Genevieve Stevens

Okay, okay: we know it’s not even Christmas yet. But while you’ve been stressing out about buying presents and decorating the tree, we’ve been looking ahead. Because it turns out that 2025 is going to be a bit of a vintage year for the UK, filled with new theatre openings, massive international festivals making their British debut as well as glowed up art galleries and much, much more.  From the highlands of Scotland to the English channel, we’ve rounded up all of the best new things planned for 2025 – plus any really great openings from the end of this year which you’ve probably not got round to checking out yet. We have the great outdoors, we have sport, we have dancefloors, we have booze, we even have sumo wrestling. Use this as an opportunity to get excited for the year ahead: these are Time Out’s best new things to do in the UK in 2025.  RECOMMENDED: 📍 The 25 best new things to do in the world in 2025🏖️ The most underrated city breaks in the UK🏘️ The best Airbnbs in the UK

Exeter has come a long way since being voted ‘Clone Town of the Year’ in 2014. Yes, the high street is still awash with corporate chains, but you don’t need to venture too far off the beaten track to find some top-notch eateries, quirky gift shops and a host of fabulous pubs. Explore the historic centre or journey further out into one of Exeter’s charming up-and-coming suburbs like St Leonards, Heavitree or the picturesque Quayside.   Whilst Bristol may steal the lime-light when it comes to West Country cities, Exeter is making strides to overthrow its sleepy reputation. With a cracking museum, cider a-plenty and a clutch of cool cafes, this growing city is fast becoming a well-deserved tourist hotspot. And, what's more, the moors and coast are just a short train-journey or car-ride away, making Exeter the perfect city base for an outdoorsy staycation. Here’s where to eat, drink, shop and look around while you’re there. RECOMMENDED:🍺 The best pubs in Exeter📍 The best things to do in Bristol🧳 The best places to visit in the UK Genevieve Stevens is a writer from Exeter. 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. 

In Bristolian punk band Idles’ song ‘Exeter’ the chorus repeats ‘na na na na, nothing ever happens’. It's true, for many years Exeter has struggled to shake its reputation as a sleepy outpost on the UK’s quaint South-Westerly leg. Overshadowed by its infinitely grungier big sister Bristol, Exeter is known, if for anything, for an impressive cathedral and its proximity to Devon’s fantastic beaches – facts that don’t exactly scream cool. And yet for many years Exeter has boasted a pub scene that far exceeds any parochial preconceptions. Owing to Devon’s impressive density of breweries and its world renowned cider, it's no wonder that Exeter boasts some of the region’s best boozers. But if a pint of local ale makes your toes curl, don't despair. Recently Exeter has seen a wave of new cocktail spots and trendy gin bars cropping up around the city. Catering to an ever growing student body, with famously deep pockets, Exeter’s pub scene today is equipped for almost any taste. Whether you’re looking for a quiet pint or an experimental cocktail this West Country gem could be one of the UK’s most slept-on drinking spots. Here are its best pubs.   RECOMMENDED:📍 The best things to do in Exeter🍺 The best things to do in Bristol🧳 The best places to visit in the UK Genevieve Stevens is a writer from Exeter. 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. 

Synonymous with the vintage emporiums and curry houses that line its cobbled streets, Brick Lane is one of London’s most iconic and best-known roads. But there’s more to this East End hub than fancy clothes and tasty food. With a long history of immigration, Brick Lane has historically been a symbol of London’s diverse, multicultural identity. Coined ‘Banglatown’ in the 1990s, the area around the road became the beating heart of London’s British Bangladeshi community, housing the largest population of Bangladeshi families outside Bangladesh itself.  Walking through the area these days, hipster coffee shops and futuristic office spaces almost outnumber South Asian restaurants. The area has changed dramatically in recent years, becoming a lucrative spot for business investment. This fact is reflected in Brick Lane’s property prices, which tripled between 2010 and 2020; a process that has pushed local communities out and made way for new developments and rapid – but often controversial – regeneration.    The latest in a long line of proposed redevelopment plans stakes claim to the site of the Truman Brewery. Developers plan to convert part of the site, once home to London’s largest brewery, into an office complex with food and retail outlets. Founding director of property development company Grow Places, Tom Larsson, has been working alongside Truman Brewery to realise a vision for a ‘mixed-use scheme’. He told us: ‘We see this as an evolution rather than revolution of Brick Lan

Remember dipping for tadpoles as a child? Using a bucket and a net to look at all those wriggly, slimy bodies up close. In a built-up city like London, experiences like those, requiring access to wild natural spaces, can be few and far between.  Now, thanks to Friends of Clapham Common and Wild Clapham, a huge area of Clapham Common will be converted into a brand new wetland habitat. The project will not only boost biodiversity, but will also provide a space for children to get up close and personal with nature and learn more about their local flora and fauna.  Having been given the go-ahead by Lambeth Council, the project will convert 1,000 square metres of the Common into a wetland habitat with reed beds and open water. The aim is to entice local critters back to the area, providing the ideal home for frogs, toads, newts, dragonflies and damselflies. The plans even include underground shelters for animals and insects to hibernate in the cold winter months.  The work will be spearheaded by Joel Ashcroft, a wildlife expert in wetland creation and will include a purpose built viewing platform. Featuring detachable railings, the platform will give kids the chance to dip for tadpoles and see creepy crawlies in their natural habitat.  Chair of Wild Clapham, Gareth James, said: ‘Having a wetland within walking distance for local schools will be a major asset in helping children to engage with wildlife through the seasons and will play a key role in understanding the value of ecolo

If you work in the Westminster area, your daily commute just got a bit more arty. A new artwork called ‘Angels of History’ has been unveiled at St James Station. Created by artist duo Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings, the colossal six-part mosaic is installed permanently in the Grade I-listed station’s atrium. The pair chose to use traditional Roman techniques to create the mosaic and, considering each panel is 1.5 x 1 metres in size, that’s certainly quite the feat. Two triptychs depict angelic figures set against desolate landscapes in muted colours. Quinlan and Hastings explained the meaning of the figures in an interview, saying: ‘St James's Park is a station predominantly used by commuters working in and around the Westminster area, often in positions of governance or the civil service. We were interested in the function of the figure of the angel in public spaces such as in churches where it operates as a figure of divine intervention’. According to the artists, the angels are inspired by Michelangelo’s five Sibyls in the Sistine Chapel.  ‘Angels of History’ was commissioned by Transport for London’s Art on the Underground initiative, a project that aims to turn the tube into its very own art gallery. Showcasing offerings from London’s contemporary art scene, the scheme is behind the huge mural at Brixton station and several others across the city. For the tens of thousands of people that pass through St James’s station every day, ‘Angels of History’ is set to inject a

Ever since Spotify Wrapped launched in 2016, it’s been an international obsession. Whether you’re proudly sharing your top artists with pals or privately mourning your questionable choices, Wrapped is coming for you. Remember that time you got into teen pop, or nu-metal, or sea shanties? Spotify does. And we go crazy for it.  So it’s no surprise that other streaming platforms have hopped on the trend too.  Introducing: Apple Music Replay, Apple Music’s answer to Spotify’s winning formula. Following a similar format to Spotify, Apple Replay offers listeners a complete rundown of their listening history, with an end of year highlight reel and month-by-month breakdown that you can share on socials.  How do I access Apple Replay 2024? According to the Apple website, it’s really quite simple. There are just four easy steps in the way of you and your 2024 Replay. Update your iPhone or iPad to iOS or iPadOS 18.1 or later. Open the Apple Music app. Go to Home. Scroll down to Replay: Your Top Songs by Year.  From here, you can see your top songs from this year, add it to your library and share your replay on your socials. Simples! What do I do if Apple Replay isn’t showing? If you haven’t got a notification that your Replay is ready, it might be because your ‘User Listening History’ is turned off on your devices. You can switch that on via your settings app – just head to ‘music’ and ‘use listening history’.  Interested in what the rest of us have been listening to? Apple Music has

As a Londoner, you’ll most likely have come across Spud Bros on your social media feeds. Just two local lads from Preston serving up piping hot spuds from the hatch of a food truck. Maybe it doesn't sound like riveting content, but somehow Spud Bros have made the humble potato cool. Just ask their three million followers on TikTok. Whilst the brothers’ original food truck has been a stalwart of Preston’s Flag Market for 70 years, it catapulted to popularity when brothers Jacob and Harley Nelson took control of its social media feeds. Now viral sensations, the truck pulls in staggering round-the-block queues, with people travelling across the country to bag their famous spuds.   If you’re not prepared to travel many, many miles for a jacket potato, frankly we don’t blame you. But you’re in luck, as Spud Bros has officially launched a first outlet in London. Coined Spud Bros Express, the boys have swapped their humble food truck for a brand new pop-up shop just a stone's throw from Piccadilly Circus. Expect the classic offerings of cheese, beans and chilli and keep your eyes peeled for the occasional special too. Located on Archer street in central London, the pop-up will be around for the next three months. Yes, Spud Bros may have a brand-spanking new look, but some things haven't changed. Like the queue. That’s right, it's still long.  Hankering for a little taste of Preston in central London? Spud Bros Express is open until February 2025.  Photograph: @wecreatepopular 9a A

London’s Overground lines, if you didn’t already know, have just been rebranded. What was once a confusing sprawl of orange is now six new lines, hopefully making the Overground more user-friendly for out of towners and the less transport-savvy among us. The new names Liberty, Lioness, Suffragette, Mildmay, Weaver and Windrush were unveiled last week – you can find out more about the name meanings here and see what they look like on a map. The renaming cost TfL an estimated £6.3 million, with all maps and signage needing to be changed. But that begs the question: what’s happening with all the old signs?  Well, the London Transport Museum (LTM) has the answer. The LTM will be selling the outdated signs on its website, meaning you – yes, you! – could own a piece of London transport heritage.  The website lists a range of offerings from smaller exit signs to full scale line diagrams, saying: ‘This is your chance to own a piece of London’s transport history!’. It’s a tempting offer, but one that comes with a hefty price tag. While you can pick up a small lift sign for the bargain price of £150, the larger signs come in at an eye-watering £900.  Photograph: London Transport Museum But at least that money is going to a good cause. All profits from the sign sales will go directly back into supporting the museum’s work as an education and heritage charity. What could be a better Christmas present for the transport fanatics among us? Our only concern – how the heck do you wrap that?

Nothing says Christmas like a good old fashioned market. The sizzle of bratwurst, the smell of mulled wine, the thrill of being body-to-body with a hoard of strangers as Mariah Carey blares...a festive market is a London staple in the run up to Christmas.  If you’re already getting a little jaded by this year’s festive fair, here’s something different. Next week east London will welcome Dalston Yard, a new food hall and events space. Instead of snow-trimmed alpine shacks and sleepy carols, this’ll have a sleek, renovated interior with guest DJs and a ‘cultural lounge’.  Originally planned to open its doors in July, the Dalston venue has faced numerous setbacks but it’s now ready to go – and it’s got some exciting residencies. From the new Butcher of Dalston restaurant from ACME Fire Cult’s Andrew Clarke to contributions from Gizzi Erskine, there’ll be eight kitchens and three bars. But Dalston Yard won’t just offer food and drink; it also promises to be a hub for events, music and wellbeing. And with 27,000 square feet to fill, there’s certainly the space for it.  The brains behind the operation is Dominic Cools-Lartigue, who has transformed the former Street Feast Market on Hartwell Street. Speaking in June he said: ‘Dalston Yard is designed to be a home for creators that represent the breadth of London’s cultural excellence’. While the multipurpose food hall will hard-launch in the new year, you can get a sneak preview next week with Dalston Yard’s ‘winter festival’. That’l

London is renowned world over for its mind-blowing Christmas lights. From the flashy extravagance of Winter Wonderland to the glitz and glamour of New Bond Street, in the festive months London is smothered in Christmassy decor. But this year King’s Cross is offering an alternative to twinkling fairy lights and chintzy tinsel. Called ‘Fluorescence’, it’s a 10.7-metre monument in Granary Square that, with its clean lines and block colours, offers a fresh take on festive adornment.  ‘Fluorescence’ is the brainchild of Manchester-born artist Liz West and it’s the latest in Granary Square’s annual winter installation series. The work of West – known for her installations in Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Chester Cathedral – explores the interplay between colour and light in vibrant installations. ‘Fluorescence’ centres around a tetrahedron in neon hues, towering a whopping 10 meters upwards into London’s grey skies. As the days draw gloomily in and the temperature drops, who can deny that ‘Fluorescence’ provides a welcome burst of colour for the morning commuters and wintery wanderers among us?  For West, ‘Fluorescence’ is all about contrast. She explains: ‘Using black alongside the bright neon colours creates a striking contrast, adds depth to the piece and allows the eyes a point of rest from the sparkling fluorescence. It’s a joyful artwork that shifts in character from day to night, particularly when the UV lights transform it after dark.’  So if you’re bored of candy canes, tin

What makes a great city? An abundance of cultural landmarks? Affordable rent? Accessibility to green spaces? A banging culinary scene and some darn good boozers? For Canadian tourism and real estate advisory firm Resonance Consultancy, the answer is all of the above. Using a rigorous metric of 28 categories, Resonance has unveiled its official ranking of best cities worldwide for 2025. So, who made the cut? Before we get to that you might be wondering, how does it all work? Well, here’s the science-ish bit. Resonance measures each city against three broad categories; liveability ( things like rent, air quality and healthcare), loveability (we’re talking nightlife, shopping and culture) and lastly prosperity (universities, airport connectivity and GDP). The testing is thorough, even considering things as niche as Instagram hashtags and TripAdvisor reviews.  It comes as no surprise that London not only makes the list but tops it. The UK capital has clinched the top spot not two, not three, but 10 years in a row. London wipes the floor with its competitors, beating runners up New York and Paris with a staggering seven wins across 28 categories. You can find out more about why London came first on Time Out here. The UK’s second addition on the leaderboard takes us all the way to bonnie Scotland, with Glasgow coming in at number 72. Beating Warsaw and Sao Paolo by a whisker, Glasgow’s rich cultural capital and multiple historic universities firmly consolidate its place on the lead