Swim in the Hampstead Heath bathing ponds

The hotel at St Pancras station is the former Midland Grand Hotel, a High Victorian Gothic landmark designed by George Gilbert Scott that opened in 1873. It closed in 1935, was restored and reopened in 2011, and a further renovation was completed in 2025, so you sleep inside a railway palace that has been brought back…

Bloomsbury sits in the middle of the West End, next to Covent Garden and Soho, so you can walk to the British Museum and the theatres from a quiet street with leafy garden squares. It has hostels, B&Bs and mid-range hotels, with many budget options near King's Cross St Pancras. Euston, King's Cross and St Pancras…

The Lord Mayor's Show is a free street procession through the City of London on the second Saturday of November, starting around 11am from Mansion House. Many roads close for most of the day and cars and buses cannot enter the City, so arrive by Tube, train or river bus. The route passes St Paul's and reaches the…

Union Chapel in Islington is a working church and a live music venue, hosting around 250 concerts and events a year inside a Grade I listed Gothic Revival building from the 1870s. Its Victorian organ and rose window make it a memorable setting for a gig. Check the What's On page, book ahead for popular nights and…

Every September the Open House Festival opens hundreds of buildings across all 33 boroughs, with free access to many places that are normally closed to the public. Ticketed activities need a free account on the festival website, and popular ones book out, so register when bookings open in mid August. Dates change each…

Cecil Court is a short pedestrian lane between Charing Cross Road and St Martin's Lane, lined with Victorian shopfronts and around twenty independent antiquarian and second-hand shops. Look for first editions, children's classics, maps, prints and occult books. It was nicknamed Flicker Alley when early film companies…

Ronnie Scott's, the famous Soho jazz club on Frith Street, reopened its first-floor room in February 2026 as Upstairs at Ronnie's, a 140-capacity venue for jazz, soul, gospel and more. It runs its own Late Late Show with grassroots artists and a range of ticket prices. Check the programme on the club's website before…

Columbia Road in the East End turns into a flower and plant market every Sunday, with stalls in front of small independent shops, galleries and cafes. The official advice is to come early for the best plants, and Time Out notes that the market winds down toward the end of the day, when traders may cut prices. The…