Rosie Hewitson

Friday June 6: The weekend has almost arrived, and so has the inaugural edition of a huge new London festival. Lido arrives in Victoria Park today, with Bristol-based trip-hop legends Massive Attack headlining the opening night. Read on for more details.  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 with our curated round-ups of the best things to do in London this week and weekend

Why not enjoy your dinner with a side of strange? London is home to hundreds of amazing restaurants, but sometimes everyone hankers for a talking point with their tapas. We’ve rounded up a serious bunch of entertaining eateries: oddball decor, kooky culinary concepts and – yes – cats. Our list of unusual restaurants will delight animal lovers, garlic fans, and yodellers and more. You’ll find these joints in venues as varied as a boat, a prison and a church crypt. This is dining with a difference.  RECOMMENDED: The best weird bars in London. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

As anyone who has ever rode a fixie bike, sported horn-rimmed spectacles or waxed lyrical about coffee’s ‘fourth wave’ will tell you, Shoreditch is a part of London that seems to be in constant evolution.  Over the years, its local scene has gradually transitioned from art school kids and fashion gays to tech bros and Essex estate agents travelling into Liverpool Street station for a big one at XOYO. It has been home to both a ball pit bar and a cereal-themed café (RIP to a real one), but these days it seems to be all about small plates and ‘lifestyle’ stores. The roster of reformed hipsters that comprise Time Out’s editorial team have been there to witness it all, and we’d like to think that we know a thing or two about what’s good in the area.  🏘️ Ultimate guide to where to stay in London A weekend wandering round these parts still always has to include a stroll down Brick Lane, long home to great Bangla curry houses, rival bagel institutions and vintage shops stuffed with treasure. For a wholesome vibe, the blooms of Columbia Road Flower Market should always be on your radar, as should the hidden gem that is Dennis Severs’ House.  There’s also plenty on offer for those on the hunt for a party, as you’d expect from biggest London’s hen/stag party hotspot; you’ll find top bottomless brunches and brilliant after-dark fun in the ramshackle bars around the rough triangle made up by Old Street, Great Eastern Street and Shoreditch High Street. Or for a bit of culture, head to

It’s the first proper weekend of June, which means we can start filling up our sweet days off with all those things we love about summer in London: beer garden hangs, alfresco dining, picnics in the park, open-air theatre and cinema and lido visits are on the horizon – (just keep your fingers crossed for good weather). To ease us into the new season, London’s ever-inventive events organisers have put on a smorgasbord of things to do in the capital.  This weekend look out for the inaugural SXSW London, the famous Austin music, film and media festival is coming to the capital with plenty of talks, panels, film screenings and music across a whole host of venues. There’s also brilliant theatre on the cards as Breach Theatre’s verbatim musical ‘After the Act’ about the heinous ’80s legislation Section 28 has its funniest and sharpest run at the Royal Court Theatre. Plus, party with Massive Attack and Jamie XX at at brand new Vicky Park fest Lido Festival.  On top of that, there’s also some annual big hitters to mark in your diary this year, including the ever-brilliant Lambeth Country Show, London Open Gardens weekend giving you the chance to mosey around some of the city’s secret green spaces and The Great Exhibition Road Festival where some of the most illustrious museums in London will be entertaining punters with live experiments, immersive installations and talks. What are you waiting for?  Start planning: here’s our roundup of the 25 best things to do in London in 2025 Stay

June 2025: London’s always-busy social calendar really starts to fill up come June, with a bunch of music festivals taking place across the month, the opening of the city’s outdoor cinemas and rooftop bars, tennis fans descending on the capital for the beginning of Wimbledon and rainbows appearing everywhere as the city celebrates Pride month. But in amongst all the warm weather fun, it’s certainly worth making time to check out some of the city’s most famous attractions. Off to the National Gallery? Be sure to check out the newly refurbished Sainsbury Wing, which just opened last month. Heading to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park? Make some time to check out the brand new V&A East Storehouse. There’s also Little Simz’ Meltdown at the Southbank Centre, a month-long series celebrating pirate radio at The Barbican, and Kew Gardens’ open-air cinema to look forward to across the month. Good look squeezing it all in, you culture vulture! 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 att

Whether you’re a beginner looking to start a new fitness routine or a long-time runner pushing for a new personal best, music has the power to motivate you to reach your goals. This list of the best running songs can aid endurance on those more challenging running routes, pick up the pace during those moments when your body needs a consistent rhythm, and improve motivation when you’re aiming for a better run time or distance. Which songs are the best to run to? Below we’ve included tracks that span genres but all have that special formula to keep you running – even in those moments where going the extra mile seems impossible. We’ve included the BPM (beats per minute) for each of the running tracks, so you can create a playlist that keeps a consistent pace, or even plan moments where you know you would like those extra bursts of energy and motivation. Which songs are best for long distances, recovery, uphill or sprints? We’ve separated them out into the best songs for certain types of run, to help you plan for the route or level you are aiming for. For those who like long runs or are training for a marathon, we have steady rhythmic tracks to keep pace and sustain your energy. If you are looking at doing interval training or speed work, we have listed upbeat, high-tempo songs that match the intensity of faster intervals. If you know your route includes hills and uneven terrain, then take a look at our recommended motivational, powerful running songs that help you push through i

As soon as June hits, London is packed with parades, parties and protests for Pride Month to mark the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots. The London Pride parade is traditionally the focus of festivities, but there are plenty of other LGBTQ+ events taking place both before and after it. Over a million people take to the streets of London for the celebration each summer. Recommended: The best gay bars in London.London’s best LGBTQ+ club nights. When is London Pride? This year’s London Pride parade will take place on Saturday July 5. The 2025 parade route is yet to be announced, but in previous years it has started at Hyde Park Corner before wending its way down Piccadilly, then south to Haymarket and Trafalgar Square, before culminating at Whitehall Place.  How to get tickets for Pride in London 2025 Unlike other big events like Brighton Pride, Pride in London is free and unticketed. Still, it does get pretty hectic, so if you'd like to watch the action with an unimpeded view from a comfy seat, you can book yourself a spot in the grandstand on Haymarket when tickets go on sale shortly. How to take part in Pride in London 2025 Applications have now closed for groups wishing to march in the official parade, but if you want to be a part of the celebrations you can still apply to volunteer. An event as big as Pride relies on a whole bunch of people giving up their time to make it happen, including around 150 year-round volunteers working on fundraising, retail partnerships,

June 2025: Summer in London is one of the best times to be in the capital: festival season is in full swing, the beer gardens are buzzing, balmy evenings in the park or by the canal are back on the agenda, and June marks the beginning of the new season.  This month, look out for the first edition of Lido festival (featuring Charli xcx, Massive Attack and Jamie xx), the return of London Road to the National Theatre, and the inaugural SXSW London. It’s also open-air theatre season, time for eating alfresco at some of London’s best restaurants, and time to binge on volleys and strawberries as the epic Wimbledon championships returns.  No matter what your vibe, tastes or interests, there is always something to do in London. Whether you want to see cutting-edge art exhibitions, iconic attractions, secret spots, world-beating theatre, stunning green spaces, it’s all here and you can probably fit all this in and more still barely feel like you’ve scratched the surface of the city. And that’s before you factor in all those historic London pubs, the latest must-visit restaurants and vibrant LGBTQ+ venues. And if you need somewhere to stay? Check out London’s best hotels or Airbnbs. This London bucket list (curated by our editors and always hotly debated in the Time Out office) is a good place to start because exploring this city can be a little daunting. There truly is something for everyone here. And if you want to know what’s happening in London, like, right now, check out things t

  We’re officially into June now, which means summer in London is tantalisingly close. Months of beer garden hangs, alfresco dining, picnics in the park, open-air theatre and cinema and lido visits are on the horizon – (just keep your fingers crossed for good weather). To ease us into the new season, London’s ever-inventive events organisers have put on a smorgasbord of things to do in the capital.  This week look out for the inaugural SXSW London, the famous Austin music, film and media festival is coming to the capital with plenty of talks, panels, film screenings and music across a whole host of venues. There’s also brilliant theatre on the cards as Breach Theatre’s verbatim musical ‘After the Act’ about the heinous ’80s legislation Section 28 has its funniest and sharpest run at the Royal Court Theatre. Plus, party with Massive Attack and Jamie XX at at brand new Vicky Park fest Lido Festival.  On top of that, there’s also some annual big hitters to mark in your diary this year, including the ever-brilliant Lambeth Country Show, London Open Square Gardens weekend giving you the chance to mosey around some of the city’s secret green spaces and The Great Exhibition Road Festival where some of the most illustrious museums in London will be entertaining punters with live experiments, immersive installations and talks. What are you waiting for?  Start planning: here’s our roundup of the 25 best things to do in London in 2025 Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out Lond

It’s June! The weather is heating up, festival season is in full swing, and the city is gearing up for a blissful summer. Feels good, doesn’t it? There’s plenty of fun in store during the early days of summer, including the first edition of Lido festival (featuring Charli xcx, Massive Attack and Jamie xx), the return of London Road to the National Theatre, and the inaugural SXSW London.  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. 

Now that warmer weather is officially here, London is limbering up for a sports-filled summer.  While some major sports championships only roll around every few years, the Wimbledon Tennis Championships – aka the oldest, and arguably the very best, tennis tournament in the world – has been a defining mainstay of London summers since 1877. And it’ll be back in SW19 very, very soon.  This year the tournament runs from Monday June 30, 2025 to Sunday July 13, 2025. If you missed out on Wimbledon tickets in the ballot and can’t face camping out on the street for a chance to nab day tickets, not to worry! There’s no need to make the pilgrimage to Murray Mound (fine, Henman Hill) to feel like you’re part of the Pimms-fueled action. There’ll be big screens peppered all over London showing all the Centre Court action in so much blown-up high-res glory that you might as well be court-side. And the majority of them won’t cost you a penny.  More outdoor screenings will be announced nearer the time, many of which will also have extras such as special edition cocktails, food offers and even pop-up tennis coaching. So grab yourself some M&S gins in tins – and a nice big punnet of strawberries while you’re at it – and pull up a pew at a summery screening near you.  RECOMMENDED: Our full guide to Wimbledon 2025.

  London is more than two thousand years old. It’s a world-class hub for history, art, culture and politics. Frankly, it’s a bit overwhelming. What is the best way to explore a city that has so damn much on offer? Where do you begin in an area that’s 1,572 square kilometres? The answer: on foot.  This is where a guided walking to tour comes into it. Street tours. Museum tours. Food tours. There are literally hundreds to choose from in the capital. So this is where I step in, tour guide-esque, with some suggestions of my own, to help you understand all that history a little better.  A great tour guide will inspire and fascinate you – before you know it, you’ll enthusiastically be sharing the stories you heard with Linda on the checkouts at your local supermarket, or Iqbal at work. The ones included here are the well-worth doing and unsung tours that deserve your attention. Yes there’s your usual Changing of the Guard and Westminster Abbey tours, but there’s also some more offbeat ones which are frankly exceptional.  Why take my word for it? I’m a tour guide myself. I have since led all sorts of walks around London, from cemetery tours, queer history walks to pub outings. I regularly guide in places like The British Museum and National Gallery and after a decade in the industry, here are some of my choices for an unforgettable experience. Need more sightseeing inspiration?🛥️ Here are London’s best boat tours💂‍♂️ Check out our list of 101 things to do in London🛏 Or stay in o

After a successful debut in 2024, not-for-profit festival Earthfest returns this spring with four days of sustainability-focused talks, workshops and live performances taking place in venues around King’s Cross and Granary Square. Activities kick off with a Music Summit on the Thursday, where artists, record labels and activist groups like Julie’s Bicycle and Music Declares Emergency will be discussing the pressing issue of sustainability in the music industry, with a host of eco-focused live acts performing, before Friday’s Industry Day offers those working in sustainability the opportunity to connect over the challenges and opportunities in their industries. The four-dayer will be rounded out by a weekend filled with eco-friendly fun, including live music, street food, wellness sessions, a Fashion Quarter hosting swap shops, repair cafés, and upcycling workshops, an eco Expo where visitors can familiarise themselves with up-and-coming new eco-friendly brands, and key-note speeches from the likes of celebrated zoologist Jane Goodall and BBC Springwatch presenter Megan McGubbin. 

Get to know the surprising queer histories behind some of the art and artefacts in the British Museum’s vast collection on this free tour of the iconic institution. Led by a knowledgeable volunteer, the 70-minute tour takes in a huge variety of objects ranging from the ancient world to the present day, illuminating the fascinating stories behind some of the musum’s most famous artefacts and lesser-known gems, including the Townley Diskobolos, the Gilgamesh Tablet and the Warren Cup. Can’t make it to one of these dates? There’s also a self-guided version of the tour with free audio commentary you can access through your preferred streaming platform. 

What is it?  The Grade II-listed former Topshop flagship at 214 Oxford Street has been transformed into everyone’s favourite DIY mecca. After years of anticipation, Ikea Oxford Street finally opened its doors in the spring of 2025. Of course, given its size and iconic location, this isn’t any old Ikea store. It flaunts six colourful floors and 5,800-square-metres of home interior bliss, complete with the Swedish deli selling those famous, delightfully dirt-cheap meatballs. Shoppers can get inspired by the tastes and creativity of everyday Londoners, with roomsets co-created with real life people based on their own London homes and the three ‘Curated Shops’ on the ground floor displaying shopping edits by local residents. You want more? There’s a live studio set up to host events and interactive experiences and a re-shop and re-use section where customers can pick up second-life, second-hand and discontinued IKEA products. What does it sell? There’s a selection of around 3,500 IKEA home furnishings and small furniture pieces (duvet covers, plants, cutlery sets, desk lamps etc) that you can buy right away. For any larger bits that catch your eye, you’ll be able arrange home delivery.  Opening times  Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 12pm-6pm.  Time Out tip  If you live or work nearby Oxford Street, it could be worth becoming an IKEA Family member. The free membership gets you free tea or filtered coffee and a selected £3 meal everyday from Monday to Friday, as well as other exclusive offe

The UK is experiencing a much-publicised Guinness shortage at the moment – it’s no wonder, now that one in every ten pints poured in the capital is the black stuff – which makes the opening of this swanky new spot in Covent Garden all the more exciting. After years of teasing and two pushed-back opening dates, the Guinness microbrewery in Old Brewer’s Yard is tipped to open later this year following a £73 million building project. Located on a historic site that first produced beer over 300 years ago, the 50,000-square-foot building will feature plenty of event spaces, an open-fire kitchen and restaurant featuring a rooftop with 360-degree views, a merch shop and, most important of all, a micro-brewery pumping out 14 different limited-edition brews. Actual Guinness won’t be brewed on site but it will be readily available for drinking. The exact opening date is yet to be announced, but the city’s Guinness lovers should be able to split the G in its hallowed halls before the year is up. It’s hoped that it’ll launch in the run up to Christmas. 

Footie tournaments and music festivals are two of the best things about summer, so Offside sounds like a genius idea to us. Billed as ‘London’s first football and music festival’, the one-dayer in Burgess Park is promising fans of the beautiful game a unique combination of music, comedy and a star-filled roster of speakers that will leave you more excited than ever for the coming season. Expect live recordings of some of the most popular footie podcasts out there, conversations with Premier League stars and appearances from some legends of the game, merch and giveaways, alongside seven bars, loads of great street food, DJs and live acts. Earlybird tickets are an absolute steal at £15, so nab yours quick! Line-up includes: Jill Scott, Sam Allardyce, Alan Pardew, Duncan Ferguson, Pete Tong presents El Clasico, Norman Jay MBE

Founded during the Arab Spring in 2011, biennial festival Shubbak has become one of London’s largest celebrations of contemporary Arab and South West Asian & North African (SWANA) culture. Engaging with the hopes, ambitions and artistic excellence of this part of the world, the 2025 edition of Shubbak (which means ‘window’ in Arabic) features a plethora of performances, exhibitions and community-driven events scheduled over three weeks across a diverse array of venues, including the Southbank Centre, The Place, Battersea Arts Centre, The Garden Cinema and Mimosa House. This year’s festival launches at the Southbank Centre with The People’s Catwalk (May 23), a powerful and inclusive showcase of SWANA fashion modelled by models of all shapes and sizes. This is followed by the largest Palestinian theatre production staged in the UK for 25 years, as Palestine theatre collective Khashabi Ensemble performs striking visual theatre piece MILK (May 24-25).  The plight of Palestine features heavily across the rest of the programme too. Camden’s Theatro Technis plays host to a week-long programme of Palestinian theatre curated by PalArts (May 26-Jun 2), while P21 Gallery hosts an exhibition on The Art of the Palestinian Poster (May 23-Jun 14),  the New Cross Inn hosts the latest edition of fundraising gig series Punks For Palestine (May 26) and the Barbican stages Music For Palestine (June 6) featuring a trio of Palestinian acts.  These are just some of the 40+ events encompassing theat

Greenwich Peninsula’s free family festival Urban Village Fete returns this May, offering a stellar lineup of DJs, live music, markets, creative workshops and street food on the banks of the river Thames. Look out for headline DJ slots from 6Music’s Gilles Peterson, vinyl disco DJ Jack Hemingway and London station LOOSE.FM, find a creative new hobby at workshops on dog training, pottery making, basket weaving and mushroom growing, or drop in to cultural talks hosted by BBC Radio London’s Robert Elms, who’ll be chatting about education and AI, street style, and collective action with a host of interesting panellists. There’ll also be an Independent Traders Market with baked goods, handmade crafts, and a smörgasbord of streetfood. Be sure to check out the schedule online and register for some bookable (but free) events to be in with a shout of winning one of 130 brilliant food, fashion and entertainment prizes provided by local businesses. 

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. Guy Ritchie’s gastropub Lore of the Land, Japanese-Korean joint Akira Back 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. 

We all know a diva who loves to make her birthday into a month-long series of events featuring several different locations and multiple guestlists. And Dalston Superstore is that kind of diva. The legendary LGBTQ+ club on Kingsland High Street might have already celebrated its sweet sixteen with a huge party earlier in the month, but it’ll also be hosting a massive daytime party round the corner in Gillett Square over the late May bank holiday. It’s a free entry affair (she’s a generous queen!) featuring a secret line-up that will no doubt feature the great and the good of east London’s queer party scene. Category is: queer excellence, all day long! Guarantee entry by reserving your ticket here.   

Roll up ageing ravers, curious young clubbers and anyone who just fancies hitting a dance floor and still being home in time for Emmerdale. This hour-long virtual reality experience promises to transport you back to the height of the Acid House era during 1989’s Summer of Love. Having premiered at the London Film Festival back in 2022, the hour-long experience takes over the The Pit at the Barbican for ten weeks this summer. The handiwork of filmmaker Darren Emerson and is soundtracked by some of the era’s biggest bangers, from Joey Beltram’s ‘Energy Flash’ to Orbital’s ‘Chime’. Sadly, there’s no discount for anyone old enough to remember Shoom. 

A quarter of a century ago, Tate Modern opened its doors for the very first time. In the intervening years, it’s become a bastion of modern art in the UK, continuously hosting thought-provoking, eye-opening exhibitions and supporting artists from around the world. It would be remiss, then, not to celebrate such an icon’s birthday and, luckily, the celebrations are going to be plentiful. Across one long weekend in May, the institution will mark its anniversary with a series of workshops, talks, tours, free experiences, live music performances, DJ sets and food and drink offers.  Witness live tarot reading as part of Meschac Gaba’s ‘Museum of Contemporary African Art’ exhibition, or watch a specially commissioned performance by Abbas Zahedi in ‘Gathering Ground’, which explores ecological crisis and social justice. Over in the Tanks, Lawrence Lek will build a near future shaped by sentient AI using live gameplay and cinematic footage, while Marîa Magdalena Campos-Pons will lead a new performance responding to the history and architecture of the Tate Modern’s former power station shell. There’ll be some blasts from the past, too, like Louise Bourgeois’ giant bronze spider ‘Maman’, which once greeted visitors when the gallery first opened in 2000. A new trail of 25 key works will take art lovers through the Tate’s collection and introduce them to important pieces by renowned stars like Andy Warhol and Salvador Dalî, plus artists with less household name status, such as Outi Piesk

  What is it?  Fifteen years after it was first mooted, Soho Theatre’s Walthamstow outpost finally opened in the spring of 2025. The 970-seater venue takes over a former Granada Cinema built in 1930 and closed in 2003, restoring the Grade II-listed art-deco property to its spectacular former glory with a £30 million building project. Like the original Dean Street venue, there’s a focus on comedy in the programming, with visitors also promised an annual panto, film screenings, theatre and community-focused education projects. Punters can also stick around until the early hours at one of the theatre’s four bars, which stay open until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.  Why go?  For West End-quality comedy and theatre without the West End crowds. Don’t miss The theatre’s regular ‘Neon Nights’ showcase, headlined by some of the biggest names on Britain’s comedy circuit and platforming promising up-and-comers. Over the coming months, the lineups include Sara Pascoe, Rosie Jones, Phil Wang, Bridget Christie and Rhys James.  When to visit Open Monday to Saturday 10am to 11pm, closed on Sundays.  Time Out tip If you live, work or study in Waltham Forest you can claim one of 15,000 tickets that’ll be available for just £15 throughout the first year of Soho Walthamstow’s life. 

To those of us who have been knocking around east London since the early 2010s, the name Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium evokes memories of east London at the height of hipsterdom, back when tourists queued up for a table at the Cereal Killer Café, and flamboyantly dressed art school kids partied late into the night at Plastic People and the Joiner’s Arms. But while other hipster hotspots have fallen by the wayside, the UK’s oldest and most famous cat café has survived a decade of enormous upheaval in this particular corner of east London.  Taking inspiration from the pet cafés found across Japan, Lady Dinah’s opened in Bethnal Green in 2014 after a successful crowdfunding campaign, and has been serving a loyal, kitty-loving customer base ever since, while also helping to rehouse dozens of rescue cats thanks to its policy of taking on kitties that have been turned away by shelters, and making them available for adoption by customers. It’s no surprise, then, that current owner Lauren Pears’ recent announcement that she planned to close the business at the end of June after failing to find a buyer received dozens of comments from customers sad to see the end of a much-loved London spot.  But there is hope for Lady Dinah’s yet. Café manager Freyja Westwood has launched a crowdfunding campaign to purchase the café and keep it open, and has already had an excellent response from the spot’s many fans, raising just over half of the £50,000 goal in the first week.  As Freyja says in a camp

We’ve made it to another bank holiday, and the city is gearing up for a whole bunch of festivals, day trips, cultural excursions and nights out over the long weekend. But while we’re hardly ones to grumble at the prospect of an extra day off work, we’re well aware of how spenny these extra days off can get. Making it to the end of May without dipping into the ol’ overdraft can be a challenge, with not one but two bank holidays to get through. But to help, we’ve roundup up a bunch of fun stuff happening around the city that won’t cost you a penny.  The best free things to do in London over the late May Bank Holiday weekend Sink one of 1,000 free pints at Venn Street Records It’s the bank holiday, of course you’re going to be going for a few beers with mates. But all that boozing adds up, so what if we told you that the good people at Venn Street Records are going to be giving away 1,000 free pints this weekend. The vinyl store will be dishing out 250 pints of Camden Hells each day across the bank hol, starting on Friday, May 23 from 5pm until close each day. There will be performances too: on Sunday 25 at 6pm Glasto veterans Brass Funkeys will throw down a special brass set. Tickets are advised, and you can book online here.  78 Venn Street, SW4 0BD. Fri May 23-Sun May 25. Free (advanced booking advised). Photograph: Venn St Records Give your wardrobe a sustainable makeover at Westfield Good Festival Planning a big spring clean of your wardrobe over the bank holiday? You’ll

The wait is over! An agonising 17 years after Tottenham Hotspur last won any silverware – and four decades since they did so in Europe – the Lilywhites have finally got their hands on another trophy.  Wednesday night saw Ange Postecoglou’s injury-stricken team see out a 1-0 victory against fellow English side Manchester United in the Europa League Final in Bilbao. Welsh winger Brennan Johnson was credited with scoring the only goal in the tie (although some would put it down as a Luke Shaw own goal) in a nerve-shredding match, which also featured a magnificent goal-line clearance by defender Micky van de Ven and a late save from goalkeeper Vicario. Over 40,000 Spurs fans watched the victory unfold from inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, before flooding the pitch afterwards to celebrate the end of the historic club’s notorious trophy drought. The celebrations then continued long into the night at the area’s pubs and bars, many of which had secured late licenses just for the occasion.  RECOMMENDED: The best Spurs pubs in London. When is the trophy parade? The party isn’t over yet! The club will also be staging an open-top bus parade around Tottenham so that Spurs fans who didn’t make it over to Bilbao will have a chance to celebrate with the team. Kicking of the bank holiday weekend, the parade is due to take place tomorrow evening, on Friday May 23. What time does the trophy parade start? The celebrations will kick off at 3pm from a stage erected outside the north stand o

As one of London’s most famous and well-reputed art galleries, it’s no surprise Tate Modern is also one of the city’s most popular attractions, welcoming around 6 million visitors through its doors each year. And while we’re big fans of the gallery’s efforts to bring modern art to the masses, this does mean that the South Bank institution can get rather crowded, particularly during peak tourist seasons. It’s great news, then, that the gallery will soon be offering early risers the opportunity to take in its world-class collection without having to battle through the crowds, on exclusive  Before Hours tours available through GetYourGuide. Launched in response to GetYourGuide’s own research, which found that a growing number of travellers are concerned about crowding and overtourism, the ‘All Art, No Crowds’ campaign sees the travel experience company partner with Tate Modern, alongside MoMA in New York and the Vatican Museums, to delivery monthly small-group tours before the galleries officially open each morning.  Beginning over the coming bank holiday weekend, the hour-long tours will allow ticket holders to get to know the Tate’s impressive displays with the help of an expert guide or curator, delving into a century of art, from early 1900s modernism to major artists working today, and taking in works that typically draw large crowds and can therefore be difficult to appreciate fully during the gallery’s regular hours.  Tate Modern’s Senior Manager of Tours, Experiences an

The eyes of north London (or at least the Lilywhite half of it) will be on Bilbao this Wednesday evening (May 21), as the second-biggest competition in European club football reaches its conclusion with an all-English final between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.  Naysayers argue that nobody cares about the Europa League, but it’s a crunch game for both of the ‘Big Six’ teams. With the pair looking set to finish in the bottom quarter of the Premier League, victory is their only avenue for securing European football in the 2025/26 campaign, and allows one of them to salvage something from a torrid season.  For Spurs, it would also mean securing a first piece of silverware since 2008, and the club’s first European trophy since 1984, ending a trophy drought that weights more heavily on the storied club with each passing season.  Many local fans will be heading to the boozers and beer gardens of north London to watch Ange Postecoglou’s team face the Red Devils. Looking for a lively atmosphere in which to catch all the nail-biting action? Look no further than our roundup of London’s best Spurs pubs. RECOMMENDED: London’s best football pubs. The Bluecoats Once home to the Bluecoats School for Girls, this quaint Jacobethan building was built in the mid-1830s, but has more recently been the site of solid match day boozing thanks to its proximity to the Spurs stadium. You won’t need a reservation for the big match, but you will need to head down early as the place will be op

It’s mid-May, and London is in for another pretty balmy weekend. But if you’re anything like me, a week of (mostly) gorgeously sunny evenings has seen you spending plenty of time outside the house, tapping your credit card with reckless abandon as you treat yourself to mid-week beer garden sessions, alfresco dinners with friends, and a few new bits for your summer wardrobe.  But don’t resign yourself to a weekend on house arrest just yet. There’s all sorts of wallet-friendly fun to be had around the capital this weekend, including a whole host of freebies on offer, from pints to haircuts. Give your wardrobe a free makeover at Westfield Good Festival Photograph: Westfield Planning a big old wardrobe clearout? You’ll love Westfield’s free festival of pre-loved fashion. The world-renowned shopping centre has teamed up with pre-loved fashion marketplace Depop to stage a series of experiences that will inspire you to embrace embrace sustainable shopping habits. Head down early doors this weekend to shop a curated edit of second-hand threads at an IRL Depop Marketplace, take part in free styling workshops, enjoy free skincare consultations from Kiehl’s, and even nab up to £40 of free clothing alterations courtesy of door-to-door repair business Sojo.  Westfield London, W12 7GF. Fri May 16-Sun May 18. Free (first come, first served). Get a free trim from celebrity barber A Star Fancy getting a trim to rival Jack Grealish’s or Jude Bellingham’s? To mark Mental Health Awareness Week

The Hackney Half Marathon is arguably the most fun of London’s running events (if you can imagine that running for 13.1 miles straight can actually be fun). This Sunday, bands and DJs will be on duty all over the course, keeping more than 20,000 participants energised with pumping beats and classic motivational tunes, and thousands of spectators will line the streets to whoop and cheer their loved ones on. But the vibes won’t stop once you cross the finish line. If you can muster up enough energy and are still able to put one foot in front of the other, don’t miss out on the atmosphere of celebration throughout the borough post-race. There’ll be a bunch of afterparties ready to welcome runners and their supporters all afternoon and into the evening. And make sure you keep that medal around your neck – you could be awarded with a freebie or two.  These are all the best runner freebies, perks and afterparties you need to know about ahead of the Hackney Half this Sunday.  RECOMMENDED: Hackney Half Marathon 2025 – route, start time and everything you need to know. The best Hackney Half freebies and perks 2025 These are all the discounts and free stuff on offer for Hackney Half finishers that we know about so far. (Spoiler: it’s mostly booze.) UBA What you get: A free Hugo spritz and a taco of your choice from Shoreditch’s pan-Asian restaurant, UBA. Your options include salmon ceviche, beef, artichoke, tuna ceviche or hamachi ceviche.  How to claim: Turn up to dine-in at UBA with

There’s nothing quite like the FA Cup. The oldest competition in football reaches its conclusion this weekend, as Crystal Palace take on Manchester City at Wembley Stadium. Crystal Palace will attempting to win the competition for the first time in their history, having lost in the final in 1990 and 2016, while seven-time winners Manchester City will be hoping to salvage a disappointing season which has seen the club suffer its earliest exit from the Champions League in twelve years, and miss out on the Premier League title for the first time since 2020. RECOMMENDED: How to watch the FA Cup final on TV this weekend: channels, pundits, kick-off time and more. Who are the favourites to win the FA Cup 2025? The sky blues are still the bookies’ favourite to lift the trophy on Saturday afternoon, with bookies giving them around a 73 percent chance of winning, but with Pep Guardiola’s team having struggled for form all year, there’s every chance the south Londoners could cause an upset.  When is the FA Cup Final 2025 and what time is kick-off? The FA Cup Final takes place on Saturday May 17 at the home of English football, north-west London’s Wembley Stadium. The match kicks off at 4.30pm and should be finished by around 7.30pm at the latest, even if it ends up going to extra time and then penalties. Keen to catch the big match but not got a ticket to Wembley? London’s pubs and bars will be stepping up to the occasion with all the giant screens and pub grub you could hope for. Her

Reckon you’d make a good 007? Always thought you’d ace that bit in Mission Impossible where Tom Cruise abseils into the CIA headquarters? Then you’ll welcome the opportunity to test out your espionage skills at a new immersive experience arriving in London later this month.  Opening on Friday May 30, SPYSCAPE London is described as a ‘pioneering interactive museum and social gaming experience’ where visitors are able to take part in a range of challenges designed with the help of experts from the fields of intelligence and espionage. The Covent Garden location will be the first overseas outpost for SPYSCAPE, which originally launched in New York in 2018, where it has welcomed over one million visitors to date. Designed specifically for London audiences, the 25,000 square foot venue promises to offer ‘a new take on immersive activities, seamlessly blending the history, the art, and science of espionage and psychology in the modern world.’ Created with the help of real life spy trainers from British Intelligence, psychology professors from Imperial College London and specialists from the CIA and Special Ops, the venue offers two experiences featuring a range of high-tech challenges designed to test players’ mental and physical capabilities.  SPYSCAPE is a narrative-led challenge where players get to crack codes, run surveillance and conduct lie detection tests all while learning about real hackers and spies throughout history and exploring rare gadgets. At the end of the 90-mi

How did you celebrate your 25th birthday? If I recall correctly, mine involved half a dozen pints, a couple of shots, a drunk Maccies on the night bus home and a monumental hangover the next day.  But the Tate Modern is a hell of a lot more sophisticated that I was at 25, and its quarter-century celebration this weekend knocks my little pub gathering out the park. Featuring four days of free workshops, talks, participatory performances, live music and late night DJ sets, the massive weekender starts tomorrow, and the gallery has just announced yet more cool stuff happening across the weekend.  Alongside already-announced DJ line-ups curated by some amazing London crews and collectives the gallery has revealed two huge headliners. Friday’s late opening spotlights south London’s vibrant creative communities, and will feature a headline set from The xx member turned solo artist Romy, who will be taking to the decks for a 2-hour DJ set from 10pm-midnight, with earlier sets curated by the likes of Peckham listening bar Jumbi and British Caribbean festival Radiate.  Saturday night’s festivities will see the gallery taken over by yet more cutting-edge artists and collectives, including a rare London set by Afrobeats station Cultur FM in the Tanks, featuring a headline set from BBC Radio 1 DJ Jaguar. Other DJs throughout the evening have been curated by South Asian creative collective Daytimers, female-fronted Peckham station foundation.fm, Afro-Caribbean LGBTQ+party Queer Bruk and a

Opened in 1992 in an old branch of Barclays bank, Camden’s Jazz Cafe has long since established itself as a legendary London music venue. Over the years, the 450-capacity spot has played host to some truly iconic acts from the world of jazz and soul music, including D’Angelo, Bobby Womack, Gil Scott-Heron, Pharoah Sanders and local legend Amy Winehouse. The venue’s inaugural Jazz Cafe Festival was a hit last summer, and will return to Peckham’s Burgess Park this August. We’re therefore expecting big things from the Jazz Cafe’s new project, which was announced this week. Jazz Cafe owner the Columbo Group has been granted planning permission to transform a disused theatre into an east London outpost for the Camden institution. Built in 1896, Stratford High Street’s Rex Theatre has gone through multiple iterations over its 130-year history, initially hosting theatre and opera before being converted into a cinema in 1933, a bingo hall in 1969 and later a nightclub. After being repossessed by Newham Council in 2013, the building has been largely vacant since, but will finally reopen as Jazz Cafe East after the council accepted a bid for the venue.  Operating since 2006, the Jazz Cafe group owns several other major London venues alongside the OG Jazz Cafe, including nightclubs XOYO and Phonox, music venue chain The Blues Kitchen and north London pubs The Parakeet and The Old Queen’s Head. The business’s foray into Stratford has been enthusiastically welcomed by the local community

May is turning out to be a big month for famous singers turning their attentions towards visual art. Just days after Mr Robbie Williams opened an exhibition of his ‘radically honest’ art at Mayfair tourist hotspot the Moco Museum, some guy called Bob Dylan is exhibiting his paintings at Bond Street’s Halcyon Gallery.  Opening on Friday May 9, Point Blank will feature 97 original paintings on paper, created between 2021 and 2022 and based on quick sketches that were then painted over.  The isn’t the first time the 84-year-old Nobel Prize-winning songwriter has swapped his guitar for some paintbrushes; Dylan has been working with the gallery for almost two decades, having staged several previous exhibitions at the space, including 2021’s Deep Focus, a series of works mostly created during the 2020 lockdown. The freewheelin’ musician – who was recently introduced to a new generation of fans via Oscar-nominated biopic A Complete Unknown – has also been the subject of several international exhibitions, including a major 2019 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in Shanghai. Speaking of the latest show, Halycon Gallery founder Paul Green said, ‘It is nearly 18 years since Halcyon first started working with Bob Dylan and it has been an extraordinary experience to watch this cultural icon develop into such a critically revered and important visual artist so closely. This latest body of paintings feels like a more intimate connection to the artist than in any of his previous work