The Time Out London blog team

If you didn’t need more confirmation that London is officially hella expensive, it’s now been revealed that Bond Street is Europe’s most spenny shopping destination. This news comes after London was revealed as one of the top five priciest places in the world in 2025, and as one of the wealthiest cities on the planet with an astonishing 215,700 millionaires living here. So yeah, living in the capital ain’t cheap.  Bond Street has claimed its title as Europe’s most lavish retail destination in 2025. It is also the third most-expensive place to shop on the planet, beaten only by Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong and New York’s Fifth Avenue.  Data from Savills revealed that rents on Bond Street saw a 20 percent increase last year, rising to an eye-watering £13,162 per square metre. It overtook Milan’s prestigious Via Monte Napoloene which was named the most expensive place in the world for retail rentals in 2024.  Home to luxury brands Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Dior, according to experts the high rent prices in the West End that for the mega rich the high street is not dead, as luxury labels continue to compete for premium brick and mortar retail space.  Anthony Selwyn, Co-head of Global Retail at Savills, said luxury brands were looking ‘to get closer to their consumers’.  He added: ‘In the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, with reduced international travel, we saw brands increasingly focus on large, affluent, relatively underserved domestic markets. And while this trend will...

It’s almost the first bank holiday of the year, and you know what that means? Plenty of time for drinking outdoors, weather permitting (not that that’s ever stopped us brits).  In time for the long weekend, at Time Out we have just crowned our number one rooftop bar in the city – we’re talking tip-top drinks and of course, cracking views.  Time Out’s best rooftop bar for summer 2025 is, drumroll please... Forza Wine at the National Theatre. This South Bank spot only opened in 2023, but it’s already won our hearts thanks to its excellent on-tap wine selection (plenty of natties, of course), creative cocktails and delightful Italian-ish small plates. A bonus: this alfresco spot is walk-ins only, so there’s no nonsense about having to book a table a month in advance.  In second place we crowned Frank’s Cafe in Peckham. This stalwart of London’s rooftop scene doesn’t need much in the way of an introduction – and you’ve probably seen that pink staircase on the Instagram of every millennial in the city. We love this bar perched on the top of a multi-storey car park for its stunning views, interesting art installations and all-round cool vibe.  Photograph: Tricia de Courcy Ling The Standard rooftop bar came in third place. The views at this bougie spot get up close and personal with the the Gothic spires of St Pancras International. It serves cocktails around the clock and this summer will see the arrival of a food truck serving New York-style pizza slices.  Time Out’s food and...

Anyone who lives along the Piccadilly line is probably well used to disruption by now. The dark blue tube line has faced closures nearly every other weekend since January and, we hate to break it to you, those closures are going to continue for another six months.  The Piccadilly line will see more disruption almost every fortnight from now until mid-October. Major stations including King’s Cross St Pancras, Hammersmith, Heathrow and Leicester Square will all be affected.  It’s not ideal, but the disruption should be worth it. It’s needed in order for TfL to carry out £2.9bn work on the line that’ll help prepare it for a brand new fleet of trains arriving later this year.  Those 94 swish new trains will feature air-con, wider doorways, enhanced digital displays, walk-through carriages and all-new seating fabric (take a sneak peak here). They’ll replace the 86 trains that have been serving the dark blue line since 1975 and are set to start being rolled out towards the end of this year.  To accomodate the incoming vehicles, TfL will be adjusting platform edges and track positions, upgrading the power system and updating signalling along the line. Once they’re in service, the number of Piccadilly trains through central London could be boosted from 24 to 27 an hour.  So, take note of the next six months of Piccadilly line closures below.  Full list of the Piccadilly line weekend closures in 2025 Fri 18 - Mon 21 April: Acton Town to Uxbridge Fri 2 (Night Tube)- Sat 3 May:...