric will be swapping its usual basement for something a bit more lofty later this year. The nightclub will rise up from its home in a former Victorian meat warehouse to the top of the tallest skyscraper in London.  From this August, you’ll be able to party at London’s highest viewing platform as Fabric brings back its event series at The View From The Shard.  The superclub has announced five dates in 2026 where parties will be taking place at 310 metres in the air: August 21, September 12, September 25, November 5 and December 27. So far the only act announced is German techno and trance DJ Sven Väth, who will be behind the decks on August 21. Väth will play a sunset set at the open-air roof terrace before headlining a party at the Farringdon club later the same night.   Image: Fabric x SennheiserFabric x Sennheiser 2026 Each event will showcase a different genre in Fabric’s music programming. As one of London’s longest-running clubs, the venue on Charterhouse Street is known for programming top DJs in drum ’n’ bass, garage, dubstep, techno, house and tech house.  At the sky-high parties, punters will get a 360-degree view over the Big Smoke while listening to tunes from a soundsystem designed by Sennheiser. You can sign up for early access to tickets here. ICYMI: What is the best album of 2026 so far?  Plus: One of the ‘world’s best’ bars is opening a new location in central London.  Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and

Pubs! They are Britain’s pride and joy and we’ve got absolutely tonnes of them. But as any seasoned drinker will know, not all boozers are born equal. Many Brits have their own markers for what sets apart the great from the good. Do they pour a perfectly crisp lager, serve a banging burger, have a lovely beer garden, or just have a particularly eye-catching carpet? Helping to separate the wheat from the chaff, the Telegraph has just released its annual ranking of the 650 best pubs in the UK, featuring 500 joints from England and 150 from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Pubs were selected by a panel of experts for criteria including a welcoming atmosphere, high-quality drinks, and a strong sense of community. The capital did us proud, with 44 London boozers featuring in the paper’s ranking including many Time Out favourites. We love the Coach & Horses on Greek Street, a Soho institution that was once home to London’s self-proclaimed ‘rudest landlord’. He’s gone now, but these days the pub serves a rotating cast of excellent independent ales and an impeccable crisp selection. The Pembury Tavern in Hackney, which is home to one of our favourite ‘zas in the capital, Ace Pizza, is also worth a visit. Gospel Oak’s unpretentious Southampton Arms, known for its pork baps and real ales, is well deserving of a spot in the ranking according to us.    Photograph: Jess Hand for Time OutThe Coach and Horses, Greek Street   The 44 best pubs in London, according to the Telegraph Here

We’re only just past halfway through 2026, but it’s already been a vintage year for music, with a number of excellent albums delivered that could be contenders for album of the year (AOTY). Olivia Rodrigo has dropped her best record yet, Slayyyter is putting her brash dance pop on the map, and we have new music from Madonna. Nature is well and truly is healing. Some might even say it’s healed.  But in a sea of new releases, viral tracks and endless ‘ones to watch’, which albums of 2026 are actually worth your time? You’re in luck, because Time Out London’s editors and contributors recently compiled a list of the best albums of the year so far.  Our list features rising stars like singer-songwriter Grace Ives, whose third studio album Girlfriend ‘breathes out one giant sigh of relief’, according to writer Amy Houghton. Seasoned alt rockers Modest Mouse get a shout out for their 30th anniversary record An Eraser and a Maze and newcomers My New Band Believe are featured for their self-titled debut album.  Image: True Panther‘Girlfriend’, Grace Ives Also in the running for AOTY are you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love by Olivia Rodrigo, Somewhere Good by Tara Clerkin Trio, and of course we’ve got Confessions II by Madonna, because where would we be without Madge? After a disappointing run of releases in the 2010s, the material girl’s most recent record is a triumphant return to her heady, dancefloor-ready roots.  Image: Geffen‘you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love’, O

Planning your next UK city break? How about choosing somewhere less touristy, and going somewhere a little more under the radar. You never know, you just might discover the next Edinburgh. And then you’ll get to brag about visiting it before it was cool.   We recently published our list of the most underrated city breaks in the UK. Forget London, Liverpool and Manchester, because these spots offer great culture, bars, restaurants, nightlife and sporting events while still being some of Britain’s best-kept secrets.  Coming in sixth place on the list was Sunderland. This coastal city in the northeast of England is a must-visit for sports fans. In 2025 Sunderland AFC were promoted to the Premier League for the first time in eight years, and the city has never been more buzzing. Now the Black Cats are gearing up for their second season in the Prem. Footie followers have also got to stop by the Fans Museum to admire its huge collection of football memorabilia from all over the world. Photograph: John New / Shutterstock.comSunderland Glass Centre If you’re not into the beautiful game, there’s still plenty to do and see. Find fantastic food at RUHE, Stack or Propa Pies or breathe in the sea air along the Roker and Seaburn beaches. Get your fill of beautiful things at the National Glass Centre, ramble around the indoor jungle at Sunderland Museum & Winter Garden or get down at a live gig at the Fire Station or Independent.  📍 The 18 most underrated city breaks in the UK.  UK Town

Grab your paint brushes! The art foundation founded by the late fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen has just opened a new affordable art studio in north London. The Sarabande Foundation in Tottenham has 14 new workshops that will be taken over by painters, sculptors, photographers, fashion designers and other creatives.  Taking over a pair of Georgian grade II*-listed townhouses, this new arty enclave will provide support and mentoring to artists via the foundation, while also creating a new public art gallery. The 60-square-metre display space will host exhibitions and talks, alongside a café and a separate gallery, called House of Bandits, that will show work from the residents. Artists can rent the studios from around £1 per square foot.   Photograph: Courtesy of the Sarabande FoundationThe House of Bandits Gallery The building itself has been painstakingly restored while still keeping its ramshackle charm. Studios retain their original features, including historic panelling, fireplaces and floorboards, while the layers of wallpapers and paints applied over the centuries are intentionally preserved. Five alumni of the foundation have been commissioned to create new artworks for the building. These include hand-carved flagstones for the café’s floor and a new café counter with a surreal umbrella design. Photograph: Courtesy of the Sarabande FoundationJo Grogan carving a tile for the House of Bandits café Trino Verkade, director of Sarabande, said: ‘These remarkable n

The Royal Family owns a lot of art. Now, a ‘once-in-a-generation’ re-display means that plebs like us are able to view twice as many paintings from their mind boggling collection than before.  Buckingham Palace’s Picture Gallery, which is one of the State Rooms that opens to visitors every summer, now has 120 paintings on display, up from 63 previously.  The glowed-up room reopened to the public on Thursday, July 9. As well as almost 60 more artworks which took 875 hours to hang, the Picture Gallery has new emerald-green silk wall hangings and improved lighting. The new display features historic watercolours, photographs, inventories and architectural schemes, as well as more priceless pieces from world-famous artists. The Dutch Masters get a main-character moment, as George IV’s painting collection was one of the finest holdings of 17th-century Dutch paintings in the world.  Here are some of the best paintings that are newly on public display.  Image: Royal Collection Enterprises Ltd‘The Tribuna of the Uffizi’, Johan Joseph Zoffany, ‘The Tribuna of the Uffizi’ by Johan Zoffany This eclectic painting by the German artist who was active in Britain depicts the Uffizi gallery in Florence. Featuring paintings within a painting, visible artworks represented include pieces by Holbein, Rubens and Raphael. Although commissioned by Queen Charlotte, the painting was never hung in her apartments as it was reported she found it overcrowded and unconventional. We can see why, but we als