Chiara Wilkinson

  We all know that it costs an arm and a leg to enjoy a day out in London these days. Step out the front door and you’re probably already down a mysterious tenner. And once you’ve factored in transport, food, drinks and tickets for whatever takes your fancy, you’re looking at some serious damage to your poor old bank balance. But not all is lost: you’re in a cultural capital, for goodness’ sake. Let’s not forget that we can enjoy some world-class art in world-class galleries, right here on our doorstep, free of charge. Pretty much every major museum in London is free to enter, as well as every gallery – and while the temporary exhibitions will usually take a fee, you can still see some of the greats (we’re talking your Monets, Michelangelos and Emins) at places like the Tate Modern and National Gallery without splurging a penny of your hard-earned cash.  Below, you’ll find all of the free art and photography exhibitions happening in London right now, but that’s not everything: don’t miss out on the permanent collections of some fantastic free museums and galleries right here. Enjoy. RECOMMENDED:All of the free galleries and museums in LondonExplore our full guide to free LondonThe best art exhibitions in London

London is absolutely world-class when it comes to museums. Obviously, we’re pretty biased, but with more than 170 of them dotted about the capital – a huge chunk of which are free to visit – we think it’s fair to say that there’s nowhere else in the world that does museums better.  Want to explore the history of TfL? We’ve got a museum for that. Rather learn about advertising? We’ve got a museum for that too. History? Check. Science? Check. 1940s cinema memorabilia, grotesque eighteenth-century surgical instruments, or perhaps a wall of 4,000 mouse skeletons? Check, check and check! Being the cultured metropolitans that we are, Time Out’s editors love nothing more than a wholesome afternoon spent gawping at Churchill’s baby rattle or some ancient Egyptian percussion instruments. In my case, the opportunity to live on the doorstep of some of the planet’s most iconic cultural institutions was a big reason why I moved here at the first chance I got, and I’ve racked up countless hours traipsing around display cases and deciphering needlessly verbose wall texts in the eleven years since. From iconic collections, brilliant curation and cutting-edge tech right down to nice loos, adequate signage and a decent place to grab a cuppa; my colleagues and I know exactly what we want from a museum, and we’ve put in a whole lot of time deliberating which of the city’s institutions are worth your time. So here’s our take on the 25 best ones to check out around London, ranging from world-famou

Want a drink? You've come to the right place. This is Time Out’s list of best bars in London, our curated guide to London’s drinking scene, featuring the buzziest booze dens in the capital right now. If it’s on this list, it’s excellent. These are the 50 places we'd recommend to a friend, because we love drinking in them and have done many times over. From classy cocktail joints to delightful dives, hotel bars, speakeasys, bottle shops, rooftops and wine bars, London's got them all. But what makes a truly good bar? Well, our critieria for inclusion on this list is simple; a menu of genius drinks is important, but so is overall vibe – there’s no point having the perfect paloma if you have to drink it in a bar that smells of bins. To make the Top 50 a bar has to be fun, full of lovely folk, be inclusive and also look the part.  The latest additions to our list include rowdy sports bar meets 80s horror movie set Bloodsports in Covent Garden, whisky wonderland Dram Bar on Denmark Street, the hypnotic Bar Lotus in Dalston, Below Stone Nest in Chinatown, Rasputin’s by London Fields, and Bar Lina, an Italian aperitivo spot underneath a famous Soho deli. Now go forth and drink. RECOMMENDED: Like bars? Then you'll love London's best pubs.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor, and she'll have a dirty gin martini if you're buying. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Live music, lovely little wine spots and some of the city's best cocktails – Covent Garden has more brilliant bars than you can shake a stick at. The area's drinking scene is diverse, so check out our picks of the best places for after-hours drinking in the the middle of town; whether it’s female-founded beaujolais at Lady of the Grapes, rock'n'roll Martinis at Stereo, cabaret with your cabernet at CellarDoor or beers, so many beers, at Bierschenke. RECOMMENDED: The best restaurants in Covent Garden. 

There’s a lot of talk about the state of London nightlife right now. Naysayers lament the fact that venues are closing at an alarming rate, blame Gen Zs for not going out and claim that it’s impossible to get a drink in central after 1am (it’s really not). With all that negativity and uncertainty, it’s tempting to just stick to what you know – or worse, stay in – rather than get out there and experience what this vast city has to offer after dark.  There are new nights popping up all the time. Heart of Soul, Jungyals and Gays, Club Stamina and Joyride are all relatively new (and totally brilliant) additions to London’s club scene. There’s also the nights that have remained classics for good reason – Rowans, the Palm Tree fridays, K-Hole – as well as more wholesome late-evening activities like life drawing, spoken word nights and supper clubs.  There’s nights out for everyone in this city. Nights for foodies, film buffs, audiophiles. Nights for marathon ravers, old-school movers and for when you need a proper good singalong. Even nights out for when you just want a nice sit down.  We curated this list by asking Time Out staff members for their favourite nights out in the city – and trust us, we know our stuff. Our list features nights in central London, east London, west London, north London and in south London. They all take place frequently, or semi-frequently, throughout the year and each offers something unique. So what are you waiting for? Start planning your next night o

This city is absolutely rammed full of amazing art galleries and museums. We’ve got everything from major contemporary art museums to high end commercial galleries, stunning local institutions to incredible independent spaces. That means that there are a lot of exhibitions to see, especially in 2025.  But how do you sort the good from the bad? How do you decide which shows are worth spending your meagre free time on? Well, we’re here to help. We go to every major exhibition in London, and a lot of the smaller ones, and we figure out what's a masterpiece and what's a disasterpiece. Our art editor spends his week trudging the streets of London, going from gallery to gallery, to help you figure out what's worth heading into town for. Our critera is simple: we want the best. It doesn’t matter if it’s painting or conceptual installation, if it’s old or new, it just has to be good. Really good. And this list right here is the best art we've seen recently, and it's updated throughout the week. Eddy Frankel is Time Out’s art editor, he literally forces himself to get out of bed every day just to go look at paintings and sculptures. It’s a tough job, but apparently someone's got to do it.  Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.

Choosing the best Santa Barbara hotel isn't the easiest thing. After all, there are so many options, each with a different vibe and aesthetic. Do you want to hang by the beach or opt for a hidden gem nestled up in the hills? Sleep beside the nightlife or doze without a party in sight? Is a pool non-negotiable? And what about entertainment for the kids? Surely you want to be right by the city’s best attractions (don't miss Old Mission Santa Barbara!), tastiest restaurants, and top wineries? See, there's a lot to consider. This central coast hot spot attracts tourists year-round, with temperatures in the 60s and 70s all year long, and an easily accessible location just 90 miles north of Los Angeles. Naturally, that means there's a hotel to cater for all preferences and budgets, but whatever yours are, you can bet we've got a spot for you. We’ve scrolled through Santa Barbara's many hotels and whittled them down to the cream of the crop. All you have to do is pick the right place for your perfect stay.  Updated for January 2025: We've added a newbie, in the form of a Mediterranean-style inn that's right on the beach – if that sounds like something you'd be interested in (we know it is).  🎭 The best things to do in Santa Barbara🛏 The best Airbnbs in Santa Barbara This guide was written by a US correspondent for Time Out, Kai Oliver-Kurtin. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our 

Seeing as Edinburgh has the best restaurant scene in Scotland (yeah I said it, Glasgow), the Capital unsurprisingly comes armed with some seriously braw brunches and breakfasts. After all, when you’ve got a nightlife like ours, you’ve got to have a line-up of places that can take on the damage from the night before. In our city you can enjoy everything from the healthy to indulgent, from cafes with nutrient-packed granola bowls and smoothies to legendary greasy spoons who serve ‘big, bigger and biggest’ full Scottish breakfasts. Looking for something a bit less traditional? We've got you covered with Mexican cantinas, Canadian diners and all the rest of it.  Why is bottomless brunch not a thing in Edinburgh? Bottomless brunch is technically illegal due to our licencing laws here in Scotland. And yes, I’ll admit, it can be a bit of a bummer – but at least we can all still remember how good our breakfast was come dinnertime. Also, there’s nothing stopping you from ordering a Bloody Mary or Mimosa (although, with some of the best coffee shops in the UK calling Edinburgh home, we’ll probably just take a flat white).  RECOMMENDED:🥙 The best cheap eats in Edinburgh🏨 The best hotels in Edinburgh🍽️ The best restaurants in Edinburgh🏘️ Where to stay in Edinburgh This guide was recently updated by Dayna McAlpine, a writer based in Edinburgh. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our 

There’s nothing much better than a properly good night out. Chaotic pre-drinks, sweaty dance floors, thumping bass, the promise of running into a crush and the end-of-night kebab are some of life’s biggest joys. We know it’s hard not to feel glum about the state of nightlife in the UK right now – we can’t ignore the fact that venues are closing at alarming rates across the country (an average of 10 are closing every month, per Night Time Industries Association data). However, the UK’s late-night culture is far from dead yet. In fact, it is alive and kicking.  Our dancefloors are changing, and instead of stalwart nightclubs being the go-to places, now the hottest parties travel around to different venues. They are DIY, independent and grassroots nights out, powered by the most banging tunes, the fiercest outfits, and a genuine vigour for making sure everyone has a fantastic time in the dance.  From thriving queer scenes, to the big trance revival, and the explosion of genres like amapiano, gqom and dancehall, going out in the UK has never been more exciting or varied. Here we’ve asked local experts to compile a by no means definitive list of some of the best parties in the UK that you can dance the night away at right now. India Lawrence is Time Out’s Staff Writer, UK. She has written extensively about nightlife and festivals in London for Time Out, and thinks all Friday nights should be spent on a sweaty dance floor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guideline

It’s official: London is experiencing a fast-mushrooming plant-based restaurant boom. Across the city, creative chefs are showing off their prowess with plants, creating pitch-perfect imitations of meaty comfort food classics, or dreaming up new vegetable-based delights. Whether you’re after a lavish night of culinary theatre, a delicate Middle Eastern spread, a Michelin-star winning tasting menu, or brisket at a vegan smokehouse, you’ll find it in our list of London’s best vegan restaurants. Read on to plan your next plant-free feast. RECOMMENDED: London’s best restaurants for vegetarian food. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

The smog and stress of London can really take its toll on your skin. That’s why there’s nothing better than a regular facial (or a one-off treat) to give you that much-needed top-up, leaving you feeling glowing, fresh-faced and dewy.  Just thinking about what we put our skin through is enough to give you frown lines. That’s thanks to the combined efforts of pollution and air-conditioned offices, as well as the added bonuses of harsh weather, booze, sun exposure, dehydration and – our least favourite – the inevitable passing of time. Happily, there are loads of great spas, treatment rooms and estheticians in London who can give your face a break and a much-needed zhuzh. Whether you’re after a relaxing, soothing facial massage, some instant radiance, a total skincare overhaul or something a little more intense such as microneedling or laser treatment, read our pick of facials in London.  RECOMMENDED: The best spas in London. 

As soon as the sun sneaks out and winter feels like it is finally thawing, my mind wanders instantly to festival season: the long days, the cold beers, the hours spent singing along to live music with pals old and new. It’s not long now until things really kick off: in 2025, festival season begins in April and extends all the way to the end of September and into October.  If you’ve not already started planning what you’re going to this year, you should probably get a move on because tickets will sell out. What’s more, 2025 looks particularly exciting, with all-new events such as Lido bringing Charli XCX, Jamie XX and Massive Attack to London’s Victoria Park, as well as long-loved staples such as Download, Houghton and, of course, Glastonbury, all returning to the circuit with super stacked line-ups.  Our team at Time Out has spent a lot of time assembling tents in fields and running between stages in parks. By now, we know the UK festival scene pretty much inside-out. From trailblazing bands at music showcases by the sea to classic coming-of-age events like Reading, there’s truly something for everyone here.  So, what festivals are worth spending your hard-earned cash (and precious holiday days) on? Check out Time Out’s guide to the best UK music festivals for 2025 below, in chronological order – we’ll be updating this page with more events as they’re announced.  RECOMMENDED:😎 The best London music festivals for 2025.🪩 What you need to know about Glastonbury 2025

The clothes we wear, the sheets we sleep on, the carpets beneath our feet. Textiles are everywhere; we can’t escape them. That’s what this show at the Fashion and Textile Museum sets out to explore: the long-running connection between us, the earth, and textiles, in just about every sense of the word.  As the exhibition points out from the get-go, we humans have relied on woven fabric to perform practical tasks for millennia, weaving reeds together to create vessels, protecting our delicate little heads from the hot sun with wicker hats and making nets to catch fish. They are the global artform. We use textiles to express our individuality through clothing, to tell stories and mark life milestones. We also use them, the exhibition argues, to communicate our deep, inherent love of animals, to show evidence of abstract thought and to interact with technology.  It sounds impressive on paper, but in practice, this exhibition lacks depth. There are certainly some beautiful, intricate, intriguing objects here: a ‘three-factorial’ weave inspired by betting odds, strings of shiny beetle wings, an applicé wearable art coat and a hand-painted Chinese wedding cloth showing a hare preparing the potion of eternal youth with a mortar and pestle. But it hops swiftly between multiple cultures and time periods, making vague points illustrated with what sometimes seems like a random assortment of objects, mainly from the last century (the most rare, and one of the oldest pieces in the collecti

You know what London is missing? A colossal bar in the middle of Covent Garden where you can watch Nightmare on Elm Street, The Omen and The Shining on 30 silver screens while simultaneously cheering on the Europa League. Said no one ever. Yet Bloodsports, from the same minds behind Meatliquor, seems to really be onto something here. This is the sort of unpretentious late-night fun that has been lacking in central London for far too long. A quick stroll from Covent Garden tube, and slyly hidden down a corridor entrance sandwiched between a coffee hatch and a Tesco, this place is a Tardis: a vast, windowless den where it could be 10am or 10pm - you wouldn’t know for the glare of red neon lights and lack of windows. A generous bar lines one side of the room, another is closer to the back, and the whole space is kitted out with stacks of tables and benches as well as arcade games and pool. There’s plenty of organised fun to be had if you fancy it, though take caution if you choose to do karaoke: it is ‘on demand’, meaning pretty much the whole venue will watch (and hear) your rendition of ‘My Heart Will Go On’. This kind of huge, big-booking place could be hellish – hello, Brewdog Waterloo – but somehow, it’s not. Bloodsports is cool in a sort of self-consciously cringey way, working well because it truly goes all-in on the ‘horror movie meets sports bar’ theme. There’s a ‘bloods’ menu, with lip-smackingly good tomato-based cocktails (your classic bloody marys, as well as tequil

Watching 'Playfight', you’ll be transported back to adolescence: from opening the envelope on exam results day to competitive playground gossip. You’ll bump into former friends who exist only in memory (or your hometown pub on Christmas Eve) and feel at once grateful and melancholic that you’ve grown up a bit since then. ‘Playfight’ is a three-man drama following a group of friends over the course of 10 years, through their GSCEs to navigating their first sexual experiences and working out what they want to do with their lives. There’s Kiera (played with excellent command by Sophie Cox): the brash, over-the-top and slightly misguided northerner who recounts losing her virginity on a tennis court with close to no filter. There’s Lucy (Lucy Mangan): ditzy, Christian and somewhat secretive. Then, there’s Zainab, played by Nina Cassells: the headstrong, sceptical, intelligent lesbian who realises she has feelings for her friend. The whole thing plays out around ‘tree’, their playground meeting point, represented in Hazel Low’s gorgeous, simple set by a luminous ladder in the middle of the floor. The cast walk, climb and swing around it, as tensions unravel in the circle staging. Certain moments are so heavy, you’ll let out audible gasps. Other times, you’ll be laughing out loud, or sitting awkwardly in your seat as sexual tension feels palpable.  As years pass and scenes play out with a great, compelling pace, we see the girls grow in distance – summed up best by the scene where

A shipping container in Cambridge Heath might not sound like the most glamorous place for a facial, but there’s an undeniably east London sort of cool about re:lax – the studio feels at once homey as it does chic and edgy. Opt for their personalised facial for a tailor-made session suited to your skin needs. I arrived with concerns about my acne scarring, and after a considered consultation, I had targeted microneedling alongside a thorough cleansing and hydration, plus a gentle exfoliation, and left with my skin looking (and feeling) visibly smoother and plumper. That was great, but the highlight had to be the deep but gentle massage all over the shoulders, scalp and face: bliss. You’ll leave with a tonne of reccs for your skincare routine as well as feeling genuinely relaxed and your skin lighter and rejuvenated. £89, 60 mins.

Fashion icon, model, club promoter, musician; Leigh Bowery was a multi-hyphenate before multi-hyphenate became a thing. But above all else, he was a muse, as the Tate Modern’s extensive new exhibition tracing the Melbourne native’s life and legacy does an excellent job of portraying.  Starting with his arrival onto London’s New Romantic scene in 1980, we’re whisked through Bowery’s many different eras in loose chronological order, from his early days as a club promoter for the short-lived but influential Taboo, through to his later practice as a performance artist, clothes designer and life model for Lucian Freud.  Re-invention was what Bowery stood for, and the Tate does a great attempt of categorising his many selves, from the walls (the first section is plastered in the Star Trek wallpaper from his home, the next his favoured polka-dot motif, and so on), to the clothes, video clips and portraits on display, which grow ever more out-there as Bowery gained confidence in his craft and voice with each year he lived in London. In the final room, beautiful blown-up fashion photographs show him literally shape-shifting, wrapping and warping his flesh like a sculptor working the wheel.  Photos show him literally shape-shifting, wrapping and warping his flesh like a sculptor In the curator’s tour, we’re told that this exhibition could have been called ‘Leigh Bowery and Friends’ and perhaps that would have been more appropriate: the Bowery on show here wouldn’t exist without collab

In a swish off-street development between Covent Garden and Leicester Square tube stations, you’ll find Oriole – which, despite its relatively corporate exterior – feels like something of a breath of fresh air in this part of town. Upstairs, there’s a small but swanky bar, perfect for a pre-theatre tipple or nightcap, while downstairs, in a gorgeously decked-out basement (all Latin American references, with stylised jungle wallpaper and low lighting), is where the real action is. A small live stage hosting jazz, world music and cabaret, is surrounded by tables, where all manner of dates, after-work drinks and chattery catch-ups happen over full dinners as well as cocktails and bar nibbles. The latter is what this place seems to do best: our food was inconsistent, with the steak overdone and the dessert delivered so fast there was no disguising the plate came immediately from the fridge. That said, snackier bits, such as devilled eggs and kimchi and katsu rump steak sandwich, were divine, while the drinks – the signature cocktails feature a lot of mezcal, vodka and citrus – were spot-on. By the end of the night, the place was buzzing. Order this ‘Cities of the Plain’ – a naughty concoction of mezcal, habanero spirit and cherry liquor. Time Out tip Check the ‘Live Music’ section of their website to see what kind of events are taking place across Wednesday until Saturday.

The four canvases on display from Noah Davis’s 2013 show, ‘The Missing Link’, are large and consuming. In one, an anonymous Black man carries a briefcase, walking through an unknown urban landscape of Rothco-style block colour and concrete. The next is all mottled, moving marks of green and purple foliage, blending and blurring into shadows as an ominous man sits in the middle, holding a gun. Another is grid-like: small, static squares outline the windows of a building towering over swimmers at leisure, the messy paint of the water in fluid contrast to the rigid architecture above. The last image is different, again: Black bodies in motion, faded and fleeting like an out of focus photo, a single figure propelling above the rest, as if in flight.  Davis, the Los Angeles painter known for his figurative works depicting dreamlike visions of everyday Black life, was not one to be pigeonholed: each canvas here is technically unique, yet they still work as a set, each brushstroke deliberate, considered. In this retrospective, we are taken into his personal life: ‘Painting for My Dad’, created when he lost his father, shows a backturned figure standing on the rocky edge of the Earth, peering into the wide, open darkness; the unknown, unforgiving gravitational pull almost visceral. We discover his deep, well-referenced knowledge of art history and glimpse into his Underground Museum, the Arlington Heights gallery he co-founded with his wife, Karon Davis, in 2012. We learn about his h

From tattoo art to TikTok readings, in recent years tarot has infiltrated popular culture in ways that were previously unimaginable. In 2025, tarot is cool. And the Warburg Institute’s newly refurbished galleries, which opened last Autumn, feel like a particularly appropriate place to house London’s first major deep-dive into its history – its founder, Aby Warburg, was one of the first to give it a proper scholarly look-in.  A small but mighty exhibition, Tarot – Origins & Afterlives looks at how the function of tarot has shifted over the centuries while showing how card designs have also evolved with the times. The exhibition offers up various theories as to tarot’s origins, tracing it back to the courts of the mid-15th century Italian Renaissance via the Florentin variant known as Michiate, a 97-card deck, used for narrative-based games. There are some truly gorgeous, intricate etchings and card drawings on display By the 18th century, tarot became adopted by the occult, where it began its association with fortune telling and divination, and in 1781, a French clergyman claimed that tarot originated in ancient Egypt via the ‘Book of Thoth’. A few eccentric characters later, we learn that the mainstream decks most of us are familiar with these days can be traced to the excellently named ‘Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn’, a secret society headquartered in London, that was formed in the late nineteenth century and devoted to the study of magic. There are some truly gorgeous,

With a new Cotswalds property opening up last year, and two new hotels on the way in 2025, The Pig is fast on its way to becoming the next Radisson Blu. We’re joking, but there’s good reason why their long-running concept is so popular. It’s mid-range, decent value, it’s centered around quality drinking and dining, and it has a very particular, inoffensive aesthetic: countryside chic.  The Pig Near Bath opened just over a decade ago, as the third in the chain, but it’s still in pretty good nick and avoids looking overly dated. You pull up the winding drive to a converted Georgian mansion, which in itself, is pretty nice, all faded stone and wysteria around the door, surrounded by an outside dining and drinking area and further flung fields of deer. The chicken coup plonked right next to the car park did feel slightly like someone shouting in your face ‘Look! We’re in the countryside!’, but the grounds are generally in good shape (and bear in mind this is in winter).  Inside, you’ll find welly boots lined up in the porch and various cosy lounging areas, all decorated with painted portraits of unnamed white men and stag heads planted on walls next to fireplaces. The bedrooms themsleves are neutral and tastefully done, with ‘The Pig’ cookbooks and volumes on foraging piled next to the roll-top bathtub. You’ll be tempted to take it slow here, to make a cup of The Pig’s own-branded tea, run yourself a bath and look out the window onto the grounds, which is what it’s all about, rea

It’s understandable why you might gravitate towards the beach when looking for accommodation in Sri Lanka, but Tri Koggala – with its infinity pool looking over a mass of blue, untouched lake, a singular palm tree framing the scene – is enough to outshine the island’s most golden shores. There’s a sense of secrecy and unspoilt natural beauty here that is becoming increasingly rare on this side of the country, making Tri the ideal choice if you want a romantic getaway for the books.  Tucked away down a private road just a 15-minute drive from Ahangama on the coast, this boutique hotel is calm, cool and clean. I arrived at breakfast time and was greeted with cinnamon iced tea in a champagne flute – a theme which is woven throughout the property via subtle, thoughtful touches like cinnamon-smelling shower gel and the opportunity to visit local spice makers on a private boat tour of the lake. Speaking of which, the property is dedicated to preserving its stunning surroundings, avoiding plastic use as well as embarking on a planting project to nurture and protect the lake’s shoreline. The grounds centre around the magnificent two-centuries-old Banyan tree The relaxed communal pool area doubles as a lobby and reception, with tasteful, understated day beds and contemporary takes on mid-century furniture. Below this, you’ll find the lakeside restaurant, which serves up international dishes like a full English, burgers and fries as well as delicious Sri Lankan classics (the coconut r

Many travellers see the Sri Lankan capital as a passing place to fly in and out of, rather than a landmark destination in its own right – but there’s plenty of reasons to spend good time in Colombo, with its growing, buzzy bar scene, mass of museums and temples and various food outposts offering fresh takes on local and international cuisine. Whatever your itinerary here, though, Colombo 7 is a comfortable, fashionable stay, offering a sense of perspective on the sprawling city and all it has to offer via its fantastic rooftop bar, restaurant and dizzying skyline-adjacent infinity pool.  Tucked into a corner of the city next to Cinnamon Gardens, you can easily catch a tuktuk into the centre of town or head a little further out to hit the beach. The large, open lobby is bustling with activity and all sorts of guests, from young families to trendy cosmopolitan types and sunkissed holidaymakers with surfboard bags abound. Walk through, and you’ll reach the downstairs restaurant and breakfast area, which serves up a delicious and extensive buffet brekkie with a waffle, pancake and egg bar.  This place is big: there are conference rooms, a spa, a gym and almost 100 bedrooms, most with large glass windows looking out onto the mass of city below. The design is simple and inoffensive, but the bed is big, the sheets are soft and the view – if you’re lucky enough to have one of the higher-floor rooms – is truly inspiring. You really don’t need anything more.  For a proper ‘wow’ moment,

The Witchery isn’t so much a hotel as it is a gothic fever dream. Perched on the cobbled Royal Mile, mere steps from Edinburgh Castle, the hotel takes its name from the hundreds of people who were burned at the stake as witches on Castlehill.  The hotel – which embraces its heritage with theatrical flair – occupies a sixteenth century building, once used as committee rooms for the Church of Scotland. Here, you can forget cookie-cutter luxury: you’ll feel like you’ve stepped back in time, into a fairytale where kings and queens frolic with devils, witches and sprites. It’s incredibly over the top, but it works. Dark wood panelling? Check. Velvet drapes in ruby red and gold? Check. Gilded mirrors, antique furniture, and ceilings so intricately carved you’ll wonder why they aren’t in the Museum of Scotland? It’s all here, wrapped up in candlelight. After a warm welcome, we were led up winding stone steps into The Old Rectory, one of nine unique suites. It’s hard not to gasp at the interiors: a majestic bed with a grand, organ-style detail, cupboards in hidden bookcases, baroque-style busts and a roll-top bathtub with Penhaligon’s toiletries. View wise, you’re looking out over the Royal Mile to swarms of tourists scuttling up to Edinburgh castle. Honestly, it’s the kind of place where you half-expect a ghost to waft through the wall – in an oddly comforting way.  The Secret Garden restaurant is every bit as romantic: vines drape down from a skylight ceiling, candlesticks dot the

Spring has most definitely sprung. Londoners are thawing, coming out of hibernation, seizing the city with both hands, milking it for all it has to offer. The April cultural calendar is appropriately packed, with a load of new exhibition openings set to add to all of the excellent ones already showing. From the brilliant but unsettling Ed Atkins at Tate Britain to multi-disciplinary works interrogating language at the ICA, to a blockbuster photography takeover of Somerset House and experimental bodily sculptures at White Cube Mason’s Yard, London is packed with plentiful opportunities for thought-provoking visual indulgence. These are the best exhibitions to see in London in April.  The best new London art exhibitions in April 2025 Photograph: Installation view 'it's not true!!! stop lying!' by Nora Turato, Sprüth Magers, Los Angeles, 2024. Courtesy of the artist and Sprüth Magers . Photography Robert Wedemeyer Nora Turato: ‘pool7’ at ICA Head to the Institute of Contemporary Arts to see the first UK solo exhibition of Croatia-born, Amsterdam-based installation and performance artist Nora Turato. Known for her text ‘pools’, created at yearly intervals using found language gathered from media, conversations, online content and overheard speech, the artist’s UK debut will feature site-specific new work that spans video, performance, graphic design, writing and sound.  Nora Turato: pool7 at ICA, April 9-June 8, 2025. More details here.  Photograph: Luke Hayes ‘Splash! A Cen

It’s pay weekend (for most of us), and the lure of a night out to soothe our souls after a week of corporate monotony is calling. Will it be sinking one too many Neck Oils on that same pavement beside the pub around the corner from the office? Cocktails with the girlies at the usual? A few tinnies in the living room before ‘seeing where the night takes you’?  We know it’s all too easy to fall into habits of sticking to what you know when it comes to nights out. But – despite what the headlines might have you think – London nightlife is thriving, and new stuff is actually popping up all the time. There’s something for everyone in this city, at all price ranges: jazz, amapiano, jungle and baile funk nights, cinema all-nighters, lesbian supper clubs, 30+ hour raves, sex parties, audiophile listening sessions, galleries, late-night saunas, spoken-word events, supper clubs, niche karaoke, jam sessions, moonlit plays. You just need to know where to look, and our all-new list of the 50 best nights out in the city in 2025 is a good place to start. Coming in at number one in the list was Pop Never Dies, the alt-pop party that jumps between The Lexington in King’s Cross and The Waiting Room pub in Stokey. Pop music has had something of a renaissance in the last year, and a genre that has previously been snubbed for being cheesy or tacky is now genuienly cool. With artist-specific nights and a happy-go-lucky atmosphere, Pop Never Dies is a deserved number one – it even saw Charli xcx ma

If you’re familiar with east London, you’ll more than likely be acquainted with The Gun: that snug little green-tiled boozer on Well Street.  With banging food offerings, a programme of buzzy music events and proper pints, it’s been a stalwart of Hackney’s eating and drinking scene for more than a decade. It’s hosted several kitchen residencies over the years, such as the inimitable Ling Ling’s – which you might recognise as the number one in our best Sunday roasts in London list – as well as booking DJs like Daniel Avery and Marie Davidson to play its intimate 90-capacity space.  But not everything lasts forever and all good things must come to an end. Yesterday (March 16) was the last day of trading for the Hackney venue, which was forced to close its doors due to the ‘increasing costs of running a hospitality business in the current financial climate’. Time Out UK editor-in-chief Joe Mackertich said about the closure: ‘The Gun is a hugely influential, massively loved and exceptionally well-run part of London's hospitality scene. Losing it is big deal. ‘Whether you popped in for a Saturday afternoon pint, one of its legendary roasts or a critically acclaimed DJ set, the experience was always top notch. East London has lost a little piece of its identity. Hopefully everyone involved will immediately go on to new and brilliant things.’ Meanwhile, Time Out design director Bryan Mayes said: ‘Had many a joyful sesh at The Gun over the years. Unfathomably cool staff and clientele

Disputes between trade unions and train companies in the UK have now been dragging on for nearly three years, with rail workers taking action to protest poor pay and working conditions. But while train strikes are officially over for much of the UK after ASLEF negotiated a pay deal, some strikes have since been called for select services for an extended period.  This week we’ve actually had some positive strike news. RMT train managers on Avanti West Coast services, who’ve been walking out since December, have finally achieved a new pay deal. Those strikes were supposed to last until May 2025, but now they’re off.  There is still industrial action planned on UK trains over the next month or so. The most recent bout of strikes have been called by ASLEF on Hull Trains, which are in response to a colleague being ‘unfairly sacked’. These started at the beginning of March and will last until the end of April.  As for nationwide strikes? Following the last bout of ASLEF strikes in May 2024 – quite some time ago, at this point, and which saw train drivers at 16 operators across the UK walk out over three days – no further action has been called for British train services.  Here’s everything you need to know about upcoming industrial action on the UK’s rail network.  RECOMMENDED ⛔️ All you need to know about the train strikes in London. When are the next train strike dates? Avanti West Coast strikes started on New Year’s Eve and were supposed to continue until May 25. These have now

When visiting the Scottish capital, it’s easy to make a beeline for Edinburgh Castle – you can see the thing as soon as you step foot out of Waverley station, after all. But head a bit further down the road, past Leith and to the sea, and you’ll get to an equally popular tourist attraction: the Royal Yacht Britannia, a huge ship which was once the former royal yacht of the British monarchy, in service from 1954 to 97. And now, the attraction is about to get even better. The Royal Yacht Britannia has revealed plans to open a ‘new world-class visitor centre and retail experience’ this spring. Before checking out the ship itself, visitors will soon be able to learn about the boat’s history via all-new, never seen before photos and videos, via an exhibition which traces the Britannia’s lifetime from the build of the last Royal Yacht in John Brown’s Shipyard to the ship as a visitor attraction. There will also be a new gift shop stacked with souvenirs situated on the second floor of Ocean Terminal shopping centre, which is currently going through redevelopment, complete with a walkway guiding customers right to the ship’s top deck to kick off their tour. The Royal Yacht Britannia was a home-away-from-home for the late Queen Elizabeth II and her family more than four decades. It’s now situated at the Port of Leith, and is available to visit for a peek inside the ‘former floating palace’, attracting more than 300,000 people each year.  Check out the CGI images of what the new centre

The weekend sun seems to have given London a shake up, as though it has injected colour back into the city. Blossom is growing on trees, flowers are shooting up from grass, and the city’s museums and galleries are also gearing up for a new lease of life, with all sorts of exciting exhibition openings in the calendar for this month.  From striking Munch portraits at the National Portrait Gallery to evocative photography documenting everyday life in northern Britain, these are the best new exhibitions arriving in the capital as spring starts to show.  Six London art exhibitions to see in March 2025  Photograph: Seated Model on the Couch, Birgit Prestøe, Edvard Munch, 1924 © Munchmuseet. Photo: Munchmuseet / Sidsel de Jong. Edvard Munch Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery We all know Edvard Munch’s masterpiece ‘The Scream’, but there was a lot more to him: this show at the National Portrait Gallery catalogues the great Norwegian expressionist through his portraits of family, friends, fellow artists, writers, art collectors and others in his lifetime. Intimate, energetic and deeply human, this exhibit is set to remind us why Munch had such influence in his sphere and far beyond.   Edvard Munch Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery, March 13-June 15 2025. More details here. Textiles: The Art of Mankind From the clothes we wear to the furniture in our homes, textiles are functional, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be art at the same time. Since ancient times humans

It’s been a big night at the BRIT Awards, which returned to a packed O2 Arena in London. Ezra Collective won Group of the Year, Charli xcx won Song of the Year and Stormzy won Best Hip Hop/Grime Act, amongst many more. How were winners decided? A BRITs voting academy, made up of around 1,200 experts from the media, decided the shortlist for each category. The genre awards – such as Best R&B and Best Rock – were fan voted; the Producer, Songwriter and Rising Star awards were decided by an expert panel, while the winners of the remaining categories were decided by the voting academy.  A few awards were announced ahead of the ceremony: Myles Smith took home the Rising Star Award, while Charli xcx won Songwriter of the Year and A.G. Cook, credited with producing Brat, was crowned Producer of the Year.  As for the rest? We reported live from the 2025 annual BRIT Awards ceremony at London’s O2 Arena, hosted by comedian Jack Whitehall, and have all the winners in full below. Recommended:Brit Awards 2025: Live as it happensHow to watch the 2025 BRIT Awards on TV this weekend  BRIT Awards 2025 nominees and winners, live Rising star Myles Smith (winner) Elmiene Good Neighbours Songwriter of the year Charli xcx (winner) Producer of the year A.G. Cook (winner) Global success award Sabrina Carpenter (winner) Song of the year View this post on Instagram A post shared by xcxshake (@xcxshake) Charli xcx ft Billie Eilish – ‘Guess fea

And with that, another BRIT Awards draws to a close. Thousands of artists, music lovers and industry folk descended on London’s O2 Arena to celebrate British and international music, featuring performances from Sabrina Carpenter, The Last Dinner Party, Sam Fender and many others. The night started with the red carpet, before guests and nominees took to their seats for a night of live music and winner announcements.  Comedian and former Time Out cover star Jack Whitehall hosted the ceremony, and we reported on all the goings-on as the night unfolded, direct from London’s O2 Arena in Greenwich. Check it out below. Recommended:BRIT Awards 2025: the winners in fullHow to watch the 2025 BRIT Awards on TV  Highlights from the BRIT Awards 2025 Night wraps as Charli xcx takes home Album of the Year The singer-songwriter took home a total of five BRIT awards, including Album of the Year for – of course – Brat. In her final acceptance speech, she said ‘this time culture caught up with us’ and advised younger artists to not compromise their vision, thanking her collaborators in her final acceptance speech before Ezra Collective performed with Jorja Smith to close the show.  Tribute to Liam Payne Jack Whitehall introduced a heartfelt tribute to the late former One Direction member and singer-songwriter, Liam Payne.  TikToker Big John makes a guest appearance The BRITs will just always be better than the Grammys #BRITs2025 pic.twitter.com/7j8ll6BVdQ — Charlie Watts (@char1ie

There’s a pub on every corner in London – or at least the old saying goes. It’s maybe not quite as true anymore, but we still have an abundance of top-quality boozers here, from carpeted Samuel Smith’s joints to trendy east London gastropubs and everything in between.  All that said, we have had our fair share of fallen soldiers in recent times. A new book by Sam Cullen celebrates more than 200 of the most memorable pubs closed across Greater London over the last 25 years, covering all 32 boroughs and the City. ‘In pulling together my new book, London’s Lost Pubs, I consulted a wide array of historic pub guides to the capital’s boozers – it should come as no surprise that the Time Out guides published in the nineties onwards were a rich source of information, full of witty and colourful reviews,’ Cullen says. Below, Cullen picks out some of his favourite comments from the Time Out archives and spotlights 12 great closed pubs to remember. RECOMMENDED: The 50 best pubs in London, according to Time Out 1. The Beehive Photograph: Ewan Munro Marylebone  ‘This bijou Marylebone boozer had a particularly colourful Time Out review in 2004, being described as ‘‘a one room drinking experience that puts you in mind of a house party arranged by a mad aunt who has inexplicably gained access to several barrels of lager and bitter’’. The entry went on to say it was ‘‘cheap and distinctly cheerful’’. It closed in 2014 and has remained derelict ever since.’ 2. Cartoonist Photograph: Jim Lin

Ah, London. From Notting Hill to Love Actually, it’s the star of many rom-coms. And with the grey waters of the Thames flowing through the city, its hidden wine bars and ancient streets, it’s definitely a romantic – in its own unique, gritty sort of way. That said, it doesn’t always feel like love is all that easy to find here. As part of Time Out’s annual best cities survey, we asked more than 18,500 city-dwellers about their dating life. Most of the Londoners we surveyed have a pretty bleak view of dating: only 28 percent of London locals said they think that getting coupled up here is ‘easy’, meaning our city ranked the joint seventh worst in the world for finding love.  The higher cost of going out here – from £7 pints to extortionate tasting menus – doesn’t really help matters. A study released in 2024 found that the cost of living crisis is dramatically impacting our dating lives, with 64 percent of single people admitting to spending an average of between £90 and £140 on dates. As a result, 76 percent of single people have said they have started to lower their budgets for dates, with 32 percent opting for cheaper options like going for coffee over a meal out.   But what do Londoners really think? We took to the streets of Soho and asked people how much they think you should spend on a first date, as well as that all important question: who should pick up the bill? This is what we found.   View this post on Instagram A post shared by Time Out

The hours between leaving the club and rolling into bed are often odd ones, where the real memories are made. The last song plays, the lights come on, and you’re face to face with the strangers with which you’ve shared the dance floor euphoria for the last five hours. Everyone’s makeup looks a little crusty, you can see the drink stains on your clothes, and there’s that shared sense of communion as you queue for the cloakroom and trudge into the early hours of the morning. Maybe the sun will be rising, maybe commuters will already be shuffling past the pavements – but for you, the night is not over yet. You can get a kebab. You can scout out an afters. Maybe you’ll go home with that person you’ve had your eye on all night, or maybe you’ll just walk and talk with friends, old and new, with no plan at all. Time becomes elastic, irrelevant; you feel invincible, like the world is yours for the taking.  Mischa Haller, a documentary photographer based in London, spent 1998 capturing clubbers across the UK in those beautiful, strange in-between hours. From Brighton beach to Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, his pictures show British youth in their post-party prime, laughing, smoking, making fires on the pebbled seafront, posing on pavements next to the remains of greasy takeaways and following the night out to its bitter end. They’ve been compiled into ‘Not Going Home’, the debut book from the British Culture Archive, the non-profit preserving some of the most important documentary photograph

It’s no secret that London’s nightlife is not what it used to be. Ticket prices are climbing as promoters and club owners try to keep up with rising costs, all while young people are going out less and less. It seems like it’s every other week that a new venue is under threat of closure as property developers move in, and it’s even a struggle to find a decent place to get a pint past 1am these days.   Enter the Nightlife Taskforce, a project launched by mayor of London Sadiq Khan with the aim of boosting the capital’s struggling night economy. The group was promised in Khan’s re-election manifesto, and the creation follows the resignation of Amy Lamé last October, who spent eight years as London’s night czar and faced criticism about the size of her salary and claims that she needed to do more to stop venues from closing after the pandemic.  The new taskforce will be made up of 11 industry experts, including Cameron Leslie, co-founder of Fabric nightclub, as chair. Other members include Sophie Brownlee, external affairs manager at the Music Venue Trust, Alice Hoffman-Fuller,  former art director at Corsica Studios, Nadine Noor, founder of party promoters Pxssy Palace, Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association and Nathaneal Williams, founder of Colour Factory. If you’re asking us? It looks like a pretty decent bunch of folk who are already actively involved in the best of London’s nightlife already. If anyone should know what they’re talking about, it’s them.