The best things to do on Valentine’s Day in London 2025

London’s legendary 1950s Rivoli Ballroom is bringing back its pop-up cinema for Valentine’s Day. Expect iconic romantic classics, including Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and the Audrey Hepburn-starring ‘Roman Holiday’. Famed for its original red velvet flock decor, sparkling chandeliers and gilt Chinese lanterns, there really is nowhere more romantic for V-Day.

Following a whole host of sell-out performances of this cult show, from not just all over the UK but all over the world, Shaggers is returning to its beloved Leicester Square theatre venue for a special this V-day. Having a laugh at these comedians, who are of a variety of sexes, genders and orientations, could be a fun way to mix things up on the most romantic day of the year. The show is around two hours long including an interval, and the ticket price includes a £2 restoration levy for this historic London venue. 

The Princess of Wales Conservatory at Kew Gardens is getting a Peruvian makeover this February, courtesy of the latest annual mind-bending orchid display that takes over the iconic glasshouse each year. As ever, the exotic display will celebrate the natural beauty and biodiversity of its subject country: Peru is home to over 3,000 variety of orchid, plus vast amounts of other flora and fauna besides.  

Look out for sculptures of native animals, carved out of plants, including alpacas and  parihuanas, plus a cornucopia designed to resemble the iconic Lake Titicaca. The world’s largest bromeliad, the Puya raimondii (commonly known as the Queen of the Andes) will be on display, and the country’s diverse wildlife will be celebrated with an orchid-aviary that brings to life the diverse bird populations of Peru.

As always, there’ll also be after-hours events with live Peruvian music, food, cocktails and dance performances. 

Entry to the display is included in general entry to Kew Gardens.
After hours events: £17-£20. 

Calling all love bugs, solitary bees and significant otters! The Natural History Museum is once again bringing back its Valentine’s event. Couples and self-couples can enjoy a beer, wine or soft drink while snooping around the museum galleries after hours. There’ll be plenty happening throughout the night too, including dance classes, a harpist playing by the stegosaurus, and there’s even a photobooth. The ticket price also includes admission to the world-famous Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. 

Close those dating apps and put down your phone – Lipstick and Lighting are here to bring some fun back into dating, in the lesbian and queer space at least. This Valentine’s Day, they’ll be bringing people together for a special speed dating event where you might just fall head over heels. You’ll get five minutes with each person and then have the chance to mingle again at the end. If you find a potential partner – and the feeling’s mutual – the organisers will swap contact info for you both. Happy dating!

Verses poetry night takes over the uber-cool female-owned Mexican bar Doña this February, with an edition themed around 'bad Valentine's' poetry and spoken word. Tuck into tequila and tacos as you enjoy performances by Erin James, AayA, and more TBC. The event takes place on February 26, which means if your V-Day totally sucks, you can help yourself get over it here. 

The worlds of drag and emo collide once more at Clapham Grand to help you reject Valentine’s Day in fabulous style. Think Cupid should mind his own business and find any excuse to rant about the big day being a holiday created by greetings card companies? You’ll feel right at home at We Are Still Young’s anti-Valentine’s Day special, where you can scream out your frustrations to the biggest and best emo tracks at drag emo karaoke or just pogo along from the crowd.

Spend your Valentine’s weekend hunting out quirky new goods for your home at Big Mamma’s latest charity flea mercatino. This time, they’ll be taking over the terrace at Sicilian trattoria Circolo Popolare with a big sale of handpainted Sicilian crockery, vintage Italian furniture, candles and more. If bringing a touch of the Meditteranean into your home isn’t enough to get you down, consider this: 100 per cent of the market’s proceeds will be donated to help preserve Casa Italiana, the oldest Italian social club in London. Entry is free, but you’ll need to pre-book a spot here.

Long-running lesbian club night Butch, Please is celebrating Valentine’s Day in its own inimitable way with the Love Ball, where it invites you to 'be my butch femme valentine’. Performances and DJs are to be announced closer to the date, but expect a mix of current and classic house, dance and R&B to soundtrack this special romantic celebration of butch culture.

Is there anything more romantic than looking out over a stunning vista with the one you love by your side? Head to the Sky Garden this Valentine’s Day and you’ll find it hard to argue with that. The Fenchurch Building’s rooftap space is up there as one of the most romantic places in the city – its website even has an entire info page for those thinking about popping the question. Obviously, then, the Sky Garden will be celebrating February 14 in style, with two nights of wining and dining available. Packages start at £21pp for entry and a glass of champagne, or you can splash the cash and settle down for dinner and bubbles for £170pp.

If you’re stuck in the single life and looking to get out of it, you’re probably not counting down the days to Valentine’s Day. But head to Dinner For One Hundred and Pizzeria Mozza’s pre-V-Day collab and Cupid’s arrow might strike. The two much-loved pizza joints are teaming up for a special singles’ night dinner where guests will be matchmaked with the aim of creating genuine connections. With any luck, you’ll find yourself so enamoured with your new counterpart that not even the menu – sharing starters, pizzas, puddings and drinks – will distract you from envisioning your future together. Apply for a seat at the table here.

Any situation is made more romantic with a set of quivering strings, so it makes sense that the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra should host an epic Valentine’s Day concert this February. The gang will be performing some of the most romantic pieces of music ever written, from the worlds of film, opera and classical music. Expect well-known themes from some of your fave romances like ‘Out of Africa’, ‘Love Actually’ and ‘Dances With Wolves’ as well as much-loved classics by Rachmaninov, Chopin, and more. Your Valentine’s Day is sure to end on a high note. Literally.

If gift-giving is your love language, you’ll find plenty of presents to show your affection at the DIY Valentine’s Day Art Market. Taking over a unit of Copeland Park on February 15, it will play host to over 150 national and international artists and publishers, all bringing with them stalls’ worth of unique buys. Expect ceramics, zines, artwork, t-shirts, tote bags, jewellery and more to be battling for your attention (and your wallet) in this treasure trove of creativity.

This Valentine’s Day treat is straight out of a rom-com. Take a break from staring into each other’s eyes to crane your necks and see the big baroque artworks of Sir James Thornhill on the ceiling of the Painted Hall in Greenwich, often referred to as south London’s answer to the Sistine Chapel. You’ll be greeted with a glass of champagne on arrival, then serenaded by live piano music as you enjoy a three-course meal. When it comes time for the night to end, you'll be sent off home with a single red rose. Totally dreamy.

Is the thought of Valentine’s Day getting you down? Ditch the plastic heart-filled date nights and have a laugh instead at The Clapham Grand’s queer comedy night ‘Unlucky in Love’ – because, let’s face it, romantic mishaps are far more interesting. The epic line-up features comics at the top of their game including Grace Campbell, Travis Alabanza, Kemah Bob and James Barr, with the brilliant Jayde Adams tying the proceedings together as the wise-cracking host. All the profits will be donated to the Grand’s Pink Noise fund a new foundation set up by the co-founders of Mighty Hoopla to support the most vulnerable members of the LGBTQ+ community. So, as well as a night if belly laughs, you’ll leave with an altruistic spring in your step. 

Get cosy this Valentine’s Day at the Prince Charles and explore their rotating programme of cult, arthouse and classic films, alongside recent Hollywood blockbusters. Veering away from the typical romcoms, the Prince Charles Cinema is offering a line-up of more obscure Valentine’s friendly films, from Wong Kar Wai’s paean to the agony’n’ecstasy of buttoned-up emotions ‘In the Mood for Love’, romantic classics ‘True Romance’ and ‘Casablanca’, Céline Sciamma’s glorious period romance ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’, the wonderful ‘Before’ trilogy and rom-com faves like ‘When Harry Met Sally’. 

Hollywood can teach us a lot about love – some of it good, some of it not so much. This Valentine’s Day, FagPacket will be collecting some of those lessons and using them to through 'a night of debauched nostalgia’ packed with cabaret, karaoke, games, DJs and dancing.

Since the 1960s, La Poule au Pot has cultivated a reputation as one of London’s most romantic restaurants, fuelled by its menu of authentic French cuisine. Immerse yourself in its love-ready vibes this V-Day and treat your date to a three-course meal stuffed with classics from across the Channel. Escargots, coquilles Saint-Jacques, confit de canard, pintade au Calvados, tarte tatin and mousse au chocolat are all on the menu this year, promising a delicious evening in store.

If you’ve just gone through a break-up or you’re just still not over your ex, Valentine’s Day can feel a little like rubbing salt in the wound. Trust London to have some refuge for you, namely this Valentine’s break-up party – a place where presumably it’s completely acceptable to be crying to sad bangers on the dancefloor. Don’t hole up at home and wallow this V-Day, get out and find some catharsis with fellow singles instead.