
kyra hanson
Kyra is a freelance writer at Time Out London. She takes full advantage of London’s parks, pubs and cultural offerings – basically anything that gets her out of her hometown Hainault. Follow her on @kyra_sian.
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Kyra is a freelance writer at Time Out London. She takes full advantage of London’s parks, pubs and cultural offerings – basically anything that gets her out of her hometown Hainault. Follow her on @kyra_sian.
Planning a holiday to one of the chillest places on earth? Look no further than Stockholm, the mellow capital of Sweden, with a ton of opportunities for culture and exploring. In June 2022, the city explodes into a celebration of Midsummer, from maypole dancing to some fantastic food. And if youâre looking for a lively weekend, the Swedish city has some great restaurants and bars to get you started, as well as some incredible natural landscapes. The Stockholm archipelago has a whole host of nature reserves you can tour by boat. But whatever youâre looking for, find a place to lay your head on Airbnb, which has everything from swanky city apartments to quirky eco-friendly spots for groups. Weâve picked a selection of the best to help you with your planning. This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, click here.
Venice is one of the most magical destinations on the planet. It has been said before, and it will be repeated again, but it is never anything less than gorgeously true. The famous city is packed with famous attractions, romantic restaurants and character-filled bars, but deciding where to stay isnât the easiest thing to do. After all, hotels are ten-a-penny here; how to know you arenât getting ripped off?Airbnb has changed the way we travel, and this is as true in Venice as anywhere else on the planet. The best Airbnbs in Venice are the stuff of dreams, from starlit apartments overlooking the terracotta rooftops to historic structures on the canals. Simply pick your favourite and let the magic begin, This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, click here.
With its beautiful royal blue tiled architecture, sloping cobbled streets and traditional riverside restaurants, you canât possibly let mediocre accommodation ruin your trip to Portugalâs second biggest city. But before you splash out on a luxury hotel or boutique B&B consider an Airbnb property. After all, if you want to explore this fascinating city's incredible attractions and raft of great things to do like a true local, it's probably best to stay like one, too. So whether youâre after character, a balcony or even a boat, check out our selection of plush Porto pads that wonât cost you the earth. This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, click here.
We all know Prague is a brilliant - and beautiful - city. So why make do with substandard accommodation that doesnât match up to the glory of the rest of your visit? Pragueâs Airbnbs are not only a little cheaper than the cityâs best hotels, theyâre also far more unique. Get cosy on a houseboat or nest down in an urban loft: both options will leave you with plenty of energy for a day out at the museums and an evening spent discovering your new favourite bars. This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, click here.
Ever wandered into a launderette and ended up in the 1970s? Ever tried to do a bit of shopping only to find yourself transported back to 1920 â or is it 1990? If so, you may have accidentally seen some of timewarp London, those bits of the city that look and feel like theyâve been frozen in a decade long ago â and have no plans to move into the twenty-first century any time soon, either. And thatâs exactly what makes them so valuable. From a legendary pie-and-mash shop to a truly vintage tobacconist, here are photos of our favourite bits of forgotten London. RECOMMENDED: Places in London that look nothing like London.
You can flounder with a city map (or multiple tabs on your smartphone) all you want, but everyone knows the best way to see the city is to be shown around by a local. So if youâve sorted out where to stay in Rome and want to get to know this incredible city, check out our hand-picked selection of the best Rome tours. Whether youâre after seriously stunning (and usually out of bounds) views from the heady heights of attractions like the Collesium, a very cool day trip, or would rather just eat and drink your way around the culinary capital (we donât blame you), thereâs a tour for you. And you donât have to waste hours scrolling online, just check out our guide to the best below. You know what they say, when in Rome....
After a long day exploring Portoâs cobbled streets, attractions and vast swathes of brilliant things to do, the first thing youâll probably want to do when you get back to your hotel is submerge your aching body in a hot tub full of bubbles. From super luxurious suites with fireside hot tubs and all mod-cons to swimming pools boasting postcard-perfect vistas over this fascinating city, hereâs our selection of Portoâs best hot tub hotels. You deserve some proper rest and recuperation, right? Of course you do. So take a look and get ready to sink into some serious comfort.Â
After a long day of holidaymaking (yâknow, soaking up all those incredible sights, attractions and things to do), thereâs nothing better than slipping into a hot tub â preferably with a glass of something ice cold and fizzy in hand. From rooftop hot tubs and private balcony tubs to hot tubs where you can take in the sea-views as well as the bubbles, here are the best hotels in Barcelona to get your soak on. So take a look below and make your city break to the Catalan capital complete with one of these very fine Barcelona hotels. Go on, you totally deserve it.
No-one likes to queue for hours, only to hand over their hard-earned cash for an attraction that ends up being mediocre at best. Luckily, Londonâs big-hitting sightseeing spots are worthy of their star ratings. And with so many museums, galleries, monuments and oddball attractions to explore, the problem isnât what to see but how to fit it all in. Put a dent in your London sightseeing list with our round-up of Londonâs best sights to see, plus some lesser-known places that should be on your radar, whether youâre a local or a tourist. And if you've got plenty of time is on your side? Check out our list of 101 things to do in London for more ideas about how to make the most of the city. On a budget? A handful of the best places for London sightseeing are free, but you can buy tickets to most of them via the list below. And if you canât find exactly what you're after, check out whatâs happening in London today, this week and this weekend.
Living in London is the best, but letâs be honest: the daily grind is less than idyllic and, sometimes, nothing feels good value. But thatâs no reason to skimp on self-care. Thanks to all these reasonably-priced spas around London, you can be soothed, stroked, preened and pampered for less money than it would cost you to escape the city for a rejuvenating weekend away. Relax: these facialists, manicurists and masseurs have your back. These are are our pick of affordable London spas thatâll have you drifting off in no time, without splurging next monthâs rent. RECOMMENDED: our full guide to the best spas in LondonÂ
Itâs hard to embrace the romance of the railway when your standard interaction with it involves pushing your way onto a delayed service during rush hour. But travelling by train can be a relaxing way to get around, especially when the views outside the window are this good. Plus, London has fantastic transport links, which means that finding an aesthetically-pleasing new adventure is easy. Our cityâs trains are well-linked to other parts of the UK and across Europe, so you can forget about schlepping to the airport for your next break. For beautiful train journeys, through picturesque mountain ranges, past rugged castles and over sparkling rivers just take your pick from the list below. Hereâs just a handful of the most scenic train journeys in Europe, starting in London and ending somewhere new. No Oyster card needed. RECOMMENDED: the best day trips from London
From volcanic vessels erupting at tiki bars in Paris to cereal-inspired boozy ice cubes in Chicago, weâve rounded up the worldâs wackiest and most wonderful-looking cocktails. Love dinos? Thereâs a cocktail bar in Sydney with a photogenic treat for you. Want to drink something from a lightbulb? Youâre in luck. These bizarre and often highly technical creationsâno simple martini recipes here!âare guaranteed to up your âlikesâ game. And before you get âgramming, check out our tips for taking perfect food pics. RECOMMENDED: World's top bartenders tell us what they order
If you fancy a trip to Japan but not keen on the long haul flight, youâre in luck. High Street Kensington is about to get a sleek new addition in the form of Japan House. Itâs one of three brand spanking new cultural centres (the others are in LA and SĂŁo Paulo) aiming to show you the ârealâ Japan. Spread over three floors, everything at the London branch from the floor tiles (flown in from Awaji Island) to the food (cooked up by renowned chef Shimizu Akira) will have its roots there. The best bit? No jet lag.
Kennaland has been many things to many hairdos â a studio in a disused theatre, a speakeasy saloon above the Cat and Mutton pub, a hard-to-find grooming spot in a London Fields bunker, and its latest incarnation â a one-stop beauty spot on a former carwash site. Its new home, within the Monohaus development, is an experiment in luring hip tech heads and City start ups to its one and two bed studios by offering quirky perks such as POPfit, a fitness studio headed up by the actor-turned entrepreneur Kate Hudson, and The London Dolls, which offers eyelash extensions. Kennalandâs new pad is bigger, brighter and greener than its former subterranean site. A lush moss wall greets clients as they walk in, while snazzy wooden panels soften the industrial interior and screen out the sidewalk-gawpers. The glass of wine was a welcome afternoon indulgence, though other beverages are offered. During the cut, newbie stylist Phoebe handled my frizz-prone mane with efficiency, friendly chatter came easy and my fringe was snipped with unrivaled precision. Plus, anyone with bangs will be pleased to hear you can return for a free fringe trim. Although I didnât leave with the natural curl definition others have teased out with a diffuser and product, I did spy perfectly blow dried barnets in the large oval mirrors so flyaway free locks are achievable. Kennaland uses Evo products, which are sulphate and paraben free, smell divine and leave your hair with that just-cut silky soft feel. Refillable p
The last time I went trampolining was in my neighbourâs back garden; before that, in an old gymnasium hall, which smelt of feet and reminded me of the terror of school PE lessons. Neither experience prepared me for the massive, neon-coloured explosion that is the new Flip Out centre on the edge of a retail park near Brent Cross. Sprawling springboards, stunt box zones, a âTotal Wipeoutâ-style assault course, complete with funky graffiti backdrop, a DJ booth and even a cascading LED waterfall-covered wall await would-be bouncers. Kids have it seriously good these days. But thereâs plenty here for big kids too: Monkey bars requiring the upper body strength of a gorilla on steroids, for example, and an impossibly high ramp youâll need first-rate parkour skills to master. Here itâs just as fun watching as trying â though try I did. After getting a quarter of the way across the âNinja Warrior Courseâ I went tumbling into a sea of spongy cubes like a fresh-from-the-nest bird who has just failed its first flying test. True thrill-seekers can have their attempts timed â best not to if, like me, you canât remember the last time you worked up a sweat. The laser maze room promising to test âstealth skillsâ is a better test of agility for anyone over four feet tall. A nail bar for patient mums is forthcoming. At the opening launch, the jungle of springy pathways were awash with jumping jacks of all ages â from the barely-learnt-to-walk to the newly desk-bound. I watched Olympic trampolin
Dead parents, a stuffed rhinoceros and Stephen Fry have all been immortalised by Maggi Hambling, and you can see all three in âTouchâ, an exhibition of 40 of her drawings spanning five decades. Sheâs been a pivotal figure in recent British art history, but is this simple show of works on paper enough to distract from the furore caused by her more controversial public sculptures (most notably âA Conversation with Oscar Wildeâ just off The Strand)? Hambling is strongest when sheâs capturing the fine detail of facial features. The shrewd-yet-inquisitive expression of writer John Berger unfurls in short, sharp strokes, and the drooping three-part portrait of Stephen Fryâs face, who falls asleep as she paints him, is pretty funny. But at times you just want to reach right into her portraits and untangle the sitter from the competing mass of swirling lines. The best drawings here break free from the figurative. In âBeryl Recliningâ, the ink is manipulated into the voluptuous female form by Hamblingâs fag-stained fingertips. Itâs finger-painting. If drawing is like handwriting for Hambling, then this series is where she communicates the language of the body most clearly. But the drawings of waves on show fail to evoke the full force of the Suffolk sea, the vast bulk of water an unruly subject for an artist who excels at nailing the intimate rather than the monumental. Hambling says art school taught her âthe training of hand and eye to convey what the heart feelsâ. These unforgiving
Featuring video installations by a roster of big-shot artists that span decades, genres and continents, the latest show at the Lisson will send you through a spectrum of emotion: humour, intrigue, frustration and, yes, sometimes outright boredom. Some films youâll approach with eager-eyed anticipation, like Rodney Grahamâs vividly coloured âVexation Islandâ, with its slapstick humour and Robinson Crusoe-esque plot. Others feel like a feat of endurance, such as John Lathamâs âSpeakâ, which blasts the viewer with ten minutes of psychedelic, strobe-like multi-coloured discs (better suited to the Pink Floyd gig they were originally screened at than alone, in a gallery, through headphones). Others are downright mesmerising, like Marina Abramovicâs video self-portrait, in which she aggressively brushes her hair while uttering the mantra âart must be beautiful, artists must be beautifulâ â a cutting critique of the feminisation and sexualisation of a simple daily routine. This exhibition attempts to merge the boundaries between performer and audience, so that inside the pavilion space â a maze of two-way mirrors and Japanese-inspired shĆji panels â the viewer is simultaneously watcher and watched. Itâs an uneasy feeling because weâre used to being in control of both our own image and those we choose to watch, so that to sit (or indeed stand) through reels of video on loop feels pretty antithetical to modern life. And no, binging three seasons of âGame of Thronesâ in one weekend won
The women who feature in âMiss Black and Beautifulâ are all toothy smiles, sultry looks and sassy poses. Presented here are three decades of photographs taken by the late Raphael Albert, who documented west Londonâs black beauty pageant scene from the 1960s to the â90s. The archival display includes rarely seen photos and newspaper cuttings from the time, one of which begins: âUntil a few short years ago being a âgood wife and motherâ was one of the only lauded positions available for women.â It took until 1970 for the first model of colour to be crowned Miss World; and it wasnât until 2008 that Vogue Italia brought out its Black Issue. These images come from a time before the BeyoncĂ©s and Naomi Campbells occupied the world stage. For these girls, the title of âbeauty queenâ brought financial security, opportunity and self-assurance. But most strikingly, they look like theyâre having a hell of a great time. Autograph has been providing a space for black photographers and promoting the work of marginalised groups since 1988, and this exhibition feels as necessary as ever. Whatâs shocking is that these confident, leggy ladies, proudly strutting their Afros and their curves â defying white societyâs norms of beauty â are still lacking from todayâs catwalks, television screens, newspapers and magazines. One article from the time is headlined âMaking blacks believe black is beautifulâ. These girls know theyâre beautiful, itâs the rest of the world that needs to catch on.Â
On the second floor of Autograph ABP is a room filled with pain: female pain â something that photographer Aida Silvestri thinks we should all be paying much more attention to. The âUnsterile Clinicâ project sees Silvestri interview and photograph women in London who are among the 125 million living globally with the effects of female genital mutilation. Silvestri captures the women in silhouette to protect their identity, and each photograph is overlaid with a hand-crafted vagina constructed out of leather. As you move around the room, the anatomy is trimmed, cut and, finally, incomprehensibly, stitched up, reflecting the various types of FGM inflicted upon these women. The images are accompanied by poems conveying, in their own words, the moment girls as young as four were pinned down by mothers and grandmothers, to be cut with razors; the difficulties with sex, urination, infection and pregnancy; and the mental anguish that inevitably followed. These artworks are not graphic in the blood-and-gore sense, but the simplicity of those absent folds of leather and stitches stabbed through fabric provides just as powerful an insight into the suffering of these girls. The idea is not just to raise awareness of this harrowing practice but to empower women with the knowledge to seek help and the confidence to speak out. If this exhibition doesnât give you goosebumps or bring you to tears, thereâs got to be something seriously wrong.Â
To paraphrase, experts say the planet is screwed if we donât act now to reduce our carbon emissions. Reading the news can just be depressing â but perhaps art (and humour) can inspire us instead? Adapt is a âclimate clubâ that uses art, design and dodgy jokes to talk about the environment. Whether itâs telling frackers to frack off or encouraging people to switch to renewables through its âdonât be a fossil foolâ campaign, these young artists seem to be adept at getting people to take positive action IRL. Now theyâre trying to mount a climate crisis-inspired art exhibition at Peckhamâs Copeland Gallery in August. The aim of âSadness is a no gO-Zoneâ isnât to bring on a bout of eco-anxiety but to raise consciousness and send you off with witty slogans for your next protest banner. It sees more than 40 artists probing travel, energy and rewilding. The organisers are crowdfunding to hire a huge space, produce the exhibition sustainably and keep it free, so it can be eyeballed by as many folks as possible. Youâve got until Friday to donate to Adaptâs crowdfunder. Rewards include cool stickers, posters, tote bags and T-shirts, plus the priceless feeling of doing something, however small, to literally save the world. Find out how you can make London greener by joining our campaign: How to Build a Green City.
Hereâs a rubbish stat for you: the Thames spews out 18 tonnes of plastic into the ocean every year. Wouldnât it be great if you could clean it all up without even getting your big toe wet? Well, across the Pond some techheads have created an interactive game that could allow you to do just that. After beginning a project to create a mile-long floating garden on the Chicago River, local non-profit organisation Urban Rivers quickly realised it needed to do something about the accumulation of trash first. Frustrated with the slow task of clearing up by hand, the team has built a robot which can patrol the waters 24/7, collecting and disposing of floating debris as it goes. It kind of looks like something out of âRobot Warsâ â only with a crowd-programmed social conscience. The Trash Robot still needs to be fully tested to make sure itâs both waterproof and hack-proof. Once thatâs done, anyone with an internet connection and a strong sense of direction will be able to control it as it scoots around picking up rubbish. (Donât worry: it will automatically return to base should it start to veer off course.) The bot is being trialled in July and the team aims to have the fully functioning robot in the river by August. âWe really hope that one day this game will be so boring because thereâll be no more trash left,â says co-founder Nick Wesley. Until that day, you can do your bit for the environment without even shifting from your sofa. Sign up here to get the latest from London strai
Maggot-infested cheese and bull penis would look a bit out of place on most London restaurant menus. But casu marzu (literally ârotten cheeseâ) is a Sardinian speciality, while bovine todgers are eaten as an aphrodisiac in China. Now you can encounter, and recoil from, both of these delights at the temporary Disgusting Food Museum in Malmö, Sweden (housed in a former slaughterhouse; a pop-up version in LA closes later this month). Other great delicacies to look out for include roasted guinea pig and baby-mice wine. Hungry yet? For the price of admission, visitors with a strong stomach can sample rotten shark from Iceland, fermented herring from Sweden and durian, a notoriously pongy fruit from Thailand and Indonesia. But beyond the perverse fascination and vids of you out-eating your mates, the message is a serious one. Paradoxically, the museum of gross grub aims to widen our appreciation of other cuisines by exposing disgust as a cultural construct. Something that provokes a âhell noâ from some diners might be gobbled down by others. âWe need to question our ideas of disgust if weâre going to consider some of the more environmentally friendly sources of protein, such as insects,â says curator and âchief disgustologistâ Samuel West. If all this sounds like enough to make you puke, the museumâs got your back: your entry ticket doubles up as a barf bag. Bon appĂ©tit! Sign up here to get the latest from London straight to your inbox.
Feeling stressed lately? Forget Netflix and chill, what you need is a nice soothing gong bath. And weâre not talking about a piddly wind chime and tealight affair. This weekend Olympia London will host the largest gathering of gong players the world has seen and youâre invited to bask in the soothing vibrations they create. If the thought of hanging out with a bunch of long-haired, cymbal-bashing hippies doesnât scream instant relaxation, donât worry. These guys are pros: getting the exact pitch right is a meditative art form, donât you know? And the promise of a mention in the Guinness Book of Records is attracting (hopefully) more than 150 gong enthusiasts, including those from China, Dubai, Iceland and Saudi Arabia. Know your way around a gong? Sign up to take part here. Or if youâre ready for some gong-bath-based TLC, book tickets for the Concert for Humanity on Saturday August 25 (between 6.45pm-9pm). If you like what you hear, make sure youâve got a prime lying-down spot on Sunday August 26 (5.15pm-7.30pm), when the world record attempt will be conducted by 84-year-old Grand Gongmaster Don Conreaux. The events take place at Olympia London, Hammersmith Road, W14 8UX. Prefer to stretch out your stress? Check out the 10 best rooftop yoga classes in London.Â
Eel might not be your snack of choice when youâve got the late-night munchies, but the people at the Museum of London reckon these slimy creatures are a delicacy worth revisiting. Eel vendors were once a common sight on Londonâs streets right up until the 1970s, as youâll see in photos from the Museum of Londonâs current exhibition âLondon Nightsâ. As part of the show exploring what Londoners get up to after hours, the museum has teamed up with swish 24/7 restaurant Duck & Waffle to bring back this East End treat, which itâll dish out between 11.30pm and 5am as part of the late-night menu. The smoked eel croquettes might not be served up with a dose of cockney rhyming slang but there will be seaweed mayo for dipping. Plus, ordering the eel dish (or a duck kebab) gets you 40 percent off tickets for âLondon Nightsâ. Not convinced? Eels were a popular source of grub for the Romans, Tudors and Victorians â and for good reason. Theyâre packed with hangover-busting potassium, protein, vitamins and those omega-3 fatty acids your mum is always going on about. So next time youâre contemplating hair of the dog, why not consider fillet of eel instead? Get a taster of the exhibition below: London Nights, Museum of London  Museum of London  Museum of London  The Duck & Waffle is serving eel until Sep 30. London Nights runs at the Museum of London until Nov 11.Â
If your mates are always waiting for you while you dote over a strangerâs doggo then get yourself a ticket to the Frenchie CafĂ© pronto.  For one day only Londonâs French bulldog community are invited to this canine-friendly gathering for a day filled with pupcakes, dognuts, paw-ty rings, pawbons and other treats from Rudiâs The Doggy Bakery kitchens. While your four-legged pals lap up the free pupuccino and sniff each otherâs behinds, owners and wannabe Frenchie owners can also order treats (for human consumption) from the cafĂ© at Happenstance.  The Frenchie CafĂ© is brought to you by the same team of doggy pop-up pros who are behind the pug café and recently sold out dachshund pop-up. Entry is ÂŁ10 for Frenchie owners and ÂŁ15 for Frenchie lovers. French bulldogs go free, obviously; this is their special day after all.  So if you want to spend an hour or so dishing out dog treats, patting pups and generally sharing your affection for lots of super-adorable French bulldogs (without getting evils from impatient dog owners), check out the website to find out how to book. The pop-up Frenchie Cafe opens on Sunday Sep 9 at The Lounge, The Happenstance, 10 Paternoster Square, EC4M 7DX. Got a pooch in tow? Here are 20 more dog-friendly spots in London. Â
While the rest of us make the most of Londonâs seriously parched parks, get the disposable barbecues going and sweat it out on the Tube, Selfridges has been busy preparing for, whisper it⊠Christmas. Yep, on Thursday August 2 (thatâs an unsettling 145 days before Christmas Day, FYI), the department store has unveiled the first section of its Chrimbo shop. This yearâs theme is âSelfridges Rocks Christmasâ, so expect to see plenty of skulls, glam rock-inspired stockings and black tinsel alongside the usual sparkly baubles and miniature reindeers â perfect for anyone considering paying homage to punk through this yearâs tree decorations. John Angerson  Not quite in the spirit just yet? The shop has hired a roaming rock ânâ roll Santa to get you in the festive mood. If on the other hand, this news fills you with joy (because you are one of those super-prepared weirdos who has bought, wrapped and name-tagged your prezzies by September), you might like to know prices range from ÂŁ1.95 for a souvenir pencil and ÂŁ3-ÂŁ15 for tinsel to a blow-the-Noel-budget ÂŁ360 for a nutcracker. Rather wait until the festivities are a little closer? The full Selfridges Christmas experience opens on September 4, when you can stock up on gifts for your pets, personalised jumpers and CDs for your loved ones and â if youâre feeling extra flush â a neon sign by London-based company Godâs Own Junkyard (the priciest item comes out at ÂŁ8,500). So if all this summer heat has got you wishing December would
Thereâs nothing wrong with enjoying a pastoral scene in a gilt frame â thatâs what the National Gallery is for. But for blow-your-mind, send-your-Insta-likes-rocketing immersive art, hop on a Eurostar to the newly opened AtĂ©lier des LumiĂšres in Parisâs 11th arrondissement. The interior of this former iron foundry has been transformed into a vast technicolour canvas by Culturespaces, the multimedia mavericks behind the CarriĂšres de LumiĂšres in Provence. More than 100 video projectors are currently bringing to life the paintings of two titans of the Viennese art scene: Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele. So while you wonât see their fabulously overwrought portraits IRL, you can legit say youâve walked around inside âThe Kissâ. And in our hypersaturated visual culture, that beats just looking at art, right? Want some art without the travel? Here are the best exhibitions in London right now.
Londoners in need of a pick-me-up after all those park cans in the sunshine are in luck. That is if youâre the kind of person who likes to balance your boozing with scented pebble meditation and pink mist waterfalls... Stay with us. The Wellbeing Playground is coming to Eccleston Yards via the brains of immersive mavericks Bompas & Parr, who claim âa 30-minute visit will make guests feel as though theyâve just returned from a week-long holidayâ. Sounds like a bold claim but everything on offer is apparently the result of a yearâs research into what makes us relaxed. So, whatâs in store?  The centrepiece invites guests to bathe in a fountain of mist. Unlike other Bompas & Parr concoctions, the mist isnât alcoholic or edible but it is full of ânatural, energising minerals and extracts of raspberry leaf, aloe vera, chamomile and citrusâ. If that doesnât calm your nerves, grab a designer water from the Aqua Bar and bask in the glow of an artificial sunset created with infrared light. This will be paired with screens showing sunsets from around the world, the combined effect should hopefully produce those happy endorphins and not holiday-induced Fomo. And hey, even if the scented pebbles in the meditation zone donât relieve the dayâs stresses, at least youâll leave smelling good.  The Wellbeing Playground takes place at Eccleston Yards from Sep 7-15. Entry is free. Canât wait? Here are some of the best day spas in London.
Bubbles are brilliant, and not just in baths and booze: theyâre also being used to fight plastic pollution in Dutch canals. Dreamt up by three Amsterdam women, the Great Bubble Barrier is essentially two tubes full of holes placed at the bottom of a river or canal. Air is pumped through the holes, and rubbish is propelled to the surface by bubbles. (The tech is already used elsewhere to clean up oil spills.) If the tubes are placed diagonally, the current carries the rubbish to the riverbank, so it can be fished out before it reaches the sea, without hindering marine life or passing boats. A team running trials in the River IJssel scooped out around 80 percent of test plastic, and with the crowdfunding target smashed, the first permanent Bubble Barrier is due to be piloted in the Netherlands this year. Thatâs worth raising a glass of fizz to. Sign up here to get the latest from London straight to your inbox.
If youâve ever fancied a trip to Japan but donât like the sound of that long-haul flight, youâre in luck. High Street Kensington is about to get a sleek new addition in the form of Japan House. Itâs one of three brand spanking new cultural centres (the others are in LA and SĂŁo Paulo) aiming to show you the ârealâ Japan. Spread over three floors, everything at the London branch from the floor tiles (flown in from Awaji Island) to the food (cooked up by renowned chef Akira Shimizu) will have its roots there. The gallery opens with the work of contemporary architect Sou Fujimoto, whose criss-crossing buildings integrate nature and light into futuristic designs (remember, heâs the guy who did that Serpentine Pavilion that looked like a set-piece from âTronâ?). A wander around the carefully curated library is sure to provoke bookshelf envy. And if you get peckish, you can get a sushi and sake fix in the first-floor restaurant before a final potter around the shop, filled with homewares and Japanese gadgets . The best bit? No jet lag.  Scott Chasserot  Scott Chasserot    Japan House opens Fri Jun 22. 101-111 Kensington High St, W8 5SA. Tube: High St Kensington. Free entry. Find the best Japanese restaurants in London here.Â
When you resolved to take your yoga practice to new heights, manoeuvering into mountain pose while balanced on the O2âs domed roof probably wasnât exactly what you had in mind, but itâs now a possibility thanks to these yoga classes with Up at The O2. The session starts with a 90-minute climb over The O2, where you get to admire the city views from 52 metres above the city before stopping off for some much-needed zen time at the rooftop viewing platform. If youâre not an early riser the 8.15am start might be a tough ask â but weâre sure the pics of you in Lotus position with the city looking all sexy in the background will be good for the gram. Donât worry, you wonât have to lug a yoga mat up there with you, but donât forget to wear yoga gear if you want to stand a chance of getting into downward dog without flashing the whole of north Greenwich. Sessions start from ÂŁ50 and run on June 16, 23 and 30 at The O2. Want more exercise with altitude? Find more rooftop yoga sessions in the city