The best things to do in London in April 2025

London has an amazing energy on bank holidays and Easter weekend is particularly blessed, because it’s a rare double bank holiday, meaning we get four whole days of work-free fun from Good Friday on April 18 to Easter Monday on April 21. The capital has plenty to keep you occupied over your extra-long weekend. From egg hunts to bumper club nights, check out our top picks for Easter weekend 2025 below. 

He may have been the greatest composer of musicals in history, but Stephen Sondheim’s final musical was, appropriately enough, too arty for Broadway: the posthumously produced Here We Are debuted in NYC to warm if not uncritical notices. Now the new Sondheim is arriving in London – and it’s a coup for Rufus Norris to score it as the centrepiece of his final season running the NT. Directed by Joe Mantello in what has been billed as a new production, different from his original NYC one, it has a formidable cast headed by Tracie Bennett, Rory Kinnear and Denis O’Hare. The plot follows Leo and Marianne Brink, who think they’ve discovered the perfect new brunch spot – but things start to get very weird.

Serving up an eclectic mix of live music, visual arts, spoken word, podcasts and club nights, Roundhouse Three Sixty is a brand-new springtime festival at Chalk Farm’s famous circular arts venue. Aiming to ‘amplify the voices of today’s most vital and unapologetic artists’, its line-up features both globally recognised talents and up-and-coming creators nurtured by the Roundhouse. Highlights include a celebration of the legacy Donna Summer featuring performances from MNEK, Katy B and Le Gateau Chocolat, the climactic final of 2025’s Roundhouse Poetry Slam and cracking clubnights including Sherelleland, a forward-thinking and cost-friendly clubnight curated by BBC 6Music DJ Sherelle. 

‘It’s complicated’, says unflappable young Kiwi housekeeper Hallie (Tessa Bonham Jones) when her boss Roald Dahl (John Lithgow) aggressively presses her for her opinions on Israel. And it really is. Transferring to the Harold Pinter after an initial run at the Royal Court in September, the topicality of Mark Rosenblatt’s thoughtful debut play about Roald Dahl’s antisemitism is startling. At the heart of Nicholas Hytner’s naturalistic, real-time production is American actor John Lithgow. His Dahl is magnetic: frail and malignant, cruel and kind, righteous and monstrous. It’s a magnificent performance.

Running a marathon is a truly gruelling feat requiring countless hours of training, so the 50,000 brave souls who are taking part London Marathon on Sunday April 27 very much deserve our support. Check out our route guide to find the best spectating spots and track down nearby pubs and bars for when all that whooping and clapping leaves you feeling nearly as thirsty as the runners. Remember: your presence at this monumental sporting occasion makes it absolutely fine to drink lager or rosé in the street at 10am on a Sunday.  

Battersea Power Station plays host to its first-ever chocolate market this Easter. The Chocolate Station will boast stalls from some of the UK and Europe’s finest chocolatiers, including the oldest chocolate manufacturer in Belgium, Meurisse. Vegans with a sweet tooth can stock up at Diana’s Chocolates, while there’ll be cakes, cookies and more available from the likes of Ritual Cacao and Midnight Pantry, plus bars, eggs and truffles from Cornwall’s Chocolarder, and many more.

Head to St Nicholas Church in Deptford, and you’ll see a pair of huge stone skulls above crossed bones on its gateposts. It’s thought these ghoulish sculptures were the inspiration behind the famous Jolly Roger pirate flag. So, it’s fitting that just up the road in Greenwich, the National Maritime Museum is putting on a huge exhibition unearthing the truth behind the infamous swashbuckling sailors. Pirates will trace the changing depictions of pirates through the ages and reveal what the brutal reality of pirate life was like behind the mythologised, fictionalised accounts we’ve all grown up with. Explore piracy in popular culture – from comical characters like Captain Pugwash and Captain Hook to anti-heroes like Long John Silver and Captain Jack Sparrow, the global history of piracy and issues of modern piracy facing seafarers today. 

Laura Whitmore and Sophie Melville take the stage in John Donnelly’s bold new play blending supernatural thrills with a sharp critique of modern life. Mia’s world is unravelling. A screaming baby, a bullied son, a husband buried in police work, and a neighbour who won’t turn the music down. Soon after bodies start washing up in the Thames. When Alfie’s teacher suggests a radical way to take back control, things take a sinister turn, because suddenly, the hunted becomes the hunter.

Snag your ticket for just £15, down from £65, only through Time Out Offers.

Outdoor spaces are big business come summer, and this seasonal pop-up between Waterloo and Westminster bridges is one of the biggest and best in London, boasting lovely views over the river Thames and an eclectic programme of drag shows, DJs, live performances and themed club nights. Between the Bridges returns for the season from April 17, with a packed schedule of entertainment. To celebrate its reopening, it’s also giving away 500 free drinks on the opening night – so look sharp. 

The Horniman Museum and Gardens’ Spring Fair is maybe the most efficient way to cram as much Easter fun into a single day as possible. The gardens will be taken over by a ridiculously busy programme, with everything from an Animal Walk to an Easter Bonnet Parade. But there’s plenty more: think circus skills, singalongs, fete games and seed planting, all fuelled by some cracking cuisine from the roster of food stalls.

Over 17 years on from his last UK stage outing, Ewan McGregor returns to the stage in 2025 and is reunited with Michael Grandage, the director of Guys & Dolls and Othello, the two Donmar Warehouse shows the Scots actor did at the height of his Star Wars fame. My Master Builder is a new play, or rather a new spin on an old play, being up and coming US playwright Lila Raicek’s reworking of Henrik Ibsen’s The Master Builder. Like many of Ibsen’s works, the 1892 drama could reasonably be described as ‘proto-feminist’ without quite being ‘feminist’. You might further guess that Raicek may have jettisoned some of the dreamlike symbolism that mark Ibsen’s original – all will be revealed... 

Dance your way through the Easter bank hol at one of The Cause's famed day parties. Norwegian disco king Todd Terje tops the expansive bill, which spans the globe and includes Chicago house and techno expert Hiroko Yamamura, rising Canadian star Honeydrip, and Berlin exports Sugar Free. There’ll also be heaps of London talent on the decks, too, including the return of Dalston party crew Disco Bloodbath, who’ll be performing together for the first time in nearly eight years. You’ll need sustenance to make it through all 14 hours of this party, and there’ll be plenty of scran on hand from a range of food vendors to help keep you in ship shape for a big start to your four-day weekend. 

The famous and historic London rowing contest between the UK’s oldest two universities returns for its 170th edition on Sunday April 13, when crews from Oxford and Cambridge go head-to-head in eight-oared rowing boats across the Thames. The women’s race is usually up first, followed by the men’s race an hour later. Spectators can watch the BBC’s coverage of the race on large screens at two riverside Fan Zones in Hammersmith and Fulham, or check out our guide for the best places to see all the rive-side action. 

All that glitters isn’t gold – sometimes it’s silver, amethyst, ruby, sapphire or emerald. All the colours of the jewel rainbow will be on display at the V&A as part of its huge Cartier exhibition opening in spring 2025. The UK’s first major display dedicated to the Maison in nearly 30 years will boast more than 350 tiaras, watches, clocks, brooches and other precious objects – some of which have been worn by Queen Elizabeth II and pop princess Rihanna – and trace Cartier’s evolution since the turn of the 20th century. A limited initial ticket sale has already sold out, but keep your eyes peeled for more tickets going on sale. Members can still gain access to the exhibition, so if you’re desperate to gawp at the glamour, consider signing up.

Classical ballet doesn’t always have to be performed to classical music, FYI. As part of a triple bill of works by William Forsythe, English National Ballet dancers will perform ballet moves to modern pop music by the likes of Jax Jones, Khalid and Barry White. ENB will also perform Herman Schmerman (Quintet), one for the Forsythe’s most intricate creations, not shown in the UK for more than 30 years. The whole show will culminate with Rearray, a new work from the master choreographer. 

The Sony World Photography Awards exhibition returns to Somerset House this April, showcasing the very best in global photography. Explore the full spectrum from wildlife and nature to architecture and design, documentary projects to sport, portraiture to still life and everything in between. With photographs printed, projected, and presented digitally, the exhibition brings each image to life like never before. 

Get tickets for just £15, down from £17.50, only with Time Out Offers.

Step away from the mess of consoles in your bedroom and get immersed in the latest experimental games from across the world at Somerset House’s video-gaming extravaganza Now Play This. Into 8-bit 1-uping or cutting-edge new releases? The fest is all about interacting with thoughtful, inventive games that draw from the world we live in. It’s the 11th edition this year and, as ever, it will be showcasing games around a particular theme – this year: ‘Folk Games: the stories we play together’, which will be exploring community and identity through creativity and play.

A brand new arts festival takes over the Southbank Centre this month, bringing together world-class orchestras and some of the most ambitious and exciting artists, performers and creatives currently working in their fields. Some of the highlights of the series include the Chineke! Orchestra and George The Poet joining forces for a night of music, spoken word and poetry tackling subjects of resilience, change and identity; the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Punch Records uniting grime, hip-hop, rap and orchestral music; and Huang Ruo’s ‘City Of Floating Sounds’, which turns the audience into part of a moving orchestra across London.

You might think The Postal Museum’s focus is centred just on UK affairs, but its new exhibition will turn its gaze to the lives of enslaved people in the Caribbean – and how their enslavers used the postal service to manage plantations from afar. ‘Voices Of Resistance’ tells the stories of those exploited and persecuted on the island of St. Thomas, where enslaved people – predominantly women – were forced to carry heavy baskets filled with coal to fuel ships belonging to the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. By exploring their lives and legacies, it exposes how the 19th-century British postal services profited from and enabled transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans.

F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novella about the dark side of the American Dream has been endlessly adapted – there are two big US musical adaptations, with Florence Welch’s Gatsby: An American Myth circling Broadway and Jason Howland, Nathan Tysen and Kait Kerrigan’s The Great Gatsby already there. And now it’s coming here: barely a year after it opened on the Great White Way, The Great Gatsby will transfer to London, playing the limited summer season at the huge London Coliseum. Reviews from Broadway suggest a stylish but not exactly profound take on the classic story that follows narrator Nick Carraway’s entanglement with enigmatic millionaire Jay Gatsby. Marc Bruni directs the transferring production.

Tate Britain hosts the first major UK exhibition of video and animation artist Ed Adkins, a career-spanning show featuring paintings, writing, embroideries and drawings, alongside the acclaimed artist’s moving image works. It’s a vast survey charting Atkins’ artistic development, blending emotion and personal reflection with existential inquiry. His work grapples with the nature of love and death, exploring the anxieties, absurdities, and vulnerabilities of life in an age where technology both preserves and distorts who we are. The result is something urgent and deeply human. 

Cheer on England’s Red Roses as they wrap up their run in the Women’s Six Nations 2025 with a colossal clash against France. The two teams will face off at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium on April 26, with the Red Roses hoping to add some more silverware to their trophy cabinet. Halftime entertainment will come from returning hip-hop/pop duo Rizzle Kicks, fresh off a triumphant comeback with their new album, ‘Competition Is For Losers’.

Spring in London is always a knockout. As we emerge from an extra-severe period of hibernation, the urge to get to the park and gawp at loads of pretty flowers becomes pretty intense and there are tons of amazing green spaces to enjoy the season’s pops of colour. From London's bright pink cherry blossoms to seas of lavender that swell in summer, take a look at our list of the best places to see flowers in London.

Celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2025, this annual two-day film festival at the Barbican is programmed entirely by young people aged 16 to 24 as part of the arts centre’s Young Film Programmers scheme. The free-to-attend, six-month talent development scheme sees the group determine the themes, film selections and connected public events ranging from poetry readings to panel discussions.  

Highbury wine bar Top Cuvée’s seems to outdo itself year after year with its ever-popular Easter egg hunt for grown-ups, and 2025 is no different. The enfants terribles of London’s natty wine scene have once again partnered with ethical choccie purveyor Tony’s Chocolonely for the fifth edition of their cult event, with full-sized Tony’s Easter eggs (going for twelve quid in the supermarkets) and a Top Cuvée tote on offer for up to 1000 hunters who complete the trail, and a grand prize worth a whopping £500. There’ll also be limited edition hotdogs from Twisted, plenty of wine and a few surprises throughout the day. Simply sign up online and rock up to Top Cuvée from midday on Easter Sunday to be in with a shout of taking home the goodies. Happy hunting!

Car boot, but make it classy. Unlike your usual boot sale, there’s no tat being flogged out of the back of a Ford Fiesta here. Instead, Granary Square and Coal Drops Yard at King’s Cross is being dotted with rare classic vehicles for the 10th year, from which vendors will be selling vintage fashion, homewares and collectables. Mobile eateries will be dotted between the old-school cars and campervans, while DJs will be impressing purists and pop lovers with vintage vinyl. 

Keep your fingers crossed for good weather. This wholesome-sounding book festival is back for its second year, foregoing the venues where literature events are usually held and putting on a big ol’ book bash in the park instead. Books in the Park will fill Lewisham’s beautiful Beckenham Place Park with author talks, guided walks, writing workshops and an interactive children’s programme. Authors appearing this year include Jules Acton, Helen Bowell, Kaliane Bradley, Chloe Dalton, Anita Goveas, Janice Hallett, Annie Lyons and Ned Parlmer. 

Music lovers with an SE postcode, assemble: Camberwell's Dash The Henge Store is planning a massive Record Store Day for the third year in a row, with DJs, bands and other artists taking over four different local venues over the full weekend from the impressively early hour of 9am. Grab yourself a wristband and you can discover gigs by a teeming and eclectic line-up including blues rocker LA Salami, old timey Appalachian strummers The Pegwells, and psychedelic trio Sabatta. Head over to underground dance haven The Greyhound in Peckham for a DJ line-up that'll keep the party going til the small hours.

Ceremony is a new five-day festival celebrating performance art, choreography and ritual action, and will feature some top creators in their fields. Seasoned dance artist Emilyn Claid will join forces with performance artist Martin O’Brien for ‘The Trembling Forest’, a live art ballet created in collaboration with a troupe of queer artists, while the award-winning Anne Bean will give a performance lecture specially commissioned for the festival. There’ll also be a host of emerging artists showcasing their talents, plus free screenings, discursive events and workshops. 

Once again the Garden Museum is throwing open its doors to exhibitors and plant perusers. The fair takes place both outside and inside the museum and this year has been curated by Susanna Grant, garden designer and founder of Hackney’s Hello There Linda. Nab plants and garden ephemera for your urban space, balcony or allotment, pick the brains of pro growers and attend talks and workshops covering everything from the city’s fruit trees to setting up your own micro-nursery. 

Virtuoso ventriloquist comic Conti mounts a weeklong West End engagement with her latest show in which she puts her trademark mouth mast on hapless audience members for what is described as ‘an unparalleled, unscripted new show that delves deep into who we are, hijacking faces to spark a bold, hysterical reality warp’. Indeed!

London’s 12-day citywide celebration of video games is back. Visitors can check out a host of artworks and installations, as well as the festival’s official selection of exciting new video games from across the globe and exhibitions. Look out for the new Game Plus – a gaming consumer and industry event with over 80 games to play and talks, Screen Play – exploring the intersection of video games, entertainment and visual storytelling and see Trafalgar Square filled with open-air fun outdoor games and a pop-up gaming lounge. Plus much more. 

Noughties provocateur Sarah Silverman hasn’t played a UK show since 2013, preferring to focus her career in her home country the US. Is she still the same outrageous woman we last saw back in the day? Probably, yeah, although now in her mid-fifties new show Postmortem is billed as a cathartic affair exploring loss and grief (albeit amusingly).

The capital’s special colourful spectacle that signals warmer days are on the way is here. Cherry blossom season in Japan is a major event, with vistors from around the world flocking over to get a glimpse of the petals in full bloom. If you can’t make it over for this year’s sakura season London has plenty of bloomin’ marvellous places to see the flowers.

Tom Hanks narrates an epic experience that offers a unique new perspective on humankind’s past and future voyages to the moon. See this exciting Apollo Remastered collaboration with Tom Hanks, Christopher Riley and 59 Productions with an insight into the impending return of crewed surface missions by going behind the scenes of the Artemis programme, including interviews between Hanks and Artemis astronauts. With a musical score by Anne Nikitin, Lightroom’s powerful projection and audio technology will transport you to another world.

Get £19 tickets to 'The Moonwalkers: A Journey with Tom Hanks' at Lightroom, only with Time Out Offers.