Amy Houghton

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 February 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 February 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 i

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. 

Thank god for Burns Night. As the long, bleak month of January rolls on, this kilt-raising, haggis-scoffing, whisky-fuelled celebration of Scotland’s national poet Rabbie Burns is a chance to banish the winter blues and have a rip-roaring time. The Bard turns 267 this year, but you don’t have to be in the big guy’s motherland to join in the festivities. An estimated 200,000 Scottish expats live in the capital, which technically makes it the third most populous Scottish city, so you can guarantee there’s plenty of feasting, boozing and partying to be done down here too.  When is Burns Night in London? Burns Night always falls on January 25, the day Robert Burns was born in South Ayrshire way back in 1759. This year’s celebration falls on a Sunday.  Whether you want to get sweaty at a ceilidh, pipe in a haggis, or have a classy time at a whisky tasting or indulgent Burns supper, this is how you can enjoy Burns Night 2026 in London.  RECOMMENDED: Here are London's best spots for a delicious Burns Night supper.

There’s a heck of a lot to get excited about in Britain over the next 12 months or so. Between now and 2027 Brits will gobble down platefuls of new restaurants’ grub, slurp tasty bevs in fresh bars, get cultural fixes at museum exhibitions, spectate at globally-renowned sport events and even witness moments of proper historic importance. In 2026 the UK will see the return of the Bayeux Tapestry (not seen on these isles in 900 years) and the completion of the nation-spanning King Charles III Coastal Path. Among the likes of new music festivals and theme parks will be the world’s biggest Irish cultural event, the premiere of one of this century’s most highly anticipated stage musicals and centenery celebrations for a globally-loved children’s character.  And that’s just the stuff that’s planned – who knows what else will define the year? Without further ado, here are the 16 best new things to do in the UK in 2026, chosen by Time Out editors and contributors. RECOMMENDED: 📍 The 14 best places to visit in the UK in 2026.🏛️ The 26 best new things to do in London in 2026.🌍 The best new things to do in the world in 2026.

January is here, which means we’re entering a brand new year. Despite all the January goals, resolutions and hopes we have for 2026, it’s no secret that January can ostensibly become the most depressing month of the year. The days are short and dark, it’s cold, and our bank balances are severely depleted after the December festivities. But, we’re here to help you realise it’s not all bleak.  For one thing, it’s the ideal time to discover London on a budget and without the crowds, while many of city’s very best theatre and musicals, restaurants and bars – ranked definitively by Time Out's crew of expert local editors – offer discounted tickets and cheap meal deals to entice you out of the house during the coldest and darkest days of the year. Believe it or not, but January can also a time for celebration, too. London will once again be playing host to plenty of Burns Night ceilidhs, haggis suppers and poetry readings commemorating Scotland’s most famous poet, plus dinners and parades in celebration of the Lunar New Year, which falls nice and early in 2025, on January 29. If you’re someone who likes to commit to a month of sobriety or a punishing new exercise regime at the start of the New Year, London definitely has your back too. The city is home to countless excellent sports clubs and fitness classes, plus dozens of glorious parks and spectacular walking routes, and there’s arguably nowhere that better caters for the sober and sober-curious. Of course, if you’d rather just s

2026 has officially landed. An entire year of adventure awaits, with Britain set for a deluge of thrilling new things to see and do. Beyond the individual openings, however – the new bars and restaurants, museums and attractions – where should be on your radar for places to visit in the UK?  If you’re up for being inspired here at Time Out, as always, we’ve got you covered. We’ve scoured the listings of all that’s happening in Britain in 2026 and consulted our nationwide network of writers and editors, harnessing all that info to put together a guide to the places that should be on your radar over the next 12 months.  Destinations made it onto Time Out’s list for a vast range of reasons. Some have swaggered onto the scene with a quickfire burst of thrilling new attractions. Others have built their cred slower and reached a point of quiet brilliance, while others still are established spots that simply remain very much worth their rep. Several places will be made even more tempting by those aforementioned 2026 openings, whether that be delicious places to eat and drink, game-changing new transport options or unmissable cultural events.  From trendy seaside towns to revived industries cities, medieval forts to ‘the new Berlin’: here are the UK’s 14 top places to visit in 2026. RECOMMENDED: 🇬🇧 The best new things to do in the UK in 2026.📍 The 26 best stuff to see and do in London in 2026. 

Whatever your vibe (and whatever your budget), London’s got it all – and anyone will find something they love here. Historic pubs, leafy parks and gardens and an unmatched restaurant scene make this city worth visiting year-round, but before you’ve booked anything in London, you kind of have to know where you’re going to be based. To get you started, we’ve rounded up the city’s best Airbnbs available to book right now, with expert tips from our local editors.  Should I choose an Airbnb or a hotel in London? London is not short on lovely hotels, ranging from budget to luxury and just about everything in between. But it’s fair to say that even the cheaper options cost a pretty penny – and you’ll often find them in more central, touristy areas in the city. If you want to live like a Londoner, an Airbnb can allow you to properly immerse yourself in a more residential area of London – and all the locally-loved bars, pubs and restaurants that come with it. You’ll find lots of our local tips below, but for a detailed breakdown of the best neighbourhoods to stay in London, check out our ultimate area guide. More of a hotels guy? No problem. Here’s our list of the best hotels in London.  📍 RECOMMENDED: Ultimate guide to the best hotels and Airbnbs in London Who makes the cut? While we might not stay in and review every Airbnb featured, our writers have based our list on expert knowledge of the destination covered, editorial reviews, user reviews, amenities and in-depth research to

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.

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.

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.

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.

Crack Comedy Club brings pre-party laughs to Tunnel 267 – Wimbledon’s only nightclub – every Saturday night from 8pm to 10pm. For standup sets from four or five comics, tickets are £25 for general admission on the door or £21.50 if you book online in advance. You can also buy tickets that include dinner from a local restaurant beforehand, and if you stick around afterwards you’ll get free entry to Tunnel’s clubnight. Three in one. 

This quirky, tiki-themed minigolf course first popped up in Dalston's Efes in April 2015. A decade later, that debut site is no more, but you can now find Plonks outdoors in London Fields and under the arches at Borough Market. The Hackney course, which recently got a big ol’ refurb, takes you through a ‘Polynesian themed putt paradise’ complete with a tiki forest, a volcano canyon and octupuses. There are plenty of satisfying holes that fire your ball onto tricksy little mechanisms, a loop the loop, and a lot of impossibly steep ramps. All in all: it’s a great place for a plonking party. Prices start from £9.35 per person per play. 

The island of Anglesey was once known as the bread basket of Wales, or as ‘Mam Cymru’, the Mother of Wales. In medieval times, Anglesey’s rich, fertile soil grew enough produce to nourish the entire nation. These days, it still has some of the finest food that Wales has to offer (and supplies some of the finest sea salt in the world). And that’s just one of the reasons why Time Out named Anglesey one of the UK’s best places to visit in 2026.  With a Michelin star and four AA rosettes, Sosban & the Old Butchers is the most decorated of the island’s restaurants. Its £175 nine-course menu is a mystery until you are sat at your table, but it always prioritises using the best locally sourced produce available on the day. Of course, a dinner there is best reserved for a special occasion. For something more low-key, we recommend Tavern on the Bay, which provides superb views and elevated comfort food and The Store, which is brilliant for pizza, small plates and the odd DJ night. Award-winning Dylan’s takes pride in creating menus out of North Wales’ best produce while Catch 22 is a great place to go for an enormous platter of fresh local seafood.  When you’re not eating, we recommend spending your time walking the Welsh Coastal Path around Anglesey. You’ll come across Beaumaris Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for being the ‘greatest castle never built’, the wildlife-packed Dingle Nature Reserve and the nineteenth century lighthouse standing proud above Llanddwyn Isla

Come rain or shine, Londoners love a beer. Under the glaring summer sun, fruity IPAs and crisp Pilsners in the park hit the spot. During the chilly, dreary winter months, thick stouts and spiced ales by cosy pub fireplaces are a reliable way to warm the cockles.  Now, with just a month or so left before spring begins, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has revealed the greatest winter beer in Britain for 2026. And it’s brewed right here in London.  Beer Street by London Brewing Co. has been named CAMRA’s Champion Winter Beer of Britain. It went up against hundreds of other stouts, porters, strong ales and barley wines that had been nominated by beer lovers and expert tasting panels. After a year of local and regional blind heats, it landed first place in the ‘speciality, differently produced’ category and came out on top overall.   CAMRA judges described the victorious ale as ‘a sparking golden amber bitter, with spicy rye and a roasty nose, sweet biscuit on the flavour, where the spicy rye notes increase and linger in the dry and slightly bitter finish’. They added that it made for ‘very easy drinking’.  London Brewing began producing beer in 2011 at the Bull in Highgate before acquiring The Bohemia in North Finchley and moving there in 2014. Its own description of Beer Street says that it delivers ‘notes of toffee, dried fruit, dark chocolate and a subtle nutty rye finish’. Silver medal went to Cairngorm’s Black Gold and bronze was awarded to Green Jack’s Baltic Trader Expor

As Britain’s first official seaside resort, people have been taking trips to Scarborough for several centuries. The arrival of Scarborough Rail Station in 1845 made travel to the town even easier. More than 180 years later, that station is still going strong – and now it’s been given a new lease of life thanks to a £14 million makeover which is due to be completed at the end of March. The renovations of the Grade II-listed station have been going on since last year. The work has included installing a new roof, restoring the stonework and carrying out general preservation of the building. It’s also required the use of specialist materials that are able to withstand the salty sea air.  Work on Scarborough station isn’t quite finished yet, though. The clock tower is currently still being restored and its waiting room and ticket office are also being refurbished. Network Rail called the clock tower the station’s ‘crowning glory’. Its restoration was made possible thanks to a Railway Heritage Trust grant of £203,000. Photograph: Network RailClock tower at Scarborough Rail Station It’s hoped that the changes to the station will enhance the passenger experience. Ann Shannon, scheme project manager for Network Rail, said: ‘Thanks to additional funding from the Railway Heritage Trust, we’ve been able to repair all four clock faces, fully refurbish the tower and finials, and upgrade the uplighting. ‘The finish line is now in sight, and visitors will see a real difference both inside

It’s less than two months until we enter a brand new financial year. Unfortunately that means, from gas and electricity to council tax, everyone’s monthly bills will be going up. Oh, happy days.  The reassuring news is that you can start budgeting for those increases now, as London’s borough councils have revealed the exact percentage they’ll be putting their council tax up by in April.  Nearly all London boroughs are raising their council tax by the maximum 4.99 percent, meaning Londoners will see an average of nearly £100 added to their annual council tax in the next financial year. So, on a monthly basis most of us can expect to be paying an extra £8 or so.  None of the five boroughs that were granted special permission to raise their bills above the 4.99 percent cap have done so. In fact, two of the boroughs that were given the power to increase council tax more than anywhere else in the city have instead implemented the smallest increases this year. Photograph: Shutterstock Wandsworth and Westminster have both decided to freeze the main element of their council tax, only increasing the portion that’s spent on social care. That means residents will see a rise of just two percent and Wandsworth will have the lowest council tax in the entire country (£1,020 for the year).  Elsewhere, Kensington & Chelsea has proposed doubling council tax bills for second home owners in the area, following in the footsteps of Wandsworth, Westminster and Hackney. Whether or not that goes ah

The Year of the Fire Horse has arrived – and London is one of the world’s best places to celebrate it. The Big Smoke’s Lunar New Year celebration is the biggest outside Asia. Following the start of the new year on February 17, this weekend (February 21-22) will see the bulk of the city’s celebrations.  Expect Chinatown to erupt with dramatic martial arts displays, opulent red and gold costumes, fireworks, dancing dragons and more to usher in the Chinese New Year.  On Saturday (Feb 21), there’ll be lion dance performances throughout Chinatown, but the main festivities will kick off on Sunday (Feb 22). At the centre of it all is the flamboyant parade that runs through the district, followed by dozens of performances, workshops and activities across Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square to get involved in. Here’s everything you need to know.  🐍 Time Out’s ultimate guide to the Chinese Lunar New Year in London. What date is Chinese New Year 2026? For 2026, Chinese New Year landed on Tuesday February 17.   When is London’s Chinese New Year parade?  London’s huge annual Chinese New Year parade is happening on Sunday February 22.  Chinese New Year parade start time The parade will set off at 10am and last until 12pm. Festivities will continue in the area until 5.30pm.   London Chinese New Year parade route  The procession will start to the east of Trafalgar Square, a few metres down from Charing Cross station. Spectacular Chinese lions and dragons will make their way up Charing

The Titanic Exhibition opens in Aberdeen next month. The show is being tun by White Star Heritage, which is led by a team Titanic experts and organised shows about the doomed ship everywhere from Glasgow to Cardiff to Torquay. So, you’ll be in good hands.  On entry, every visitor will be handed the passenger card of a real person who boarded the Titanic – at the end you find out if your passenger survived the sinking. Actors in crew uniform will be dotted around and interacting with visitors too.  Image: White Star Heritage The exhibition itself will feature the real belongings of both passengers and crew and fragments that have been recovered from the underwater wreckage. There’s a four page letter that was written on board by a first class passenger named William Henry Harrison, an intact deck chair that was recovered from the ocean just days after the catastrophe and what’s believed to be the largest piece of the ship’s grand staircase. You’ll also be able to see accurate recreations of the Titanic’s anchor, bridge and wreck.  Photograph: Phil Harrison Fans of the 1997 film will be catered for too. The Titanic Exhibition has a section dedicated to the ship’s legacy and cultural impact, featuring actual costumes and props used in the movie.   On top of all of that, Dik Barton, one of the few people to have dived 3,840 metres underwater to the shipwreck and the very first British man to have done so, will be running daily lectures on what it’s like to uncover artefact

It’s finally official – neither Birmingham nor Bristol are getting the Boxparks that they were promised.  We already knew that Boxpark Birmingham, announced back in 2023, wasn’t going ahead – though it was unclear why. The company’s plans to turn open a food and drinks hall under the Floodgate Street Arches in Digbeth were abandoned back in September. It was originally supposed to open last year.  Boxhall Bristol was also meant to launch in 2025. It was beset by delays, originally due to open on the city’s harbourside two years prior. Then, when there were still no signs of it last year, there was radio silence from the company. Now it’s been confirmed that the Bristol site has been axed, too.  Explaining the reasoning behind abandoning both Bristol and Birmingham, Boxpark CEO Matt Snell (who joined the company last March) told industry publication MCA that he ‘didn’t feel confident in those sites and the whole site selection process’. He said that that neither of the sites were up to scratch because they were not near transport infrastructure, on a busy high street, or near stadia or event spaces. Photograph: FedericoCangiano / Shutterstock.com When it announced the cancellation of Boxpark Birmingham, the company said that it remained ‘committed to bringing Boxpark experiences to new locations in the future’, so watch this space.  For the time being, there is another food hall coming to Digbeth instead. Award-winning food hall operator Blend Family has taken over the his

There’s an arena venue in nearly every big UK city. You’ve got the First Direct Bank Arena in Leeds, the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, the Utilita Arena in Cardiff, the OVO Hydro in Glasgow, to name but a few. And this year, they’ll be visited by the likes of Lily Allen, RAYE, Gorillaz and Florence and the Machine. However, there’s one core British city that is yet to get its own arena and has long missed out on major music tours – Bristol.  But not for much longer. An old hangar in the north of Bristol (famous for being the birthplace of the Concorde supersonic jets) is being transformed into the UK’s next major music venue. This week the venue’s name was officially announced, and we’ve been given a sneak peak at what it will look like. Aviva Arena will be built in the Brabazon Hangars at Filton Airfield in the north of Bristol. With a capacity of 20,000 it’ll be the third largest arena in the country (after London’s O2 and Manchester’s Co-op Live). It’s expected to be ready for take off in 2028. Image: Aviva Arena Developers reckon that once open, every year the venue will welcome 1.4 million people for more than 120 major live music, sports and entertainment events.  The arena will be built in the central and largest of the three Brabazon Hangars. It’ll make up one part of a complex named YTL Live that’ll also feature a conference and exhibition space. Overall, the complex is expected to bring £1 billion to the wider Bristol economy in its first decade.  The complex is

If you were worried about a Block9-shaped hole in your life this summer, worry no more. London’s cult queer rave Adonis is filling that void with a brand new queer festival, taking place on what would normally be Glastonbury weekend. Happening from June 26-28, Runway Festival will be the UK’s first LGBTQ+ camping festival of its kind. And just like Adonis’s famed club nights, it’s set to be a gloriously hedonistic affair fuelled by techno, house, acid and everything in between.  The three-day, 5,000-capacity party is taking place on a disused runway at a (so far undisclosed) working airport in the south of England. At the centre – and the element that makes it so new and exciting – will be a fantasy street named ‘Runway Boulevard’, which has been inspired by the ‘gay neighbourhoods’ of every major world city. Organisers say that it will be a ‘deliberately disorienting’ space, with punters feeling like they could be anywhere from 1970s Castro to 1980s Soho to a futuristic vision of Tokyo’s Ni-chōme.  The event’s main arena, a ‘modern, techno-futurist utopia’ will be at the end of the boulevard. This is where you’ll find all the live music and performance art.  The first wave of acts for the festival has already been announced. It includes the likes of Roza Terenzi, Aurora Halal, BASHKKA, Cormac and Clarisa Kimskii, as well as Adonis residents Seb Odyssey, Marie Malarie, Byron Yeates, Hannah Holland, Gideön and Grace Sands.  Photograph: Runway / Adonis Shay Malt, founder of A

One of the benefits of taking the Eurostar over a plane, besides the fact that it’s more environmentally-friendly and takes you right into a city centre, is that you don’t have to go through as much faff as at an airport. But in recent years, there’s been more and more overcrowding at London’s St Pancras International, and its waiting room can be so cramped you wish you’d booked a flight instead.   This week, bosses admitted that the process at St Pancras has ‘become too close to the airport experience’ – and they want to change that. At the moment, Eurostar passengers are advised to arrive at St Pancras somewhere between 45 to 75 minutes before their train’s due to depart and are then left to wait in a departure lounge that is often overcrowded.  Wendy Spinks, the chief commercial officer at London St Pancras Highspeed, told the Telegraph that there is a plan to allow passengers to board Eurostar trains straight after going through security, rather than having to wait in the departures hall – more like a domestic train station. It’s been suggested that boarding times could be slashed by 30 minutes.  Photograph: Jon Kempner / Shutterstock.com According to the paper, the changes to Eurostar wait times could be brought in alongside the £100m renovation of St Pancras. It’s hoped that the move will let travellers arrive to the station much closer to their departure time, spreading out the crowds and easing pressure on the station ahead of the potential arrival of the new Virgi

If you’ve any interest at all in London art exhibitions, you’ll probably already know that later this month Tate Modern will present the largest ever retrospective of Tracey Emin’s art. The career-defining show is set to be one of the best coming to the capital this year. And in the run-up to opening day, Londoners will be able to spot Emin artworks on walls and buildings across the city.   Among many other things, the Croydon-born is known for her neon works that share confessional, poetic messages. If you’ve travelled from St Pancras at any point in the past eight years, you’ll have seen at least one of them in the flesh – the huge pink ‘I Want My Time With You’ sign that sits below the clock.  ©PexelsSt Pancras International The artist has been creating neon signs like that since the 1990s. Now, you could spot them in the likes of Lambeth, Croydon, Walthamstow and Tower Hamlets – sort of. Over the next two weeks her neon quotes will be popping up on billboards in 22 different locations across 11 different boroughs. Essentially, it’s a a very good-looking advertising campaign that gives Londoners a small taste of what to expect from the Tate exhibition.  Look out for poetic declarations like I Whisper to My Past do I Have Another Choice, I Can Feel You Everywhere and More Love, which will be on display across the capital until March 6. You’ll be able to see the neons in real life at Tracey Emin: A Second Life, which opens at the Tate Modern on February 27.  Did you see th

Bad news for lovers of live music in the capital – there’ll be one fewer day fest in London this year. Indie festival Wide Awake has officially been cancelled for 2026.  Wide Awake normally takes place in Brockwell Park at the end of May (on the bank holiday). It welcomes more than 20,000 revellers and always has an eclectic lineup of alt music stars. Last year, it was headlined by Belfast rap trio Kneecap alongside Time Out cover star CMAT and Mercury Prize-winning indie band English Teacher. Since launching in 2021, Wide Awake has also hosted the likes of Caroline Polachek, Primal Scream and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.  Don’t worry though, it doesn’t look as though Wide Awake is going away for good. Well, hopefully. Organisers say that it’s simply ‘taking a break for 2026’. As far as we know, its cancellation has nothing to do with last year’s Brockwell legal battle, though it isn’t the only event in the park that has been cancelled. Free community event the Lambeth Country Show has also been axed for 2026. In case you weren’t aware, Wide Awake is part of the London festival series Brockwell Live, which also include Field Day, Cross the Tracks and Mighty Hoopla. All of those fests were at risk last year after locals won a High Court challenge in which they argued that they were ‘destroying’ Brockwell Park. The events still went ahead, but a new objection was launched at the start of this year. That’s not anything to worry about too much, though – allowing groups and