Rosie Hewitson

Any night out in London always comes with a lot of choices, but come New Year’s Eve, the number of options intensifies. You might find yourself faced with so many, in fact, that you opt for the much easier choice of staying in with bottles of booze, some mates and a banging Spotify playlist on the speakers. That’s not a bad way to spend NYE, but should you want to get out and about, there are plenty of spots that will be partying til the early hours that will give you a great night out. No matter how you decide say goodbye to 2025, there’s something for everyone in the city this year. Pro tip: don’t procrastinate over your planning for too long – events often quickly sell out, meaning all you could be left with is a serious case of FOMO. Here’s our guide to the best things to do on December 31. RECOMMENDED: The best places to watch the New Year's Eve fireworks in London. 

‘It’s CHRIIIIIISTMAAAS’. That’s right, after all the build-up, the big day has been and gone, but that doesn’t mean the festivities have to end. This weekend is slap-bang in the middle of those weird in-between days between Christmas Day and New Year, which means there’s still plenty of yuletide spirit to lap up. If you’re one of the lucky Londoners who’re staying put in the capital for the festivities, or you’ve come home after being cooped up with relatives for the last few days, there’s no need to resign yourself to a weekend sat on the sofa watching box sets among piles of empty Quality Street wrappers. This weekend, the capital is brimming with great things to do.  If you want to overdose on Christmas feels, there are glistening ice rinks to skate around, cute cookie-cutter markets, pantos, gingerbread town exhibitions, and light displays galore to fill your eyes with, all of which will warm the cockles of even the most Scrooge-like of city dwellers. 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 December  In the loop: sign up to our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.

To quote Noddy Holder, ‘It’s CHRIIIIIISTMAAAS’. After all the build-up, the big day is here, and if you’re one of the lucky Londoners who’re staying put in the capital for the festivities, there’s no need to resign yourself to a week sat on the sofa watching box sets among piles of empty Quality Street wrappers. Even on December 25 itself, the capital is still brimming with great things to do, whether you want to step wholeheartedly into Christmas or dodge all the Yuletide clamour.  If you want to overdose on Christmas feels, there are glistening ice rinks to skate around, cute cookie-cutter markets to pick up last-minute Christmas presents, pantos, gingerbread town exhibitions, and light displays galore to fill your eyes with, all of which will warm the cockles of even the most Scrooge-like of city dwellers.  Make the most of Christmas Day and shout on the brave souls swimming in Hyde Park’s lake for the Peter Pan Cup, queue up for one of St Paul’s Cathedral’s legendary carol services, 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 there, have a blast – and a very, merry Christmas from everyone at Time Out!  Start planning: here’s our roundup of the best things to do in London this December  In the loop: sign up to our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.

Monday 22 December: As the great Noddy Holder once said, ‘It’s Chriiiiiistmaaaas!’. If you’re staying in London this week, there’s a high likelihood your plans  mainly rewatching re-runs of the Royle Family with a large glass of fizz in your hand and a selection box nearby at all times. If so, we’re delighted for you. But if you do feel like getting out and about on Christmas Day, want to shake off that brandy hangover on Boxing Day, or start getting a bit restless during the Crimbo Limbo, there’s still absolutely loads to do in London this week, whether you’re in full festive mode or would rather get back to normal as soon as possible. Check out the list below for some inspiration.  RECOMMENDED: Our complete guide to Christmas in London Got a few hours to kill today? You’re in luck. London is one of the very best places on the planet to be when you find yourself with a bit of spare time. 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

From striking documentary works from a time bygone to glitzy, high fashion editorial shoots and everything in between, London is an excellent city to explore if you’re a photography lover. There are new exhibitions popping up pretty much all of the time, allowing you to lose yourself through the camera lens.  In this list below, we’ve put together all of the best photography exhibitions out there in the city right now. We’ve been there, done that, checked them out in the flesh, and can guarantee that every exhibition on this list is worth going to.  RECOMMENDED: Top 10 art exhibitions in London12 London art exhibitions we can’t wait to see in 2025

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

December 25 is really the only day of the year when London well and truly grinds to a halt (in the best possible way). But if you baulk at the idea of imposed downtime, or you don’t celebrate the big day, you can still get out into the city and do stuff. Yes, public transport is out of action, but you can take a wander around a city that is almost empty of people, dine in the handful of restaurants that are open without having to queue. In fact, you’d be surprised at some of the things you can get up to on the big day, from watching a panto, to checking out London’s newest art museum.  Just bear in mind that all the information on this page was correct at the time of writing, but it’s probably wise to check with venues before heading out, as we’ll be too busy stuffing our faces with pigs in blankets to update you on any cancellations on the big day. RECOMMENDED: Our guide to the best Christmas events in London 2025.

In a year when it’s become pretty much impossible to so much as glance at a screen without being bombarded with all manner of maddening AI slop, it’s comforting to know that there is still plenty of vivid, funny, brilliantly human writing out there if you know where to look. From laugh-out-loud debuts and masterful autofiction to big-name autobiographies, gripping non-fiction thrillers and binge-worthy travelogues, here are our editors’ favourite page-turners of 2025. Add this lot to your ‘to read’ pile, stat. RECOMMENDED: 🎵 The 40 best songs of 2025📀 The 25 best albums of 2025

Even after a couple of vintage years for new music, 2025 has been special. Sure, we didn’t get a clear-cut ‘song of the summer’, but artists have been instead putting out defining works in a longer format. The past 12 (well, 11) months have featured all manner of extraordinary album releases.  Belted-to-the-rafters country pop, plunderphonic majesty, ecstatic dance music, intimate electronic world-building, history-collapsing art rock, triumphant hip-hop… these are just a few of the sounds and styles that have been executed marvellously in 2025. Here are the year’s finest 25 albums, chosen by Time Out editors and contributors.

It’s easy to leave planning New Year’s Eve to the very last minute – often you get so tangled up in the tinsel-decked glories of Christmas that you forget there's another big bash, just a week later. But New Year's Eve is the kind of night that you forget at your peril. Attempt to wing it and you might well end up stuck at home with a glass of flat prosecco in front of Jools Holland’s Hootenanny, because all London's best clubs and parties book out weeks or months in advance.  But fear not, we're here to make sure you give 2025 a seriously good send-off. Here's our list of London best NYE bashes for ringing in 2026, from never-ending club nights to LGBTQ+- friendly celebrations. Assemble your crew, book your tickets, plan the perfect ‘fit and prepare to say a big fat goodbye to the year gone by. London’s best NYE parties at a glance 🎆 Best for views of the fireworks: New Year’s Eve at Sky Garden 🦖 Best for a one-of-a-kind party: NYE at the Natural History Museum 🍴 Best for midnight snacks: New Year's Eve at Aram, Somerset House  🏳️‍🌈  Best for LGBTQ+: Horse Meat Disco at Village Underground 🌟 Best for glitz and glamour: New Year's Eve at W London RECOMMENDED: Find things to do in London on New Year’s Day.

There’s a whole load of cool stuff happening across the world in 2026, but if you’re after some outstanding art to add to your bucket list for the year, Time Out has you covered. We’ve called on our international network of editors and writers, and dug around the ‘upcoming’ sections of galleries across the planet, to curate our very own list of all the art and culture worth travelling for in 2026. From retrospectives of greats like Raphael and Matisse to city-wide biennales and beautifully crafted fashion retrospectives, read on for all the very best exhibitions taking place across the planet in 2026. RECOMMENDED:🎪 The world’s best music festivals for 2026🛍️ The coolest streets in the world🏘️ The coolest neighbourhoods in the world🌍 The best new things to do in the world in 2026 Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out Travel newsletter for all the latest travel news and best stuff happening across the world.

Let’s be honest, with all the pressure that gets put on New Year’s Eve, often it ends up as a disappointment. You’re lying if you say you haven’t spent at least one countdown with your head over a toilet after getting too razzed before midnight, or the night is spent jostling with what feels like everyone in London to get into an average club night. This year, spare yourself the pain and save the hardest partying for New Year’s Day instead.  New Year’s Day raves have taken off over the last few years. They tend to last longer than the events of the night before and there aren’t the same enormous NYE crowds to battle with. Of course, celebrations on Jan 1 needn’t be instead of NYE revelries – soldier through your hangover and combine the two to create one big 48-hour blowout.  The capital’s venues are ready to welcome you with open arms for the first rager of 2026, with all manner of day and night parties to check out. Because who says the fun needs to stop as soon as the countdown’s over? Here are London’s best New Year’s Day parties.   RECOMMENDED: Find New Year’s Eve parties in London.

If there’s one wellness trend that defines London right now, it’s sauna. The city has gone crazy for the Finnish pastime in recent years with everyone from run club hipsters to allotment-owning grannies going crazy for a good ol’ steam bath and cold plunge. This Walthamstow branch of not-for-profit mini-chain Community Sauna opened in autumn 2025 on an industrial plot just off Blackhorse Road. The new venue features three communal saunas and cold plunge pools, hot and cold showers, changing rooms and a shared relaxation space, with plans for a wheelchair accessibly community garden that will be open to the public. Off-peak sessions wstart at £9.50 for 60 minutes, rising to £16.50 for peak times, with memberships and bulk packages available too.   

If you’d rather extend your Strava streak than lounge around housing cheeseboards in front of re-runs of Gavin and Stacey, you’ll love this festive fun-run around the picturesque Wimbledon Common during the Christmas holiday season. Entrants to the 5k and 10k races will get free race photos and chip-timed results, with medals and goody bags for finishers. It’s the perfect way to earn that extra helping of roast potatoes on the big day.

Skip the endless charades and family arguments by spending Christmas Day touring London in an open top bus. Pass Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge and Regent Street, while seeing the capital in all its glitzy festive splendour, decked out in thousands of twinkling lights for Christmas, with a live guide to point out the sights as you pass by. Buses run every 30 minutes between 10am and 4pm, with stops clearly signposted. Find out more and book here. 

Named after a track by 1977 by NYC rockers Television, Dalston boozer the Marquee Moon was opened in the summer 2024 by the team behind east London club The Cause, so you can bet it has some serious party-throwing credentials. They will have some easygoing house, funk and soul tunes spinning in both their ground floor bar and basement venue this New Year’s Day. Head down for some killer cocktails and inventive pub grub inspired by south Asian flavours while DJs Fling Down, Sean F and Effy Mai spin tunes until the early hours. 

When the weather turns warmer, Londoners love nothing more than taking a plunge in their nearest lido, and in 2026, east London swimmers will have a fancy new outdoor pool to take a dip in. Plans for a potential new lido in Valentines Park in Ilford were first revealed back in 2022, and after construction began this past April, it looks set to open just in time for the arrival of warmer weather in spring 2026.  The first council-run outdoor pool to be build in London for several decades, Valentines Lido will feature all sorts of swish facilities alongside the main 25-metre 6-lane swimming pool, including a spa pool, plunge pool and children’s splash pad, a steam room and treatment rooms, an on-site gym and dance studio, can parking, meeting rooms, a café and picnic area. The exact date of the lido’s opening is yet to be announced, but if everything goes swimmingly, Ilford residences will be able to take the plunge from April.  If you can’t wait until then, here’s Time Out’s list of the best lidos in the city. 

Trafalgar Square’s enormous Chrisrtmas tree heralds the arrival of the festive season when it’s lit at the start of December each year, but it isn’t the only thing to admire in London’s ceremonial heartlands over the festive season.  Carols are sung beneath the Christmas tree for several hours each day from the second week of December until Christmas Eve, with more than 50 local carol groups taking part each year. The hour-long sessions are free to watch, but performing groups will be taking donations for some great causes, including Mind, Samaritans, Doctors Without Borders and Crisis. Check out the full schedule of concerts here, and stop by for a wholesome little break from all that frantic last-minute gift shopping.  Find more Christmas carol concerts in London

Evolving from a digital archive and pop-up event established in 2015, the world’s first bricks-and-mortar museum dedicated to youth culture has been a long old time coming. Scheduled to open towards the end of 2025 after finding a permanent home in Camden, it was further delayed due to a major leak in its new venue’s basement that required extensive repairs, with its opening now set for spring 2026.  The 6,500 square-foot site will preserve teenage life from the past 100 years, showing photography, archive video, books, zines, ephemera, objects and oral histories. Rave flyers, band tees, dub soundsystems and even school leavers shirts will be on display across its three gallery spaces. Two rolling galleries will pull highlights from the permanent collection and archive, while a dedicated free gallery space will allow young creatives to exhibit their work. The museum will also host talks, screenings, and learning workshops, such as hands-on music production courses, and will be home to a bar, café and record store. Sounds more than worth the wait to us!

It’s hard to think of a more prime location for a luxury hotel in central London than the Grade I-listed Admiralty Arch, which is flanked by The Mall on one side and Trafalgar Square on the other. Having been purchased by the Reuben Brothers for a cool £60 million back in 2015, the grand Edwardian Baroque building will open as the first UK branch of ultra-luxe hotel chain Waldorf Astoria in spring 2026. Probably the most exciting new hotel in London since Raffles opened at the Old War Rooms, the 100-room hotel will feature swish new restaurants from Claire Smyth and Daniel Boulud, who have seven Michelin stars between them, alongside a 320-cover ballroom and an underground bar paying homage to former residents including Churchill and Ian Fleming. If you’ve got a spare couple of grand to splurge on a fancy weekend getaway (and frankly, who doesn’t!) this will surely be the place to do it. 

Claridge’s already gives its name to one of London’s most iconic hotels and a legendary restaurant, but the central London institution will be opening an exciting new venture in 2026. Slated to open its doors in the spring, Claridge’s Bakery will be situated on Brook’s Mews in Mayfair, next to Claridge’s ArtSpace Cafe, and will specialise in British classics like jam and custard tarts, as well as Belgian buns, iced fingers and fresh-baked bloomers, granary and sourdough loaves.  Running the ovens as executive baker and creative director is sourdough connoisseur and author Richard Hart. ‘My goal is to celebrate timeless British baked favourites in one of the most notable British institutions,’ Hart said. ‘Bread and baked goods are an everyday staple that brings people together and I can’t wait to share my take on it with Londoners and visitors to the capital.’ If it holds a candle to Claridge’s previous openings, London is in for a real treat. 

The National Portrait Gallery has been on a roll over the last couple of years, not only opening its swanky new £35 million Blavatnik Wing back in summer 2023, but also curating some truly unmissable temporary exhibitions since, from its fabulous Francis Bacon show in 2025 to last spring’s brilliant offerings on 80s pop culture bible The Face Magazine. We imagine this summer 2026 exhibition will be another hugely popular one for the Trafalgar Square gallery, as it’s turning the spotlight on one of the twentieth century’s biggest icons. Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait will be a real blockbuster, exploring the legacy of one of Hollywood’s most alluring figures through works by some of the twentieth century’s greatest artists and photographers, including Andy Warhol, Cecil Beaton, Marlene Dumas, Milton Greene and Eve Arnold. 

Join the biggest Chinese New Year celebrations outside Asia at this massive street party. Hundreds of thousands of revellers will flock to the West End for festivities that kick off with a colourful lion and dragon-filled parade that progresses down Charing Cross Road, Shaftesbury Avenue and through Chinatown. Then, head to Trafalgar Square for free stage shows including martial arts displays, traditional dances, and Chinese pop performances. There's also a family zone in Leicester Square for activities including arts, crafts and dressing up. The festivities culminate with fireworks and techno lion dances as darkness falls.

London’s established winter art fair features over 120 international galleries showing modern art, photography, sculpture and everything in between. The 2026 edition of the London Art Fair will feature large-scale installations and thematic group displays from some very influential 20th and 21st century artists, including Tracey Emin, Barbara Hepworth, Francis Bacon, William Kentridge and Louise Bourgeois, while a Platform section will be presenting work from artists ‘redefining the boundaries between craft, applied art, and fine art, and challenging artistic expectations around materials’. A new partnership with the National Trust will see the conservation charity present an exhibition of surrealist and post-war abstract works from the collections of The Homewood and Erno Goldfinger’s 2 Willow Road, never before exhibited outside these iconic modernist homes.

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

The summer holidays are well and truly over, and London’s cultural institutions are very much in ‘back to school’ mode this month, with loads of great exhibition openings across September and new season announcements coming thick and fast. The Tate, the Courtauld and the National Portrait Gallery have already announced their 2026 seasons, and now it’s the turn of celebrated arts institution Somerset House.  Ahead of its 25th birthday celebrations this weekend, the venue has shared details of its 2026-2027 culture programme, including major exhibitions, another big birthday celebration and the return of some of the venue’s best-loved seasonal events.  Following the closure of the venue’s winter exhibitions on Jennie Baptiste and Wayne McGregor, and the ever-popular Skate at Somerset House, the 2026 programme kicks off with the annual Spring commission in the venue’s neoclassical courtyard.  Created by German-Scottish artist and researcher Dana-Fiona Armour, Serpentine Currents (Feb 19-Apr 26) will feature large-scale serpentine structures derived from 3D scans of endangered sea snake specimens, illuminated by light patterns triggered by oceanographic data, addressing the looming threat of marine ecosystem collapse. Cheerful stuff! Photograph: Anne Tetzlaff This is followed by the return of Somerset House Studios’ biannual experimental music and sound series Assembly (Mar 25-28), which returns over four days in early spring with a programme of new commissions and live premier