Ed Cunningham

Europe is incredible for festivals, make no mistake about it. And what could be better? Travelling to festivals abroad means getting to explore somewhere new and see a bunch of cracking artists, as well as maybe – just maybe – enjoy better weather and cheaper beer. Europe is certainly not in short supply of some really brilliant places to party, from tiny, lesser-known spots in the Azores to headliner-packed fests in France and the Netherlands. There’s just one festival you’ll see sadly missing from our list – everyone’s favourite festival Glastonbury is taking a fallow year in 2026.  What is the largest festival in Europe? Glastonbury is normally thought of as the biggest festival in Europe (if not the world). But though it’s certainly the most well known, in terms of numbers, it’s not even the the biggest in the UK! The biggest in Europe is actually Donauinselfest in Vienna, Austria, which sees upwards of two million visitors a year. After that, it’s probably joint between Glasto and Tomorrowland in Belgium. The more you know! RECOMMENDED: 🎪 The best UK music festivals🎤 The best music festivals in the world🌃 The most underrated destinations in Europe🌤️ The best European city breaks 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 editorial guidelines. This guide may include affiliate links, which have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate gu

‘Overtourism’. It’s more than a buzzword – in the world’s most popular destinations, it’s a problem that affects almost every aspect of local life, from the environment to the cost of renting, transport and eating out. And when a place is overwhelmed by people, it’s not only locals’ quality of life that suffers; the quality of your trip does, too. But it’s not all bad. Destinations are coming up with ways to redistribute tourism from densely crowded hotspots to lesser-visited regions. Travellers are seeking cooler climes and embracing slow travel, allowing space to discover somewhere new. And they’re still riding the ‘destination dupes’ trend, where overrun holiday destinations are swapped out for less crowded, less expensive, but just-as-good alternatives. On our newly updated list of the world’s most underrated travel destinations, you won’t find your Bangkoks or your Balis, your Amalfis or your Amsterdams. What you will find is the hidden side of Yosemite, the French Riviera’s overlooked twin, a place where penguins outnumber people, and plenty more travel inspo where that came from.Why trust us? Because we’ve been to them all. Every spot on this list was picked by one of our expert editors and globetrotting travel writers, recommended because they offer great (or quiet) alternatives to the classics – and in many cases, because they’re places that actually want tourism. In other words, travelling to any of these 33 criminally overlooked destinations is a win-win situation.

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 in the past year 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 September.  September 2025: New additions include perfect pizza at Ace in Victoria Park, new school Vietnamese at Lai Rai in Peckham, modern surf and turf at Island in King's Cross, yet more pizza at Elephant in Clapton, ultra elite Asian cuisine at Shanghai Me in Mayfair, riverside dining at Canal in Westbourne Park, and a new home for Thai legend Singburi in Shoreditch. Hungry yet? Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. RECOMMENDED: The 50 best restaurants in London. The hottest new openings, the tastiest tips, the spiciest reviews: we’re serving it all on our London restaurants WhatsApp channel. Follow us now to tuck in.

London is full of perfect pizza. The finest of fast foods, this delicious staple has been elevated far beyond its humble roots by great Italian restaurants in London, pop-ups, street food vendors and pub residencies, and we know just where to find these world-class wonders, because we’ve been eating our way across London in order to discover the best. Whether it’s delivered in a cardboard box or served in a swish restaurant, excellent pizza is hard to beat. Browse our list of the best pizza places in town and try not to drool on your screen. Recent additions to the Top 20 include some nifty kitchen residencies; Dough Hands at the Spurstowe Arms and Old Nun’s Head, Bing Bong Pizza at You Call The Shots in Hackney, Little Earthquakes at the Railway Tavern in Dalston, Lenny’s Apizza at The Bedford Tavern in Finsbury Park and Short Road Pizza at the William The Fourth in Leyton and Three Colts in Bethnal Green. You can find Ace Pizza at the Pembury Tavern in Hackney Downs, but they have also opened their first standalone parlour in Victoria Park. Try also; Spring Street Pizza in Borough for pizza with a Michelin-starred chefs touch or Carmela’s on Upper Street for a cosy slice. RECOMMENDED: The finest fish and chips in London.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Need a fun restaurant for your birthday dinner, or a classy dining spot for a celebration? In London, you've loads of great options to dine in style, no matter if you're a party of two or 20. Here's our pick of the best restaurants in London where you can dine in a group. It's all here: spaces big, small, cheap and fancy. Now let the planning commence.  RECOMMENDED: The most romantic restaurants in London.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.  

 Imagine a properly good walk and you're probably thinking of rolling hills, mountains, forests and a rustic country pub for a celebratory pint at the end. And although you won't find that exact formula in London, you can come pretty damn close. This city is full of surprisingly peaceful, rural-feeling and very pretty corners where you can immerse yourself in nature for a few hours – without ever being more than half an hour away from a decent macchiato or a TfL station. Here are some walks that are perfect for enjoying solo, or with a gang who are equally ready to discover London's hidden wild side. Wear some sensible(ish) shoes, check the weather forecast, and make evening plans where you can show off the virtuous glow that only comes from exercising in the great outdoors. If London’s not cutting it at the moment, why not check out our properly good list of walks near (but not in) the capital? And if trees are your thing, here’s a load of walk suggestions that take in some of the best woodland around the city. RECOMMENDED: 📍 The best things to do in London

There’s nothing quite like a proper London pub. Maybe we’re old romantics, but old school boozers are the beating heart of this city. After many evenings of tipsy research, we’ve done the impossible and ranked the 50 best pubs in London.  The pubs on this list are heavy with the powerful whiff of history – though that just might be the sticky carpets – and throbbing with heart, soul and community charm.  How did we decide what made the final 50? With a scary amount of the UK’s pubs closing by the week, we wanted to highlight some of this city’s less well-known and independent inns. The pubs included here are places where you’ll not only get perfect pints, but pickled eggs, epic karaoke nights and intense darts sessions. There’s no gatekeeping here at Time Out and these spots are where old-school regulars rub shoulders with the new wave of pintspeople, from Clapton to Catford, via Walthamstow, Woolwich, Peckham and more. Want cosy and convivial? You’ve come to the right place.  Of course, in a city with well over 3,000 pubs, not everything can make the cut. If you’re looking for pubs with fancy food, you’ll find them in our list of the best gastropubs in London. Wondering where London’s most legendary drinking dens are? They’re all in this list of London’s most historic pubs. Cheers. RECOMMENDED: These are the best pubs in Soho. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor, and has spent an impressive amount of time drinking in London's many pubs. She even used to

Europe is not lacking in jaw-dropping beauty. Its home to seven Wonders of the World, for one thing, as well as 34 UNESCO World Heritage Sites – and even that doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of the incredible things you can find across the continent. But even if we can’t list every single beautiful place in Europe, we can list our favourites. To put together this list, we asked our editorial staff team and travel writers based all over Europe for the most beautiful things they’d ever seen on their travels. The result? Stories of taking boats out on Germany’s hidden lakes, climbing up to vast sand dunes in France, afternoons spent strolling Art Nouveau streets in Latvia and childhoods spent clambering over jagged stones in Ireland. From solitary islands to well-trodden walking routes, here are the most beautiful places in Europe, picked by us. 📍 RECOMMENDED: Our ultimate guide to destinations in Europe Ella Doyle is Time Out’s guides editor. 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 editorial guidelines. This guide includes affiliate links, which have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines. 

Need a place to stay in London? We’re here to make it easy for you. Every year, a wealth of new hotels open in the capital – a testament to the fact that London remains one of the most desirable places to visit in the world. That can, however, make it rather tricky to decide which hotel to choose. But worry not: we have slept our way across the city and hand-picked our favourites, to bring you this ultimate list of London hotels, from Mayfair to Shoreditch, and from budget to blowout (butler included).  Newcomers to our list include the all-new July in Victoria, apartment-hotels which opened in July 2025, and eco-hotel 1 Hotel Mayfair, as well as a few old classics we’ve re-reviewed just for good measure (hint: The Dorchester is just about as great as we remembered). We’ve got a brand-new number one too, but we won’t give that one away just yet. For everything from genuine good value stays to all-out, Zone 1 luxury, you’ll find something on this list for every kind of trip. Superb bars, great architecture, world-class hospitality and the opportunity to have a home-from-home in the best city in the world await you – here are the best hotels in London.  🏘️ Looking for even more options? Check out our list of the best Airbnbs in London Which area is best to stay in London? It’s not just the range of hotels that’s so impressive – you’re also spoilt for choice when it comes to picking a neighbourhood to stay in London. The city is made up of a sprawling network of dynamic neighb

Brazilian carnivals are among the planet’s greatest cultural celebrations, extravagant feasts of vibrant colour, showing off raucous local music with dazzling performances. But the country’s appetite for vast musical events goes far beyond the city carnivals of Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and São Paulo. While technically not a carnival, which takes place at a different time of year and bears different characteristics, Parintins Folklore Festival is one of Brazil’s liveliest and most extraordinary events – and it is held in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. Taking place on an island in the middle of the Amazon river, Parintins is accessible only by plane or boat. Despite that extreme remoteness, Parintins’ festival has developed a prized reputation within Brazil for its celebration of Amazonian culture, its bold, spectacular performances and its fierce, city-splitting rivalry.  A social divide, and an intense rivalry Parintins Festival is, at its core, a competition between two teams. Over three nights performances retell a folkloric story through song and dance called Bumba Meu Boi, a legend of a resurrected ox, and at the end a winner is declared by judges. While Brazil’s carnivals typically mark the start of Lent in the Christian calendar, Parintins Festival is grounded in the heritage, traditions and folklore of the indigenous communities of the Brazilian Amazon.  With me so far? Great. Now, take whatever you’ve envisioned and up the stakes massively. Parintins Folklore Fes

August 2025 update: There's new songs being added to karaoke machines on a regular basis, so we see it as our duty to keep this list bang up to date. Our latest additions include a modern British classic from Lola Young, as well as the bounciest anthem to emerge over the past 12 months from Blackpink's Rosé and Bruno Mars. Whether you’ve got the voice of an angel or you’re totally tone deaf, karaoke unites us all. But heed our warning: choosing the right song is crucial (aka, don’t opt for that Whitney Houston tune if you haven’t the range. And if you don't have good enough flow, steer clear of rapping. Kapeesh?) So we thought we’d help out a little bit. In our list of the best karaoke songs ever, we’ve got everyone from Adele to Toto, and from Frank Sinatra to Ricky Martin. There's even recent singalongs from Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan. Something for everyone. So down that shot, grab that mic and take to the stage. Your audience awaits you. Here are the best karaoke songs ever.  RECOMMENDED:❤️ The best love songs☀️ The best summer songs🎉 The best party songs🕺 The best albums of 2025 so far  

The humble brunch is perhaps one of the greatest inventions of the modern age. Breakfast is too early to really get stuck into, while eating eggs and downing buckets of coffee at lunchtime seems odd. Brunch, then, is the one true morning-ish meal, especially if it incorporates pancakes, bacon and those aforementioned eggs. Or you can enjoy a totally vegan take on proceedings at LD's at The Black Heart. London is particularly well stocked with places to indulge in the famous breakfast/lunch hybrid – one of the latest additions to this list is FKA Black Axe Mangal in Highbury, (don’t forgot to order a pig cheek and prune donut). Let us guide you to the best restaurants for a fabulous brunch, from a traditional full English to innovative twists on the majestic meal, such as a bacon bao brunch or fried eggs on chilli-cheese crumpets.  RECOMMENDED: Like unlimited fizz with your fry-up? Here are the best bottomless brunches in London.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. July 2025: We've removed some of the staler options to give you only the finest brunches in London for this summer. Make the most of the warmer weather by bagging a table on the terrace at somewhere like The Laundry in Brixton, or enjoy the great outdoors at Pavilion Cafe in Victoria Park. Try Lolo in Bermondsey if you want a Spanish take on brunch. Hate the heat and would rather sulk in the dark like a massive goth? Then it's off to

A country home amid gargantuan piles of slate, Plas Weunydd sits atop a hill overlooking not just an old industrial town but the vast landscape of Snowdonia National Park. Needless to say, the hotel is all about its location: the location on a map, sure (it’s pretty much at the dead-centre of Snowdonia and surrounded by all manner of outdoorsy activities) but also its topographical location, with views galore.  For my visit to Plas Weunydd, the approach by car saw me wind my way past the hills and valleys of the national park, through old mining town Blaenau Ffestiniog and most of the way up a not-unsteep hill. The hotel is perched near the top, at the same turning as much-hyped adventure attraction Zip World and a mountain-biking course.  Why stay at Plas Weunydd? If you’re in Snowdonia for an adventure or outdoorsy holiday (and this is very much a region famous for that), Plas Weunydd is extraordinarily well-located. Hiking, cycling, mountain biking, zip-wiring and more is almost literally on your doorstep – as previously mentioned, Zip World is across the road – while countless mountains, waterfalls, lakes or rivers in Snowdonia National Park are no more than a half-hour drive away.  The building itself was built in 1870 as the home of John Whitehead Greaves, the founder of nearby Llechwed Quarry. It was turned into a hotel in 2021, and it relaunched in April 2025 following further refurbishment. Plas Weunydd prides itself on being an adventure holiday base, but also for b

Prince Durairaj and Glen Leeson are good at this by now. Excellent, in fact. The pair have put together a small chain of top Indian eateries; Islington’s Tamil Prince and Tamil Crown, and the first Tamila in Clapham. Fourth time around with Tamila King’s Cross, the experience is more refined than ever. London’s second Tamila is at the other end of Caledonian Road from the Tamil Prince, and, like the Clapham edition, isn’t a ‘desi pub’ but a curry house for fast, casual dining and with an all-day menu. Without the loveable musk of an ex-pub, the space is much airier and restaurant-y, while the service is sharper and more attentive. Food-over-booze indicators don’t get much more obvious than Tamila’s massive interior window directly into the kitchen.  The dhal flashed all sorts of vegetables across your tongue, while paneer butter masala was creamy and mightily generous Our drinks flew out at an impressive pace. A bold harbinger of the strong, spiced flavours to come, the gunpowder margarita, boasting masala dust for salt and earthy smokiness, was sumptuous. The paloma had grapefruity sweetness but a proper, heaped dash of ginger that lingered powerfully.  Tamila’s dishes verge on the more generous side of ‘small plates’. On platters so spotless and shiny they’re genuinely mirrors, come miraculously un-greasy onion bhajis, each one just more than a mouthful of prickly, salty crackle. Retaining integral crispiness beneath dollops of mint chutney, one gets the impression that th

If you’re a history buff (particularly a pottery history buff), the surroundings of this DoubleTree alone will be enough to have you in awe. The hotel is attached to Etruria Hall, a neo-classical Grade II-listed structure once home to Josiah Wedgwood – renowned industrialist and the founder of Wedgwood, one of the world’s most famous pottery companies.  Etruria Hall is no longer a stately home but an events venue, and since the 1980s it’s been attached to a hotel. In 2020 that hotel opened as a Hilton, specifically of the DoubleTree brand – yet despite being part of an all-conquering global chain, it’s maintained plenty of character. Beyond the obvious (the in-house restaurant is called Josiah), the corridors and rooms come lined with nods to local heritage; bottle oven skylines, Stoke dialect phrases, that sort of stuff.  Stoke-on-Trent’s DoubleTree, therefore, not only occupies a special historical site but makes sure you fully aware just how special it is. But it’s also a comfortable, well-kitted-out place to stay. I stayed in a king guest room that was extraordinarily spacious and flawlessly clean, with a sprawling, comfortable bed, fast wi-fi, effective blackout curtains and a practical bathroom.  The staff couldn’t have been friendlier or more helpful, the common areas were bright and welcoming, and there was a very sleek indoor pool and leisure centre. There’s on-site parking, too.  Given the building’s age, some of Stoke’s DoubleTree is understandably rough around the

When Stoke’s Hilton Garden Inn opened in 2020 it was the city’s first and only Hilton. Admittedly it didn’t hold that title for long (the DoubleTree in Etruria was rebranded a month or so later) but you get the sense that this was a statement opening. A terracotta titan towering over Hanley, this Hilton Garden Inn cost £20 million and is part of the wider redevelopment of Smithfield – a mixed-use quarter named after the area’s old bottle works. Given it’s getting on for half a decade old, Stoke’s Hilton Garden Inn still looks and feels shimmeringly new. Sure, stepping into the lobby feels very much like stepping into any new-ish Hilton, anywhere, but this one is exceptionally well-kempt, making it very much a slick, shiny beacon of modern comfort.  I stayed in a ‘king room’ up on the sixth floor, a tidy and well-proportioned space with plenty of light and a bunch of amenities tidily packed in. The décor was pared back, minimalist(ish) and very much of-this-decade, and the room’s simplicity made it feel bigger. Stoke touches on the walls (images of pottery ovens and so on) reminded you where you were – as did my view, stretching out westwards towards Etruria, Burslem and Shelton. The rest was very much as one might expect of a somewhat new Hilton. The mattress was supple, the pillows and duvet ideally sink-in-able; the shower worked as required, accompanied by fragrant Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries and the flashy touch of an anti-steam mirror. The room was well insulated for so

Down the cavernous halls of Whitehall’s Old War Offices, surrounded by opulent Michelin-starred restaurants and the supremely swish Raffles hotel, lies Kioku Sake Bar – less blindingly flashy, sure, but just as high-calibre. The street-level accompaniment to Kioku’s top-floor, five-star sushi restaurant has the effortless style and homely hideaway calm of a Japanese listening bar, prim décor and lines of hundreds of sake bottles sitting beneath immaculately balanced light. And Kioku’s substance more than matches its style. There are over 140 sakes on offer, each affectionately described, plus a trim list of sake cocktails and a refined menu of innovative, Japanese-infused small plates. The drinks and food are entirely different to those of the upstairs restaurant Kioku By Endo, making the bar very much worth a separate visit.  Order this The Daikon Gibson suspends itself entirely on the front of your tongue, with silky and potent Ginjo sake ‘vermouth’ and tangy pickled daikon combining with clean Roku gin and yuzu tang. Kioku’s cocktails all exude a sense of craft – and this does even more so. Time Out tip Make the most of Kioku’s formidable sake collection and the bar’s in-house sake sommelier to explore the tipple. Discover how the vessel material affects each sake, get a taste of the many, many different styles and regional varieties – and find a new favourite.

Stepping into the atrium of The Conservatorium, it’s immediately obvious that this is a very special hotel indeed. Rich red brickwork meets sharp glass angles, heritage details fit snugly among silky modern luxury; from the fittings and furniture to the architecture, wherever you look something catches your eye. The Conservatorium’s sense of occasion is tied to the building’s history. Many of its cavernous halls date back to 1897, when it was built as a bank. In the 1980s it became a conservatoire, then it was reconfigured into a hotel by starchitect Piero Lissoni in the 2000s. It opened as a founding member of the luxurious Set Collection in 2011. The Conservatorium’s rooms, appropriately for a hotel inhabiting a building of many previous lives, vary massively – yet they share plenty of common ground. Whether one is in the basic ‘deluxe room’ or the three-floor, roof terrace-boasting ‘I Love Amsterdam’ suite, well-proportioned rooms boast plush beds, spacious bathrooms, bountiful storage and thoughtful, refined décor. My room was a ‘royal duplex suite’, with elegant double-height windows looking out onto the humming trams and cafés of Van Baerlestraat. The essentials – bed, space, storage, bathroom, toiletries – were all faultless. Little touches of Dutch-ness (decorative clogs, a Van Gogh coffee table book, Delftware ceramic plates) were unsubtle but still tasteful, restrained. Beyond the room, breakfast (served in the Lounge) was high-calibre and the staff were as helpful

What comes to mind when you think of a treehouse? Woodlice, splinters, cold – yes, probably all those things. But treehouses are also secluded and peaceful, dwellings a few feet up in the air that feel that bit away from the rabble below and closer to nature. And a treehouse, crucially, is all yours.  The treehouses of TreeDwellers in Cornbury, northeast Cotswolds, are treehouses in a spiritual sense. No, they aren’t up trees (nor do they even touch them), but they’re surrounded by them, sitting an impressive height above the forest floor. TreeDwellers takes the idea of a treehouse – as something special, private, embedded in nature – and turns it into a luxurious experience genuinely unlike anything, anywhere else. Pulling up to a TreeDwellers dwelling (a TreeDwelling?) has a supreme sense of occasion. This is the sort of architectural magnificence you thumb through in glossy mags, lustfully dreaming of one day giving it all up for. Handsomely curved tubes are perched atop stilts; inside is all sleek, clean wood and floor-to-ceiling windows, each and every convenience slotted in with impossible neatness. It’s all so stunning that you could easily be satisfied with the design and that alone, left gawping at it for days on end. But these treehouses aren’t just flashy façades: they’re comfortable and practical, too. You check-in with slick door-code entry, the heating is underfloor and toasty on your toes, everything you could possibly need is on a tablet (or on hand from delig

On the face of it, Portobello’s neat, proper Holy Carrot and Dalston’s fire-worshipping feast ACME Fire Cult share little common ground. ACME is roaring and showy, as much a swaggering religion as a restaurant; Carrot is prim as a perfume shop, soft clay surroundings fronting a menu that is plant-forward, ‘root to peel’ and sustainable.  But there’s a clear link between the two – namely Daniel Watkins. The ex-ACME founder is now executive chef at the first permanent home of Holy Carrot (previously known for its supper clubs and Knightsbridge residency), and brings his ‘fire and ferment’ ethos across the capital from one neighbourhood of cool to another.  More than just Holy Carrot’s first proper restaurant, it’s also a Watkins-helmed reboot – and it has plenty of his signature punch. From the off, the pre-starter ‘snacks’ offer a studied but unshowy sort of tastiness. Pillowy insides dramatically burst out of crisp ‘honey’ drenched Jerusalem artichokes; one couldn’t help but mop up the warming chilli ragu with ultralight koji bread. Two cold ‘smalls’ followed suit, both intricately flavoured: each mouthful of the smoked beetroot breathing freshness, each spoonful of the stracciatella with persimmon and bitter leaves with deftly measured amount of creamy tang and gentle crunch. This is innovation of a dependable, not reckless, sort Imprinted upon my memory the most, however, was one of Holy Carrot’s ‘larges’: the crispy celeriac with pickle butter. I know what you’re thinking

The Nobu brand, in a word? Dependable. Nobu Matsuhisa’s Japan-via-USA restaurant empire both draws celebrities and is a celebrity itself, but it’s best regarded for its high-quality dining: nearly 30 years after it opened, Nobu’s Park Lane spot remains one of London’s best places for sushi. These days Nobu isn’t just a restaurant chain but a hotel brand too, with two outposts in London. The Shoreditch one, which opened in 2017, was the first of these – not just London’s first Nobu hotel (since followed by Nobu Portman Square in Marylebone) but the first in all of Europe. The greatest compliment one can pay to this place is that the dependability of the Nobu name transfers seamlessly from restaurant to hotel. This is a sleek and comfortable choice, a beacon of minimalist taste in the midst of Shoreditch’s gaudy pick-me bars and tech-bro co-working spaces. Nobu as a chain is Nippon-by-’Murica, and its hotels are too – Japanese style meets American comfort and convenience. From the front Nobu Shoreditch resembles a Pacific battleship, from the side it’s a hillside Kyoto villa. And inside the hotel offers plenty of that same cultural middle ground: polished black wood, sleek furniture and a tea set in every room, but also huge plasma TVs, delightful staff and an in-house spa.  All aided, of course, by housing a Nobu restaurant, the chain’s third in London. You know exactly the deal here: a spoiled-rich clientele, sure, but also generous portions, attentive service (I did exceptio

If you plonked a point on a map denoting Stuttgart’s absolute centre, I’m fairly certain it’d be directly right on top of the EmiLu. Or it may as well be. Dead opposite the city’s Rathaus (town hall) and a few steps from Königstrasse (Stuttgart’s main shopping street), EmiLu is within easy walking distance of most city-centre sights. Just a couple of years old (it opened in 2022), EmiLu occupies an old mid-century city government building and gets its name by combining the names of its co-owner (Petra Luise Bräutigam) and her daughter (Emilia). A self-professed ‘design hotel’, it boasts 90 ‘unique and special’ rooms that range reasonably in price per night from €85 to €200 (£72 to £170). So, the good: EmiLu, with its focus on individual, tasteful design, is a handsome and neat establishment. The chic reception is kitted out with dark wooden furnishings, while the rooms are airy and uncluttered. Cuboid furniture and crisply-shaped décor work well with bare-material walls; an open shower-room (with a curtain) and a mini-bar cut into the corner wall fit the minimal, trendy vibe. In another positive, my room looked out over the atmospheric street below (with floor-to-ceiling windows and a balcony) but also boasted exceptional sound insulation – an entire crowd of football fans in the space outside were reduced to noiseless silhouettes. Elsewhere, EmiLu’s staff are delightful, the rooftop space is great for taking in Stuttgart’s skyline and the ‘fitness area’ is remarkably well-eq

Over the years, London has done a fabulous job of finding new uses for its many, many historically fascinating buildings. The Bankside Power Station is now the Tate Modern. Churchill’s Old War Office is a hotel and apartments. County Hall houses restaurants, an aquarium and That Shrek Thing. Another of those retrofits is the Great Scotland Yard Hotel, a Grade II-listed building which dates back to the 1820s and was once the Ministry of Defence’s old library. Sitting at an address best known for also housing the original headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the building has been a hotel for a while – though was spruced up a few years ago with a £75 million revamp.  Admittedly, the words ‘Scotland Yard’ do not exactly scream ‘mega-luxe five-star hotel stay’, but… maybe they could? This 151-room Hyatt is as deeply, thoroughly refined as hotels in this city get.  Each step of a stay at Great Scotland Yard is virtually faultless. The neat rooms are full of light, with floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies looking out over the turrets, towers and courtyards of the Palace of Whitehall. Full of modestly luxurious conveniences (like Chromecast TVs and fancy Japanese Toto loos), the rooms are also of a satisfyingly comfortable size: neither small and cluttered nor massive and awkwardly empty.  Beyond the rooms, Great Scotland Yard is far from a copy-paste Hyatt. Playing into the history of the building and address, the doors are slathered in a deep and polished police blue. The fo

If you’ve ever spent time in Leeds, you’ll know the Queens Hotel. Quite literally on top of (part of) the Yorkshire city’s train station, it’s an art deco concrete titan and inarguably the city’s most famous hotel. Dating back to the 1930s, the Queens was the first British hotel to have air con and ensuite bathrooms in every room, and over the years it’s welcomed the likes of Cary Grant and Nelson Mandela. While the Queens could easily rest on its historical prestige, in recent years it’s attempted to keep with the times and undergone a vast refurb. A whopping £16 million has been pumped into bringing the place back up to snuff, glamming it up with communal areas, a huge new dining venue and more rooms. How does all that sprucing up actually feel? In short, pretty damn good. The moment you step into the Queens’ lobby, with its endearingly gauche décor and genially raucous ambiance, you get a proper sense of occasion that feels appropriate for somewhere so stacked with history. The Queens might have been hauled into the 21st century, but it embraces its historical glamour – and the refurb certainly hasn’t sucked out any of its soul. The Queens is entirely decked out in stuff that harks back to the art deco 1930s – and what isn’t from the Queens’ original period (or directly linked to it, like the hallways’ historic photographs) is tastefully matched. The Queens balances modern polish and historical character in a caring, detailed sort of way, ensuring all additions – everythin

We’re barely out of summer 2025, and next year’s festival season is already starting to take shape. Today (September 12) central London day festival BST Hyde Park has announced its first headliner for 2026, and it’s none other than country music superstar Garth Brooks. BST has had quite the run of huge-name country headliners over the last few years. Zach Bryan, Shania Twain and Morgan Wallen have all headlined the Great Oak Stage in recent editions. Brooks’ concert next June will be his first appearance in the UK in nearly 30 years. That’s right, three decades. That’s a hell of a long time for the best-selling solo artist in US history to have not played the UK. He last performed here in 1998. Keen to catch Garth Brooks live at BST next summer? Here’s what you need to know about tickets, from prices to presale and general sale dates. When is Garth Brooks playing BST Hyde Park? Brooks is at BST on Saturday June 27 2026. When do tickets go on sale? General sale goes live next week on Thursday September 18 2025. Tickets are live from 10am BST. You’ll be able to buy tickets on Ticketmaster here and AXS here. Is there a presale? There are two main presales to know about: Amex presale – begins Friday 12 September, 10am BST (already live here) Artist fanclub presale – Tuesday 16 September, 10am BST How much will tickets cost? Adult ticket prices will start from £84.95, plus a booking fee. Here are all the prices (not including booking fees). General admission – £84.95 Child (2-9

If you’ve been into town recently, you know what’s up. You’ve seen the boarded up windows, you’ve noticed your usual haunts disappearing, you’ve benefited from an ‘everything must go – half off!’ sale once or twice. You can see that it’s a shop-ageddon out there on UK high streets, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. In 2023, we lost Wilko, and then in 2024 we got it back. Then we said goodbye to a bunch of Marks and Spencers, some Boots, a few Body Shops, and plenty more. In fact, some studies have estimated that Britain lost up to 37 shops a day in 2024. Although we all hoped that 2025 would bring good news for our high streets, it’s looking like this year is more of the same. It’s not all doom and gloom, but it’s useful to know exactly what’s coming and going so that you don’t plan an entire shopping day around a store which has closed its doors for the last time. Here’s an exhaustive list of all the big places shutting up shop this year across the country. All the UK high street closures in 2025 Poundland  Poundland was sold earlier this year, and a company-wide restructure will see dozens of sites shut by the end of 2025. Here’s a list of all the shops that either have or will shut this year.  Here are all the Poundland stores that either have already closed this year. Clapham Junction Station, London – May 2 Belle Vale Shopping Centre, Liverpool – May 6 St George’s Centre, Gravesend – May 8 Southwark Park Road – May 14 Copdock Mill Interchange, Ipswich – May 20

Last week legendary English rock band Radiohead announced their first tour in seven years – and it includes several dates in London. The tour was leaked earlier in the week on flyers which were found in cities around Europe. Tickets go on sale today (September 12).  The tour will see Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Philip Selway, Ed O’Brien and Colin Greenwood play just five cities across Europe in November and December 2025. It’s their first run of shows since Radiohead’s 2018 tour, which marked the release of their to-date most recent album A Moon Shaped Pool. The band also recently released live album Hail to the Thief (Live Recordings 2003-2009). Now, the process for getting your hands on a Radiohead ticket is a little more complicated than usual. The band have introduced a series of measures to combat touts and bots. Here’s what you need to know about the London shows, from the dates and ticket prices to when tickets go on sale (and resale).  When are Radiohead playing London’s O2? All of Radiohead’s London shows announced so far are in November 2025, between Nov 21 and 25. What tour dates have been confirmed so far? Here are the dates that Radiohead are at the O2. November 21 2025 November 22 2025 November 24 2025 November 25 2025 When do tickets go on sale? Tickets go on sale at 10am BST on Friday September 12. You’ll only be able to buy a ticket if you’ve received an ‘unlock code’, which, if you’re lucky, you will have done by now. All unlock codes were sent out by 10p

Earlier this year all-conquering pop phenomenon The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye) released his sixth album Hurry Up Tomorrow, wrapping up a trilogy of records that have propelled the ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ and ‘Blinding Lights’ singer to new heights of fame. The tour marking those works – the After Hours Til Dawn Stadium Tour – has already seen him play London (back in August 2023), and now he’s back for more. Last week (on September 4) The Weeknd revealed that the After Hours Til Dawn Stadium Tour has been extended to include the UK, Europe, Mexico and Brazil in 2026. Within those dates were two confirmed nights at Wembley Stadium, which in recent months has hosted the likes of Oasis and Coldplay. Yesterday (September 11) the Weeknd’s Wembley run was extended: he’ll now play a whopping five nights in the capital next August.  The tour, which has been running since 2022, is now apparently the biggest R&B tour in history. Tickets are on sale for all dates this week, with several presales having already gone live. General sale goes live today, Friday September 12.  Keen to catch albums After Hours (2020), Dawn FM (2022) and Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025) live and in the flesh? Here’s what you need to know about the Weeknd’s Wembley shows, from dates and tickets to presale details. When is the Weeknd playing London’s Wembley Stadium? The Weeknd is in northwest London next summer, in August 2026. These are currently Weeknd’s only UK dates on the tour. What tour dates have been confirmed so far?

London’s recent, blissfully strike-free period on the tube swiftly came to an end this week, as RMT union members walked out for a total of seven days (five of which caused severe disruption to tube services). The industrial action finished today (Friday September 12), but the lingering effects of it are still being felt in the capital.  RMT staff are striking for a range of reasons, including pay demands, shift patterns and apparent failures to honour previous agreements. The most recent demands to emerge are a 32-hour working week (Underground staff currently work 35 hours per week) and staff discounts on the national rail network. What’s more is that it wasn’t just the tube that was hit by strikes: DLR workers also walked out as part of a separate dispute. Worried about getting around London today, immediately after the strikes? Here’s everything you need to know. RECOMMENDED:🛞 London bus routes will be hit by strikes in September 2025: full list of routes and strike dates.🛤️ When are the next UK-wide train strikes? What you need to know about nationwide industrial action. Daily London tube strike summary, Friday September 12 Here’s the London strike lowdown on Friday, September 12. London Underground: No service until 8am. Full service resumes from late morning. DLR: Normal service expected Buses: Normal service expected Overground: Normal service expected Elizabeth line: Normal service expected When are the next tube strikes? London Underground strikes The most rec

Travelling in or out of an airport is rarely a stress-free experience. London’s air hubs in particular are often fairly chaotic; whether that’s due to their gargantuan size, sheer busyness or, of course, annoying stuff like delays, cancellations and lost luggage. Just last week a London airport was named the worst in the entire UK for delays. But flying out of a London aviation hub doesn’t have to be horrifically stressful – and that’s shown by a new ranking of Britain’s best airports by consumer advice site Which?. Airline and airport specialist Trevor Baker put together a list of the nation’s airports based on a huge range of factors ranging from seating options, customer service and prices at duty free to cancellation rates and queue times. After all that was taken into account, a London airport ranked impressively well in Which?’s study. None other than London City Airport placed third overall, named the best airport in London with a customer score of 76 percent. City also received prestigious ‘recommended provider’ status, which was only awarded to five other hubs. So, what makes London City so great? Primarily it did well thanks to its lack of queues: at check-in, bag-drop, security and passport control, LCY received a full five-star score for its queue lengths. City also scored well for time waiting at baggage reclaim, seating and food and shopping prices – all received a four-star rating. According to Which?, LCY’s high score ‘shows once again that passengers much pre

Another day, another piece of bad news for the British high street. 2025 has seen a bunch more household names shut up physical outlets across the country, from Homebase, Dobbies and WH Smith to Lloyds and NatWest banks.  Also caught up in the closures is New Look. In the wake of bouts of closures in 2018 and 2023, the clothing and fashion retailer has reportedly closed around 600 outlets in the past seven years. New Look has been a high street retailer since the 1960s, selling womenswear, menswear and children’s clothing, and it continues to be a major player in the UK’s clothing market.  RECOMMENDED: Here’s the full list of high street stores closing in 2025. New Look recently said it would be winding down its operations in the Republic of Ireland, closing 26 stores and making nearly 350 employees redundant. UK closures are apparently due to factors like ‘the landlord’s request’ or because the site has become ‘unviable’. Here’s everything we know about upcoming New Look closures in the UK.  Which New Look stores are closing and when? Here are the New Look stores have already closed in 2025, along with the date each one shut.  Carillon Court Shopping Centre Loughborough (January 21) Wickford, Essex (January 24) Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taf (February 22)  St Austell, Cornwall (March 4) Valley Retail World Gateshead, Tyne and Wear (March 9) Preston (March 20) Bexleyheath, London (April 19) Willow Place, Corby (June 1) Birmingham, Northfield shopping centre (June 8) Devizes, Wilt

Cross-Channel travel is in for some major shifts in the coming years. A bunch of rail operators are lining up to compete with Eurostar on the London-Paris route, St Pancras International could double in size and trains are set to start stopping in Kent – and now another huge change could be coming in UK-Europe travel. LeShuttle has revealed major plans to transform its terminals on both sides of the Channel. The service describes the project as a ‘once-in-a-generation upgrade’ that sets up LeShuttle for the next 30 years. LeShuttle, to clarify, is the cross-Channel rail service that carries vehicles like cars, lorries and campervans between Britain and France. It’s not to be confused with Eurostar (a non-vehicle passenger rail operator, though it uses the same tracks) or Eurotunnel (which is the infrastructure itself, ie the Channel Tunnel). So, how exactly is LeShuttle getting upgraded? In Folkestone the terminal will get a flashy new canopy and have its check-in area reimagined. The work will begin this month and be complete before the end of 2026. Passenger terminal buildings in both Folkestone and Calais will also be refurbed and have their ticketing process overhauled, as well as receiving a fresh layout with a bunch more customer-friendly areas like a new food hall and outdoor pet area. It’ll all apparently produce a ‘calm, service-led environment’ intended to ‘reduce stress, enhance flow, and offer customers a place they will actively want to spend time’. The project h

Coldplay are nearly finished with London. Chris Martin and co’s record-breaking 10-night residency at Wembley Stadium kicked off at the end of August, and has now clocked up nine dates. This current run of dates will mark the end of Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres tour, which has been travelling the globe since 2022. The band’s Wembley dates have been packed with action, boasting everything from Oasis covers to more Jumbotron fever (this time with several proposals) and an appearance from Simon Pegg. Chris Martin thanked the crowd for ‘letting us come home at last’, also revealing that the current residency will likely be Coldplay’s final shows in the capital for several years. But what have Coldplay actually played in London so far? In the lead-up to their final show, here’s the lowdown on the songs that have been performed by the band in the capital. RECOMMENDED: 🎶 The ultimate guide to Coldplay at Wembley Stadium.⛔️ Wembley Stadium bag policy for Coldplay shows.🏟️ The seating plan at Wembley for Coldplay.🚝 How to get to Coldplay at Wembley Stadium. 🛍️ Where to buy Coldplay merch in London for the Music of the Spheres tour. Full Coldplay setlists for Wembley Stadium shows in London Coldplay setlist on Friday August 22 This was Coldplay’s setlist on night one at Wembley. Higher Power Adventure of a Lifetime Paradise The Scientist Viva la Vida Hymn for the Weekend Trouble Charlie Brown Yellow Human Heart People of the Pride Clocks WE PRAY Infinity Sign Something Just Li

Coldplay have nearly completed something no band has ever done before: reaching double digits for the number of appearances at London’s Wembley Stadium in a single tour. That’s right, the group is at Wembley Stadium for 10 nights. That’s more of a mini-residency than a leg of a tour – and it’s only got one show left. Coldplay’s mammoth Music of the Spheres world tour has been running since early 2022. Over the course of Coldplay’s Wembley gigs, nearly one million people will be treated to their signature showmanship. There is now only one show left before Chris Martin and co break the record. Up to this point, things have gone pretty smoothly, with huge performances and a spectacular range of setlists. Gigs have been disrupted by tube strikes – which have forced Coldplay to reschedule two Wembley shows – but the residency is wrapping up in style this Friday. Getting excited to see Coldplay? Of course you are. There are just a few things you need to know before heading to see Coldplay at Wembley Stadium, from timings and the setlist to last-minute ticket availability – here’s all the info you might need. When are Coldplay playing Wembley Stadium? Coldplay’s first night at Wembley was on Friday, August 22. They played six gigs there in August and had four more September. Here are all of the band’s 10 Wembley dates: Friday August 22 Saturday August 23 Tuesday August 26 Wednesday August 27 Saturday August 30 Sunday August 31 Wednesday September 3 Thursday September 4 Saturday Se

Pret is no stranger to shaking up London’s lunch landscape. After the chain broke onto the scene by simply making better-than-average sandwiches, it launched a wildly popular subscription and then gave it a do-over earlier this year. Now Pret a Manger is looking to change the game once again. The sandwich and coffee chain has revealed plans to launch meal deals and attempt to muscle in on a market currently dominated by supermarkets. Pret will introduce meal deals as just a trial. They’ll be tested at two times of day, offering a pastry and hot drink for breakfast, and a main, snack and drink at lunch. It could also include a pack of crisps and a sandwich. No pricing has been confirmed, and it’s yet to be seen whether Pret will be aiming to compete with supermarkets on price level. Tesco’s meal deal is now £3.85 for Clubcard holders (£4.25 without), while you can get Sainsbury’s’ basic options for £3.95 and premium offerings for £5. Pret was founded in London in 1986, but it’s since expanded to 19 countries and territories. The UK isn’t the first of those Pret places to get a meal deal: the scheme was apparently first trialled in France, and proved popular.   Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.

At the end of August Icelandic pop sensation Laufey released her third studio album A Matter of Time, and she’s now announced a headline arena tour to mark the occasion. The A Matter of Time Tour will see her play some of the biggest arenas in North America and Europe – and it’ll be coming to the UK, too. The former Time Out cover star will land in two UK cities: Manchester and London. Laufey last headlined a London show in May 2024, when she played the Royal Albert Hall. She also played Manchester’s Albert Hall on the same Bewitched Tour. Keen to catch Laufey live next year? Here’s what you need to know about her UK arena shows, from the dates to the presale details. When is Laufey going on tour in the UK? The Icelandic singer and songwriter will be in Blighty in March 2026. What tour dates have been confirmed so far? Just the two dates (and cities) are confirmed for Laufey in the UK next year: March 4 – Manchester, Co-op Live March 9 – London, O2 Arena She’ll also be playing nearby Dublin on March 6. When do tickets go on sale? General sale kicks off this Friday, September 12 at 9am BST. You’ll be able to buy tickets on Ticketmaster here. Presale details Presale for Laufey’s UK tour has already begun. An artist presale began at 9am on Wednesday September 10. Here are some other presale to be aware of: Co-op members presale: in Manchester, for Co-op members: From Wednesday September 10 at 9am Spotify presale: in London, for those with a Spotify fan email code. From Thursd