Rosie Hewitson

Most of London’s Christmas grottos are announced in September and October – this page will be updated accordingly. The great thing about having kids at Christmas is that you can vicariously relive the joy that comes with believing in Santa Claus. You may be a boring grown-up now, but it’s just as magical to watch your own little ones’ eyes light up as they see big man IRL. From a traditional Victorian hut to a gingerbread-themed alcove and the city’s only immersive black Santa experience at Noir Kringle, London has an assortment of grottos suited to every family. With help from Santa’s elves, each leaves kids with a special gift and a photo with the main man. Many also boast bonus Christmas activities from crafts and wintry trails, to film screenings and story time sessions. Be organised, though. Santa is a popular guy and often there isn’t enough of him to go round aren’t enough to meet the demand, particularly at peak times on weekends. So you’ll need to act fast to secure your slot and avoid tears and tantrums. Here are some great grottos in London to try for a holly jolly good time this year.  RECOMMENDED: Find more festive fun with our guide to Christmas in London.

London summer continues, and August music festival season is in full swing. This weekend, head to Victoria Park for the eighth edition of All Points East, which, as ever, has pulled together a top-notch line-up of headliners and support acts: Jorja Smith, Tems, Djo, PinkPantheress, Zara Larsson and Oklou are all on the bill this week. While on Sunday, rock and hardcore festival Outbreak takes over the APR stage with sets from Deftones, alongside Amyl & The Sniffers, Idles and JPEGMAFIA. If you’re after views with your music, Magazine Open–Air will be putting on a stekkar line-up of DJ sets all backed by views of London’s skyline by the River Thames on the Greenwich Peninsula, with shows from hard techno selector Sara Landry, German nu-disco and house producer Purple Disco Machine and tunes from RnB & Slow Jams.  Stay outside and get cultured while you’re at it by heading to south east London for the Greenwich + Docklands International Festival, which will see General Gordon Square in Woolwich turned into a dance arena on Friday, and Greenwich get taken over by a huge weekend festival. Or, grab tickets to a unique open-air Shakespeare production, which sees Tom Littler stitch together Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing into one continuous romantic saga spanning the years around the Second World War. Or, head to the Barbican, which has opened up its Sculpture Garden this week to host an open-air cinema.  It’s also the perfect time to plan another picnic or pub gar

King’s Cross will always be synonymous with its two huge, bustling train stations, which link London to the rest of the country via the National Rail, some major European destinations via the Eurostar, and the wizarding world via Platform 9¾. But there’s much more to this part of WC1 than Harry Potter tourism and harried pre-departure Pret visits. In fact, the neighbourhood has completely transformed in recent decades. At the turn of the century, King’s Cross was what an especially brazen estate agent might have described as ‘gritty’, an area dominated by industrial wasteland where the 90s rave scene flourished and the city’s more squalid vices found a natural home.  In the past quarter of a century, though, it has been completely transformed. Regeneration projects totally some £3 billion have seen 67 acres of former industrial land turned into some of the city’s swankiest office and retail space. Dozens of new restaurants, bars and entertainment spaces have popped up around Granary Square and Coal Drops Yard, along with major headquarters for the likes of Google and Universal Music.  And yet, King’s Cross is far from the kind of soulless corporate playground that such a massive cash injections tend to birth. Replete with interesting museums and music venues, wild green spaces and a pretty stretch of Regent’s Canal, it still feels like a real London neighbourhood.  There’s something for everyone here, whether you want to pore over some rare texts at the British Library, brow

It’s the neighbourhood where all the cool kids go out to play, so it’s hardly surprising that you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to drinking options in Hackney. Cocktail bars are cutting edge, but in a way that’s not too try-hard. Wine bars bring high-end vino down to earth. And some of the country’s best breweries are found in the area, with hip, hop-heavy taprooms for the beer-loving public to explore, as well as two of London's most hedonistic heavy metal dive bars. Browse through our list of the area’s best bars for boozing inspiration come day or night thoughout Hackney – including Stoke Newington, London Fields, Bethnal Green, and Hackney Wick. If you're hungry, here are Hackney's best restaurants. And if you’re looking for the best bars in Dalston, there are so many there’s another list dedicated entirely to them.  The best bars in Hackney at a glance: 🍻 The best dive bar: Blondies 🍸 The best place for a cheap martini: Rasputin’s 🥃 The best spot for whisky: The Natural Philosopher ⏰ The best place for a very late drink (until 4am): A Bar With Shapes For A Name 💀 The best heavy metal bar: Helgi’s RECOMMENDED: Try out the very best bars in London.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor, and has done far more than her fair share of drinking in Hackney. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Now and again, it’s nice to forget that you’re a real adult with real adult responsibilities. Sometimes, you just need to switch off from the daily toils of being a grownup and be reminded of the simple joys in life – like how fun bubbles can be or how darn cool dinosaurs are. London has plenty of things going on that can help with that. In fact, this city is really one big adult playground. Here, grownups can zoom down giant slides, play pretend in mad escape rooms, put on their rollerskates and scribble with crayons at restaurants without anyone batting an eyelid.  So, for just a while, forget about your pension plan and ditch your daily routine, here’s how to feel like a kid again in the capital.  RECOMMENDED: The 50 best things to do in London for actual children

London summer continues, and August music festival season is in full swing. This weekend, head to Victoria Park for the eighth edition of All Points East, which, as ever, has pulled together a top-notch line-up of headliners and support acts: Jorja Smith, Tems, Djo, PinkPantheress, Zara Larsson and Oklou are all on the bill this week. While on Sunday, rock and hardcore festival Outbreak takes over the APR stage with sets from Deftones, alongside Amyl & The Sniffers, Idles and JPEGMAFIA. If you’re after views with your music, Magazine Open–Air will be putting on a stekkar line-up of DJ sets all backed by views of London’s skyline by the River Thames on the Greenwich Peninsula, with shows from hard techno selector Sara Landry, German nu-disco and house producer Purple Disco Machine and tunes from RnB & Slow Jams.  Stay outside and get cultured while you’re at it, by heading to south east London for the Greenwich + Docklands International Festival, which will see General Gordon Square in Woolwich turned into a dance arena on Friday, and Greenwich get taken over by a huge weekend festival. Or, grab tickets to a unique open-air Shakespeare production, which sees Tom Littler stitch together Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing into one continuous romantic saga spanning the years around the Second World War. Or, head to the Barbican, which has opened up its Sculpture Garden this week to host an open-air cinema. It’s also the perfect time to plan another picnic or pub gard

We all love Bank Holidays, and if you ask us, the best is saved until last. There’s something about late August Bank Holiday that hits different. It feels like the last gasp of a long, hot summer; a final chance to soak up the sun and lap up the spoils of the season. This year's three-day weekend takes place from Saturday 29th of August to Monday 31st of August. When it comes to parties, the year definitely saves the best bank holiday till last, mainly thanks to the fact that it means Notting Hill Carnival is back. August in London wouldn’t be the same without Europe’s biggest street party. If you’re heading west for the big day, make sure you look at our guides to the soundsystems, timings and fringe events, so you’re fully prepped for the party.  The long weekend also brings some of London’s finest music festivals. All Points East, Rally and Body Movements will be popping up again for the weekend with stellar line-ups featuring some huge acts. Or, venture south for Greenwich + Docklands International Festival, south London’s annual celebration of outdoor theatre, which will fill the streets with spectacular installations and community shows.  Make it count! RECOMMENDED: Our full guide to the bank holiday in London.

In this city, you’re never too far away from a picturesque park, a lovely pub or a cracking cinema, and on any given day, you’ve got a wealth of world-class art shows, blockbuster theatre and top museum exhibitions to choose from if you’re twiddling your thumbs. Use your spare time wisely with our roundup of the best things happening in London today, which gets updated every single day and includes a specially selected top pick from our Things to Do Editor seven days a week. Bookmark this page, and you’ll have absolutely no excuse to be bored in London ever again! Find even more inspiration with our curated round-ups of the best things to do in London this week and weekend

Our feet are sore, our lungs are full of dust, and our noses are well and truly sunburnt. But we soldier on, because festival season isn’t over yet.  This year Londoners have been absolutely spoilt for choice when it comes to fezzies. With something taking place almost every weekend throughout the warmer months, you can forget trekking across the country to live in a field for five days; simply hop on the tube and before you know it you’re listening to your favourite artists, tinny to hand, knowing that there’s a hot shower and a cosy bed waiting for you once the day is over.  Haven’t booked one yet? Don’t worry, because we’re keeping this list updated with London day festivals you can still cop tickets for. So get into gear before you miss huge acts like Tyler, The Creator, Lorde, Blood Orange and Deftones who are all set to take to London stages in the coming weeks. Have a scroll through our comprehensive guide – which we keep meticulously updated with all the latest line-up announcements – and see what takes your fancy. RECOMMENDED: ⛺ The best UK music festivals🌍 The best festivals in Europe

Ten or fifteen years ago, Walthamstow might have been described as ‘up and coming’ neighbourhood. In 2026, though, it has very much arrived. For several years now, this haven at the end of the Victoria line has been the go-to neighbourhood for Islington elites and Hackney hipsters searching for cheaper rents, more space to bring up their little Islas and Oscars. Which means that nowadays, as well as Europe’s largest urban wetland and longest open-air market, E17 is also home to a buzzy community sauna, a swanky new theatre and a plethora of craft beer taprooms and fourth-wave coffee shops. But it’s also place that works hard to preserve its industrial heritage, historic buildings and proper East End spirit. Planning to stay a(nother) day in East 17? Here’s a handful of great things to do, as recommended by our local editors.  RECOMMENDED: Our London area guides

April 2026: We've recently given this list a reshuffle to make sure we're recommending you the finest burgers in town. Smash burgers still take up quite a lot of real estate and with good reason; they're a little bit more managable then the hefty burgers that were in style a few years ago. But one particularly big boy makes the grade; the burger at Dove in Notting Hill, of which there are only 10 made a day. Smaller, smashier offerings can be found at French import Dumbo in Shoreditch, Jupiter Burger in Hackney, and Chuck's in Fitzrovia. Want a bit of both in one burger? Try the offering at the Empire Tavern in Hackney. Our current No 1, Hanbaagaasuuteeki in Victoria, offers burgers with an Asian-twist. Fancy a burger? Of course you do. The simple meat-between-buns combo is always a winner, whether for a quick fast-food fix or a decadent, gourmet feast. We’ve selflessly toiled away, trying and tasting a vast range of patties to compile this list of London’s best burgers, including the inescapable smash burger. London’s finest are utter meaty marvels: juice-seeping, oozing with flavour and far more complex in creation than they’re ever given credit for. Roll up your sleeves and tuck in to the best burgers in London right now. RECOMMENDED: These are London's best pizza restaurants. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

From top-tier off-licences to under-the-radar vintage shops, specialised delis, plant havens and everything in between, we’ve shopped (and dropped) our way through the capital’s retail offering. You really can buy whatever you want in this city – you just need to know where to look. That’s why we’ve put together this definitive list of the capital’s 50 best shops for 2026.  Featured in the list are a selection of excellent independent shops, some unmissable department stores, and a few delightfully quirky places you might have never known existed. Plus, for 2026 there’s an exciting pop-up from one of the world’s most beloved brands in one of London’s most renowned venues. This is our ultimate guide to shopping in the capital. Just don’t blame us if you get a little carried away next payday.  Rosie Hewitson is Time Out London’s Things to Do Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. RECOMMENDED:London’s best secondhand shops, picked by expertsThe best markets in London for shopping and browsingThe best car boot sales in London London’s best shops at a glance 📚 Best bookshop: Daunt Books 🏬 Best department store: Liberty 🍴 Best vintage shop: Blackout II 🥪 Best deli: Salvino 🎁 Best gift shop: Botanique

The UK’s largest beer hall might not sound like an obvious choice for a kid-friendly day out, but Big Penny Social promises plenty of ways to keep the whole crew entertained at its Family Summer Festival this bank holiday. Visitors of all ages are invited to take part in a community rug-making workshop, take part in a family pub quiz, or challenge one another to some friendly competion at on-site gaming hall Flukes’ family sessions. There’ll also be a local indie makers’ market, Ghanaian street food and live DJs, plus opportunities to soak up some rays on the sand at the venue’s summertime pop-up, the Big Penny Beach Club. And yes, parents, the beer will be free-flowing too.     

This hugely popular installation from British artist Luke Jerram has been on a global tour over the last eight years, visiting more than 30 countries since it was first displayed at Bluedot Festival back in 2018. An internally-lit, seven-metre-wide replica Earth made using detailed NASA imagery, the sculpture is supposed to give you a taste of the Overview Effect, the overwhelming sensation of connection to the planet and its inhabitants that astronomers describe when viewing our pale blue dot from outer space.  After previously visiting the Natural History Greenwich’s Painted Hall and Southwark Cathedral, it’s stopping off at Royal Festival Hall over the August bank holiday. Visitors can get up close to the sculpture suspended above the concert hall’s stage throughout the Saturday, or settle in for two atmospheric concerts. BBC Concert Orchestra’s ‘Sounds of the Earth’ (Friday August 28, 7.30pm) will feature heavenly works for strings, including pieces by Vaughan Williams and Oscar-winning composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, while Grammy winning American composer Eric Whitacre’s performance of the William Blake-inspired ‘Eternity in an Hour’ (Saturday August 29, 7.30pm) will feature choral voices alongside cello and electronic instruments.

Maximalist Italian restaurant group Big Mamma are behind a huge new summer food festival inspired by Italy’s Ferragosto celebrations in the heart of Shoreditch this weekend. In an effort to raise funds for the Felix Project and Shoreditch Trust’s Community Table, the people behind the ever-popular Gloria have teamed up with foodie friends including beloved local wine bar Passione Vino, chophouse chain Blacklock and contemporary Indian restaurant Kricket to stage a 300-person dinner party on the Museum of the Home’s front lawn.  Guests can expect a welcome drink, free-flowing Italian wine and a four-course feast featuring the best-loved dishes from the hosts’ menus, including gigantic antipasti platters, Gloria’s Pasta Freda, and Blacklock’s famous white chocolate cheesecake.And there’ll also be live entertainment, and a Tombola featuring prizes from loads more local legends, including Spanish restaurant Legado, wellness studio Masaj and boutique hotel Hart Shoreditch. At £75 a ticket, it’s a pretty sweet deal, made all the better by the fact that you’re also raising money for two brilliant local charities tackling food poverty. And you can bet it’ll make a fabulous addition to your ‘August in London’ Instagram reel too.

Built around a horseshoe corridor in a building that was once a cinema, this unassuming Walthamstow market packs a whole lot into its snug space, boasting 30 small shops selling an eclectic range of goods, from antiques and ceramics to stacks of old records, handmade greetings cards, vintage clothes, baking supplies, second-hand books and jewellery.  It’s a proper East End institution, where you’ll find a fun mix of bougie boutiques run by newcomers to the neighbourhood alongside units run by lifelong locals. Stop by on a lazy Saturday, grab a coffee from the on-site tearoom and spend the afternoon having a good old mooch. 

Pitchfork Music Festival is gearing up for another edition, with a jam-packed schedule of eclectic live music encompassing everything from avant-rock and post-punk to UK rap and deconstructed dance music.  This year’s headliners include Boston indie-rockers Horse Jumper of Love (Moth Club, Mon 2 Nov), electronic producer Actress (EartH Theatre, Thu Nov 5), Aussie electronic group The Avalanches (Roundhouse, Fri Nov 6), Chicago rapper Noname (Roundhouse, Sat Nov 7). Elsewhere on the line-up are the likes of Panda Bear, Elijah Wolf, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Working Men’s Club, Bloodsports and Kiwi jr. These are just some of the hugely eclectic line-up of 80 artists playing across a plethora of London’s best venues, including Colour Factory, Union Chapel, Village Underground, Earth Theatre, Royal Festival Hall and 93 Feet East.  Check out the full line-up here for a whole bunch of emerging talents you’ve likely never heard of but will no doubt feature on your Spotify Wrapped come December 2027. It’s basically the place to be if you consider yourself a music fan with a finger on the pulse.

Keen to see some live music this summer but disinclined to fork out hundreds on London festival tickets? King’s Cross’s Summer Sounds festival is the perfect solution. Coal Drops Yard is once again becoming the ultimate alfresco hangout this August for its free outdoor gig series. Visitors can catch an eclectic programme of gigs encompassing everything from classical and folk music to jazz and indie rock over the eleven day festival. Highlights this year include chaotic Americana-indie band Little Grandad (Aug 14); a showcase marking 35 years of jazz development charity Tomorrow’s Warriors featuring Mercury Prize-nominated vocalist ESKA (Aug 16); a cross-cultural performance of South Asian and Middle Eastern sounds blending the rubab, oud, qanun, cello, tabla, guitar and voice (Aug 17); an evening of beatboxing and DJ sets run by Queer Britain and Sounds Queer (Aug 19) and a session with the English Folk Dance and Song Society (Aug 21).  You don’t even need to book; simply show up from 6.30pm-8.30pm (or 1pm-6pm on Sundays). 

Every year, London’s famous river gets a whole festival of art installations, performances, and talks devoted to her watery charms, many of which are free to check out. This year’s Totally Thames Festival has scores of events throughout September, all dotted along riverside locations from Richmond to Barking & Dagenham. This year, look out for  The Waterfront Journals, (Sep 6), a promenade performance of New York City artist and AIDS activist David Wojnarowicz’s monologues, Turning the Tide (Sep 17-20), a site-specific film installation by Turner Prize-nominated artist Catherine Yass projected onto the columns of the disused Blackfriars Railway Bridge and Where the River Holds Us (Sep 27-28), a site-responsive opera on Victoria Embankment. There’ll also be a dance performance from ex-Rambert dancers in the atmospheric Brunel Museum Tunnel Shaft (Sep 24) and recitals aboard Victorian steamship the SS Robin (Sep 26). Old favourites will also be making an appearance, including the Great River Race (Sep 12) from Tower Hamlets to Richmond – where 330 crews from across the world spending the morning speeding down the Thames on wooden rowboats, many of them in fancy dress costumes – and the St Katharine Docks Classic Boat Festival (Sep 12-13), where visitors can clamber aboard more than 50 historic vessels. You can also join a river exploration session as part of Mudlarking Weekend (Sep 5-6), take part in paddlesports sessions and a fishing competition as part of Tidefest (Sep 6)

Tate Britain ends the year with an examination of the 50-year-long creative (and sometime romantic) relationship between Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. Featuring over 300 works, as well as a faithful restaging of Grant’s studio, relocated from the pair’s home in Sussex, it will explore the duo’s legacy as core members of the Bloomsbury Set, their commitment to freedom and self-expression, and the influence this had on British art, literature and society. 

London’s photography fans might have been dismayed that the major Nan Goldin retrospective that has been touring around Europe over the last few years never made it across the channel, but this brand new show at the Hayward Gallery should soften the blow. The American photographer and activist’s first institutional exhibition in the UK since 2022, its main focus is You Never Did Anything Wrong Part I (2024) and Part II (2026), a pair of abstract films scored by the composer Mica Levi and screened in bespoke spaces designed with architect Hala Wardé. Also shown will be Stendhal Syndrome (2024), which contrasts photographs of Goldin’s friends and lovers with classical art from museums around the world, and Memory Lost (2019–2021), exploring Goldin’s personal addiction history, plus a selection of photographic prints.

After a successful first edition last autumn new festival Jazz on Wick is back for round two this September. Created by the minds behind award-winning small festival Brainchild, Hackney Wick nightclub Colour Factory, nu-jazz collective Orii Community and Voices Radio, it’s doing a full-venue takeover of Hackney Bridge for a day-to-night celebration of jazz and adjacent astral sounds, featuring 9 stages and more than 50 artists. Highlights include a headline set from east London grime MC D Double E, who joins forces with electronic jazz band Zeñel for a jazz-meets-grime mashup set, a Fela Kuti tribute set from Natural Jazz, a set from. emerging neo-R&B artist Shae Univers, and a 30th anniversary celebration for the excellent British indie label Barely Breaking Even. And tickets start at £25, making it far cheaper than most London festivals. 

One of the newest Everyman cinemas in London is found around the back of Kings Cross Station, among the impressive  Featuring a Spielbuger kitchen and a luxurious bar alongside its three screens, it shows the latest blockbusters alongside a regular programme of throwback screenings, NT Live screenings and innovative Exhibition on Screen movies. It’s situated opposite the famous Central St Martin’s College so expect to be sharing some of the 278 seats with tomorrow’s trendsetters. And in the summer months it hosts Screen on the Canal, a popular pop-up cinema on the steps leading down to Regent’s Canal on the corner of Granary Square, where you can stop by to catch live Wimbledon screenings and a mixture of family-friendly classics and recent releases for free.  

Kerb, London’s OG street food market turned food hall operator, is popping up in SE16 this August with a new weekend food festival focusing on East and Southeast Asian flavours. Kerb Goes East will feature more than 50 traders peddling not just loads of top quality street food and drink, but also handmade crafts from some great indie brands curated by Urban Garden Fair. Head to the patch outside Corner Corner in Surrey Quays to sample Korean Mexican fusion bites from Komex, Singaporean curry puffs from Old Chang Kee, steak teriyaki donburi bowls from Oishī Don, chicken adobo from Filipino BBQ stall Fili Grillz or nasi goreng from Indonesian eatery Borobudu, followed by Hong Kong-style French toast from Cantoast Bakery or pandan, coconut and raspberry sandos from Lil Wong Bakes for dessert, with live music to enjoy while you feast. 

With commercial galleries closed for the month while collectors and gallerists head off to the Mediterranean on their yachts, and major institutions busy preparing for a hectic schedule of autumn openings, August is famously a pretty quiet month for London’s art scene.  But don’t let the lack of new exhibitions dissuade you from making time in your busy schedule of summer festivals, day trips and Aperol dates to see some art. Late summer is the perfect time to catch up on all those big shows you’ve not had a chance to see yet, not least because several of the year’s biggest and most talked-about exhibitions are entering their final days. Clear your weekend, and head to one of these in the nick of time.  RECOMMENDED: The top 10 exhibitions in London. Five amazing London art exhibitions closing in August 2026 Zurbarán at The National Gallery From still lifes of plump, waxy lemons to monumental saints, bloodied martyrs and ecstatic Virgins, baroque master Francisco de Zurbarán did it all. He painted vast multi-canvas scenes that once lined the walls of convents and monasteries across Spain, worked for private patrons, the court of Philip IV of Spain and clients across the Spanish Americas, where more than 100 of his paintings ended up. And now, improbably, many of them are at the National Gallery. The artist’s first UK exhibition is a chance to see more than 40 of his monumental, awe-inspiring pieces in the same room, thanks to major loans from the Louvre, the Art Institute of

Wherever you go tonight, you won't be able to miss England vs Argentina. Pretty much the whole of London will be glued to the TV screen from 8pm tonight, as the Three Lions take on the current world champions for a place in the World Cup final. And each triumphant goal celebration or agonising near miss will be accompanied by a surround sound of roars and groans, spilling out of houses and pubs in every corner of London. Still, why settle for secondhand excitement? Even if you’ve left it til today to figure out where to watch tonight’s game, it’s not too late to watch the match somewhere with bags of atmosphere. The keen beans might have booked tables weeks ago, Big Penny Social and Boxpark might have sold out in seconds, but there are still pubs, bars and public screenings taking walk-ins all across town. Show up early to bag a good spot for the most hotly-anticipated game since, well, the last international final – whatever happens, you won't regret coming along for the ride. RECOMMENDED: Where to watch the World Cup in London. The best walk-in venues for England’s World Cup semi-final Central London The Box, Piccadilly A 7,200 sports bar on the corner of Piccadilly Circus, The Box has plenty of room for walk-ins, and serves up some hefty World Cup-themed sharing platters alongside beer buckets and cocktail steins.  23 Shaftesbury Ave, W1D 7EF Mercato Metropolitano, Elephant & Castle  Spanning 17,000 square feet and featuring more than 40 food and drink vendors, the OG

We’ve seen screamers galore, a few absolute howlers, some controversial calls and a couple of shocking early exits. We’ve witnessed everything from turgid 0-0 draws (England vs Ghana) to edge-of-your-seat, five-goal thrillers (Argentina vs Egypt). We’ve heard the words ‘altitude’ and ‘hydration break’ more times than we care to remember, spotted dozens of American celebs in the stands, and shared literally hundreds of memes comparing Erling Haaland to a spring onion.  And now, after five weeks, 100 games and nearly 300 goals, 48 teams have been whittled down to just four, with the 2026 World Cup semi-finals taking place over the coming days. With England having reached another semi-final, the atmosphere in the capital has pretty much reached fever pitch.  But not everyone is supporting the Three Lions. London prides itself on being a gloriously diverse city, so you’ll find several watch parties for fans of the other semi-finalists across the capital too. Whether you’re an expat, a Scotland fan planning a hate watch, or just want to cheer on your sweepstake team, here’s where to go to watch Spain, France or Argentina with a home crowd in London.  RECOMMENDED: Where to watch the World Cup in London. When is each World Cup semi-final match?  France v Spain Tuesday July 14, 8pm BST England v Argentina Wednesday July 15, 8pm BST – find walk-in venues here. Best places to watch the 2026 World Cup semi-finals for each team France France’s World Cup semi-final happens to fall on

Hot on the heels of the Chelsea Flower Show, the first week of June sees the arrival of the second biggest event in the calendar for London’s flower fanatics.  London Open Gardens is back this weekend, offering dedicated horticulturists, amateur botanists and other admirers of a colourful wall trellis or an artfully deployed water feature the chance to have a peek at whole bunch of fabulous gardens across the city, the vast majority of which are not usually open to the public.  A £26 weekend ticket grants visitors access to over 120 venues around London, from floating oases and rooftop hideaways to sculpture gardens and historic plots. But there’s only so much time to snoop around, so before you go trekking round the capital in search of blooms, have a look at our roundup of eight brilliant gardens that are definitely worth taking a look at.  The 8 best gardens to visit during London Open Gardens 2026 The Sanctuary Garden at Freedom from Torture, Islington The Sanctuary Garden earned a silver medal at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2024. After that, it was relocated to Freedom from Torture’s London Therapy Centre in Finsbury Park and for most of the year, it functions as a place where survivors of torture can find calm and partake in horticultural therapy. Willow structures curve and sweep around the space, and plants like figs, nigella seeds, chickpeas, pomegranate and a strawberry tree have been installed to evoke happier memories of home. For Open Gardens, experts will be on

The 2025/26 football season has almost come to a close, but while most football fans are turning their thoughts towards this summer’s World Cup, Arsenal fans are gearing up for a huge weekend for their club. After winning their first league title in 22 years last week – which fans will get to celebrate at a huge trophy parade around north London this Sunday – Mikel Arteta’s team will be attempting to clinch a second major piece of silverware as they face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League Final on Saturday night in Budapest’s Puskás Aréna. Many Gooners will be flying to Hungary for the occasion, with a further 60,000 watching live at the Emirates Stadium. Not got a ticket for either, but still keen to catch the nail-biting action somewhere with a bit more atmosphere than your living room? Local fans will be also be heading to the boozers and beer gardens of north London to watch Ødegaard, Rice and Eze battling it out against Dembélé and co. So if you fancy joining them, look no further than our roundup of London’s best Gooner pubs. Just be sure to book where possible, or show up very early if not, because venues will be packed out for the club’s biggest game in 18 years. RECOMMENDED: London’s best football pubs. The best Arsenal pubs in London The Drayton Park A bar stool at the Drayton is basically as close as you can get to pitchside without a ticket. You can see the stadium from the window, which means you can hear the roar from inside the stadium when Arsenal sco

World-renowned multi-disciplinary festival SXSW launched its London outpost last summer, and it was a pretty major affair, with a whopping 600 talks, 600 gigs and 200 films screenings all taking place around Shoreditch over six days in June. And with the festival’s sophomore edition only a couple of months away (it takes place Tue June 2-Sun June 7) and we’re getting very excited about what’s in store. Some major names have already been announced for the conference and film strands of the multi-disciplinary festival, and now we also have details of the music line-up, with some huge artists set to headline. Taking top billing across the six-day festival are a host of internationally-renowned artists including critically acclaimed US rapper Earl Sweatshirt, Afrobeats star Tiwa Savage, moody electronic producer Sega Bodega, indie-rock outfit Circa Waves, post-punk band Shame, indie-pop singer Rachel Chinouriri, veteran radio DJ Pete Tong and Time Out’s 2024 Londoner of the Year DJ AG.  But it’s not just the big stars to look out for on the line-up. SXSW has long been known as a launchpad for emerging artists and a discovery platform for keen music fans looking for their next favourite band, and the London 2026 festival will be no different. As usual, the festival’s enormous, hugely eclectic musical programme has been co-curated with a variety of esteemed partners, including Clash magazine, Notion, and The Crack, emerging artist platforms like BBC Introducing, Bite Back and Gener

If, like us, your bank account is reeling after a double bank holiday spent tapping your credit card with joyful abandon, then you may be in need of a somewhat more frugal couple of days this weekend. Well, fear not. The second weekend of April is shaping up to be an excellent one for penny-pinching Londoners looking for a good time. From classical concerts on council estates to a major new regular flea market in east London, there are loads of reasons to get out and about this weekend, even if the glorious mid-week sunshine is, in typical fashion, set to be replaced by clouds and showers as the weekend arrives. Ah well. Us Londoners know better than to let a little rain ruin our plans.  RECOMMENDED: 📍 The best things to do in London this weekend.❌ London travel disruption this weekend: full list of tube and train closures for April 11-12. The best free things on in London this weekend, April 10-12 2026 1. Get a free dose of youth culture at Roundhouse Three Sixty Iconic Camden arts venue The Roundhouse will be buzzing this weekend, as the Three Sixty festival fills its walls with music, poetry and performances heralding a new generation of artists and fans. Book a free slot at interactive exhibition From Soundboy to Streaming and you’ll get to experience all the highs of London’s underground music cultures, as curated by local young people, including photographs, gig tickets, zines and more. Or tune in to Transmission, a live podcast recording with special guests from the

More bad news for London’s festival lovers. Just days after it was announced that Wireless festival would no longer go ahead this year after the UK Government revoked headliner Kanye West’s right to enter the UK, the capital’s summer music schedule has been dealt another blow, with the cancellation of the majority of dates for this year’s Lido festival.  Victoria Park’s newest summer event, the 35,000 capacity Lido festival debuted last June, with Charli xcx, Jamie xx and London Grammar headlining. This year’s sophomore edition of the festival was set to take place in mid-June, but the majority of the festival will no longer take place owing to ground conditions in the Tower Hamlets park.  RECOMMENDED: The best music festivals in London. Cancelled and rescheduled dates for Lido Festival Headline shows from Irish country singer CMAT on Friday 12 June and London indie rockers Bombay Bicycle Club on Sunday 14 June have been cancelled, while the festival’s third day, headlined by electronic duo Maribou State, has been rescheduled for the bank holiday on Monday 31 August.  Why has Lido Festival been cancelled and rescheduled? Announcing the cancellation on Instagram, festival organisers wrote, ‘LIDO 2026 is unable to take place in June to protect park ground conditions and will instead move to late August as a one-off date adjustment.’ They were also keen to stress that the changes ‘are in no way the fault of the artists or London Borough of Tower Hamlets (LBTH), all of whom have

The arrival of spring means that there are loads of fabulous new art exhibitions on the horizon in London, with major shows on the likes of Francisco de Zurbarán, Henry Moore and James McNeil Whistler joining excellent recent openings including Hurvin Anderson at Tate Britain, Michaelina Wautier at the Royal Academy and Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art at the V&A. But before all the shiny new openings, we must wave goodbye to the old ones.  Some excellent exhibitions are set to close this weekend, and there’s a good chance you’ve been too busy scoffing Easter eggs, frolicking among the spring flowers and generally making the most of the first rays of sunlight we’ve seen this year to spend your weekends gallivanting around the capital’s art galleries. But you’ve not got long left to see some of the winter season’s best openings. Here’s what to catch this weekend, just in the nick of time.  RECOMMENDED: The top 10 exhibitions in London. Four amazing London art exhibitions closing in April 2026 Turner & Constable: Rivals and Originals at Tate Britain The greatest of rivals – and two of Britain’s greatest painters – JMW Turner and John Constable are placed side by side in this starry exhibition. Although both had different paths to success, they each became recognised as stars of the art world and shared a connection to nature and recreating it in their landscape paintings. Explore the pair’s intertwined lives and legacies and get new insight into their creativity via sketchboo

Major news, music fans. Back in February it was revealed that former One Directioner, three-time Grammy winner and general pop culture icon Harry Styles would be curating the 2026 edition of Meltdown, following in the footsteps of David Bowie, Patti Smith, Grace Jones, Jarvis Cocker and countless other musical legends in selecting the line-up for the Southbank Centre’s renowned summer music festival.   And now, hot on the heels of his chart-topping fourth album Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally, the heartthrob has revealed the first wave of acts set to join him at the central London arts institution this June. On the bill for Meltdown’s 31st edition is an eclectic roster of established and up-and-coming artists, including plenty of artists born or based in the capital.  Harry Styles’s Meltdown opens with Warpaint’s only live date in 2026. The California-based indie rock outfit will play at Royal Festival Hall on Thursday 11 June in what promises to be an atmospheric opening for the eleven-day festival. The festival’s first Friday will feature gigs from folk singer Stephen Fretwell (Purcell Room, Fri 12 June), electronic producer Ninajirachi (Queen Elizabeth Foyer, Fri 12 June) and British jazz composer and multi-instrumentalist Shabaka Hutchings, who will be inviting a host of special guests to join him on stage at the Queen Elizabeth Hall for a one-off collaborative performance (Fri 12 June).  Also appearing over the opening weekend are experimental pop singer Erika de

Spring has finally sprung, and as the capital’s parks and gardens start to burst into life, its art scene is also a hive of activity. Some brilliant shows have opened in the last few weeks – there’s Beatriz González at the Barbican, Catherine Opie at the Portrait Gallery and Hurvin Anderson at Tate Britain, to name a few – but it’s about to get even busier for the city’s major galleries and museums.  Alongside the arrival of three massive new venues – V&A East (opening on April 18), the Museum of Youth Culture (opening on May 15) and the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration (also due to open in May) – Londoners can expect loads of brilliant exhibitions on everything from Gilded Age portraitists and monumental sculpture to Baroque masters and avant garde couture. Grab your diary and get planning with our guide to the truly unmissable shows coming up over the next few months.  10 London art exhibitions we’re most excited about in spring 2026 1. Michaelina Wautier at the Royal Academy Until relatively recently, few art historians believed that paintings bearing 17th century artist Michaelina Wautier’s signature could possibly have been made by a woman, instead attributing them to her brother or other male artists. And yet she did it all; flowers and still lifes, portraits and large-scale history paintings, mastering subjects typically reserved for her male peers. Twenty-five pieces feature in this landmark exhibition, the first in the UK to be devoted to this rediscovered mas

You’ve really gotta hand it to Tate. The UK’s largest gallery conglomerate is in a league of its own when it comes to programming season after season of blockbuster exhibitions. Hot on the heels of the institution’s widely lauded Tracey Emin retrospective, in the brief lull before its next major opening – Tate Britain’s Hurvin Anderson exhibition arrives at the end of the month – the institution has announced its full programme for 2027, and there are plenty of bangers to get excited about. From 18th century landscapes and 20th century ink painting to giants of impressionism and post-impressionism, here’s everything to look forward to next year at two of London’s biggest and best art galleries.  Tate Modern  Tate kicks off 2027 with a huge exhibition examining Claude Monet’s relationship with time at Tate Modern. The gallery’s first ever exhibition to focus exclusively on the works of Impressionism’s founding father, Monet: Painting Time (Feb 25-Jun 27) promises to bring together loans from across the globe to examine how he evoked the rapid pace of modern life through fleeting, transient moments in time.  Image: Yuan Jai, ‘Jadeite Cabbage’, (1999). Courtesy of the Artist and Vitamin Creative Space. Spring will see the arrival of the gallery’s inaugural exhibition focusing on the practice of ink painting. Focusing on 20th century artists in Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China, Ink (Apr 22-Aug 20) will examine this ‘enduring and profoundly philosophical’ discipline through