James Manning

While London has stacks of family-friendly things to do – from parks and museums to play areas and activity centres – it’s always nice to treat the kids (and yourself) to a day trip. Luckily, you'll find fresh air and adventure just an hour or two outside the city's hectic centre. Whether you’ve got a Saturday, half term or summer holiday to fill, we’ve got plenty of ideas for London day trips with kids, by train or by car. You’ll find brilliant ideas for animal lovers, daring adventurers and youngsters (and parents) who just want to run free in the great outdoors. From ancient castles and retro theme parks to enchanted trains and real-life steam engines, these are London’s best family-friendly day trips, all within easy reach of the capital.   RECOMMENDED: The best day trips from London RECOMMENDED: The best areas of natural beauty near London

There are a million podcasts out there, and 2024’s releases are showing no signs of slowing down. There’s already been a load of bangers since the beginning of the year, and here at Time Out, we’re determined to listen to them all. After all, how else are you going to know which one to choose? We’ve rounded up our favourites, from political podcasts that look behind the news to comedy podcasts with your favourite funny people, and plenty of those all-important investigative whodunnits to keep you up at night. If you’re looking to dig deeper into one genre, we’d recommend trying our specialist lists on for size (you’ll find them below). But for a full list of good, addictive podcasts of every genre, read on.  RECOMMENDED:🎧 The best podcasts on Spotify😂 The best comedy podcasts 🗞️ The best news podcasts💤 The best sleep podcasts🎶 The best music podcasts

As much as we love London here at Time Out, we’re also partial to the odd daydream about a leisurely getaway to somewhere that’s not quite so big and busy. Microdose on that holiday vibe by taking a day trip to one of the many laidback, joy-inducing destinations just a few hours away from London, which pack in plenty; from historic cities and cute villages to sandy beaches and rolling countryside. If you’re wanting a quick getaway, here are 17 of the Time Out team’s favourite day trips from London, complete with our recommendations of cute pubs and ace restaurants – all close enough to the city to get there and back in one sweet day.  RECOMMENDED:✨The best day trips from London👪 The best family day trips from London☀️ The best weekend trips from London🏘️ The best Airbnbs near London🌳 The best quirky Airbnbs in the UK This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, click here.

Television used to be considered one of the lowest forms of entertainment. It was derided as ‘the idiot box’ and ‘the boob tube’. Edward R Murrow referred to it as ‘the opiate of the masses’, and the phrase ‘I don’t even own a TV’ was considered a major bragging right. And for a long time, it was hard to say that television’s poor reputation was undeserved.  A lot has changed. Television is now the dominant medium in basically all of entertainment, to the degree that the only thing separating movies and TV is the screen you’re watching on. Now, if you don’t own a television – or a laptop or a tablet or a phone – you’re basically left out of the cultural conversation completely. The shift in perception is widely credited to the arrival of The Sopranos, which completely reinvented the notion of what a TV show could do. But that doesn’t mean everything that came before is primordial slurry. While this list of the greatest TV shows ever is dominated by 21st century programs, there are many shows that deserve credit for laying the groundwork for this current golden age. Chiseling them down to a neat top 100 is difficult, so we elected to leave off talk shows, variety shows and sketch comedy, focusing on scripted, episodic dramas, comedies and miniseries.  So don’t touch that dial – these are the greatest TV shows of all-time. Recommended: 📺 The best TV and streaming shows of 2023 (so far)🔥The 100 greatest movies of all-time🎬The most bingeable series on Netflix

There are plenty of things that make a bar great, but a show-stopping view? That’s a real gamechanger. What could be more elegant than sitting up high, cocktail-in-hand taking in some sweet, sweet scenery. Whether you’re perched on the umpteenth floor of a Singaporean skyrise or plonked atop a south London car park, rooftop bars are about the experience just as much as the drinks.  Sure, many of them are swanky places, but lots more are pretty down-to-earth hangouts, too (despite, obvs, being pretty far from the ground). Featuring top-notch venues from all over the globe, our favourite rooftop bars range from the cha-ching to the chilled. But they’ve all got one thing in common – a stonking view. RECOMMENDED: 🍷 The best bars in Europe🍸The best bars in North America🍹The best bars in Asia

Every week, a frankly stupid 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.  Go forth and eat, featuring everything from hyped new Mayfair spot The Dover to French bistro bangers at Josephine in Fulham, Med sharing dishes at Morchella in Clerkenwell and Akara, a Michelin star restaurant offshoot in Borough. We also show some love for the sublime small plates at Hackney's Sune, modern Malaysian cuisine at Mambow in Clapton, tasty sausage at Bistro Freddie in Spitalfields, Italian-ish snacks at Forza Wine on the South Bank and Filipino sharing feasts at Donia in Soho.  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.

No matter the time of year, the UK’s beaches are amongst the finest attractions this country has to offer, but it’s in the summertime that they really come into their own. Fresh coastal air, soft sand between your toes, thunderously crashing waves and balmy weather? Well, maybe the weather bit is a little ambitious, but if all those come together life simply doesn’t get any better. The UK is home to dozens of drop-dead gorgeous beaches primed for you to explore. From vast, sandy crowd-pleasers conveniently located near pretty seaside towns to hidden coves with extremely clear sea water accessible only by boat or hike, these islands have it all. Whether you’re after picnic spots, nature-watching or the kind of scenes that look more like the Caribbean than the UK, this is our handpicked guide to the UK’s finest beaches. RECOMMENDED:🏖️The most amazing hidden beaches in the UK🌊The best outdoor swimmming pools in the UK🏊The best wild swimming spots in the UK🌤️The best places to visit in the UK 

Of all the many things that have been upended since 2020, office life is one of the biggest. Tools like email and video chat apps have (at least in theory) untethered many of us from the workplace, meaning there may be very little need for many restless workers to stay rooted in one place. And that makes moving somewhere sunnier, cheaper or just more fun sound incredibly tempting. Now that travel has officially bounced back to 2019 levels, many destinations are emphasising longer-term stays over short-term breaks. And at the very extreme end, some are even trying to sell themselves as idyllic remote-working spots, with ‘digital nomad’ visas that allow you to live and work there for up to a year – or sometimes even longer. Here’s a guide to the countries offering digital nomad visas right now, and how you can qualify. And here’s what it’s actually like to be a digital nomad – and how to become one yourself.

Head to Hackney and you've got a seriously exciting evening of dining ahead of you, as some of the city's boldest chefs have set up shop in this rapidly-gentrifying patch of east London. High-end restaurants sit alongside chic brunch spots, inviting gastropubs and long-established neighbourhood joints. Whatever you're after, you'll more than likely find it here. Go east(ish) and eat. New additions to the list include smoke and fire fun at Lagom, Michelin starry-ness at Behind, chef Abby Lee's incredible Mambow – which recently moved to Clapton from Peckham and canal-side standout, Sune.  Recommended: Here are London's 50 Best Restaurants. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.  

Where do we even begin with defining the ‘80s? Though it’s remembered by those who were there as an era of colourful, garish fashion, perms and shoulder pads, the decade was also one of remarkably varied and innovative music, and ‘80s influences have seeped into songs produced ever since.   Some of our biggest stars had their golden era in the 80s, from Madonna to Kate Bush, Marvin Gaye to Paul Simon. But it wasn’t just a time of explosion for their success – there are plenty of New Wave artists on our list, too. Keep an eye out for the likes of the Talking Heads, NWA and Biz Markie when you’re having a scroll. Here are our picks for the best ‘80s songs ever made. RECOMMENDED:🎶The best ’90s songs🎉The best party songs ever made🎸The best classic rock songs🎤The best karaoke songs

Money makes the world go around. Sometimes it also makes the turntables spin. It may be the root of all evil, but money’s a hell of a muse – as this list of the best songs about money proves. Like the power of love and the pain of a broken heart, cash – too much of it or too little – has inspired some of the best pop songs of all time, from classic-rock standards to 99 percent of ’90s hip-hop. With dollar signs in our eyes, we’ve rounded up 23 of the best songs about money. Time to make it rain. RECOMMENDED:🎉 The best party songs ever made🎤 The best karaoke songs🎧 The best podcasts right now🎵 The best new songs of the last year Written by Nick Levine, Andy Kryza, Grace Goslin, James Manning and Ella Doyle. 

Family-friendly travel is changing. For many years, it was presumed that people travelling with kids would be content to be kettled into a soulless holiday park every summer – but today’s parents are looking for more. So, whether you’re dealing with travel-averse toddlers, kinetic kids who won’t stop moving, screen-obsessed tweens or teenagers who want to be as far away from you as possible, we’ve got the break that you need. These are the very best places for a family holiday in the world right now. Happy travels!Marcus Webb is Time Out’s former global editor-in-chief and has written about family travel for various publications. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines and check out our latest travel guides written by local experts. This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, click here. RECOMMENDED:🇬🇧 The best family breaks in the UK🇺🇸 The best places for a family vacation in the US🌃 The top European city breaks to try this year🖼️ The world’s best museums and galleries

If you’ve never actually been to North Norfolk, then this corner of the UK might ring a certain bell marked ‘Alan Partridge’. If that’s the case, rest assured that The Harper is a far cry from the Linton Travel Tavern. Let’s get it out of the way up front: this place is posh. How posh? ‘Owned by the husband of Prince Harry’s ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy’ posh. You might expect that to come with some baggage: standoffish staff, ‘keep off the furniture’ vibes. But I’d like to reassure you that this is absolutely not the case. Every single person in a Harper uniform, from reception to the restaurant, was lovely, laidback, welcoming and up for a chat – especially when it came to tips on the local area. (And as for ‘keep off the furniture’, the hotel puts visible efforts into making itself welcoming to the most disruptive customers around: children and dogs.) On arrival, you may be surprised to see how imposing The Harper is for somewhere that credibly describes itself ‘boutique’. The hotel takes up a significant chunk of the small village of Langham, a five-minute drive from the seal-spotted marshes of the Norfolk coast. (And it’s set to get bigger still, with a planned expansion into the manor house next door.) A hulking, red-roofed, flint-covered horseshoe, The Harper is built around a converted barn (formerly a glassblowing factory) with wings out back housing 30-ish rooms and a spa. In the middle is a cute and cosy courtyard scattered with outdoor tables, festoon lights and wood

If you’ve ever wondered why the centre of Paris looks like it does – those picture-perfect grand avenues flanked by beautiful, limestone-faced blocks – then look no further than Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann. This Napoleonic bureaucrat reconstructed basically the whole city in the nineteenth century. He’s commemorated all over the city today, including in the name of Boulevard Haussmann. And it’s an appropriate address for the M Social Hotel Paris Opera, because this place really feels like it’s at the centre of things. You’re a quarter-hour’s stroll from Pigalle in one direction and the Louvre in the other; a half-hour from the Marais, the Left Bank, the Champs-Élysées or Gare du Nord. And you’re right in the middle of Paris’s most historic shopping area: the massive (and marvellous) Galeries Lafayette department store is just down the street. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better location for a weekend of Parisian retail therapy or ticking off the sights. Of course, a good hotel needs more than a great address, and M Social hits all the right buttons. First opened in 1927 as the Hotel Commodore, it still has lovely art deco bones: the vintage lifts with their wood panels and brass accents, the endless marble staircase, the glass dome in the lobby. A revamp in 2021 by Singaporean hotel giant Millennium gave the hundred-plus rooms a swish, modern revamp, with some bold colour choices – millennial mauve walls and squishy velvet furniture in green, orange and aquamarine – ser

There’s no point complaining about the prices when you’re dining on Piccadilly: it’s been among the poshest streets in London for literally 400 years. Suffice it to say that Gaia, a palatial joint with sister restaurants in Dubai, Qatar and Monte Carlo, has landed across the road from the actual Ritz and you’ll pay accordingly to eat here. But enough about the bill – we haven’t even got to the food yet. It’s Greek, or at least Greek-inspired, with British-Nigerian chef Izu Ani joining forces with the Peloponnese’s own Orestis Kotefas. The first thing you see when you step into the opulent dining room is an epic display of lobsters, oysters, turbot and seabass, arranged just-so on a pile of crushed ice like the Platonic ideal of a Cycladic fish market stall. And in fact, much of the menu turns out to be refined takes on Hellenistic classics: tzatziki, spanakopita, Greek salad and the rest of the gang, along with the aforementioned massive pile of seafood. The prawns were hall-of-fame-worthy and served in a puddle of honey-coloured, rosemary-scented, paprika-spicy oil And yes, it’s good. I’ve honestly never tasted smoother taramasalata, and the prawns were hall-of-fame-worthy: done to a tee in a wood oven, served in a puddle of honey-coloured, rosemary-scented, paprika-spicy oil. There’s a moussaka that’s destined to appear on all of London’s fanciest Insta feeds: minced beef, potato, bechamel and cheese, all stacked up atop a meltingly soft, skinless grilled aubergine. The as

What is Aire Ancient Baths London? An atmospheric, subterranean day spa tucked away discreetly off the Strand, Aire Ancient Baths takes inspiration from way back: specifically, ancient Roman, Greek and Ottoman bathing rituals. The London outpost opened in 2021 in a beautiful Georgian building, with treatment rooms upstairs, the baths themselves down in the double-height brick vaults of the basement, and a legion of friendly, black-clad staff keeping everything running like a machine. Upon arrival, you’re greeted and ushered into the changing rooms, where you’ll find a robe and slippers ready. Then it’s down a candlelit staircase into the bathhouse itself. There are large warm and hot baths, ice-cold plunges, a bubbly hydrotherapy pool and a salt-rich one for floating weightlessly, and a gently scented steam room. If you’ve booked a massage or treatment, staff find you and whisk you upstairs, then return you to the baths when you’re done. Vibe is king here: the bathhouse and corridors are hushed and darkened, lit by hundreds of (real) candles. Phones and children are banned and guest numbers are kept low, so you’re rarely sharing a pool with more than two or four other punters – and pretty much everyone respects the ‘Silence’ signs dotted around the walls.  Is it worth visiting? Look, this isn’t one of London’s cheapest spas: prices start north of £100 for basic access to the baths. Then there are various add-ons (massages, scrubs, aromatherapy or even a wine bath) that can ta

Gripe all you want about east London’s current preponderance of boho bistros specialising in small plates and natural wines – but when it’s done right, it’s still a knockout formula. And Sune, just over the bridge from Broadway Market in Hackney, absolutely nails it. Hospitality power couple Honey Spencer and Charlie Sims are the brains, marshalling experience from  heavyweights of the London restaurant scene and beyond (Charlie spent a while as the manager of Noma in Copenhagen). And they’ve played a blinder in their choice of chef: Michael Robins, formerly of Pidgin up the road, doing the whole modern European/seasonal produce/small plates/cooking with fire thing. The level of depth, detail, thought and skill in some of these dishes is honestly staggering, and they’re picture-pretty That’s not unusual around here, but the quality of Sune’s dishes is. I’m not saying this lightly, but based on our visit, the quality of the food at Sune is a notch above what you’ll get at Café Cecilia across the canal – and that’s currently sitting at the top of Time Out’s big list of London’s best restaurants. It’s sharing plates all the way here, obviously – though some of them are definitely big enough for a main course if you prefer to eat the old-fashioned way. We kicked off with snacks. First up: a twist on the Spanish gilda – piquant olives, anchovies and guindilla chillies – mounted on a potato cake that’s essentially a hash brown, the crunchy carbs perfectly rounding out the appetite

  So totally do Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler dominate the imaginations of Britain’s under-fives that not one, not two but three Donaldson-Scheffler adaptations are playing in the West End this Christmas. But if you and your offspring haven’t already been done in by ‘The Gruffalo’s Child’ (nepo baby much?) at the Garrick or ‘Stick Man’ at Leicester Square, then it’s well worth throwing in your lot at St Martin’s Theatre with ‘The Smartest Giant in Town’. Based on a (relatively underrated, imo) early work by the reigning king and queen of kids’ picture books, ‘The Smartest Giant…’ tells the story of George: an actually rather scruffy but extremely kind-hearted giant whose attempt to smarten up his act quickly unravels as he meets five animals in need. In George’s bucolic town, giants, regular-sized humans and talking animals coexist in apparent harmony amid rolling hills and cute cottages, making for plenty of opportunities for the show to mess about with scale with Kate Bunce’s economical set and props – especially when George hands over his suddenly-giant-sized clothes to the animals. Giraffe, goat, mouse, fox and dog are played by adorable puppets – designed by Judith Hope – based faithfully on Scheffler’s illustrations, and animated with a variety of accents by an energetically multitasking pair of actor/puppeteers. (The show is a transfer from Little Angel Puppet Theatre in Islington, and directed by its head honcho Samantha Lane.) Duane Gooden plays George, channel

Seasonal Modern European cooking, an eclectic wine list, tasteful décor and a homely vibe… stop me if you’ve heard this one before? In certain parts of east London, you can hardly nip to Tesco without passing at least one friendly oenophilic bistro (case in point: our recent review of Bambi). And honestly, it’d be churlish to complain about that: these places are independent businesses run and staffed by earnest, passionate people, and they’re usually really nice places to spend an evening. The only trouble is that in a crowded market, you’ve got to work miracles to stand out. The MVPs were a veritably banging duck with poached cherries and beetroot and a lush chocolate tart with blackcurrant cream A good location really helps. Eline is slotted into the side of a fairly soulless brick block off Hackney Road. God knows it’s hard to find a decent place to live in London these days, for restaurants as much as humans. But the lack of footfall and the echoey, single-aspect newbuildness of the space are a buzzkill from the start. That’s despite the immense pains taken in the dining room to turn Eline into the kind of cosy, stylish little bistro that everyone east of Camden wants in their neighbourhood: a bottle shop up one side, a cushion-strewn banquette down the other, and Scandi tables and chairs through the middle. So how about the food? Here’s one definite plus: a (relatively) affordable, very approachable set menu with a choice from three starters, three mains and three des

Anyone who’s seen ‘Cabaret’ knows that the ’20s in Berlin were a riot… sometimes literally. Okay, so life in the Weimar Republic was no picnic – but the nightlife was undeniably fabulous, darling. And if you’re looking to bring a little of that Jazz Age glamour into your Berlin trip today, look no further than the Provocateur hotel in old West Berlin. The fantasy starts at the front door: this place is seven floors of velvet, parquet, marble, brass, mirrors, pot plants, parquet, Persian rugs and chandeliers, all linked by a delightfully rickety vintage lift. (The décor is by London’s SZ Design, in case you were wondering.) Some of the rooms have freestanding baths; others (including ours) come with a spacious balcony to catch the sunset. The soundproofing is excellent and the beds are massive. Sexy times are gently encouraged by a couple of particularly raunchy mini-bar items and a mysterious ‘Provocateur Mode’ wall switch – you’ll find no spoilers here… Down on the ground floor, there’s an appropriately ritzy bar (check the luscious velvet booths) and a Franco-Chinese restaurant, Golden Phoenix (sadly closed for our Sunday/Monday stay), plus a lovely, secluded terrace. Minor niggles included the odd questionable design choice (a profusion of plastic plants, some tacky photography on the walls) and the occasional whiff of understaffedness. But if you’re after a decadent, stylish and fairly affordable stay with a heap of character, Provocateur serves it up on a silver platter.

An hour’s drive from the swarming streets of Florence and Pisa, Villa Lena could have settled for being just another gorgeous hilltop agriturismo. Instead, it’s something quite unique: an art foundation based in a nineteenth-century villa, with a stylish hotel sprawling across the outbuildings. Artists of all sorts come here from all over the world for month-long residencies, and – as well as rubbing shoulders with hotel guests at the breakfast buffet – they run workshops for all comers in the on-site artists’ studios; donate their work to the hotel’s art collection; and put on gigs and performances throughout the summer. There’s no shortage of inspiration up here, with sweeping views in every direction over fields and woods, every hilltop crowned by a picturesque little village or farmhouse, and a backdrop of cloud-capped mountains. And then – because even artists can’t survive on views alone – there’s the food. The laidback on-site restaurant, Osteria San Michele, would be worth the trip even if you weren’t staying the night, with a menu of souped-up Tuscan classics (ribollita, pappa col pomodoro), superlative pasta dishes and decadent beef- and pork-based secondi piatti. Herbs and vegetables come from the on-site kitchen garden; the 500-hectare estate also turns out top-notch olive oil and sparkling rosé. You’re free to explore pretty much anywhere, and I did – but in the Tuscan summer heat, you might not want to drift far from the striped parasols of the San Michele pool

Horror’s coming home, it’s coming home, it’s coming – back to the very library where Bram Stoker researched ‘Dracula’ between 1890 and 1897. Oxford company Creation Theatre has pulled off two impressive feats here: firstly by persuading the members-only London Library to host a production in its historic Reading Room (where Stoker almost certainly boned up on Eastern Europe and the occult) and secondly by devising a version of the vampire story in which no one plays the title role. In fact, Creation’s site-specific ‘Dracula’ features just two actors, Sophie Greenham and Bart Lambert, playing Mina and Jonathan Harker in a sexually repressed post-war setting. Solicitor Jonathan hasn’t been the same since his business trip to Romania, and a stay in Whitby to sort through the possessions of Mina’s late friend Lucy Westenra isn’t helping – especially when the weather turns, claustrophobia sets in and Jonathan’s Transylvanian flashbacks start to get very real. Projected visuals help collapse huge chunks of backstory into effective, supernatural fever dreams, and there are even a few laughs in some original scenes by writer/adapter Kate Kerrow, as the recently hitched Harkers fail to seal the deal on the chaise longue in Lucy’s library. The weaker bits of Creation’s production are when the plot strays from the Jonathan-and-Mina psychodrama, with Greenham and Lambert donning some iffy accessories and voices to play other characters from the novel. (As dodgy ‘Dracula’ accents go, Lam

The India Club is one of the city’s most fascinating post-colonial relics: a bar, lounge and Indian restaurant (one of the UK’s oldest) that’s hardly changed in 65 years. Last summer it was saved from redevelopment, and this week the National Trust opens an on-site exhibition which explores its history and celebrates the survival of a London institution. Opened on this site in 1964 by the India League, which had campaigned for the former British colony’s independence, the India Club became a first port of call for new arrivals from the subcontinent and a hub for the capital’s burgeoning Asian community. ‘A Home Away from Home: The India Club’ is an immersive oral history consisting of interviews with club regulars over the decades plus archive photos and documents. You can book in for a series of themed supperclubs and cooking classes too – because history is always better with snacks.

Here’s a sobering fact for you: young people from a BAME background are less likely to have a job than any other Briton. Being unemployed between 18 and 25 can have a major impact on later life chances, and the biggest barrier to work is lack of experience. So a big hand for Circle Collective: a social enterprise that helps young Londoners get jobs – and runs a very cool streetwear shop in Dalston (there’s another branch in Lewisham). Since 2012, the charity has helped more than 350 disadvantaged young people into work by providing them with CV advice, mentoring, training and, crucially, experience working in retail. For nearly half of Circle Collective participants, it’s their first time in the workplace. Want to help? Just pop along to one of Circle Collective’s outlets next time you need to buy someone a present (there’s an online shop too). They stock independent designers alongside the big labels, all profits are reinvested in the charity, and you’ll be helping young locals perfect their sales technique.

First came Time Out Market Lisbon, serving up the best of the Portuguese capital since 2014. Then came New York, Boston, Montreal, Chicago and Dubai. Now we’ve got some big (and delicious) news: Time Out Market is coming to… Barcelona! The Time Out Market concept is simple. Our local editors and experts pick the greatest eats, drinks and cultural goings-on that the city has to offer. Then we bring them all together in one vibey space. In Barcelona, that space will be in Maremagnum: the shopping and fun complex that sits out in the waters of the city’s Port Vell, linked to La Rambla by a floating bridge. Time Out Market Barcelona will take up residence on the top floor of Maremagnum, with 14 kitchens (plus communal tables to eat at) and a full-on restaurant – all slinging the city’s best dishes, and all hand-picked by our local Time Out Barcelona team. They’ve been covering the city week in, week out since 2008, so they know the city like nobody else. Photograph: ShutterstockTime Out Market Lisbon There will also be two bars indoors, and an outdoor space with two more bars. (Plus, it should go without saying, amazing views over the spectacular Barcelona skyline.) Just the place for an afternoon vermut. And it’s not all about eating and drinking: an events space and studio will bring the best of Barcelona’s culture scene through the doors on a regular basis. So when can you plan your visit? Sooner than you think: Time Out Market Barcelona is expected to open in the first half

The Opening Ceremony of next year’s Paris Olympics is less than a year away, and the French capital is gearing up to host the world. Now an upcoming proposal from the Parisian Green Party is set to get tongues wagging at the next city council meeting. They’re suggesting that, for the six weeks of the Games – from the eve of the Olympics to the end of the Paralympics – Paris (and nearby towns affected by the event) should go totally car-free. Not only that, but the city should offer free public transport. To back up their case, the group has laid out 14 reasons, touching on everything from plain common sense to environmental and safety issues. They’re also reminding folks of commitments made by various layers of government. For instance, they point out the challenge of managing a flow of 15 million people in public spaces and on public transport; carbon emissions estimated at 1.58 megatonnes; and Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s statements about the Games being a ‘catalyst for ecological transition’. Plus, they're suggesting the whole free transport thing could be funded by an eco-levy on ecommerce deliveries. So that’s the proposal. Now comes the hard part: making it happen. When it comes to free transport, let’s be honest, it’s a bit of a long shot. The fate of the transport network is in the hands of IDF Mobilités, chaired by Valérie Pécresse, who seems more likely to hike up travel pass prices than hand out free rides. And as for getting this motion through the council, it’s a bit of

It’s always great when cities get greener, and the latest European capital to announce a major new park is Madrid. The Cuatro Caminos neighbourhood, not far from Real Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium, is in for a significant redevelopment. Following the approval of the project, the area is set to see an influx of residential housing, car parks, office spaces, and green areas. There will be nearly 60,000 square metres of new built-up space, and more than 9,400 square metres will be allocated for public green spaces and new community areas. The plan also aims to improve connectivity between several key streets, namely Bravo Murillo, Reina Victoria, and Pablo Iglesias. The residential spaces will be centred around a large green area, and beneath it will be railway transport facilities, particularly for metro carriage maintenance. The green space will complete Esquilache Street to connect it to Ramiro II and Reina Victoria Avenue. Additionally, a new public road will be opened to link Bravo Murillo, Esquilache, and Pablo Iglesias. Virgen de Nieva Street will also be extended to better connect with Bravo Murillo and Esquilache, making it easier to get around. On the preservation side, two buildings on Esquilache Street are to be protected. There’s also a special plan for the El Porvenir school on Bravo Murillo, aiming to improve both environmental quality and the visibility of the school’s landmark chapel from public spaces. The plan also involves preserving the heritage of old metro tun

Finding life a little tough right now? Feeling ground down by city living? Then you may – passport allowing – want to consider a move to Vienna. The Austrian capital just topped an authoritative study of the world’s most liveable cities… for the second year running. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released its annual Global Liveability Index on Thursday, and Vienna came in at number one out of 173 cities analysed. What makes it such a great place to live? According to the report: its ‘winning combination of stability, good culture and entertainment, reliable infrastructure, and exemplary education and health services.’ Which, I’m sure we can all agree, are pretty important factors. In second place was Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen, followed by Melbourne and Sydney in Australia. Here’s the full top ten… Vienna, Austria Copenhagen, Denmark Melbourne, Australia Sydney, Australia Vancouver, Canada Zurich, Switzerland Calgary, Canada Geneva, Switzerland Toronto, Canada (=) Osaka, Japan and Auckland, New Zealand Some of the biggest losers were cities in the UK and USA such as London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Los Angeles and San Diego, all of which dropped way down the list compared to 2022. Vienna retained its place at the top of the ranking for the second year running, having previously dominated the list prior to the disruption of 2020 and 2021. And that’s not all: earlier this week it was also named the world’s most liveable city by Monocle magazine. Planning your trip

Yesterday morning, I woke up on a shiny metal carriage rolling through the suburbs of Berlin. I had gone to bed the night before somewhere just outside Amsterdam. In the eight hours in between, I had (mostly) slept like a baby while the wheels beneath me gobbled up the roughly 400 miles between two of Europe’s most spectacularly entertaining cities. Let’s backtrack. There was much excitement when, in 2021, a brand-new Dutch company called European Sleeper announced plans for an overnight train between Brussels and Berlin – a route that hadn’t seen sleeper trains in donkey’s years. The announcement was hailed as part of the wider revival of European sleeper trains, after decades when the rise of budget airlines had seen many overnight rail routes mothballed. After a few delays, European Sleeper’s ‘Good Night Train’ finally made its debut on May 25 2023. And just a few days later, I hopped on a Eurostar from London to see what the fuss was about. I left London bound for Brussels, where there’s an easy change to the European Sleeper service at Bruxelles-Midi/Brussel-Zuid station. A Eurostar train from London to Brussels leaves at 15.04 each day, giving you just over an hour at Brussels to grab a beer, change platforms and board the Berlin sleeper in time for golden hour. Photograph: James ManningThe European Sleeper train pulls into the platform at Brussels Midi/Zuid Alternatively, you could catch a train from London to Amsterdam and catch the Good Night Train there. The last

European train travel is back in a big way. A slew of new European sleeper trains have been announced for 2023 and beyond, including Nightjet’s Germany to Croatia service and an exciting new route from Prague to Switzerland via Czech national rail operator ČD. But surely the most anticipated is the brand-new European Sleeper service – and it’s about to make its first official voyage. Initially billed to launch in 2022, the so-called ‘Good Night Train’ will link Brussels and Berlin via Amsterdam and Rotterdam, letting travellers shuttle between three dazzling European capitals via one overnight service. What’s more, the route will link up with Eurostar, meaning passengers from the UK will be able to join the sleeper train service to Berlin with one quick change in Brussels. That’s right: from this week, you’ll be able to hop on the 15:04 from London St Pancras, enjoy a quick beer in Brussels and wake up in Berlin. The service from Brussels will initially run three times a week, and tickets from Brussels or Amsterdam to Berlin start at €49 for a seat – though you’ll want to spend a bit more and book a couchette or sleeper bed for a better night’s kip. Depending on the size of your group, taking a sleeper train could be cheaper than flying. And all services will include free wifi, coffee and a light breakfast – something you wouldn’t get on a budget flight, that’s for sure. If that’s not exciting enough, the pan-European sleeper route is set to extend even further in 2024, swe

Last year, the Hong Kong tourist board announced plans to give away half a million free plane tickets to encourage tourism in 2023 – and now it’s finally, officially happening.  Details of the giveaway were unveiled on February 2 by Hong Kong’s leader John Lee Ka-chiu, as part of the ‘Hello Hong Kong’ campaign.  How to get free air tickets to Hong Kong Hong Kong Airport’s website allows travellers to select their departure location and enter a draw to win a round-trip ticket. The giveaway periods are staggered, depending on what part of the world you live in. Travellers from Europe The ticket giveaway has now ended for travellers from the UK and Europe. Entrants were asked to register for tickets on Cathay Pacific’s website and complete a quiz. Tickets will be allocated to those who answered the questions correctly on a first come, first served basis. Winners from the UK will be contacted with details on how to redeem their prize on June 5. Travellers from North America Starting May 17, travellers from the USA and Canada can apply for tickets from Cathay Pacific. The US giveaway opens at 5pm PST/8pm EST, while the Canada giveaway opens at 6pm PST/9pm EST. The entry period will close on May 24. Travellers from Australia and New Zealand The giveaway will open to travellers from Australia and New Zealand on May 29.  Travellers from Asia The giveaway is now closed for Southeast Asian travellers, but travellers from Seoul can apply from now until the end of June. Those from Japa

訪日外国人客（インバウンド）が復活し、国内でも延期や中止となっていたさまざまな文化イベントが再開され、「アフターコロナ」のにぎわいを謳歌（おうか）している人は多いことだろう。ここ数年、世界もまるで「ひっくり返ったような状態」になっている。そんな中、タイムアウトは世界の各都市に向けてカルチャーアンケートを実施する。 東京のカルチャーシーンは今どうなっているのだろうか、何が良質とされ、楽しめるコンテンツなのか。簡単なアンケートに答えて、あなたの意見を聞かせてほしい。「カルチャー」は幅広いカテゴリーを指す言葉だが、アート、ライブミュージック、映画、演劇、伝統芸能、コメディーなど、東京のあらゆる文化的な施設や活動が対象だ。 今すぐ「タイムアウトカルチャーアンケート」に参加する   （上記にフォームが表示されない場合は、こちらからもアンケートに参加可能） 調査は完全に匿名で、回答は2分ほどで終わる。2023年の東京の文化を鼓動させるものは何なのか、そして今世界中で最も輝いている文化的なホットスポットを明らかにしたい。 関連記事 『京都の伏見稲荷大社が「世界で最悪な観光地」にランク入り』 『「世界のベスト空港」が発表、日本からはトップ10に2つの空港がランク入り』 『日本から2都市が選出、タイム誌が2023年に訪れるべき場所を発表』 『タイムアウト東京 読者アンケート 2022-23』 『日本のレトロな温泉街ランキングをじゃらんが発表』 東京の最新情報をタイムアウト東京のメールマガジンでチェックしよう。登録はこちら  

El mundo ha cambiado mucho en estos últimos años. Así que nos preguntamos: ¿cómo van las cosas en Madrid? Concretamente, ¿qué hay de bueno en la escena cultural de tu ciudad ahora mismo? 'Cultura' es una categoría amplia, lo sabemos, pero queremos conocerlo todo, desde el arte visual hasta la comedia, desde la música en directo hasta los museos. Ahora, si tienes dos minutos, ¿por qué no llenas nuestra encuesta Time Out sobre cultura? Nos ayudarás a saber qué hace que late el corazón cultural de tu ciudad en 2023 y rastrear los centros culturales que más brillan en el mundo en estos momentos. (¿No ves el formulario? Haz la encuesta aquí.) NO TE LO PIERDAS: Los planes imprescindibles de este invierno en Madrid Lee la revista de invierno de Time Out Madrid, con entrevistas, reportajes y las mejores recomendaciones de ocio y cultura de la ciudad. O descárgala gratis aquí.

El món s'ha capgirat aquests últims anys. De manera que ens demanem: com van les coses a la teva ciutat? Concretament, què hi ha de bo a l'escena cultural de la teva ciutat ara mateix? 'Cultura' és una categoria àmplia, ho sabem, però volem conèixer-ho tot, des de l'art visual fins a la comèdia, des de la música en directe fins als museus. Ara, si tens dos minuts, per què no omples la nostra enquesta Time Out sobre cultura? Ens ajudaràs a saber què fa que bategui el cor cultural de la teva ciutat el 2023 i a rastrejar els centres culturals que més brillen al món en aquests moments. (No veus el formulari? Fes l'enquesta aquí.) NO T'HO PERDIS: Les millors exposicions de Barcelona Ja pots llegir el número de febrer de Time Out Barcelona amb entrevistes, reportatges i les millors recomanacions d'oci i cultura de la ciutat   

El mundo ha cambiado mucho en estos últimos años. Así que nos preguntamos: ¿cómo van las cosas en tu ciudad? Concretamente, ¿qué hay de bueno en la escena cultural de tu ciudad ahora mismo? 'Cultura' es una categoría amplia, lo sabemos, pero queremos conocerlo todo, desde el arte visual hasta la comedia, desde la música en directo hasta los museos. Ahora, si tienes dos minutos, ¿por qué no llenas nuestra encuesta Time Out sobre cultura? Nos ayudarás a saber qué hace que late el corazón cultural de tu ciudad en 2023 y rastrear los centros culturales que más brillan en el mundo en estos momentos. (¿No ves el formulario? Haz la encuesta aquí.) NO TE LO PIERDAS: Las mejores exposiciones de Barcelona Ya puedes leer el número de febrero de Time Out Barcelona con entrevistas, reportajes y las mejores recomendaciones de ocio y cultura de la ciudad

The world has been turned upside down these last few years. So: how are things going in your city? Specifically, what’s good on your city’s culture scene right now?‘Culture’ is a broad category, we know – but we want to hear about all of it, from visual art to comedy, live music to museums. So if you’ve got two minutes to spare, why not fill in our Time Out Culture Survey? You’ll be helping us learn what makes your city’s cultural heart beat in 2023, and track down the cultural hotspots shining brightest around the world right now. Take the Time Out Culture Survey now: (Don’t see the form? Take the survey here instead.)Thanks for taking the survey! Sign up to our free Time Out Travel newsletter and you’ll be the first to hear about the results.