Rosie Hewitson

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

January 2026: Happy New Year, London! With its freezing temperatures, quiet social calendar and tedious obligation to commit to some sort of punishing diet or fitness regime, January gets a bad rep from Londoners, but we promise you it’s not all bad! The first month of the year is a great time to catch up on culture in the city, with smaller crowds at the big attractions and plenty of major exhibitions in their final weeks. If you’re trying to get out of your overdraft after a big December, London’s got your back too; we’ve just updated our list of the city’s best cheap eats, and we’ve also got some great offers on to help you make the most of your cash. And even if all you’re planning to do this month is stay indoors under an electric blanket watching The Traitors, it’s still a great time to get organised; our 2026 preview offers a sneak peek at the unmissable great art, theatre, cinema and things to do in the city over the next twelve months, so you can start planning a 2026 to remember. No matter what your vibe, tastes or interests, there is always something to do in London. Whether you want to see cutting-edge art exhibitions, iconic attractions, secret spots, world-beating theatre, stunning green spaces, it’s all here and you can probably fit all this in and more still barely feel like you’ve scratched the surface of the city. And that’s before you factor in all those historic London pubs, the latest must-visit restaurants and vibrant LGBTQ+ venues. And if you need some

Happy New Year, London! 2025 was a cracking year for our ol’ town. It gave us the Paddington musical, a new instalment of Bridget Jones and the inaugural SXSW London.  But now it’s the start of a brave new year. Struggling to feel enthusiastic about 2026 amid the freezing temperatures and joyless health kicks that January usually entails? We get it, but we’re here to convince you that there’s absolutely loads of fun stuff to look forward to in the coming twelve months.  From blockbuster exhibitions and some thoroughly exciting new museums to major festival appearances, venue makeovers and big West End debuts, 2026 is already looking very promising indeed for our beloved London town. So forget the crash diets and Dry January; if there’s any resolution worth making at the start of another year, it’s a commitment to get out there and make the most of our fabulous city, starting with our list of the 26 best things to do in the capital in 2026. RECOMMENDED:⭐ Time Out’s Best of 2025🗓️ Time Out’s 2026 Preview

If you’re anything like us, the last couple of weeks have been a blur of cheeseboards, daytime pyjamas, endless glasses of Prosecco, back-to-back sitcom reruns and a seemingly never-ending supply of choccies. But unfortunately, the Crimbo Limbo can only go on for so long. It’s time to crash-land back to reality. January gets a pretty terrible rep, given that it usually means freezing temperatures, depleted bank balances and some sort of punishing fitness regime, but we promise it’s not all bad. If you can bear to crawl out from under your duvet, there’s plenty of fun stuff to do to stave off those January blues. Start the new year as you mean to go on by making the most of all of January’s cultural spoils. See the Royal Academy’s Kerry James Marshall exhibition before it closes, see a magical five-star revival of Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Into the Woods’ at the Bridge Theatre, or watch Felicity Kendal in a moving revival of Tom Stoppard’s ‘Indian Ink’. You can also squeeze in one last glide around one of the city’s pop-up ice rinks before they close, or catch our favourite exhibitions of 2025 in their final weeks.  Or, get stuck into cosy season by heading out on a winter walk, visiting a warming pub or picking up spoils from London’s best markets. Get out into the cold, and have a blast!  Start planning: here’s our roundup of the best things to do in London this January In the loop: sign up to our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.

We all know that it costs an arm and a leg to enjoy a day out in London these days. Step out the front door and you’re probably already down a tenner – so once you’ve factored in transport, food, drinks and tickets for whatever takes your fancy, you’re looking at some serious damage to your poor old bank balance. But not all is lost: you’re in a cultural capital, for goodness’ sake. Let’s not forget that we can enjoy some world-class art in world-class galleries, right here on our doorstep, free of charge. Pretty much every major museum in London is free to enter, as well as every gallery – and while the temporary exhibitions will usually take a fee, you can still see some of the greats (we’re talking your Monets, Michelangelos and Emins) at places like the Tate Modern and National Gallery without splurging a penny of your hard-earned cash.  Below, you’ll find all of the free art and photography exhibitions happening in London right now, but that’s not everything: don’t miss out on the permanent collections of some fantastic free museums and galleries right here. Enjoy. RECOMMENDED:All of the free galleries and museums in LondonExplore our full guide to free LondonThe best art exhibitions in London

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

As much as Christmas trees, turkey and a mildly overworked Santa have become staples of the festive season, so has the music that soundtracks this cheer-soaked time of year. Christmas songs don’t just endure – many end up becoming the crown jewels of an artist’s entire career. From golden oldies by Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Bing Crosby, to ‘80s icons like Wham! and The Pogues, to modern favourites from Ariana Grande and Leona Lewis, these tunes have embedded themselves into our seasonal rituals. What is the best-selling Christmas song of all time? That honour still belongs to Bing Crosby’s 1942 classic ‘White Christmas’. With over 50 million sales, it’s not only the biggest Christmas record in history – it’s the best-selling song of all time, full stop. Guinness World Records first crowned it back in 1955, and it’s held onto the title ever since. What is the most-streamed Christmas song of all time? Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ may trail Crosby in pure sales (a mere 16 million), but streaming has turned it into a seasonal juggernaut. It finally hit No.1 in both the UK and US decades after its release and became the first Christmas song to pass 2 billion Spotify streams. Hot on its heels: Wham!’s ‘Last Christmas’ (1.83 billion) and Brenda Lee’s ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’ (1.27 billion). Are there any new Christmas songs for 2025? The past decade has delivered plenty of modern holiday staples, from Ariana Grande to Sabrina Carpenter to Cher. As

January is here, which means we’re entering a brand new year. Despite all the January goals, resolutions and hopes we have for 2026, it’s no secret that January can ostensibly become the most depressing month of the year. The days are short and dark, it’s cold, and our bank balances are severely depleted after the December festivities. But, we’re here to help you realise it’s not all bleak.  For one thing, it’s the ideal time to discover London on a budget and without the crowds, while many of city’s very best theatre and musicals, restaurants and bars – ranked definitively by Time Out's crew of expert local editors – offer discounted tickets and cheap meal deals to entice you out of the house during the coldest and darkest days of the year. Believe it or not, but January can also a time for celebration, too. London will once again be playing host to plenty of Burns Night ceilidhs, haggis suppers and poetry readings commemorating Scotland’s most famous poet, plus dinners and parades in celebration of the Lunar New Year, which falls nice and early in 2025, on January 29. If you’re someone who likes to commit to a month of sobriety or a punishing new exercise regime at the start of the New Year, London definitely has your back too. The city is home to countless excellent sports clubs and fitness classes, plus dozens of glorious parks and spectacular walking routes, and there’s arguably nowhere that better caters for the sober and sober-curious. Of course, if you’d rather just s

January 2026: Take advantage of the big post-Christmas lull to beat the crowds and explore London’s museums this January. The capital’s iconic institutions will be blissfully quiet as you catch up with last year's biggest openings, from Wes Anderson at the Design Museum to Marie Antoinette Style at the V&A. Don't miss the final weeks of the Barbican's iconoclastic fashion show Dirty Looks, or neglect to navigate your way to British Library's intriguing Secret Maps exhibition, both of which close this month. Or find out more great things to see this year with our pick of 2026's cultural highlights. Museums are one of the things that London does best. This city boasts grand institutions housing ancient treasures, modern monoliths packed with intriguing exhibits, and tiny rooms containing deeply niche collections – and lots of them are totally free to anyone who wants to come in and take a gander. And with more than 170 London museums to choose from, there's bound to be one to pique your interest, whatever you're in to.  Want to explore the history of TfL? We’ve got a museum for that. Rather learn about advertising? We’ve got a museum for that too. History? Check. Science? Check. 1940s cinema memorabilia, grotesque eighteenth-century surgical instruments, or perhaps a wall of 4,000 mouse skeletons? Check, check and check! Being the cultured metropolitans that we are, Time Out’s editors love nothing more than a wholesome afternoon spent gawping at Churchill’s baby rattle or some

January 2026: A new year has arrived, and Londoners are bunkering down for a month of joyless health kicks and penny pinching as we all attempt to physically and financially recover from the largesse of the festive season while riding out the quietest and coldest days of the year. But we promise it’s not all bad! January is a great time to catch up on some of the culture you missed during the pre-Christmas chaos. Loads of great art shows are entering their final days – like Cecil Beaton at the Portrait Gallery, Kerry James Marshall at the Royal Academy and Emily Kam Kngwarray at Tate Modern – while London’s major attractions tend to be light on tourist crowds at this time of year. If you’re quick, you can also catch the final days of some of the city’s festive ice rinks and winter pop-ups too. Happy New Year, London! The London Eye. Hyde Park. Wembley. The Shard. London landmarks are iconic for a reason!  Even if you’ve lived here for years and pride yourself on steadfastly avoiding ‘tourist traps’, you really ought to check these places out at least once. Marvelling at the capital’s museums, galleries, monuments and parks is a London rite of passage, whether you’re a day-tripper visiting for the first time, or a lifelong local who knows the entire Tube map by heart.  But where to begin? Right here of course, with our massive list of the capital’s 50 best attractions. We’ve thought long and hard about what is worthy of your London bucket list, so you can expect to find a real

Even on the coldest, darkest days of winter, London is always bustling with fun things to do, with a jam-packed calendar of unmissable events to keep you entertained during most people’s least favourite time of the year. And yet, even we culture-mad London superfans have to admit that every once in a while it’s nice to have a little break from it all. When the capital’s hustle and bustle leaves you feeling a little drained, you can find some escape from the crowds and hordes of tourists by getting up and getting out just for a day. In dire need of crisp country air, a relaxing spa day or a gorgeous, long walk? These day trips from London are all under two hours from Zone 1 and will give you the relief you need this winter. RECOMMENDED: The best day trips from London Best winter day trips at a glance 🪄 Best for magic-lovers: Warner Bros Studio Tour 🎄 Best for the light deprived: Go Wild 2025 at Wakehurst  🍴 Best for the always peckish: Chapel Down Luxury Dining Experience 🏞️ Best for crowd haters: Broadway, Worcestershire 📱 Best for digital detoxers: Rocheser Christmas Fair

It's probably not time to ditch that warm coat, but March is still the month where you can bid a tear-free goodbye to bleak winter and start getting excited about spring in London. That means golden carpets of daffodils brightening up the parks, tables tempting the first intrepid diners to eat al fresco, and the first of a summer-long flood of exciting events and festivals to look forward to. Things are finally hotting up, and that means it’s time to finally come out of winter hibernation and set about exploring the city’s fantastic parks and gardens, world-class museums and galleries, and unbeatable restaurant and bar offerings. From St Paddy’s to Mothering Sunday, Pancake Day to International Women’s Day, the third month of the year packs in a whole host of big celebrations. Find out about all of these, and much more, in our roundup of the best things to do in London over the month. RECOMMENDED:🎨 The best art exhibitions opening in London this March🎭 The best theatre shows opening in London this March🍽️ The best new London restaurants opening this March🎤 The best gigs happening in London in March

Agatha Christie is widely regarded as the greatest ever crime novelist, and the Queen of Crime will be under investigation herself during the British Library’s 2026 season. Coinciding with the centenary of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, one of the prolific writer’s most important and influential novels, the autumn exhibition will delve into the origins of iconic characters Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, while also exploring the the eclectic range of interests that inspired the English author’s works, from archaeology to pharmacology, and illustrating the profound impact her ouevre continues to have on the whodunnit genre. 

Tony and Olivier Award-winning English artist and stage designer Es Devlin gets her first UK museum show this autumn. The Design Museum’s landmark retrospective will delve into the stories behind the London-based designer’s 30-year practice encompassing everything from kinetic stage sculptures to monumental art installations. Developed in close collaboration with Devlin – who has worked on everything from the Olympic opening ceremony to the Superbowl half-time show – it will feature rare maquettes, sketches, annotated texts and process materials, as well as new large scale installations conceived especially for the exhibition. 

The Wellcome Collection’s big spring exhibition is a deep dive into perceptions of ageing. Expect the Euston Road institution’s typical blend of art, science and pop culture in the 120+ artworks and objects on display, which range from16th century woodcuts made by German printmaker Sebald Beham to Deborah Roberts’ contemporary collages exploring Black childhood. There’ll also be a spotlight on the Wellcome Trust-funded health research project Age of Wonder – one of the largest studies of adoloscence in the world – and an exploration of how societies can adapt to improve everyone’s experience of ageing.

Best known for his eye-popping, fantastical fashion photography for titles including British Vogue, i-D, W, Vanity Fair and Another Man, British photographer Tim Walker has spent the past five years photographing the nation’s LGBTQ+ trailblazers in preparation for this major exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. His first show in London since the V&A’s acclaimed exhibition in 2019, it will be accompanied by a book featuring contributions from Travis Alabanza, Russell T Davies, Shon Faye, Lisa Power and Joelle Taylor.

Photography fans are in for a real treat this month, as Nan Goldin’s seminal series The Ballad of Sexual Dependency goes on display in full for the first time ever in the UK. Staged at the St Davis Street branch of Gagosian, the exhibition marks the 40th anniversary of the publication of Goldin’s formative photobook, featuring 126 photographs shot between 1973 and 1986. An intimate, wistful portrait of Goldin’s downtown NYC community it includes photographes of pop culture icons like Cookie Mueller and Greer Lankton, shot in Goldin’s signature saturated, moody hues. Don’t miss a very rare chance to see it in all its glory.

It’s difficult to talk about Ana Mendieta’s work without first mentioning her death. The Cuban-American artist was just 36 years old when she died in suspicious circumstances in 1985, after allegedly falling from the 34th-floor Manhattan apartment she shared with her husband, the revered modernist sculptor Carl Andre.  As a rising star of the avant garde art scene in 1980s New York, there’s no knowing what brilliant work Ana Mendieta might still be producing if her career hadn’t been cut tragically short, but it’s doubly unfortunate that the work she did produce is often obscured by conversations about her husband’s murder trial. Great news, then, that the Tate Modern is putting the art front and centre this summer, in the largest UK exhibition of Ana Mendieta’s work to date, featuring many pieces never exhibited in this country before. Delving into the Havana-born, Iowa-raised artist’s groundbreaking practice spanning performance, photography and video art, it will explore Mendieta’s deep affinity with the natural world, while making the case that she deserves to be remembered as one of the most important artists of the 20th century. 

The National Portrait Gallery has been on a solid run in recent years, particularly when it comes to exhibitions on contemporary portraiture – we loved its exhibitions on The Face and Jenny Saville last year – so we have high hopes for this, the biggest exhibition to be shown in the UK to date from the iconic photographer Catherine Opie. Curated in collaboration with the artist, the exhibition will span the Ohio-born artist’s three-decade career, exploring representations of home, family, identity, politics and power structures through Opie’s vivid and colourful portrait photographs. Works featured in the exhibition will span her first major work, Being and Having (1991), her portraits of LGBTQ+ friends inspired by court painter Hans Holbein, to her Baroque-like portraits of artists.

The UK’s largest queer film event returns to the BFI Southbank (and to the BFI Player online) for its 40th edition from March 18-29. The line-up has yet to be announced, but it's typically a wide-ranging, international array of new films and rediscovered classics exploring every hue of the LGBTQIA+ rainbow. Cinephiles can also expect a host of expanded-reality works, panels, Q&As and after-hours events. Check the BFI website for the full schedule.   

Arriving in Clerkenwell in May 2026, this major new culture venue dedicated to illustration is set to be the biggest venue of its kind in the world. Its founder and namesake, Sir Quentin Blake, is one of the most prolific British illustrators of all time, having drawn the covers for most of Roald Dahl’s novels and countless other children’s books over his near-60-year career. Blake has been trying to get a gallery dedicated to illustration off the ground for a long time. Several years and £12.5 million later, his dream to create a space where the ‘extraordinary wealth of illustration can be exhibited, discussed and celebrated’ is finally becoming a reality. An 18th century building previously used for waterworks will house the new centre, which will be made up of three different galleries, a library and learning spaces, And, of course, most important of all – there will be a gift shop and a café. Be sure to check out its inaugural exhibition, MURUGIAH: Ever Feel Like…, a solo show for one of illustration’s most exciting rising stars, delving into the artist’s kaleidoscopic, sometimes macabre world influenced by Hollywood film, sci-fi, Japanese anime and 2000s era pop-punk. 

London’s jazz scene has gone from strength to strength in recent years, and 2026 looks no different, thanks to the arrival of a major new late night venue in the city centre. Founded in NYC’s Greenwich Village in the 1980s, the iconic jazz club Blue Note is arriving in Covent Garden in spring of this year, taking over the basement venue beneath St Martins Lane hotel. The new outpost follows recent openings in Tokyo, Milan and Rio de Janeiro, the subterranean club will feature two performance spaces – a 250-capacity main room and a 100-capacity secondary room – and will boast a full-service kitchen open for dinner throughout the week, and a 1am late license on weekends.  The OG venue in Manhattan bills itself as the ‘jazz capital of the world’, with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Ray Charles and Chick Corea all gracing its hallowed stage over the years, so if its London expansion attracts half as many legendary names, London jazzophiles are in for a real treat. 

Having closed the doors of its last home all the way back in 2022, the attraction erstwhile known as the Museum of London will finally reopen at its new Smithfield home in 2026, where it will be known as London Museum; a catchier name, for sure, but an absolute nightmare for anyone trying to find it on Google.  The new venue will boast an underground gallery space in the old Great Northern Railway depot and a big window in the market’s old salt store allowing visitors to watch trains carry passengers through Farringdon – a feature meant to connect the museum to the ‘London of today’. A decade in the making, it’s set to arrive towards the end of the year, just on time for the museum’s 50th anniversary.  Details of its inaugural exhibitions are being kept under wraps for now, but watch this space!

You need only look at the shelves piled high with unibrowed fridge magnets, tea towels, plant-pots and earrings in the average museum gift shop to know that Frida Kahlo is one of the 20th century’s greatest icons.  Featuring over 130 works alongside documents, photographs and memorabilia taken from Kahlo’s archives, Tate Modern’s blockbuster summer exhibition will explore how the Mexican painter became the kind of cultural phenomenon whose likeness adorns everything from novelty socks to limited-edition eyeshadow pallets. The first major London exhibition on the feminist icon since the V&A’s fashion-focused 2018 show Making Her Self Up, it will include some of her most iconic paintings, as well as the work of more than 80 fellow artists, from her contemporaries to the later generations she inspired.  All in all, it promises to be a fascinating exploration of the transformative role of women artists in the 20th century, as well as notions of fandom and the diverse communities who claim Frida as their own. Keep an eye out for the on-sale date as it’s sure to be a hugely popular show. 

Happy New Year, art lovers! January tends to be a pretty quiet month for London’s art scene – what with all the collectors and gallerists off sunning themselves – but it’s the perfect time to get organised for the year ahead. And what a year it’s gonna be for the city’s gallery-botherers, with blockbuster exhibition after blockbuster exhibition on the way over the next twelve months. There’s monumental sculpture, pointillist landscapes and flashy photography, massive names from Renoir to Hockney, and so many big shows by women that the Guerrilla Girls might have to get a new schtick. RECOMMENDED: The best theatre shows in London for 2026. Stay tuned for loads more details on this year’s exhibitions, as many of the smaller commercial galleries are yet to announce their schedules for the coming year. And in the meantime, get this lot in your diary. The 12 best art exhibitions coming to London in 2026 1. Frida: ‘The Making of An Icon’ at Tate Modern Featuring more than 130 artworks, including some of Frida Kahlo’s most iconic paintings, the Tate Modern’s mammoth summer exhibition will explore how the Mexican painter became the kind of cultural phenomenon whose monobrowed likeness adorns everything from novelty socks to limited-edition eye shadow pallets. The first major London exhibition on the feminist icon since the V&A’s one in 2018, it promises to be a fascinating exploration of the transformative role of women artists in the 20th century, as well as notions of fandom and th

Black Friday has been and gone, London’s festive markets, Christmas shops and department stores are buzzing with activity, and the big day is less than three weeks away. So if you haven’t already made some serious headway on your gift shopping, you might be starting to feel a little panicked. But don’t worry about it! Time Out’s 2025 Christmas Gift Guide just landed, and it’s packed full of great pressie ideas, from nifty gadgets and stylish accessories to covetable homeware and fun stocking fillers. And we’ve also got some excellent ideas for what to get the small people in your life. Landed your primary school-aged cousin in the family Secret Santa, or got a boisterous little niece or nephew you usually get a little something for? Time Out’s Theatre Editor and resident kids’ expert Andrzej Lukowski has picked out the perfect thing; these cutesy little things from the venerable toymakers Ty (of Beanie Babies fame).  Setting you back less than the price of a central London pint, the Ty Beanie Bouncers have topped renowned toy shop Hamleys’ list of the most in-demand toys for Christmas 2025. If you’ve walked past the Regent Street shop in recent weeks, you might have noticed that its window display is dedicated to the colourful little spherical plushies.  Essentially a cross between a Beanie Baby and a bouncy ball, they come in a huge range of different designs, including the cheerful snowman pictured above, some adorable little animals, both real (we’d die for Banana the Monk

It’s been a busy couple of years for London’s iconic Victoria & Albert museum, with a whole bunch of major development projects on the go across the city. First, there was the £13 million revamp of the museum’s childhood-focused Bethnal Green outpost, which reopened as the Young V&A to  in June 2023 to critical acclaim, picking up the Art Fund Museum of the Year Award the following summer.  This spring then saw the opening of another very well-received project, the V&A East Storehouse, a ‘working museum’ purpose-built to house half a million objects from the museum’s various archives while offering Londoners a peek behind the scenes to see how a museum goes about curating and caring for the items in its collection.  And now, the museum group has announced the opening date for the second part of its east London development project, V&A East, which is due to open to the public on Saturday, April 18 2026. Opening just shy of a decade after it was first announced as part of the £1.1 billion development of Stratford’s East Bank cultural quarter, the 7,000 square metre museum will bring together exhibits that speak to both east London’s creative heritage and the voices that are shaping contemporary culture across the globe today.  Photograph: V&A East Museum Why We Make Galleries render © JA Projects Also announced today are details of the free-to-visit permanent galleries, new commissions and temporary exhibitions that comprise the museum’s opening displays. These include the Wh

It’s a huge weekend on the London social calendar, with Halloween parties galore, Day of the Dead fiestas, a smattering of early Bonfire Night celebrations and the final few days of October half-term entertainment all happening over the next couple of days.  But while that sounds really fun, it also sounds...expensive! Blown all your money on a killer Halloween costume and/or a week of entertaining the kids? No worries; it’s also an excellent weekend for wallet-friendly fun around the capital.  From great museum lates to fun pop-ups, here’s where to have fun this weekend without spending any more of your paycheque before November has even started.  RECOMMENDED: All the best things to do in London this weekend.  The best free things on in London this weekend 1. Learn about Nigerian modern art at a Tate Late  Inspired by its new exhibition Nigerian Modernism, the Tate Modern’s October late features talks, workshops and curator chats exploring food cultures, diaspora fashion and key African artworks in the Tate collection. There’ll also be plenty of music with DJ sets curated by Native Soundsystem, Tone and Sample Chief.  Tate Modern, SE1. Fri Oct 31. Free (some events are ticketed). 2. Or go rococo at a V&A Late hosted by Riposte  Have you heard the rumours that Marie Antoinette was actually queer? This late drawing off the V&A’s blockbuster exhibition all about the fated French queen, will be delving into the lesbian-coded history and symbolism of Marie Antoinette, in an ev

The clocks have gone back, there’s a chill on the air and central London’s fancy dress shops suddenly have queues out the door. It can only mean one thing; Halloween is just days away! Pretty soon, the streets will be full of the raving dead, as Londoners head out to Halloween parties around the city. And with the spookiest holiday on the calendar happening to fall on a Friday this year, we’re even more spoilt for choice than usual when it comes to late-night antics on All Hallows’ Eve. Still trying to decide which club night deserves to be graced by your haunted labubu costume?  We know which one we’ll be doing the monster mash at, because one north London party has topped our list of London’s best Halloween parties for 2025, thanks to a killer line-up headlined by Kurupt FM and special guest Aitch.  With the likes of DJ AG, Eliza Rose, SBTRKT, Mike Skinner, Eats Everything, Yung Singh and Flowdan featuring across three huge rooms, Drumsheds Presents Halloween is promising more bangers than Dracula has had bloody dinners this October 31.  The north London superclub – which recently announced major upgrades ahead of its 25/26 winter season – will be kicking things off nice and early at 7pm, meaning partygoers will have eight whole hours of raving ahead of the 3am curfew.  The venue has also told partygoers to ‘Expect the unexpected,’ which we imagine means it’s got some spook-tastic surprises planned for the scariest night of the year. We reckon those high-tech screens in Roo

October is a huge month for culture in the capital. Hot on the heels of the London Film Festival, Frieze London, London Cocktail Week and a whole bunch of theatre and gallery openings, it’s time for the city’s literary scene to take centre stage.  London Literature Festival arrives at the Southbank Centre this week, with 13 days of talks, readings, workshops, screenings, performances and award ceremonies celebrating the written and spoken word. Both rising stars and literary titans appear on a stacked line-up co-curated by Rebecca Lucy Taylor, AKA Self Esteem. The BRIT Award-nominated singer (and former Time Out cover star) will be taking over the venue on Saturday November 1, appearing in conversation with Dolly Alderton to discuss her new book, A Complicated Woman, before hosting a Saturday night music and spoken word variety show featuring some of her writers and performers, including Travis Alabanza, Tom Rasmussen and Pam Ayres. So celebrate the festival’s arrival this week, we asked the pop star, her line-up and a few names from the wider festival programme to tell us which one book they would take to a desert island. Rebecca Lucy Taylor, AKA Self Esteem  Photograph: Scarlett Carlos Clarke ‘I wish I could remember who suggested I read Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés. I was about 30 and so very angry, and this was the first time I read that my anger was perfectly reasonable. Not only was it reasonable, it was NATURAL. Were I on a desert island

In a crowded field, The Serpentine is earily one of London’s most influential modern art galleries. Nestled in leafy Kensington Gardens, its pair venues on either side of Hyde Park’s winding artificial lake stage some of the most adventurous temporary art exhibitions in town, alongside huge names like Marina Abramović, Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons.  The gallery has been on a solid run in recent months, with a well-received edition of its annual Serpentine Pavilion designed by Bangladeshi artist and architect Marina Tabassum, and two buzzy autumn shows in the first major solo exhibition from young British artist and video game designer Danielle Brathwaite Shirley and the latest show from Peter Doig – famed for being the most expensive living artist in Europe – inspired by sound system culture.  And there are more big shows on the horizon, with the Serpentine having just announced its 2026 programme, featuring two very different British painters, and Indian video artist and a landmark anniversary commission.  Image: David Hockney David Hockney Kicking of 2026 is an already-announced show from one of Britain’s most iconic living artists, David Hockney (Mar 12-Aug 23) at Serpentine North. The octogenarian’s first exhibition with Serpentine will focus on recent works, including the celebrated Moon Room, reflecting the painter’s lifelong interest in the lunar cycle, plus several digital paintings created as part of his Sunrise series, paintings made on an iPad during a prolific pe

It’s the first weekend of October, and London is looking properly autumnal, but while the leaves are turning brown and the Regent’s Park hedgehogs prepare for hibernation, the capital’s cultural scene is bursting into life. There’s arguably no better month of the year for culture in London, with the London Film Festival, London Literature Festival and Frieze London all arriving in the next couple of weeks, not to mention the plethora of major theatre and gallery openings happening in the coming days. But if all those hot tickets are burning a hole in your wallet, there’s plenty of free fun to be had too. From a harvest festival at the UK’s biggest beer hall to a makers market in honour of Black History Month, here are the best free activities around London this weekend.  RECOMMENDED: The best things to do in London this weekend. The best free things to do in London this weekend, October 3-5 1. Join a barn dance during the Blackhorse Beer Mile Harvest Festival If your memories of Harvest Festival involve bringing a tin of baked beans into primary school for a special assembly, it's time to update them. Walthamstow’s Blackhorse Beer Mile is celebrating the bounties of the season with all manner of country-style entertainment. The main venue is the cavernous Big Penny Social, which is hosting morris dancing and a barn dance with live music, but you can also enjoy tours and tastings, live country and bluegrass music, seasonal drinks specials and a hog roast the area’s taprooms

Everyone has heard of the Met Gala. Organised by fashion world A-listers, since it was first staged in 1948 the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute’s annual fundraising party in New York has grown into one of the biggest fashion industry nights of the year. These days, it attracts some of the biggest names in Hollywood and raises upwards of $30 million annually, with tickets to the invite-only spectacle costing upwards of $50,000 each.  The UK has never really had an equivalent event, but it looks like that might be about to change with the arrival of the British Museum Ball. London’s most iconic museum announced the party this morning, describing it as a ‘landmark, annual event’ that will ‘establish a new highlight on the international social calendar’.  Masterminded by the British Museum’s director Dr Nicholas Cullinan, the first edition of the ball is co-chaired by Indian billionaire heiress and arts patron Isha Ambani. It will take place over the closing weekend of the museum’s current exhibition, Ancient India: living traditions, with a pink theme that’s apparently inspired by ‘the colours and light of India’.  Featured among the 100+ names on its star-studded committee are celebrated designers including Miuccia Prada, Bella Freud, Philip Treacy and Giles Deacon, artists and writers like Zadie Smith, Grayson Perry and Hew Locke, fashion world elites such as Naomi Campbell and Edward Enninful, and A-list celebrities like Alexa Chung and Idris Elba. And with the e

It’s the big one! England’s Red Roses will be attempting to match the Lionesses this afternoon, as they play Canada in the Women’s Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham.  The home side might be the bookies favourite to get their hands on the trophy, but after suffering back-to-back final losses in the last two World Cup finals, it’s far from a foregone conclusion. In a repeat of the 2014 final – the last time England took the trophy home – they’ll need to conquer Canada, who knocked out six-time World Cup winners New Zealand to make it to Twickenham. Thanks to Asahi’s Rugby Like Never Before campaign, more than 1,000 pubs across the UK (and dozens in London) have screened every match of the tournament, making it the most accessible women’s rugby tournament to date. On top of that, the final is on track to break records, with crowd of 82,000 expected to descend on Twickenham Stadium, which will make it the most attended women’s rugby match in history.   Tickets to the fixture have long since been sold out, but thousands of women’s rugby ultras and newly converted fans are preparing to join the scrum at watch parties across the city. Planning to watch with them? Here’s our roundup of London’s greatest spots to watch every scrum, tackle and try in the Women’s Rugby World Cup Final 2025. The best places in London to watch the Women’s Rugby World Cup Final 2025 The Official Fan Zone at Battersea Power Station Situated in the shadow of Battersea Power Station’s iconic 103-metre tall

The first week of autumn is drawing to a close, and the weather is looking appropriately crisp – dare we say even a tad chilly – over the coming weekend. As the weather gets colder and darker, it might be tempting to spend all weekend indoors making roast dinners, taking baths and reading novels, particularly for those of us whose payday doesn’t arrive until next week.  But if you’re willing to wrap up warm and get outside, there’s plenty of free fun to be had over your precious two days off. From a massive sporting fixture to a free arts festival in the London Docklands, these are the best free things to do across the city this weekend.  RECOMMENDED: The best things to do in London this weekend. The best free things to do in London this weekend, September 26-28 1. Watch the Red Roses take on Canada in the Rugby World Cup Final It’s the big one! England’s Red Roses have reached the final of the Women’s Rugby World Cup for the seventh tournament in a row. On Saturday afternoon they’ll face Canada for a chance to lift the World Cup trophy for the first time since 2014, and on home soil to boot. Tickets for the Twickenham fixture have long since sold out, but there are a whole bunch of pubs, sports bars and local rugby clubs across London that’ll be following the action, with plenty of free screenings on offer. Check out our roundup of the best ones here.  Various venues. Sat Sep 27, 4pm kick off. Free.  2. Learn about the rich past of SW3 at the Chelsea History Festival Som

Have you ever really done Christmas in London if you haven’t experienced the festive loveliness of Somerset House’s skating pop-up? Probably not, we’d argue.  A fixture of Somerset House’s winter programme since the riverside institution first opened its doors in 2000, the 900 square metre rink in the centre of William Chambers’s magnificent eighteenth-century courtyard it arguably the most scenic ice rinks in the capital, and certainly one of its most popular ones. Keen to go for a glide (or an awkward shuffle) around the ice this festive season? Here’s everything you need to know about the beloved winter attraction’s 2025 season.  Somerset House ice skating dates and prices Skate at Somerset House returns from Tuesday November 12 and runs daily (excluding Christmas Day) until Sunday January 11 2026. Tickets for hour-long skating sessions vary in price depending on when you’re visiting, starting from £11 for super off-peak times and going up to £26 for the most in-demand dates and times. Somerset House skating on-sale date Tickets for the 2025-2026 Skate season go on general sale on Friday September 26, but if you’re keen to secure tickets for one of the more sought-after dates, it’s worth signing up to the presale here for early access.  Once general sale goes live, you can get tickets on the Somerset House website here. Somerset House Skate Lates line-up Featuring DJ sets from a host of London’s most celebrated music and nightlife collectives, Somerset House’s Skate Lat