Amy Houghton

May truly is one of London’s finest months if you ask us. Not only is the city pleasantly warm and bursting with colourful spring blooms, but everyone is giddy with the possibilities of the coming summer. And most excitingly of all, there are not one, but two bank holidays on which to embark on inaugural rooftop bar excursion of the summer, rock out at one of the year’s first music festivals, lounge about in your favourite park, check out all those must-see exhibitions you’ve been meaning to catch or escape the city on a day trip or mini-break. And if that isn’t enough to keep you entertained, here’s our guide to the best events, parties, pop-ups and things to do in May 2026 in London. You’re in for one sweet, sweet month. London’s best things to do in May at a glance: 🪩 Best for party people: GALA 🌷 Best for botanists: RHS Chelsea Flower Show  🎶 Best for pop music stans: Mighty Hoopla  ✏️ Best for something new: Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration 🎭 Best for theatre-goers: 1536 at the Almeida

We’ve made it through the most depressing month of the year, the endless wait for that post-Christmas payday is finally over, and festival season 2026 is on our minds. By the time summer rolls around, Londoners will be absolutley spoilt for choice. With something taking place almost every weekend throughout the warmer months, you can forget trekking across the country to live in a field for five days; simply hop on the tube and before you know it you’re listening to your favourite artists, tinny to hand, knowing that there’s a hot shower and a cosy bed waiting for you once the day is over.  The future of events in Brockwell Park was thrown up in the air in 2025, but you’ll be glad to know that most of the south London park’s usual lineup of events will return in 2026, with Cross The Tracks, Field Day and Mighty Hoopla all in the diary for late May. And the line-up announcements for next year’s events are already coming in thick fast, with huge acts like Tyler, The Creator, Lewis Capaldi, Lorde, Lily Allen, Blood Orange and Deftones all set to take to London stages come the summer. Have a scroll through our comprehensive guide – which we keep meticulously updated with all the latest line-up announcements – and see what takes your fancy. RECOMMENDED: ⛺ The best UK music festivals🌍 The best festivals in Europe

The Irish really know how to celebrate, so when it comes to St Patrick’s Day in London, the city’s Celtic community has no problem showing us how it’s done. With an estimated 170,000 expats from the Emerald Isle living in the city, and many more Londoners with Irish heritage, the celebration of Ireland’s patron saint is always one big welcoming bash, involving plenty of dancing, hearty traditional dishes, a huge parade and as many pints of Guinness and drams of whiskey as you can handle. The Mayor of London’s annual St Patrick’s Day Festival celebration will take place on Sunday, March 15 – two days before the official holiday – and, as usual, thousands of revellers are expected to watch the parade wend its way from Hyde Park Corner to Trafalgar Square for a giant free party with Irish music, food and performances from 12noon to 6pm. If you don’t fancy braving the crowds of central London for the main event in the capital, there are still plenty of St Patrick’s Day parties and events to check out. We’ll be rounding up the best of them below as they get announced, so you’ve got plenty of time to get planning for a very green week. RECOMMENDED🍻 The best Irish pubs and bars in London☘️ Our ultimate guide to the St Patrick’s Day parade and festival🌱 The best London events in March

London has never exactly been known as a bargain destination. But the good news is that The Capital still has plenty of great places to stay without blowing your entire travel budget. Every hotel on this list has been picked by Time Out’s editors because it offers something special – whether that’s a brilliant location, standout design, or simply excellent prices. Book one of these and you’ll get the kind of buzz only a great deal can deliver. Then spend the money you’ve saved on the really important things. Like, erm… the pub. What do we mean by ‘budget’? In a city like London, ‘budget’ is always relative. Prices can vary hugely depending on the neighbourhood, time of year and even the day of the week, so finding a good deal is often about knowing where to look and booking smart. For this list, we’ve focused on places where rooms come in under £200 a night, with plenty dipping well below the £100 mark if you book ahead or travel off-peak. You’ll also find a few hostels offering dorm beds for as little as £12 per person, making them some of the cheapest ways to stay in the capital. 🛌 Our guide to the best Airbnbs in London What's the cheapest area to stay in London?  Honestly, it depends on what you're looking for! Budget hotels and hostels are scattered all over the city, so it often comes down to how far you’re willing to travel. Central areas like Shoreditch, King’s Cross and parts of the South Bank can still offer surprisingly good-value stays (which means you're in wal

London summer has officially kicked into gear. And that means that the Wimbledon Tennis Championships – aka the oldest, and arguably the very best, tennis tournament in the world – is back very, very soon.  This year the tournament is happening from Monday June 29 - Sunday July 12 2026. Thousands will be descending on SW19 to see the matches go down in real life but live screenings will be peppered all over London for thousands more who missed the ticket ballot or can’t be bothered to queue in the hopes of getting in day of.  With a jug of Pimms in one hand and a punnet of strawberries in the other, you’ll hardly know the difference. Even better – most watch parties won’t cost you a single penny. So, pack your picnic blanket, fill your flask and pull up a pew at a summery screening near you. Most haven't been announced for 2026 yet, but check back and more will be added closer to the time. RECOMMENDED: Our full guide to Wimbledon 2026.

Every week, a frankly silly amount of brilliant new restaurants, cafés and street food joints arrive in London. Which makes whittling down a shortlist of the best newbies a serious challenge. But here it is. The 20 very best new restaurants in the capital, ranked in order of greatness and deliciousness. All of them have opened over the past 12 months and been visited by our hungry critics. So go forth and take inspo from this list, which is updated regularly. Check in often to find out what we really rate on the London restaurant scene. And look here for all the info about the best new openings in March 2026. London's best new restaurants at a glance: 🍛 Central: DakaDaka, Mayfair 🍠 North: Ling Ling’s, Islington 🇹🇭 South: Kruk, Peckham 🍝 East: Tiella, Bethnal Green 🥗 West: Martino’s, Chelsea March 2026: We have a new Number 1! The newly-opened Tiella in Bethnal Green has scooped the top spot thanks to knockout regional Italian dishes from chef Dara Klein. Other fresh additions include the slinky Martino's in Chelsea, Cambodian residency Barang at The Globe in Borough Market, foodie wine bar in a one-time Clerkenwell tattoo parlour Passione Vino, perfect produce at Dockley Road Kitchen in Bermondsey, Korean fusion spot Calong in Stoke Newington, Hunanese heat at Fiery Flavors in Surrey Quays, Ukrainian elegance at Sino in Notting Hill, cool diner energy at Dover Street Counter in Mayfair, Georgian classics at DakaDaka in Mayfair, and veggie-friendly Thai at Kruk in Peck

Twice a year, fashion Christmas comes to London, bringing with it whole closets full of covetable new looks you’ll dream of wearing. London Fashion Week returns next week for another deep-dive into the trends and styles that will be dominating red carpets, shops and streets in autumn and winter 2026 (AW26).  Across five days, the city’s most stylish will be hanging out around the Strand and sitting front row to see fresh looks from the likes of Simone Rocha, Chopova Lowena, Harris Reed, Burberry and Fiorucci. Yes, the majority of shows are invite-only, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be in the know. Here’s all the information you need ahead of London Fashion Week AW26.  When is London Fashion Week 2026?  LFW takes place twice a year: in February and September. The next fashion week will be from Thursday February 19 to Monday February 23.  Where is London Fashion Week held?  London Fashion Week usually takes place at the British Fashion Council’s own show space at 180 The Strand. The closest tubes are Holborn and Temple. Several events will also be held at external locations across the city. How do I get tickets to London Fashion Week 2026?  We hate to be the ones to tell you but unfortunately, most of the LFW shows are invite-only, so you can’t buy tickets.  What designers should I be watching out for?  Although you may not be able to see the shows in real life, you will be able to watch them live on the London Fashion Week website. So, these are all the one’s worth tuning in

Tell someone you’re taking a city break to Belgium and you’re generally met with a painfully unenthusiatic ‘oh, that’s cool’. For one reason or another, that small nation bordered by holiday heavyweights like France and the Netherlands, has long been cursed with a reputation for being the most beige country on the continent. Travellers are slowly starting to see through that myth, though. Increasingly, people are booking trips to the likes of Brussels for its grand political prestige, Antwerp for its fashion crowd or Bruges for its historical cobbled streets. But what if I told you there’s another Belgian city that gives all three of those, as well as Europe’s more famous cities, a run for their money?  Thirty miles east of Bruges, Ghent is a small and endearing city that’s understatedly cool. It’s packed with stunning cycle routes and environmentally and socially conscious communities, littered with fantastic slow fashion stores and a wealth of organic shops. It’s also the veggie capital of Europe – every week its cafes and restaurants focus on serving plant-based fare as part of the ‘Veggie Thursdays’ initiative – and in 2024 it held the title of the European Youth Capital. Oh, and here’s an adorable fun fact: every time a baby is born in one of Ghent’s maternity wards, parents can press a button that causes the city’s streetlamps to flicker in celebration. Does it get more wholesome than that?  ➡️ READ MORE: The best city breaks in Europe for 2026, picked by Time Out edito

With a bounty of great parties happening in the capital this Easter bank holiday, you can dance till you drop. Here’s our round-up of the long weekend’s best parties from Thursday April 2 to Monday April 6 2026, from (hopefully) sun-soaked daytime soirees to late-night ragers at some of the city’s best clubs.  If you’ve got the stamina, you could turn Easter into a proper bender. Just don’t count on a quick resurrection in time for work on Tuesday. RECOMMENDED:The best Easter events and activities in LondonThe 50 best nights out in London

We all know travelling with the kids can be tricky, so finding a hotel that keeps everyone happy is key. From splashable pools to free breakfasts for little ones, London has plenty of spots that make family life on the go a whole lot easier. Here’s our pick of the best family-friendly hotels in the city, where parents can relax and kids can be… well, kids. The hotels we’ve selected all make travelling with kids as smooth possible. We look for places that are close to London’s top attractions, so you can zip from Hamleys to the park, without having to spend your whole day on public transport, as well as having the resources to keep the whole family entertained. How we choose our family-friendly hotels A family-friendly hotel is about thoughtful touches for children. Perhaps, there are extra cots, kid-friendly menus, splashable pools, and little surprises that make young guests feel welcome. These are hotels that go the extra mile, from milk and cookies at bedtime to a designated kids concierge services. We include luxury stays and budget-friendly finds. Finally, we consider atmosphere and accessibility: helpful staff, close to attractions and safe play spaces, and a vibe that makes both little ones and grown-ups feel at home. 📍 Looking for your own space? Check out our guide to the best Airbnbs in London London’s family friendly hotels at a glance 💰 Best for a cheap deal: Good Hotel 🗓️ Best concierge service: The Berkeley 🧠 Most iconic: The Ritz ☕ Best afternoon tea for

It can’t be denied that Saturday is one of the greatest days of the week. For lots of us, the working week is over and it’s the one day that you can have a long lie in and stay up all night knowing that you don’t need to be up bright and early the next morning.  In other words, it’s the best day to make the most out of the huge spectrum of things that London has to offer. Whatever your budget, whatever your interests, whatever the weather, there are literally hundreds (if not thousands) of things you could do. Here are some of our favourites things you can get up to in London almost any Saturday of the year (see here for specific stuff going on this weekend).  London’s best Saturday things to do at a glance Best for being outdoors: Hampstead Heath  Best for shopaholics: Selfridges Best for a budget: Natural History Museum Best for group gatherings: Frank’s Cafe  Best for an all-nighter: MOT  RECOMMENDED: The 50 best things to do in London with kids. 

Things are getting more and more expensive here in Europe, and many of our reliably ‘cheap’ cities aren’t so cheap anymore. The hotspots in Greece, Spain, Italy and more that are plagued with overtourism are seeing hiked prices to match, and starting to look startingly similar across the board. But don’t fear: if budgets are tight this year, there’s still plenty of spots that won’t break the bank.  The best part? On the most part, this list of budget-friendly destinations tend to come hand in hand with other wins – we mean less tourists, less crowds, and the flights there are likely to be much cheaper too. Of course, it goes without saying that a ‘cheap city’ is highly subjective, depending on a whole load of factors: which city you’ve travelled in from, what time of year you’re visiting, how bougie your tastes are and all the rest of it. But the spots you’ll find below are lively, culture-packed, and generally incredibly good value for money. Read on for the cheapest (and best) cities to visit in Europe in 2026.  RECOMMENDED:📍 The best city breaks in Europe for 2026🌃 The most underrated travel destinations in Europe Ella Doyle is Time Out’s Europe editor. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by experts across Europe. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. This guide includes affiliate links, which have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines. 

Afternoon tea is a classic Mother’s Day activity, so you can’t go wrong with this offering from Biscuiteers, available at both its Notting Hill and Belgravia cafés for a month from March 8. The spread will include Biscuiteers’ signature hand-iced biscuits, Tregothnan tea, plus the mini sandwiches (with fillings like cheese and fig, ham and truffle and smoked salmon and cream cheese), patisserie (think coconut and mango mousse cake and strawberry and champagne macarons) and freshly baked scones crucial to any good afternoon tea. If you’re willing to spend a little extra on mumsie, you can add a glass of bubbly or a DIY biscuit icing session. There’s also a complimentary (undisclosed) gift included for the woman of the hour.

After a year out, Dialled In is returning to the capital city for its fifth birthday celebrations. Once again, the all-dayer will bring established and emerging artists from all over diasporic and South Asian countries and cities to east London. Unlike past editions, this year’s event will take over multiple venues throughout Dalson, from Café OTO to The Divine to Rio Cinema. It’ll see former member of The xx, Baria, make her first return to the London festival circuit in fifteen years, a rare London live set from rising star Gayathri Krishnan and the London debut of Lifafa, frontman of Peter Cat Recording Co. That’s alongside appearances from the likes of Sarathy Korwar, Mya Mehm, Anish Kumar and Raf Reza. This year will also see the festival expand into the realms of food, film, dance and comedy. 

Gather your brood and join Hackney’s ceilidh band Cut A Shine for its afternoon of family friendly St Patrick’s barn dancing. The bandmembers will teach you and the little’uns all of the crucial ceili moves and ensure that everyone is kept fueled with traditional Irish stew and champ (vegan option available). Things will round off at 3.30pm with a disco where the kids can show off all their newly-learned Celtic choreography. Oh, and there’s a fully stocked bar of Guinness and whiskey for the grown ups. 

Prepare to have your senses thrown into chaos. Anish Kapoor’s first major UK exhibition in the UK took place at the Southbank Centre’s Hayward Gallery in 1998. Nearly 30 years later, the internationally acclaimed sculptor’s work is coming back to the gallery for his largest UK show to date. The exhibition displays recent pieces by Kapoor made with futuristic light-absorbing nanotechnology, as well as works that defined the early part of his career.  There will be huge disorientating mirror sculptures, a colossal PVC installation, a foreboding mass of red and black wax drooping from the ceiling, and a striking collection of carnal paintings made using silicone, resin and pigment.  

Homely isn’t quite the word that comes to mind when you pull back the heavy velvet curtain separating Casa Felicia from the dozy Queen’s Park street outside. Chic, for sure. Elegant, certainly. A parade of two-cover tables are packed close together in the main whitewashed dining room, and over in a far corner, there’s a booth for larger groups which is painted entirely in an intense sultry red. But the deeper into the evening we go, the more we’re taken in by this place’s unexpected down-to-earth charm.   Fettuccine porcini and paccheri with mussels and squid are simple but impeccable Casa Felicia is helmed by chef Francesco Sarvonio, formerly of Manteca and currently of Elephant. The menu switches up daily, but always promises southern Italian ‘soul food’. A pleasing heap of puntarelle salad embellished with pear and hazelnuts, and a faultless seabass crudo speckled with crispy red pepper starts us off. We’re then presented with the most intriguing take on parmigiana I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t come in the traditional form of layered aubergine coins, but as the whole vegetable roasted, skinned and fried in a tempura batter, then cocooned in cheese fondue with a pool of marinara on the side. It’s fantastic – the batter lightly encases the vegetable like a chiffon blanket and the aubergine manages to be both firm and completely melt-in-the-mouth.   Don’t get carried away with the antipasti, as the bowls of pasta (handmade with just semolina and water, no egg) are truly generou

Adoh! (Sri-Lankan for ‘oi!’) is loud.  Sat on Maiden Lane in frenetic, tourist-packed Covent Garden, this Sri Lankan spot from Kolamba duo Eroshan and Aushi Meewella fits right in. While Kolamba and its sister restaurant on Liverpool Street are sleek, sophisticated haunts, this is a maximalist whirlwind. Chopped roti gets more heavenly with each chewy bite Adoh’s goal is to emulate the rapid, chaotic energy of Colombo and its street food culture. The decor is raucous – the tables a striking shade of red and the walls busy with storybook murals depicting hand-painted trucks of South Asia. As for service, it’s full speed ahead. You can very easily be in and out within an hour, and fully satisfied. In the throbbing heart of the theatreland that’s no bad thing.  The menu features a blend of authentic bits (isoo vadai, mutton rolls or roti and curry) and some milder hybrid dishes (fried chicken and curry leaf waffles are best suited to less adventurous members of your party). Shiny squares of prawn toast dolloped with tamarind sauce start us off, swiftly followed by a supple dosa spread with smoky masala, alongside a rather dry coconut roti with eye-wateringly hot lunu miris chilli paste.  The must-order main (which at £17 is the priciest item on the menu) is crab kothu, a late-night classic in Sri Lanka. The bronze mountain of chopped roti, egg and stir fried crab meat (mutton, chicken or jackfruit kothu are available too) isn’t particularly pretty, but drenched in curry sauce (p

One hundred years ago, a strange curtained box appeared on Broadway in New York City. If you went inside and slotted in 25 cents, you’d emerge with eight sepia tinged photos of yourself in a matter of minutes. It was the Photomaton – the world’s first fully automated photobooth. Fast forward to the 21st century and photobooths are in bars, train stations, cinemas, record shops and on streets all over the world. The Photographer’s Gallery is marking a century of the machines with Click!, an archival exhibition exploring their imperfections, their quirks and their most famous fans. Naturally, there’ll be a working photobooth for visitors to take their own snap.

In 1978, Zofia Rydet decided that was going to photograph the inside of every Polish household. Aged 67, she began knocking on doors and asking occupants if they’d be willing to partake in her project. She continued to knock on doors for the next three decades, collecting everyday stories and creating ‘one of the most important achievements in 20th century Polish photography’. More than 100 of Rydet’s prints will be on display at the Photographers’ Gallery alongside books and personal letters offering extra insight into her sociological mission.

The UK’s first major retrospective of acclaimed Ukrainian artist Boris Mikhailov is coming to the Photographers’ Gallery. A ‘kind of proto-punk’, Mikhailov has been capturing and commenting on life in Ukraine since the 1960s – from the everyday consequences of the collapse of the Soviet Union to the realities of people living on the edges of society – through photography, conceptual work, painting and performance art. Ukrainian Diary brings much of that work together to illustrate the tumultuous social and political changes that have shaken Eastern Europe over the past fifty years.

When a place rates itself as assuredly (in huge bold letters, no less) as Good Hotel does, it’s natural to feel a little sus. But it’s true: Good Hotel really does make you feel good. Service is cheery and laid-back without being overly casual, the food leaves nothing to complain about and – maybe it’s the luxurious silence of the area or perhaps the proximity to gently lapping water – I visited in 2024, and I don’t know if I’ve ever had a better night’s sleep in the city. Aside from all that, guests can walk out of Good Hotel feeling extra gratified by virtue of its ‘do good’ DNA. Why stay at Good Hotel? As you walk along Royal Victoria Docks, this huge black shipping container is impossible to miss. Originally built as a Danish prison, this floating hotel docked in London in 2016 after sailing across from Amsterdam. Its founder, Marten Dresden, had come up with the Good Hotel concept four years prior while travelling in Guatemala. Now, each night you spend there pays for a week of school for a child in South America, with profits also going towards hospitality training for long-term unemployed locals (lots of whom become Good Hotel employees).  The hotel also hosts regular community workshops and events that guests can attend. There are comedy nights, yoga classes, salsa classes, kids art clubs and, if you’re in the mood to be extra good, litter-picking around the local area. What are the rooms like at Good Hotel? Throughout the hotel, the interiors are slick, earthy-toned

One of the more recent additions to Wimbledon Village, Good Fortune Club is bright and buzzy with a sprawling menu of Cantonese dishes, the best known of which is its handmade dim sum. Stop by with a large, hungry posse to pack your table with bamboo steamers and sample har gau (shrimp-filled dumplings,) xiao long bao (pork soup dumplings), cuttlefish cake and more.

Of its four south-west London outposts, DropShot’s Leopold Road location serves up hefty brunches on the daily. The portions here are breathtakingly generous, and the tennis-themed menu goes well beyond the standard eggs benny or avocado on toast; think mozzarella and chilli jam-filled potato pancakes andbig fat slices of French toast laden with monterey jack cheese and fresh pesto, or loaded with tiramisu cream and berries. The coffee is fantastic, too.

Alconbury Weald welcomed its very first residents in 2020. The Cambridgeshire neighbourhood, which sits south of Peterborough and northwest of Cambridge, was built on the site of RAF Alconbury, which houses one of the largest military bunkers in the UK. There are 6,500 homes there right now, but new plans have been revealed for even more, alongside a much-needed railway station.  The owner of the site, Urban&Civic, wants to expand the town with more 1,000 more houses and a brand new railway station. That idea has been backed by the mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. It also wants to add shops, a secondary school, ‘pockets of parkland’ and a health centre in what will be the fourth phase of the project.  If it gets the green light, Alconbury Weald Station would be built on the East Coast Main Line. An outline of that plan says that Urban&Civic would provide the land but Network Rail and other transport partners would be in charge of the delivery of the railway station and its associated infrastructure. Developers envision it including a concourse with shops and offices at ground level and apartments above. Image: Urban and CivicPlanned site for Alconbury Weald Rail Station RAF Alconbury was an active airbase between 1938 and 1995. Its secret, nuclear bomb-proof bunker, which the only part of the airbase still standing, was built in 1988 for the purpose of analysing highly confidential data collected by spy planes during the Cold War. Also known as ‘magic mountain’, i

Festival season is within touching distance. In a couple of months, fields from London to Belfast will start filling up with thousands of revellers and the glorious sounds of some of the planet’s greatest artists. One of the earliest fests in the UK’s calendar is Radio 1’s Big Weekend. And today, it announced its star-stacked lineup.  The radio station’s flagship festival has a knack for bringing huge artists to UK towns or cities that they would (probably) never venture to otherwise. It’s had Coldplay playing in Luton, Taylor Swift in Norwich, Bruno Mars in Derry and Miley Cyrus in Middlesborough.  Radio 1 announced where this year’s event would be taking place back in November, but which stars would be coming along has been kept under wraps, until now. Here’s everything you need to know about the Big Weekend 2026 lineup and how you can be there.  RECOMMENDED⛺️ Green Man has revealed its huge line-up for 2026 with Wolf Alice, Four Tet and more🎶 WOMAD has announced its 2026 lineup – here’s how to get tickets When and where is Radio 1’s Big Weekend 2026?  This year, Radio 1’s Big Weekend is happening from May 22-24 in Sunderland’s Herrington Country Park.  How to buy tickets  Tickets for Friday are on sale on Ticketmaster right now. Tickets for Saturday and Sunday will be go live at 5pm later today (Wednesday March 11).  As ever, access to tickets is prioritised for people local to the festival site. A total of 30 percent of the tickets have been put aside for Sunderland City

An unparalleled music scene, world-leading restaurants, endless cultural offerings, glorious green spaces, wholesome community hubs, outstanding clubs keeping nightlife alive, – London really does have it all. It should come as little surprise to those that live here that the UK’s capital city has been voted one of the best on the planet right now. London landed in fourth place on Time Out’s Best Cities with Intrepid Travel 2026 (one spot above its place last year).  More than 24,000 people from 150 different cities around the world had their say in our survey, giving us their opinions on everything from their city’s nightlife and dating scene to its restaurants and cultural hubs. We then combined their opinions with expert insight from Time Out’s global network of experts to create the final ranking.  Every year brings a huge wave of new things to see and do in London. Over the next nine months, the most exciting of those new things include the long-awaited opening of both V&A East (April 18) and the London Museum (late 2026), a major exhibition dedicated to the life and work of Frida Kahlo and the arrival of the Bayeux Tapestry in the UK for the first time in 900 years. On top of that, there’s new Piccadilly line trains (well, hopefully), two new lidos and, of course, an unrivalled festival season to look forward to as well. This summer, the likes of Lorde, Tyler, the Creator, Little Simz, Lily Allen and Twenty One Pilots will lead the lineups.  Photograph: All Points East

At Time Out, we know better than anyone that cities are constantly evolving. We also know that no one knows a city better than the people that live and breathe it every single day. So, for the last decade, we’ve called up the urban dwellers of the world and asked them to tell us about their hometowns. Are they happy? How do they rate the restaurants? Are there enough cultural offerings? What do they think of the green spaces? That sort of stuff. This year, one British city claimed bronze.   For 2026, more than 24,000 people got back to us to gave us insights into life in their city. We then combined those insights with the expertise of our global network of editors to create Time Out's Best Cities with Intrepid Travel 2026. After Melbourne in first place and Shanghai in second, the Scottish capital Edinburgh landed in third.   The city got the joint-highest score in the world for walkability as well as top marks for food (receiving a 94 percent approval rating), public transport (92 percent) green spaces (91 percent) and culture (90 percent). Its residents are among the happiest that we surveyed this year – 91 percent told us that they find joy in their everyday experiences and agreed that their city makes them happy.  Edinburgh local and Time Out contributor Chiara Wilkinson said that ‘Edinburgh takes everything that makes life worth living and turns the dial up several notches’, with every neighbourhood excelling in something different. There’s Stockbridge for independent b

It’s so long to a titan of the London sandwich scene. Dom’s Subs is officially shutting down its City of London outpost. Don’t panic, Dom’s Subs as a business is sticking around. But it’ll be moving out of its shop on Cullum Street after being issued a notice of forfeiture by its landlords.  The cult sandwich shop, which over the years has collabed with the likes of Carhartt, Dishoom, Yard Sale and Time Out cover star Big Zuu, has been serving its mighty rolls to the City of London since 2021. Yesterday (March 9) in an Instagram post, it announced that it has been ‘struggling to keep up with rising rent and bills’ and ultimately has been unable to continue making it work.  It added: ‘We didn’t want things to end up this way, but ultimately it’s no one’s fault but our own. We hold our hands up and we’re very grateful to our landlords for their patience with us over the past months.’ View this post on Instagram A post shared by DOM’S SUBS (@impeccablesandwiches) The original Dom’s Subs on Hackney Road is also no longer operating as a Dom’s Subs. But the business says that the site is ‘well underway to becoming something new’ and that it’s ‘genuinely excited about what’s coming next’. Fans of the impeccable sarnies can still pick up their favourites – including That Spicy D, L’Italiano and Il Roast Beef – from Dom’s Subs kiosk in Ludgate Circus. You can also still go on down to Rasputin’s and Jupiter Burger, which don’t offer the same sandwiches, but are run by t

Cambridge is mostly known for its gothic spires, its grand university buildings and the enormous treasure trove of art and antiquities that is the Fitzwilliam Museum. All magnificent pieces of architecture, and all pretty difficult to miss. But elsewhere in the city, there’s an unassuming little house that contains its own treasure trove.   David Parr House was the home of Victorian working class artist David Parr. From the outside, it appears a fairly ordinary terraced home. But inside, it’s adorned with extraordinary hand-painted interiors that look as though they belong in a stately home. Parr filled the house with his own colourful, intricate artwork, including wall tiles, handmade furniture and decorative glass windows.  This year, the underrated museum is putting on a programme of exhibitions and talks on the theme of maps, travel and journeys. And as part of that programme, it has created a self-guided walking map of Cambridge to spotlight more hidden gems of the city.  It’ll take visitors on a tour of the surviving work of the Cambridge decorative firm F. R. Leach & Sons, Parr’s employer. The firm, founded by Frederick Richard Leach in 1862, was nationally renowned, specialising in church decoration and working with some of the foremost artists and craftsmen of the time, from George Frederick Bodley to William Morris.  Photograph: David Parr House The trail includes stops at St Peter’s Church, St Clement’s Church, All Saints’ Church, Jesus College Chapel and 3 St Ma

Lime bikes have transformed the way Londoners travel. They’re a godsend if you’re running late, often much faster than every other public transport option, and they’re much better for the planet than buses, cabs or the Underground. However, their cost can be off-putting. With an unlocking fee and a cost of around 30p per each minute you’re on the bike, a 20-minute Lime ride can come to as much as £7.20. Unless you’re trying to get somewhere fast, it doesn’t really feel worth the splurge. But that’s all set to change, as Lime has just introduced a new subscription.  The e-bike company has announced the launch of LimePrime – a new £6.99 a month subscription model that’ll let commuters in London ride for up to 20 minutes for a flat rate of just £1.70. That’s less than a single ride on both the tube (which now starts at £2.20) and London buses (£1.75). After 20 minutes, cyclists will be charged a discounted per minute riding rate. Lime says that the new deal will ‘support the department for transport’s aims to make more active travel options affordable and easily accessible for all amid rising costs of living’.  Just like the previous iteration of LimePrime, the subscription also gets you free unlimited unlocks (normally £1) and extended 30 minute vehicle reservations. If you’re going on a group ride with family or friends, they can get access to your flat-rate pricing too.  Photograph: Ceri Breeze / Shutterstock.com Wayne Ting, CEO of Lime, said: ‘We regularly meet with natio

Stringfellows in Covent Garden is one of London’s most legendary late-night venues. Launched in 1980 by the late ‘King of Clubs’ Peter Stringfellow, the luxury strip club has welcomed a long list of major stars over the decades. Now, Stringfellows wants to enter a new era with a second venue in Mayfair. It has applied to Westminster City Council for a Sexual Entertainment Venue (SEV) licence and a premises licence for 8-9 Dover Street, a space that has been empty for several years. If the premises licence is approved, the club would be allowed to stay open until 6am seven days a week.  As you might expect, the prospect of a new strip club opening in the area has been more than a little controversial. Some locals have complained that the new site would ‘undermine the character of the neighbourhood’.  A member of the Met Police filed an objection citing ‘concerns around the hours applied for and the potential this has to have an increase in crime in the area at a time that is consistently difficult to police’.  Photograph: Elizabeth Foster / Shutterstock.com In its objection, the Mayfair Neighbourhood Forum added that ‘this part of Mayfair has been subjected to a significant increase in evening economy activity which is putting a strain on local residents’. It said more visitors to the area late at night disturbs residents along what are otherwise quiet residential streets and that those living in flats adjacent to the venue will be disturbed by the amplified music.  In respo

If you’re ever in search of an adrenaline boost, there are all sorts of different theme parks across the UK that’ll do the trick. In London there’s Babylon, the UK’s only underground theme park, on the Isle of Wight there’s Blackgang Chine, the UK’s oldest amusement park, and soon the country’s very first live-action historical theme park will open in Bishop Auckland, to name just a few. However, we can all agree that the UK still has one very important thing missing – a standalone indoor slide park, obviously. That’ll change in a matter of days, though. The UK and Europe’s first indoor slide park, Slick City, will open in Nottingham on March 12.  Slick City already has more than 95 sites in the US. Its first park this side of the pond will span 50,000 square foot, filled with 16 different twisting and turning slides. On Super Fly, you drop down then are propelled into the air to land on an airbag, on Hyperloop you swirl through a massive bowl, and on Twister, you rock left and right all the way down to the bottom.  The park will also feature the world’s first UV AirGlider, which is a gravity-powered aerial ride that simulates the feeling of flying. For smaller kids, there’s a soft play area and there’ll be air courts where families can play dodgeball, basketball or try out some parkour. There’s a cafe for whenever you need a quick break or a pick-me-up, too.   You don’t need kids to enjoy the park. On the first Friday of every month, Slick City will put on adults only nights

The UK’s largest cities – the likes of London, Glasgow, Manchester, etcetera – tend to hog the spotlight when it comes to places to visit. But good things often come in small packages, and there are many great cities across the country that are far more compact and less crowded than their larger counterparts, with an equally stellar line up of cultural and culinary offerings.  With that in mind, the Telegraph has ranked Britain’s 20 smallest cities from worst to best, based on how much they offer visitors.   In last place was the capital of Cornwall, Truro. The Telegraph gave Cornwall’s only city a score of four out of 10. It said that the place ‘is not a looker’ and is more of a ‘pit stop’ for exploring the rest of the region’s beauty than a destination in itself.   We’d argue that Truro is absolutely worth a visit. In fact, it’s one of Time Out’s top places to visit in Cornwall. Its centrepiece is the stunning gothic revival cathedral, which was built between 1880 and 1910, and is one of just three cathedrals in all of Britain to have three spires.  Once you’ve had a good wander around the cathedral, make a beeline for to Lemon Street Market to browse a bunch of independent boutiques or grab a coffee at the cute Fig Cafe. If you’re a fan of digging around in second-hand shops, it’s worth paying a visit to Enjoy Clothing, one of Truro’s most beloved vintage stores. For a spectacular meal out , book a table at the Michelin-recommended Petty Fours, which opened in 2025 and sit

With Heathrow Airport currently working on a gargantuan £49 billion expansion over the course of the next decade, there will be millions more people needed to use public transport to get to and from London’s busiest airport. The aviation titan reckons that once its new runway is open, an extra 66 million travellers could go through the airport every year. And it’ll need more transport routes to help it handle that huge boost in footfall.   That’s what the Heathrow Southern Rail (HSR) scheme hopes to do. Right now, the airport isn’t directly connected by rail to Surrey, Hampshire or south and southwest London. The proposed route would rectify that. And it’s just been given crucial backing from a local council, provided certain conditions are met.  HSR would start at Heathrow Terminal 5. It would make use of existing railway infrastructure and require eight miles of new railway line to be built, connecting Heathrow to London Waterloo via Clapham Junction, Putney, Hounslow, Twickenham, Richmond, Staines and other intermediate stations.  Spelthorne Borough Council has said that it will give its backing to the project on the condition that there’s a 100 percent guarantee that trains will stop in Staines, and that there will be no damage to Staines Moor, a local country park and designated Site of Special Scientific Interest. Photograph: Matthew Ashmore / Shutterstock.com The council says that independent studies must prove that work won’t damage Staines Moor or increase flood ri

The West London Orbital (WLO) has been in the works for the past nine years. It would be the seventh line on the Overground network and, as the name suggests, connect areas across the west of the city. Almost a decade since plans were first drawn up, the WLO is still in the very early stages and is yet to get the official thumbs up. But it does have the backing of Sadiq Khan and leaders in each of the boroughs it would serve. Now, it’s another step closer to becoming reality.  TfL, the Old Oak & Park Royal Development Corporation (OPCD) and the boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Hounslow have all agreed to contribute a total of £6.65m in funding for the line (£400,000 of which will come from the Mayor of London’s budget).  The orbital would run up to six trains an hour, serving the likes of Brent Cross, Neasden, Harlesden, Old Oak Common, Acton, Brentford and Hounslow. It would be built on a freight rail line that hasn’t carried passengers since 1902 and requires new stations in a few locations, including one at Lionel Road (near Gunnersbury Park) and another at Old Oak Common Lane. There’ll be public consultation on those stations later this year. It would also serve existing stations like Acton Central and Brent Cross West.  Map: Transport for London The funding will go towards preparing designs and proposals for a public consultation this year. TfL, the boroughs and OPCD will finalise their preferred options for stations, junctions, signalling and power; model how the ne