Rosie Hewitson

America’s vast stretches make it possible for so many different kinds of landscapes to exist: dry deserts, lush green meadows, impressive mountain ranges, placid lakes and stormy seas. That means there is something for every traveler, whether that’s walking among the biggest trees on the planet, crunching across miles of salt flats, hiking to see the tallest waterfall on the continent, or peering into the depths of the Grand Canyon, awestruck and exhilarated. Nature’s show is always the best performance, and if we plan ahead, we can get front row seats. It’s impossible to catalog all the incredible natural wonders of our country, but here is a tantalizing look at our favorite 16, based on repeated visits, the fact that you’ll reliably see what’s wonderful about this site and, in some cases, four-seasons availability (although for sure you’ll want to check weather and local reports before making the trip). Put your phone on “do not disturb,” bring water and prepare to spend time luxuriating in the natural beauty before you. Your itinerary can be loose when you’re inhaling the wonders of raw scenery… move slowly and appreciate the land’s ever-varied offerings which have existed for millennia.

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

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

This weekend’s a big one. We’ve a bumper bank holiday on the cards. Lucky Londoners will have four whole days off for the Easter bank holiday, starting from Good Friday on April 3 to Easter Monday on April 6. Looking for ways to fill all this free time? Time Out has got your back. We’ve picked out all the best Easter events and activities happening this weekend, from Good Friday club nights and themed pub crawls to spring fairs and flower tours.  There’s also plenty of culture to put in your diary too. Catch two highly-anticipated theatre productions from across the pond: the #MeToo interrorating John Proctor is the Villain with a Lorde-loving soundtrack and Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, the Tony Award-winning play from Ghanaian-American playwright Jocelyn Bioh set over the course of a single working day at a West African hair salon in Harlem. There’s also a chance to take a look at Turner Prize-winner Veronica Ryan’s huge body of work at the Whitechapel Gallery, pick up new shoots at the Horniman Museum’s plant fair and spend the evening at the Tate Modern listening to improv jazz.  Or, head to one of London’s best bars or restaurants and take in one of these lesser-known London attractions. This is also a great time of year to explore London on a budget and without the crowds. Plus, lots of the city’s best theatre, musicals, restaurants and bars offer discounted tickets and offers. What are you waiting for? Put your coat on. Start planning: here’s our roundup of the be

April 2026: The sun is shining, spring is finally in full swing, and London’s landmarks look all the more magnificent for it. The month of April is an exciting one for the city’s attractions, not least because of the long-awaited launch of the all-new V&A East. There’s also the gorgeous Tulip Festival at Hampton Court Palace and the first full month of the Schiaparelli exhibition at the V&A proper. Plus, at the London Marathon on April 26, you’ll get to cheer on thousands of brave souls and see the likes of Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace and Big Ben in one fell swoop. If you haven’t already gotten round to it, be sure to check out our 2026 preview for more unmissable London events on the horizon.  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 mixture of iconic institutions known throughout the world and (comparatively) lesser-known gems that we’d argue are just

London summer has officially kicked into gear. And that means that the Wimbledon Tennis Championships – aka the oldest, and arguably the very best, tennis tournament in the world – is back very, very soon.  This year the tournament is happening from Monday June 29 - Sunday July 12 2026. Thousands will be descending on SW19 to see the matches go down in real life but live screenings will be peppered all over London for thousands more who missed the ticket ballot or can’t be bothered to queue in the hopes of getting in day of.  With a jug of Pimms in one hand and a punnet of strawberries in the other, you’ll hardly know the difference. Even better – most watch parties won’t cost you a single penny. So, pack your picnic blanket, fill your flask and pull up a pew at a summery screening near you. Most haven't been announced for 2026 yet, but check back and more will be added closer to the time. RECOMMENDED: Our full guide to Wimbledon 2026.

As spring deepens into summer, a soporific, herbaceous scent starts to waft through the air and a purple hue brightens our fields and forests. It’s lavender’s time to bloom.  The deliciously fragrant purple flowers are at their peak between June and September, reaching their zenith in August, when the bees and bumblebees get to enjoy a pollen bonanza. Not only do they smell great, but at London’s glorious lavender fields, the mauve flowers create epic backdrops, perfect for a scenic picnic or your Instagram feed.  There are endless varieties, each with its own colour palette and distinct aroma, from pale lilac to deepest indigo. In London itself, Kennington Park, Kew Gardens and Vauxhall Park are top destinations for lavender-fanciers. Or make a day of it and head to whole farms dedicated to the fragrant blooms just outside the capital, in Kent, Surrey and Hertfordshire. Here are some of the best places to find beautiful fields of lavender in and around London this summer.  Best places to see lavender at a glance 📸 Best for photoshoots: Castle Farm 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Best for a family day out: Mayfield Lavender 🚇 Best for car-less Londoners: Vauxhall Park 💐 Best for picking-your-own: Hitchin Lavender  RECOMMENDED: The best things to do outdoors in London.

Easter is an underrated holiday. It doesn’t get anywhere near as much hype as Christmas, but is almost as good. Sure, you might not get sacks full of presents, but you still get an excuse to stuff your face with chocolate, tuck into a big roast dinner, and a whole four-day weekend to spend however you like. This year, this glorious double bank holiday lands between Good Friday on April 3 and Easter Monday on April 6. The only thing standing between you and a glorious four days of fun is figuring out how to fill all your extra time off. Don’t worry – as always, Time Out’s fun-loving editorial team have your back. There’s tons to do in the capital over Easter weekend, from checking out spring flowers and other kid-friendly activities to making the most of the spring sun (thankfully the weather isn’t lookimg too bad!) at one of London’s top rooftop bars and parks. You could also spend your time checking out a free art exhibition or, of course, treating yourself to a proper pub roast on Easter Sunday. The big weekend is still a way off, but rest assured we'll be keeping this page updated with all our top things to do in London this Easter, as they're announced. RECOMMENDED: Check out our eggcellent guide to Easter in London.

June in London is pretty much as good as it gets. It’s hot but not too hot. Festival season is in full swing. And there’s the blissful anticipation of months more gorgeous weather ahead, perfect for picnicking, spilling out onto pavements outside pubs, exploring parks, or partying all day long.  There’s plenty of fun in store during the early days of summer, including the second edition of Lido festival (featuring CMAT and Maribou State), the return of SXSW London, and blockbuster exhibitions on Anish Kapoor and Frida Kahlo.  Plus, the capital truly comes into its own this month: beer gardens are at their prime, the city parks are at their prettiest, the open-air theatre season gets going and eating alfresco is on the cards at some of London’s best restaurants. Plus, expect to see long queues in south west London as tennis fans line up to bag a place at the epic Wimbledon championships.  RECOMMENDED: Plan a great summer with our guide to London’s best music fests Get ahead of the pack and start planning your perfect July in London. 

We know that London is the best city in the world. But like any metropolis, it can also get a bit much sometimes. Occasionally, what you want isn’t to drink cocktails in a trendy bar after seeing the hottest Gen Z bedroom popstar at the Islington Assembly Hall, but a little peace and quiet, actually. Enter: the weekend getaway, invented by the Victorians (probably), there’s a reason why Londoners have been taking sojourns to the seaside on sunny bank holidays since the 1800s.  Together, we’ve come up with a cracking list of our favourite day trip destinations near London. There’s something for everyone here, from historic cities and cute villages to sandy beaches and rolling countryside. We've included some recommendations for ace restaurants, quaint little pubs, and our favourite things to do at each destination on the list – all of which are close enough to the city that you can get there and back in one sweet day.  Best day trips from London at a glance 🍔 Best for foodies: Margate 🎭 Best for culture lovers: Stratford-Upon-Avon ⛪ Best for history buffs: Canterbury 🛁 Best for families: Bath 🐴 Best for hikers: New Forest 🍺 Best for pub crawls: Lewes 🏖️ Best for seaside fun: Brighton RECOMMENDED:✨The best day trips an hour from London👪 The best family day trips from London☀️ The best weekend trips from London🏘️ The best Airbnbs near London🌳 The best quirky Airbnbs in the UK This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial conte

April is an underrated month if you ask us. Winter is finally over and everyone starts to emerge from hibernation, ready to properly commit to socialising again. The sun has put in a few appearances, London’s parks and gardens are in full bloom and the city feels alive with all the possibilities of summer, but without all the sunburn and sweltering, sleepless nights.  Easter weekend is on the horizon, meaning a double bank holiday jam-packed with fun, from family-friendly days out to club nights galore.  There’s also a handful of spring music festivals, some cracking art exhibitions and theatre (including the first open-air shows of the year) and plenty more amazing things going on around the city, including the London Marathon and the Boat Race.  Check out our roundup of the best stuff happening throughout the month, and start planning an amazing spring now. RECOMMENDED: Find more inspiration with our roundup of the best things to do this week

Marylebone has been a fashionable area in London since at least the seventeenth century – as its catalogue of famous residents both real and fictional attests. The likes of Lord Byron, Charles Dickens, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Adam Ant have all called Marylebone home, as well as English literature’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes.  Today it’s a world-famous shopping destination – skip Oxford Street and instead amble along the much quieter and elegant Marylebone High Street, home to the famous Daunt Books – and a first-class foodie haunt that’s home to some of our favourite London restaurants, from St John’s newest outpost to Michelin-starred fusion spot AngloThai and world-famous celeb hangout Chiltern Firehouse (which is currently closed for refurbishment after the fire got a bit out of hand). 🏘️ Ultimate guide to where to stay in London This being central London, there are plenty of historic attractions to check out too; tourist trap Madame Tussauds, art museum the Wallace Collection and concert venue Wigmore Hall all draw big crowds. Mostly, though, people come here to wander the gorgeous Georgian streets, soak up the classy vibes and do a bit of browsing around the neighbourhood’s many chic boutiques. Now, isn’t that just as refined as it gets.  RECOMMENDED:The best restaurants in MaryleboneThe best hotels in MaryleboneExplore London by area

This little shop on Hackney Central’s Clarence Road is a veritable utopia of vinyl. Run by John Coxon, the guitarist for cult 90s rock band Spiritualized, alongside Liam Casey, who formerly ran the Pacific Social Club café on the same site (and still makes great coffees), the shop has shifted the collections of some of music’s most respected names, including Rough Trade founder Geoff Travis and Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor. From Soviet-era bootlegs to Yoruba 78s, you’ll struggle to find a more varied collection of records anywhere in London; Atlantis offers the best deals on records, cassettes and more from all corners of the globe.

Italian restaurant group Big Mamma is famed for its maximalist vibes, and it’s going all out for the inaugural Easter egg hunt at its Canary Wharf joint Barbarella. The extremely OTT, 70s-themed restaurant has worked with ‘disco ball artist’ Sophie Lopez to design 20 glitzy Italian-themed Easter Eggs, decorated with various prizes on offer and hidden amongst the skyscrapers of London’s financial district. Fancy some free dolci, homemade pasta or even a full meal for two on the casa? Give Big Mamma’s Instagram account a follow for clues, make your way over to Canary Wharf from 11am on Easter Sunday and get searching. 

In our age of mind-boggling CGI and AI-optimised everything, it’s easy to forget how much pleasure can be had from the simple optical tricks of mirrors and lights. But not for Julio Le Parc. A key figure of the Kinetic and Op Art movements of the 1960s, the pioneering Argentinian artist has been making illuminated, kinetic and participatory works for seven decades, and is still making art at the ripe old age of 97. This major retrospective celebrates his visionary seven-decade career, spanning from from his arrival in Paris in the late 1950s to his resurgence in the 2010s, with over 60 colourful, immersive (and extremely Instagrammable) works.

Highbury wine bar Top Cuvée’s seems to outdo itself year after year with its ever-popular Easter egg hunt for grown-ups, and 2026 is no different. The enfants terribles of London’s natty wine scene have once again partnered with ethical choccie purveyor Tony’s Chocolonely for the sixth edition of their cult event, with bags of Tony’s chocolate eggs and Top Cuvée totes on offer for up to 1000 hunters who complete the trail, and a covetable grand prize. There’ll also be sandos, plenty of wine and a few surprises throughout the day. Simply sign up online and rock up to Top Cuvée from midday on Easter Sunday to be in with a shout of taking home the goodies. Happy hunting!

After a successful first edition last year, we're getting a second helping of a festival that highlights one of the more unsung parts of our favourite movies, tv shows and games – the soundtracks. London Soundtrack Festival puts the scores front and centre, with a series of screenings, talks and performances celebrating the musicians who make fictional worlds sound so exciting, tense and emotional.  The genre-spanning programme takes place over the second weekend in April, spanning a mix of styles and genres. James Bond fans will be thrilled by Homegrown Heroes, a night of David Arnold scores and slick action movie sounds (Apr 9). There's also a masterclass on music for games, a talk on John Williams, and a screening of Brian de Palma’s Obsession (1976) (Apr 9) which will be introduced by Norma Herrmann, widow of the legendary composer Bernard Herrmann.

Munch your way through dishes from the great and the good of the capital’s restaurant scene at this sprawling culinary festival in the picturesque surroundings of central London’s Regent’s Park. New Syrian brunch joint Aram, hyped Dalston gastropub The Prince Arthur and masters of Pan-Pacific cuisine Los Mochis are among the restaurants peddling plates and appearing at the event for the first time this year. If you’re not in a food coma by the end, there’ll also be kitchen masterclasses, chef talks and tastings to get involved with. Our advice? Have some Rennies on hand. 

This literary festival focuses on one of our era’s most exciting genres: crime. Now firmly part of London’s literary calendar, each year it hosts a top-notch line-up of crime and thriller authors in a rich programme of talks, panels and interviews. Over 100 authors and experts will feature over the three-day programme of panels, Q&As, book launches and industry networking events, culminating in the Fingerprint Awards, an annual reader-voted awards ceremony celebrating the very best new writing in the genre. Details of the 2026 line-up are yet to be announced, but we’ll be conducting a thorough investigation in due course.

Organised by the people behind Percolate and Love International festival in Croatia, mid-September’s electronic music one-dayer Waterworks is a final chance to squeeze every last drop of festival fun out of the summer. And for the first time since it began, it’ll span two whole days. Across five stages in west London’s Gunnersbury Park, there’ll be a total of 83 sets from dance music heavyweights covering every genre. The big names on the programme include Alex Kassian, babyschön, djrum, Midland and Sofia Kourtesis. That’s on top of B2Bs from Bradley Zero and Erol Alkan, Christian AB and Craig Richards, Raresh and Sonja Moonea, and OK Williams and Skee Mask, Call Super and Objekt, and Sully and Special Request. You’ll struggle to find a festival line-up more packed with world-class selectors than this. 

Tate Modern kicks off its 2027 season with a huge exhibition examining Claude Monet’s relationship with time. The gallery’s first ever exhibition to focus exclusively on the works of Impressionism’s founding father will feature loans from across the globe, brought together to examine how the French painter evoked the rapid pace of modern life through fleeting, transient, impressionistic moments in time, and will feature key works including ‘Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare’ (1877) and ‘Poplars on the Epte’ (1891–1897). 

Tate Britain starts the year with a retrospective on British and Afro-Caribbean artist Sonia Boyce (Mar 24-Aug 22). Beginning with her emergence as part of the Black British Arts Movement of the 1980s, the is major retrospective will delve into Boyce’s fiercely experimental 40-year career, bringing together large-scale installations, photography, collage, drawing, film and sculpture, including installations never shown before in the UK, and key works such as her Devotional series and early pastel drawings and collages.

What is it? London’s most credible major rock venue. Built in the 1920s as a cinema at a cost of £250,000, this Grade II-listed building is a grand old dame, with a very showy stage design based on Venice’s Rialto bridge (for some reason). It was built as a variety hall and cinema in the 1920s – which explains all the art deco touches that prevail – and took off as a rock venue when entrepreneur Simon Parkes bought it for one English pound in 1983. Why go? To be part of London music history. Brixton has played host to countless icons throughout storied past; The Smiths played their last ever gig here, The Clash played some landmark shows at the venue, international acts from Bob Dylan to Madonna have stopped by, while Blur and Oasis were regulars at the height of Britpop.  More recently, it’s hosted several-night residencies by local band The xx and indie icons LCD Soundsystem, as well as hosting ceremonies for the NME Awards and Mercury Prize.  And despite recent controversies – the venue remained closed for 16 months after its license was suspended in 2022, when a crush resulted in the tragic deaths of two people – it’s still a must on the touring schedules of some of the world’s biggest bands.  Don’t miss: Although it’s echoey when half-full, the 5,000-capacity space is popular because the raked standing area gives great sightlines from the floor. So if you’ve given up on standing at gigs because you usually find yourself staring at the back of some lanky bloke’s head for

St Paddy’s isn’t just a one-day affair at the two central London branches of Waxy O’Connor’s; it’s a five-day bender featuring loads of entertainment and lashings of Guinness. Head to either of location – the sprawling superpub at the bottom of Wardour Street or the smaller outpost on Rupert Street – for top craic, live music every night of the festival (and all day on March 17th), and non-stop live sport, including the Six Nations’ Super Saturday, Premier League footie and Cheltenham Festival racing. It’s basically the piss-up of all piss-ups, and needs to be seen to be believed. Wearing a shamrock-green bucket hat is, of course, encouraged.   

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

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

It’s crunch time in the 2025/26 football season, with the first domestic competition of the year concluding this weekend when Arsenal and Manchester City meet at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final.  Mikel Arteta’s league-leading Gunners will be attempting to secure their first piece of silverware in almost six years, having reached their first final since they won the FA Cup in 2020. Meanwhile Pep Guardiola’s City side will be attempting to turn their season around after being held to a draw against West Ham in the league over the weekend to give their title rivals a nine-point lead at the top, and exiting the Champions League during the week. Not got a ticket to Wembley but keen to catch the nail-biting action somewhere with a bit more atmosphere than your living room? Many local fans will be heading to the boozers and beer gardens of north London to watch Rice, Saka and Eze battling it out against Haaland and co. So if you fancy joining them, look no further than our roundup of London’s best Gooner pubs. RECOMMENDED: London’s best football pubs. 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 score at home. This place has a pretty strict home crowd only policy, and you’ll want to get down early to secure a good spot in front of its one screen.  66 Drayton Park, N5 1ND The Tollington Arms Another lively

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

Do you occasionally have a flutter on the National Lottery? Your chances of winning millions might be pretty slim, but whether you win big or not this weekend, your ticket means guaranteed prizes in the form of free or discounted entry to dozens of top attractions across the UK. Returning from Saturday March 7 to Sunday March 15, the National Lottery’s Open Week is a way for National Lottery-funded venues across the country to say thank you to participants for their part in raising £32 million each week to support charitable causes. The annual celebration offers free or heavily discounted access to visitors who present a lottery ticket upon entry at hundreds of celebrated venues, from historical sites, art galleries and museums to wildlife hotspots, sporting venues and even some lovely independent cinemas. In the mood for a bargain day out in the city? Here are loads of great London venues participating in National Lottery Open Week 2026. London venues with free or discounted entry for National Lottery Open Week 2026 The Tower of London What? 50 percent off for two adults and four children When? March 7-14  Kensington Palace What? 50 percent off for two adults and four children When? March 7-8 and March 11-14 Hampton Court Palace What? 50 percent off for two adults and four children When?  March 7-8 and March 13-14 Photograph: Shutterstock Tate Modern What? Two for one entry to the Theatre Picasso exhibition When? March 7-15  Eltham Palace and Gardens What? Free entry fo

Somerset House is a truly year-round venue. Through the winter months, the palatial arts complex on the Strand is home to one of the city’s most atmospheric winter skating pop-ups. In spring and autumn it hosts all manner of interesting art installations in its magnificent neo-classical courtyard. And at the height of summer, the same space plays host to some of the season’s most memorable outdoor concerts, as part of the Somerset House Summer Series. With festival line-up announcements coming thick and fast, and another glorious London summer beginning to take shape, the riverside arts venue has revealed the headliners for this year’s Summer Series, with eleven eclectic gigs scheduled from 16-26 July.  As usual, it’s an eclectic line-up, encompassing everything from indie and rock to neo-psychedelica, contemporary jazz and soul. RECOMMENDED: The best music festivals in London to book for 2026. The biggest names in this year’s series include breakthrough pop sensation Naïka (Thursday 16 July), veteran indie band The Cribs (Monday 20 July), ascendent art-rock outfit Black Country, New Road (Wednesday 22 July) and psychedelic rockers The Flaming Lips (Saturday 25 July). Also headlining are Palace (Friday 17 July), Thee Sacred Souls (Saturday 18 July), Lightning Seeds (Sunday 18 July), Agnes Obel (Tuesday 21 July), Venna (Thursday 23 July), Raf-Saperra (Friday 24 July) and Benjamin Clementine (Sunday 26 July).  Tickets for all gigs will be priced between £30 and £60, with the g

One of the longest-standing and largest queer film festivals, BFI Flare celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2026. The springtime film bonanza at the BFI’s South Bank home is a major calendar fixture for London’s queer communities and cinephiles alike, and with exactly one month to go until the 2026 edition of the festival kicks off, the line-up has just been revealed. Film buffs attending this year’s edition of Flare will be able to catch 31 world premieres among the 65 feature films and 62 shorts on the programme, alongside a stellar curation of classic queer cinema, and the usual programme of talks, workshops, exhibitions and DJ nights that make the BFI Southbank such a buzzy place to be during the festival.  The BFI Flare 2026 Line-Up Opening Night Film  As previously announced, the 40th edition of Flare will open with the world premiere of American documentary maker Jennifer Kroot’s riotous new film Hunky Jesus, which follows social justice movement the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence as they prepare to host their legendary annual Easter Sunday drag contest in San Francisco. Alongside the premiere, long-serving member Sister Roma will be present for a talk exploring the ‘sistory’ and impact of the movement alongside UK chapter members. Image: Hunky Jesus Special Presentation Taking place halfway through the festival, the Special Presentation for Flare 2026 is Kiwi director Paloma Schneideman’s ‘tender, unflinching’ coming of age drama Big Girls Don’t Cry, following 14-ye

The Southbank Centre’s early summer festival Meltdown has long since established itself as a key date in London’s cultural calendar.  Each year, the arts centre invites one celebrated artist to curate the festival, getting them to hand-pick a roster of their favourite musical talents and nightlife promoters to star across a two-week programme of gigs, participatory events and after-hours parties at the prestigious venue. Such luminaries as David Bowie, Yoko Ono, David Byrne, Grace Jones, Nick Cave, and Little Simz have previously stepped into the role, with news of who will curate each year’s edition of the festival always hotly anticipated. Anticipation for this year’s event is surely set to reach fever pitch now that it’s been revealed that it’s being masterminded by none other than former One Direction member, multiple BRIT and Grammy Award-winner and all-round pop superstar Harry Styles. Cue the ear-splitting screams. Taking place from Thursday June 11 to Sunday June 21, during the iconic London venue’s 75th anniversary celebrations, the 31st edition of Meltdown will see the ‘Watermelon Sugar’ singer draw on his eclectic musical influences to curate a line-up traversing pop, soul, rock and electronica, and featuring plenty of young British talent.  ‘My goal as the curator is to share the music and art that I love, and to celebrate the rich history of the venue,’ Styles said of his part in the latest edition of the festival. ‘We both share a passionate belief that music is

A Valentine’s date doesn’t have to be anything extravagant. Sure, a fancy meal is nice and all, but St Valentine’s Day is really about giving quality time to your favourite people, whether that be a partner, pals or a situationship that you’re trying to turn into something a bit deeper.  This year V Day falls on a Saturday, which means there’s an awful lot of time to fill. But, like we said, that doesn’t have to involve big spending. There are all sorts of romantic experiences going on in London that won’t burn a gaping hole in your wallet and have you resenting your other half for the next six months.  For artsy couples, there are free events to get your creative juices flowing or for food-obsessed lovers, there are loads of affordable meals to bond over. However you want to impress your hot date, we’ve got you covered. Here are all of London’s best cheap and free things to do with your Valentine. RECOMMENDED: The best alternative things to do in London for Valentine’s Day. The best free things to do in London this weekend.The 10 cheapest Michelin-starred restaurants in London. The best free and cheap things to do for Valentines Day in London 2026 1. Celebrate love at a mid-week Museum of the Home Late A few days before the main event, the Museum of the Home is keeping its doors open after hours for a lovely wholesome night of music and making. A zine workshop with Tummy Ache Magazine will invite you to create a zine that pays homage to your personal love story, a pop-up ma

When it comes to blockbuster sporting events, few things come close to the Super Bowl. The NFL’s showpiece fixture is less a match and more a full-blown cultural phenomenon – and while the game takes place thousands of miles away, London will be very much awake for it.  In 2026 the Super Bowl heads to Santa Clara. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, around 45 miles southeast of San Francisco, the California city won a fiercely competitive bidding process to host the game (a privilege that reportedly costs close to $100m once security and production are factored in). It’s not Santa Clara’s first rodeo either, having previously hosted the Super Bowl 50 back in 2016. As ever, the action on the field will be joined by all the familiar Super Bowl trimmings: high-stakes drama and, most importantly, a globe-stopping half-time show. I mean, who could forget Beyoncé? And Rihanna? Prince? Pop-culture milestones one and all. So sure, you could watch it from your sofa with a multipack of crisps. But for anyone after a proper Super Bowl experience – big screens, booming sound systems, flowing pints and American food – London has plenty of late-night parties worth staying up for. These are the best places in the city to catch it. When is the Super Bowl?  Super Bowl LX takes place on Sunday February 8, kicking off at around 11.30pm GMT. Who is performing at the Super Bowl? Bad Bunny was announced as the headline performer for the Super Bowl Halftime Show back in September. Green Day are

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 photography exhibitions 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 fan

Dun, dun-dun-dun dun, dun-dun-dun dun! If there’s one thing that’s gotten us through the dark, cold nights of January 2026, it’s been tuning into BBC 1 three nights a week to hear that melodramatic theme music. With traitor-on-traitor violence, multiple secret relationships, some truly iconic knitwear and more gasp-worthy plot twists than Claudia Winkleman has had spray tans, this might just have been the best series of the camp-as-Christmas gameshow yet. Can Rachel and Stephen’s Celtic alliance take them all the way? Does Faraaz know more than he’s letting on? Will James finally vote out an actual traitor? We’ll get all the answers from 9pm tomorrow during the climactic finale. And if you fancy watching it somewhere with a wee bit more atmosphere than your living room, there are a bunch of live screening parties happening across London, many of which are free to attend. So don your cloak, grab yourself a chalice of wine and settle in to catch all the drama at one of these London venues screening the final episode. The best Traitors finale screening parties in London Oslo, Hackney Hackney Central bar and nightclub Oslo will be showing the finale on two huge screens, with tables of 4, 6 and 8 available and £5 pints until 10pm.  1A Amhurst Road, E8 1JB. From £11.33 for a table of 4. Picturehouse, Finsbury Park Witness all the drama unfold from the cabaret-style seats in this plush cinema’s event screening room. Tickets include bottomless popcorn and a free Traitor’s Tipple co