Ed Cunningham

Amsterdam is one of the world’s best cities, no doubt about it. Every wander down a cobbled street will take you somewhere exciting, whether you're a foodie, curious about the Red Light District, or in the mood to party for 24 hours straight. And as a tourism capital, it’s no surpise that it’s overrun with exceptional places to stay, from 18th-century canalside mansions to converted bridge keepers’ houses and seriously high-grade establishments.  So if you’re looking for a tip-top place to bed down after a day of exploring the city’s best museums, attractions and coffee shops, you’ve come to the right place. From the city centre through to De Negen Straatjes, here are the best hotels in Amsterdam right now. Updated January 2025: We re-reviewed Amsterdam’s five-star Conservatorium Hotel to see if it’s up-to-scratch (spoiler: it is). See where we ranked it below! RECOMMENDED:🏠 The best Airbnbs in Amsterdam🌳 Where to stay in Amsterdam 📍 The best things to do in Amsterdam🍴 The best restaurants in Amsterdam🎀 The best boutique hotels in Amsterdam Ella Doyle and Grace Beard are Time Out’s travel editors. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by experts. 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. 

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

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 October.  London's best new restaurants at a glance: 🐟 Central: Island, King’s Cross 🍠 North: Belly Bistro, Kentish Town 🍜 South: Lai Rai, Peckham 🍝 East: Osteria Angelina, Shoreditch 🥗 West: The Lavery, South Kensington October 2025: New additions include Chingford chophouse Gina, Filipino freshness at Belly Bistro in Kentish Town, indie disco turned gastropub the Macbeth in Shoreditch, and Spanish smashers at Legado 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.

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.  Best brunches in London at a glance: 🌽 Best for vegans: LD’s at The Black Heart, Camden 🍖 Best for Spanish-style brunch: Lolo, Bermondsey 🏰 Best for a spectacular setting: Aram, Somerset House 🌳 Best for an al fresco brunch: Pavilion Cafe, Victoria Park  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. October 2025: Now that we're fully into cosy season, we've highlighted some of the more appropriate seasonal spots for a morning meal. Sulk in the dark like a massive (vegan) go

Singapore has a reputation as one of the most expensive cities in the world – and quite rightly so. But that's not to say the bustling metropolis doesn't have its fair share of affordable places to stay. Whether for staycations or wider travels, you can still find plenty of ways to do the city on a budget. You’ve just got to know where to look. Luckily enough, we do know where to look and, what’s more, Singapore’s bargain hotels still manage to be very luxurious indeed. Some even include swimming pools and fitness centres, all conveniently located within the city limits. So what are you waiting for? Dive into our favourite of Singapore’s finest cheap hotels. Prices in this list reflect the cost of a typical four-day stay in Singapore at the time of publishing.  RECOMMENDED: 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 The best cheap things to do in Singapore with kids🏨 The best boutique hotels in Singapore✈️ The top airport hotels in Singapore Who makes the cut? While we might not stay in and review every hotel featured, we've based our list on our expert knowledge of the destination covered, editorial reviews, user reviews, hotel amenities and in-depth research to find you the best stays. This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines.

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.

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.  

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

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

This week London will host a once-in-a-lifetime sporting event. The Grand Sumo Tournament will grace the Royal Albert Hall, with more than 40 mighty maku-uchi rikishi [sumo wrestlers] battling it out in Kensington’s 154-year-old venue. This is only the second time in history that the Nihon Sumo Kyokai (Japan Sumo Association) has held a Grand Sumo Tournament outside Japan. The last time was in 1991, when London’s Royal Albert Hall was also the venue. Sumo dates back over 1,500 years, making it one of the world’s oldest sports. It’s a show of both awesome strength and grand ceremony – and, needless to say, it being in London is an absolutely massive deal. Heading to see The Grand Sumo Tournament in London this week? Here’s a practical guide to the event, from timings to remaining ticket availability. When is The Grand Sumo Tournament in London? The event is in London for five days, from Wednesday October 15 to Sunday October 19 2025. What time do doors open? For evening events, doors officially open at 6.30pm. However, restaurants and bars all open at 5.30pm, and early restaurant bookings start from 5pm. For the afternoon event on Sunday October 19, doors open at 1pm. When will the event start? The timings differ slightly depending on the day you’re attending. For the evening events (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday), the event starts at 7.30pm. There will be a 25-minute interval at 9pm, and it’ll finish by 10.15pm. For the afternoon event (Sunday), the competition beg

If you’ve not even started to think about your plans for New Year’s Eve 2025, worry not – you’ve still got a while to get something sorted. In fact, now is a very good time to think about how you want to welcome in 2026, as the Mayor of London has announced when tickets will go on sale for the capital’s official fireworks celebrations. London’s NYE fireworks display has been ticketed since 2014. This year’s edition will feature a 12-minute show with thousands of fireworks and hundreds of lights, all set to a soundtrack. Last year’s playlist included the likes of Olivia Newton-John’s ‘Physical’ and D-Ream’s ‘Things Can Only Get Better’. This year there will be around 100,000 tickets up for grabs for London’s official NYE display, while millions will watch on TV. Here’s what you need to know about being there in person. When do tickets go on sale? Most tickets will go on sale this Friday, on October 17 2025. Tickets will go live at midday UK time. They’ll go on sale via Ticketmaster. A smaller batch of tickets will go on sale later in the year. London NYE Firework Shows 2025 prices There are two different price ranges, depending on whether or not you live in London. Ticket prices for Londoners remain £20 and £35, but those living outside the capital will pay £40 (up 14.5 percent) and £55 (up 10 percent), depending on the tier. Here’s the lowdown: Londoner prices: £20 (red, green and orange areas) and £35 (blue, pink and white areas)  Non-Londoner prices: £40 (red, green and or

There’s no shortage of excellent stuff to see and do in London this weekend, from BFI London Film Festival and the opening of Tate Modern’s immense new ‘Nigerian Modernism’ exhibition to the delights of London Cocktail Week. If you’re heading into town for these events (or anything else), however, you’ll need to navigate some notable changes to transport services. From Friday (October 10) through to Sunday (October 12), several major London rail lines will see serious disruption – including a massive and vital chunk of the Piccadilly line, plus parts of the DLR and Overground network.  Out and about in London this weekend? Here are all the planned TfL tube and train services changes to know about, and how to get around them.  RECOMMENDED: The best things to do in London this weekend. Piccadilly line From 1.45am on Saturday October 11 (including night tube) – no service between Hammersmith and Cockfosters. Replacement buses will operate All day Sunday October 12 – no service between Hammersmith and Cockfosters. Replacement buses will operate On both Saturday October 11 and Sunday October 12, no service between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge. Travellers are advised to use the Metropolitan line. Elizabeth line Sunday October 12 – there will be a reduced service between Paddington and Maidenhead / Heathrow Terminal 4. Acton Main Line, West Ealing and Hanwell stations will close. On Sunday two trains per hour will serve Heathrow Terminal 4, West Drayton, Langley, Slough, Burnham and

London’s Katy Perry diehards, it’s nearly time. The singer of hits like ‘Firework’, ‘California Gurls’ and ‘Hot N Cold’ is in town for two shows at the O2 Arena as part of her Lifetimes Tour. By the time Perry gets to the capital she’ll have already entertained thousands of Brits at arena dates in Belfast, Glasgow, Manchester, Sheffield and Birmingham. The Lifetimes Tour, as its name suggests – and not dissimilar to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and Madonna’s Celebration Tour – is intended as a career-spanning celebration of Katy Perry’s music. If you’re heading to see Katy Perry at the O2 this week, here’s what you need to know about the shows – from the timings and setlist to remaining ticket availability. When is Katy Perry playing London’s O2? The US pop superstar is in the capital on the following dates: Tuesday October 13 2025 Wednesday October 14 2025 What time do doors open? Doors open for both dates at 6.30pm. The O2’s bars and restaurants are open earlier. When will Katy Perry come on stage? Approximate timings reckon that she’ll come on stage at around 8.30pm on both nights. Who is supporting Katy Perry at the O2? Perry has a different support for each gig: October 13: Goldie Boutilier October 14: Au/Ra Each night the support act will come on at 7.45pm. Last-minute tickets At time of writing, tickets are still available on AXS here (from around £60), Stubhub here (from around £70) and Viagogo here (from around £55). Setlist For an idea of what Katy Perry will play i

Pop soul titans Simply Red are in London this week as part of the group’s 40th anniversary tour. Mick Hucknall will be rolling out hits like ‘Stars’, ‘If You Don’t Know Me By Now’ and ‘Holding Back the Years’ over three shows in the capital. Hucknall might be the only member of Simply Red who’s actually made it through all 40 years, but there’s still much to celebrate. The Manchester-born band is a UK pop institution, with five UK number one albums and 60 million records sold worldwide. Heading to the O2 or Wembley Arena to catch Simply Red this week? Here’s what you need to know about the shows. When are Simply Red playing London? Mick Hucknall and co are in the capital for three nights this week, on Thursday October 9, Friday October 10 and Saturday October 11. Here are the details: Thursday October 9 – O2 Arena Friday October 10 – O2 Arena Saturday October 11 – Wembley Arena What time do doors open? For all shows, doors to the arena will open at 6pm. However, on Thursday and Friday the O2’s bars and restaurants will all open earlier. When will Simply Red come on stage? The main act is set to take to the stage at 9pm. Who is supporting Simply Red at the O2? The gigs’ ‘special guests’ are British musical collective Soul II Soul, who’ll come on stage at 7.45pm. Last-minute tickets At time of writing, tickets are available on AXS here and Ticketmaster here On resale sites, Viagogo and Stubhub have options starting from around £100. Setlist Here is a recent setlist from a Sim

If you’re after a tip-top tipple, London boasts more than enough excellent bars to have you covered. This city has the mixological majesty of any refined drinker’s wildest dreams; in Time Out’s list of London’s greatest bars you’ll find everything from plush, cosy hideaways and immaculately curated listening bars to high-tech experimental drinkeries. And we aren’t the only ones who think highly of London’s bar scene. Today (October 8) World’s 50 Best Bars has crowned the planet’s top places to drink, and several of the capital’s institutions made the cut. World’s 50 Best is an annual list that celebrates Earth’s greatest bars, and it gets its ranking via votes from a group of industry experts that includes bartenders, consultants, drinks writers and cocktail specialists. In September the ranking published the 51-100 longlist for 2025, which featured three London bars – A Bar with Shapes For a Name (at 73), Kwãnt Mayfair (79) and Three Sheets Soho (80) In 2025’s top 50, four London bars made the cut, exactly the same number as in 2024. In fact, not only is it the same London bars in the top 50, but the drinkeries placed in the same order (albeit in different spots in the overall ranking). Here’s which ones featured: Tayēr + Elementary The highest-ranked London spot was Tayēr + Elementary. T+E placed fifth in the 2025 list, which is down one spot from last year but very impressive nonetheless. The two-part bar comprises Elementary, a front bar with an industrial, minimalist aes

Country titan Luke Combs is coming to London. The singer, who is best known for hits like ‘When It Rains It Pours’, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ and his cover of Tracey Chapman’s ‘Fast Car’, will play Wembley Stadium on his My Kinda Saturday Night Tour next summer. Combs is gearing up to release his sixth album, and he’s also announced another UK date at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium (plus shows in Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam and Gothenburg). He’ll be supported on both British dates by Thomas Rett, Ty Myers & The Castellows. Keen to catch Luke Combs in London next summer? Here’s what you need to know about tickets, from the on-sale date and presale details to VIP options. When is Luke Combs playing London’s Wembley Stadium? The ‘Beautiful Crazy’ singer is in northwest London on Saturday August 1 2026. When do tickets go on sale? General sale goes live on Friday October 17 2025 at 10am. You’ll be able to buy on Ticketmaster here. How much will Luke Combs tickets cost? Ticket prices haven’t been confirmed. We’ll update this page when we know more. Is there a presale? Yep, there are two presales to know about. Here are the details. Artist presale – access a presale by signing up on Luke Combs’ website here. This starts at 10am on Tuesday October 14. Spotify presale – fans that get an email passcode, valid for early tickets from 10am on Thursday October 16 2025. You can apply the code here. What about VIP? Find VIP options on Seat Unique here. Support Thomas Rett, Ty Myers & The

Victoria Park’s mighty day festival series All Points East has announced its first headliner for 2026. That’s right, you read the headline: none other than Tyler, The Creator will be topping the bill at the east London fest next summer. Tyler won’t just headline one day at APE 2026 – he’s taking over the fest for two dates. Better yet, each date has a different lineup, and they’re both already stacked with huge names. The likes of Turnstile, Rochelle Gordon, Rex Orange County, Ravyn Lenae, Daniel Caesar and Dijon (and many, many more) have already been announced. Keen to get tickets for one (or both) of Tyler, The Creator’s All Points East days next summer? Here’s what you need to know, from the on-sale date to the lineups so far. RECOMMENDED: The best music festivals in London. When is Tyler, The Creator playing All Points East? Tyler’s two days at APE 2026 are as follows: Friday August 28 2026 Saturday August 29 2026 When do tickets go on sale? General sale kicks off on Friday October 27 at 10am. You’ll be able to get tickets on AXS here and Ticketmaster here. Both two-day and individual day tickets will be available. Is there a presale? There are two presales to know about. Here are the details: Amex presale – open now to American Express cardholders. Purchase here All Points East presale – sign up here for access at 10am on Wednesday October 15 2025. How much will tickets cost? Last year All Points East ticket prices started in the £80-90 range. Expect similar for eac

Five years after the project’s last record, Tame Impala fans are finally getting a new studio album. Kevin Parker will release new album Deadbeat in a few weeks (on October 17, to be specific), and to mark the occasion he’s also announced a huge UK tour. Parker start a European tour in Porto on April 4, and kick off a UK leg on May 7. He has so far confirmed dates at arenas in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow. So far Tame Impala has released two previews of what to expect on Deadbeat: singles ‘Loser’ and ‘Dracula’. Like what you’re hearing? Here’s how to buy tickets for the upcoming tour. When is Tame Impala going on tour in the UK? The project’s UK tour dates are all in May 2026. What tour dates have been confirmed so far? Here are Tame Impala’s British tour dates next year in full, with four dates across four cities. May 7 – London, The O2 May 8 – Manchester, Co-op Live May 9 – Birmingham, Utilita Arena May 11 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro When do tickets go on sale? General sale tickets are released on Friday October 3 at 9am. You’ll be able to purchase on Ticketmaster here. Presale details There are a couple of presales that have been confirmed so far. Here are the details: Co-op presale – for Co-op members, at 9am on Wednesday October 1. Manchester only OVO presale – for OVO customers, at 9am on Wednesday October 1. Glasgow only Gigs in Scotland presale – at 9am on Thursday October 2. Glasgow only Ticket prices The OVO Hydro in Glasgow lists ticket prices between £5

Whatever you want from an airport, London has you covered. After top-tier customer service, short queues and on-time flights? City is regularly named one of the nation’s top aviation hubs. Is the sheer number of destinations more important? The other week Heathrow was crowned the planet’s most connected airport (again). At the latest edition of the Travel Industry Awards, however, neither City nor Heathrow was crowned the best airport in all the UK and Ireland. The awards, which are organised by Travel Trade Gazette (TTG), aim to celebrate ‘trailblazing travel companies and individuals’. Crowned ‘UK & Ireland Airport of the Year’ for 2025 was none other than London Gatwick Airport. LGW triumphed just a few days after its plans for a £2.2 billion second runway were approved. Justifying Gatwick’s win, TIA judges said: ‘Gatwick displayed impressive evidence of out-performing customer and product KPIs across the board. ‘Strong examples of innovation and superb customer service makes this airport worthy of award-winner status, and despite its long-established position, it is still not failing to innovate, while keeping an eye on ensuring its customers receive top-notch service, as well as supporting travel agent partners.’ Photograph: Kristi Blokhin / Shutterstock.com So, big congrats are in order for Gatwick. This isn’t the only notable praise that LGW has received so far this year. Back in April the airport was named in the top 40 flight hubs in the world, while a recent Teleg

Flying can be (and often is) one of the most stressful modes of travel. There’s loads of important stuff to remember to pack, there can be tonnes of queuing involved, and most airports and airlines don’t exactly have a rep for comfort and/or reliability. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The best airlines in the world – according to awards dedicated to celebrating aviation – are comfortable and punctual, making the flying experience that bit more tolerable. Flying can even be luxurious with these carriers. Excitingly, one of the most celebrated airlines in the world is launching more flights from the UK. Emirates, this year named the world’s fourth-best and sixth-best airline, is adding six more weekly flights between London Heathrow and Dubai. Emirates already operates six flights a day between the British and Emirati metropolises, and the new flights will take off on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Each flight will have 350 seats across First, Business, and Economy classes. The expanded LHR-Dubai schedule begins on October 26. In other words, it’s perfect for any Brits desperate for winter sun. And whatever your take on Dubai, there’s no denying that the place is a solid winter sun destination. From November to February the mercury is unlikely to drop below 15C, while temperatures still reach the mid-20Cs. There’s also very, very little rain in Dubai – less than one day a month in winter. The Emirates website lists flights from London Heat

We know, we know, it’s only October. Halloween hasn’t passed yet, never mind Bonfire Night – and yet London is already gearing up for Christmas. Major festive lights displays from Covent Garden and Carnaby Street have revealed their switch-on dates, while Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland has released details about its opening dates and times, too. Next up is Regent Street. The West End shopper’s paradise has this week confirmed details of the 2025 festive lights for Regent Street and St James’s, two displays which are among the prettiest in London. RECOMMENDED: The best Christmas lights displays in London. This year’s display will feature 30 ‘spirits’ made up of more than 300,000 energy-efficient LED bulbs. Lights will also return to the likes of Piccadilly, Jermyn Street, St James’s Market, Glasshouse Street, Swallow Street and Quadrant Arcade. The ‘spirits’ aside, 2025 will see the return of the ‘Wishing Tree’ at St James’s Market, where visitors will be able to donate to food distribution charity The Felix Project. What date will Regent Street’s Christmas lights turn on? Festive lights fanatics, mark your calendars for Thursday November 6.  How long are the lights up for? The lights will stay up illuminating the West End until Sunday January 4 2026. RECOMMENDED: The best Christmas markets and festive fairs in London. Plus: When every major London Christmas market returns for 2025. Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. J