Rosie Hewitson

It’s that time of year again – time for the legendary, heroic and what some are calling era-defining Time Out Christmas sandwich taste test. Our team have tirelessly trawled London’s high streets, foodie markets and bakeries for the mightiest seasonal sarnie of the year, leaving no chiller cabinet unturned. After all, the true meaning of Christmas is surely all about putting some vaguely festive fillings between two slices of bread. Let battle commence. RECOMMENDED: For more festive fun here’s our guide to the best Christmas markets in London.  And don’t miss the best Christmas events, either. 

London is looking its glitzy best right now in the lead-up to Christmas. No matter how hard you try, it’s pretty much impossible to avoid the pop-up ice rinks, resplendent Christmas trees and Mariah-blasting markets dotted across London at the moment. But if you’d rather not spend the next 30-plus days with ears blistering with Michael Bublè ballads, don’t worry. London is providing lots of non-Yuletide fun as an antidote to the festive freneticness.  See young Belgian painter Bendt Eyckermans’ enigmatic but disconcerting paintings at his show inviting you to ​​analyse the complex world of watching and making. Or watch the best and most inventive animated films in the world right now at annual favourite, the London International Animation Festival, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. If you want more animated fun, visit The Cartoon Museum’s behind-the-scenes exhibition celebrating 30 years of Wallace and Gromit favourite ‘The Wrong Trousers’.  Still got gaps in your diary? Embrace the beginning of the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness at London’s best parks and green spaces or by treating yourself to a perfect autumnal day out in the city. If you’ve still got some gaps in your week, check out London’s best bars and restaurants, or take in one of these lesser-known London attractions. RECOMMENDED: listen and, most importantly, subscribe to Time Out’s brand new, weekly podcast ‘Love Thy Neighbourhood’ and hear famous Londoners show our editor Joe Mackerti

London has suddenly had a glitzy makeover and is covered with Christmas lights, ice rinks and chalet-lined markets. All the big festive hitters are back this week, including Christmas at Kew, Skate at Somerset House and, the marmite of winter pop-ups, Hyde Park Winter Wonderland.   If you’d rather save all the yuletide glitz until December (and frankly, we don’t blame you) there’s there are plenty of other cultural treats happening in the city right now. See young Belgian painter Bendt Eyckermans’ enigmatic but disconcerting paintings at his show inviting you to ​​analyse the complex world of watching and making. Or watch the best and most inventive animated films in the world right now at annual favourite, the London International Animation Festival, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. If you want more animated fun, visit The Cartoon Museum’s behind-the-scenes exhibition celebrating 30 years of Wallace and Gromit favourite ‘The Wrong Trousers’.  Still got gaps in your diary? Embrace the beginning of the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness at London’s best parks and green spaces or by treating yourself to a perfect autumnal day out in the city. If you’ve still got some gaps in your week, check out London’s best bars and restaurants, or take in one of these lesser-known London attractions. RECOMMENDED: listen and, most importantly, subscribe to Time Out’s brand new, weekly podcast ‘Love Thy Neighbourhood’ and hear famous Londoners show our editor Joe Macke

Want a drink? Well you've come to the right place. This is Time Out’s list of best bars in London, our curated guide to London’s drinking scene, featuring the buzziest booze dens in the capital right now. If it’s on this list, it’s excellent. These are the 50 places we'd recommend to a friend, because we love drinking in them and have done many times over. From classy cocktail joint to delightful dives, hotel bars, speakeasys, bottle shops, rooftops and wine bars, London's got them all. The latest additions to our list include Bar Lina, an Italian aperitivo spot underneath the famous Soho deli, Moko hi-fi listening bar in Tottenham, Oranj's vertitable wine warehouse in Shoreditch, and Helgi's, a suggestively Satanic rock bar in Hackney. Now go forth and booze. RECOMMENDED: Like bars? Then you'll love London's best pubs.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

We’re not sure how it happened, but in the last six years or so, igloos have become the place to be and be seen sipping away on a seasonal glass of prosecco or gobbling steaming fondue. It all started with the Coppa Club, which decided to make the most of its uncovered terrace by filling it with toasty glass orbs packed with plants and sheepskin rugs so people could eat, drink and be merry without being at the mercy of the winter elements. Before long, the domes were filling our feeds and popping up all over town. Now, they’re accompanied by twinkly lights, ice skating opportunities and even curling. Oh, the humanity! If you don’t want to get left out in the cold, round up your pals and snuggle up in one of these bulbous dining rooms with a winter-warming cocktail. We’ve warned you, though: these are very popular spots. So get that igloo booked! RECOMMENDED: Christmas in London

Many of us love a good old-fashioned Christmas complete with trips to festive markets, ice skating, carol services and all the trimmings. But it’s not everyone’s glass of eggnog. Thankfully, London is abuzz with unusual Christmas events come winter. Whether you fancy switching up your usual gift-shopping with a trip to the Satanic Flea Market’s Antichristmas Fayre, making the Yuletide gayer than ever at a camp as Christmas drag show, or watching hardy swimmers go for an icy plunge on December 25 in the Serpentine’s famous Peter Pan Cup race, have yourself a quirky little Christmas with our round-up of the ultimate alt festive events in London. We’ll be updating this page with alternative events for Christmas 2023 as they are announced. RECOMMENDED: Find more festive fun with our guide to Christmas in London.

These days as soon as autumn arrives in London, the city is illuminated with colourful light trails and installations. But one festival of light has been around for a lot longer than all of them.  With a Hindu and Sikh population of over half a million, Diwali is a major celebration in London. Symbolising the spiritual victory of light over darkness, it takes place over five days in October or November, depending on when the new moon falls. In 2023, this is on Sunday November 12, with plenty of celebrations around the city leading up to and during the festival. From family-friendly events to foodie celebrations, including the traditional centrepiece in Trafalgar Square, here are our favourite Diwali celebrations in London. RECOMMENDED: London’s best Indian restaurants

Christmas is exciting at any age, but it really is the most wonderful time of the year when you’re smaller than one of Santa’s elves. All year long, (hopefully) your little ones have been on their best behaviour in order to be put on Saint Nick’s nice list, so why not make their festive period even more special by taking them to some of London’s amazing Yuletide events for kids? All across the capital, there’s so much wintry fun to be had, from ice rinks and Santa’s grottos to dazzling Christmas lights and Christmas theatre shows. Here’s our guide to the best festive activities for children in London this winter.  RECOMMENDED: Find more festive fun with our guide to Christmas in London.

Let’s face it: it’s been one hell of a year (political chaos, The Queue, a cost of living crisis), and you really deserve to let your hair down. Soak up as much festive fun as possible with our guide to Christmas-themed parties and club nights this December. Whether you want to warm up from the cold with some high-speed raving, a night of throwback cheesy classics, or want to totally avoid the Christmas anthems with London’s finest house and disco DJs – we’ve got everything you could possibly want for Christmas.  RECOMMENDED: See our full festive guide to Christmas in London. This page will be updated with more events as they’re announced. 

Can you hear those sleigh bells jingling? Yes, it’s December, and Christmas in London has begun in earnest. See the city skies sparkling with glimmering Christmas lights, fill your ears with Christmas songs, scoff down an indulgent Christmas sandwich, get luxurious festive treats from London restaurants and liven up a winter walk with a trip to a heated pub garden. Read our guide for the lowdown on the events, parties, cultural happenings, and things to do taking place in London in December 2023. RECOMMENDED: The definitive London events calendar

  It's no secret that Kent's popularity has soared over the last couple of years, and Margate is largely to thank. The shabby chic seaside town has bags of character, from its trendy galleries to the old-school beachfront arcades, and the crowds continue to roll in.  The picture-perfect streets are packed with restaurants, vintage shops, plus cracking bars and pubs. There's also a thriving contemporary art scene, meaning the whole place strikes the perfect balance between trendy and twee. We've curated the perfect day in this lovely seaside town, with everything from where to eat to where to stay, so have a look at the best things to do in Margate right now.    RECOMMENDED:🐠The best things to do in Whitstable⛪The best things to do in Canterbury 🌤️The best things to do in Kent🌊The best seaside towns in the UK 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.

November 2023: We don’t want to alarm you, but somehow it’s November already. We know! We’re still frantically trying to scrub the Halloween fake blood stains off our hands à la Lady Macbeth, but Bonfire Night is already upon us. Firework displays won’t be the only thing illuminating the city this month. In fact, it’s looking well and truly lit out there, thanks to all the Diwali celebrations and Christmas light switch-ons.  Things will get even more festive as the month continues, with the arrival of the city’s annual ice skating rinks, Christmas markets and winter pop-ups, not to mention all the carol services and Christmas theatre shows being staged in the run-up to the most wonderful time of the year.  Autumn is a great time of year for culture too. The city plays host to two big multi-venue music festivals in Pitchfork London and the EFG London Jazz Festival, while November is a bumper month when it comes to film festivals, with the London Korean Film Festival, Doc’n Roll, the UK Jewish Film Festival and more arriving over the next few weeks. And that’s before we get started on all the blockbuster art and theatre shows on right now.  So wrap up warm, make sure to pack a brolly and get out there. No matter what your vibe, tastes or interests, there is always something to do in London. When the sun’s out, London’s parks turn into leafy social clubs, restaurants dust off their outdoor seating and fountains erupt from dusty concrete squares and suddenly the city air is fill

Beavertown, makers of some of the best-looking brews around, are behind this party bringing boozy treats and top disco and house selectors to a hidden club in Kings Cross, and it won’t cost you a penny to join. Lafayette, from the folks behind London Bridge venue Omeara, will be filled with sounds from Menendez Brothers (known for their vintage dance music night Feelings and appearances at Elrow Town, Ministry of Sound and Glastonbury), with warm-up tunes from the Mas Que Nada Brothers and a yet unknown special guest. Head along and spend the pennies you’ve saved on entry on Beavertown’s iconic tipples including Neck Oil IPA, Gamma Ray APA and cans of Lazer Crush AF. 

Twickenham’s magnificent English Heritage-run, neo-Palladian villa, Marble Hill House, is staging a jam-packed day of family-friendly activities this Saturday to celebrate the Festival of Light. There’ll be traditional dancing and dhol drumming, giant puppets and workshops where you can learn some bhangra and Bollywood moves. It all culminates in a lantern parade down the river as dusk falls. 

Have fun doing your holiday shopping this year at the Kingston Christmas Market! Find unique gifts from more than 40 vendors while enjoying live music. Festive drinks available include hot chocolate and mulled wine, plus a German bratwurst stall and of course, sweet waffles. Visit the Alpine Market to warm up with a firepit and some marshmellows. The town centre will be covered in Christmas lights and on Saturdays, you may even spot some reindeer on stilts! The market's stage, bar, food stalls and Alpine village will be open from November 9. Gift stalls will be open from November 16. 

Festive karaoke is a bit of a tradition for us lot in the Time Out office. If you’re also a fan of necking half a bottle of prosecco and belting out some Michael Bublé, you’ll love this festive edition of the phenomenon that is Massaoke, or ‘mass karaoke’. Head down to Between the Bridges to warble along to Mariah, Wham, Slade and all your other favourite festive bangers soundtracked by a live band, and with lyrics on the screen in case you somehow don’t have every word of ‘Fairytale of New York’ etched into your brain. Christmas jumpers and festive fancy dress are of course encouraged.

London nightlife heavyweight The Cause has gone from strength to strength since moving into its new home in the Docklands in spring, so you can expect the first edition of TRIBES – its long-standing ‘multi-room extravaganza’ – in ten long months to be one of its best ones yet. Josey Rebelle, Ben Sims, DJ Bone and Carissa are among the already announced selectors on the line-up for the 12-hour festive edition , and they’re promising plenty more big names, plus ‘a very special 5 hour back to back from two absolute dons under their rarely used aliases’. Our money is on Eris Drew and Octo Octa, but you’re gonna have to buy a ticket to find out...

Make your own Diwali lantern to parade around Greenwich Park at this family-focused celebration, where you can also catch traditional Indian odissi and bhangra dancing, children’s storytelling and workshops in decoration-making and rangoli. The festival culminates in an after-dark lantern parade where you (or the kid you’re with) can show off your stunning creation. We bet those other kids’ efforts quite literally won’t hold a candle to it.

Pitchfork Music Festival is back in the UK for a third time this November, with a whole week’s worth of eclectic live music shows to check out. From indie and electronic to hip hop, contemporary jazz and much more, the multi-genre bill features more than 70 acts including riot grl superstars Sleater-Kinney, electronic producer Yaeji, Mercury Prize-winning jazz quintet Ezra Collective, wistful folk-pop artist Weyes Blood and a frankly humbling number of acts you’ve probably never heard of (honestly, the line-up announcement was quite humbling for our office’s resident ‘musos’.) They’ll be performing across 17 of the capital’s most illustrious live music venues, from big hitters like the Roundhouse and the Royal Albert Hall to beloved indie spots like Hackney Church and the Shacklewell Arms. It’s basically the place to be if you consider yourself as a music fan with a finger on the pulse. Don’t we all, darling. Check out the full line-up here. 

One of central London’s biggest and fanciest shopping destinations, Regent Street was the very first road in London to feature Christmas lights back in 1954, and still boasts one of the most impressive displays each winter. Featuring 45 large-scale positioned as if playing trumpets, the ‘Spirits of Christmas’ light display covers Regent’s Street and St James and is made up of hundreds of thousands of individual LED lights.  The big switch-on takes place on Thursday November 9, with the lights shining from 3pm to 11pm throughout the festive period.  Find more Christmas lights in London Find more festive fun with our guide to Christmas in London

Housed inside a (possibly haunted) Victorian theatre, south London’s modern variety palace The Clapham Grand is known for its camp-as-Christmas programming, so it’s no surprise that it’s once again pulling out all the stops for its epic Halloween party this weekend. Head down early doors for a drag show starring Black Peppa, Elektra Fence, Miss Leighding and host Ginger Johnson and warble along to some spooky bangers at a secret karaoke bar before track monster mash-ing the night away to tunes from DJ TeTe Bang and headline selector Rylan (off the telly!) You can also expect ‘horrifying confetti, blood-curdling balloon drops and ghostly cocktails’. Fancy dress is of course mandatory!

Around 35,000 revellers are expected to attend this massive annual celebration of the Hindu, Sikh and Jain Festival of Light in Trafalgar Square, making it the largest Diwali event in the city. Head into central London nice and early to catch the colourful Opening Ceremony, which features over two hundred festively-attired dancers performing in the main square. There’ll be live music, dance performances, puppet shows and cooking demonstrations on the main stage throughout the day, plus plenty of vegetarian food stalls, henna tattooing and workshops on everything from yoga to sari and turban tying. Sounds pretty...lit! Sorry.

If we’re being honest with ourselves, once you’re past the age when trick or treating is socially acceptable, Halloween is basically just a convenient excuse for a big old piss-up. Which is exactly what Tottenham-based craft brewery Beavertown has organised for its spooky season celebrations this year. Taking place in the cavernous railway arches of Kachette in Shoreditch, the Saturday night knees-up promises ‘immersive’ journey ‘into the unknown’, featuring loads of great beers on tap, a stellar line-up of DJs including Artwork and Tash LC spinning tunes across a variety of different rooms and a host of spooky surprises throughout the night. Tickets include a pint of Neck Oil on arrival. 

Nomadic party starters Cirque du Soul are back in town for the ‘Halloweekend’, and they’re throwing a massive Friday night shindig at Canning Town megaclub The Cause. Expect haunted circus decor, food stalls, confetti canons, costume prizes and a genuinely terrifying house of horrors featuring ‘killer clowns, rabid bats and marauding zombies’. DJs will be spinning jackin’ house, breaks, techno and club bangers across four rooms until 5am, and they’re also promising some big name surprise headliners. Get on eBay and start putting together the perfect evil clown lewk stat. You might want to run away with the circus after this one...

Fancy yourself a bit of an oenophile? Then you’ll probably already know that this coming Thursday is a pretty big day in the wine world. That’s because the third Thursday of November is Beaujolais Nouveau Day, i.e. the first day on which this year’s bottles of the good stuff are allowed to be sold. A gamay grape wine from the Beaujolais district of Burgundy, Beaujolais Nouveau is one of the few varieties of plonk that’s sold during the same year in which it’s produced. The juicy red has gained a bit of a following in London in recent years, with many of the capital’s favourite wine bars throwing special events to celebrate the cult cuvée. Here are some we especially like the look of.  Gordon’s Beaujolais Breakfast If Beaujolais Nouveau Day is the equivalent of Christmas in your world, then Gordon’s should be the first place you head to on the Big Day. London’s oldest wine bar is playing every oenophile’s St Nick, letting you sip on glasses of the good stuff bright and early from 8am on, so you can sample this year’s crop before everyone else. They’ll be serving up Full English brekkies to soak up all the booze, and nice strong coffees for anyone needing to sober up quickly. All the same, we’d probably still advise going into the office on this particular Thursday. Gordon’s Wine Bar. Thu Nov 16. Free entry. Top Cuvée Beaujolais Nouveau Masterclass If there’s a burgeoning trend on the British wine scene, you can bet that London’s most ‘banter’ wine merchants will be heavily i

Ever looked at a music festival line-up and realise, with abject horror, how desperately out of touch you are? Several of Time Out London’s editorial team felt like that when Pitchfork released the line-up for its London festival, which is taking over some of the capital’s best-loved music venues this week for its third edition.  Among big hitters like the Mercury Prize-winning jazz quintet Ezra Collective, riot grl legends Sleater-Kinney and dance music protégé Yaeji are a frankly concerning number of head-scratchers, even for us NTS-listening, ‘Crack’ magazine-reading Cafe Oto regulars.  Luckily for you, we’ve spent the last few weeks swotting up on the lesser-known artists appearing on the eclectic bill, so that we can tell you who is worth buying a ticket for. Here are some of our favourite up-and-comers to look out for.  Balming Tiger Who are they?: Balming Tiger are a South Korean multi-national alternative K-pop collective consisting of rapper Omega Sapien, DJ Abyssm director San Yawn, music video directors Jan'Qui and Leesuho, singer-songwriters Sogumm, Wnjn, Mudd the Student, and editor Henson. The hip-hop single ‘Sexy Nukim’ with BTS’s RM is a good entry point. For fans of: BTS, NewJeans, So!YoON. Village Underground. Wed Nov 8.  CHAI Who are they?: A sugary sweet experimental pop group blending elements of Tom Tom Club, Basement Jaxx and CSS to create punchy anthems inspired by female empowerment and redefining ‘kawaii’ culture.  For fans of: Confidence Man, Kero

Twenty-first century London is saturated with low-level smut. Its streets house three separate penis waffle purveyors and you can hardly walk into a gift shop without your eyes being assaulted by boob or bum-shaped novelty vases. But in times of yore, Londoners had to go to extreme lengths for a glimpse of tantalising nudity. They had to seek out statues with intriguing curves, modelled in fleshy marble, and discreetly ogle them until the nearest policeman moved them on with a swift jab of his truncheon. Here are some of the most outrageously sexy statues of yesteryear: seek them out, but bring the smelling salts in case it all gets too much. Achilles, Hyde Park Photograph: Claire Ward / Wikimedia Commons The body part that the Greek warrior Achilles was classically best known for was his heel. But that all changed when a scandalous statue of the hero was placed in Hyde Park in 1822. It was funded by Ladies of England, a patriotic women’s group who were presumably quite embarrassed by the scandal his lovingly chiselled anatomy provoked. A fig leaf was attached soon after. But it still attracted undue attention from Londoners including, allegedly, the storied actor Laurence Olivier, who once opined that the statue had ‘the best arse in London’. Time to see for yourself? Michelangelo’s David, The V&A Photograph: Shutterstock The V&A Museum’s magnificent replica of Michelangelo’s David was given to Queen Victoria as a birthday present in 1857... but only after a tasteful l

Be strong. You too can fight the seasonal siren song of pumpkin spice! The sugary blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger – there is, in a wild plot twist, no actual pumpkin in the ubiquitous autumnal flavour – has hijacked hot drinks for the past few years and we remain annoyed by it. But rather than flipping over every pumpkin spice latte we see, we’ve decided to celebrate the humble pumpkin instead, and point you in the direction of the best savoury squash dishes available in London this autumn. ‌Steamed Delica Pumpkin at Poon’s Wontoneria, Fitzrovia Photograph: Courtesy of Poon’s Wontoneria Herald the extension of Chinese restaurant royalty Amy Poon’s wonton-tastic pop-up (now running until February 2024) with this steamed pumpkin dish. Served alongside dried tofu skin also known as fǔzhú, as well as Chinese mushrooms and black bean sauce, these perfect hunks of soft pumpy are just what you need to cosy up to as the nights draw in. Yes, we did just call in ‘pumpy’. Get on board.  23 Charlotte St, W1T 1RW. £11.50. Pumpkin Arancina at Norma, Fitzrovia Photograph: Norma An oozy nugget of carb-based gold, this is pumpkin done the Sicilian way. The godfather of seasonal rice balls, this Delica delicacy comes topped with shavings of scamorza cheese and sage, and makes for the perfect edible autumn accessory. And if you really, really need that tawdry pumpkin spice hit, then scroll down to Norma’s dessert menu, and check out the pumpkin spiced tiramisu they’ll be offe

London’s LGBTQ+ scene has faced its fair share of challenges – among them: gentrification, a pandemic and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. But somehow, the city’s vibrant and defiant queer community always bounces back. In addition to some awesome LGBTQ+ clubs and bars, London has a pretty dazzling array of LGBTQ+ club nights. Here are 15 of the very best, from radical queer raves to ridiculously fun pop parties. 1. Feel It Held every Friday at London Bridge venue Omeara, this self-styled ‘queer super-party’ lives up to its billing. The genuinely diverse crowd includes plenty who like to dress up, and plenty who like to undress as the night progresses, especially in the sweaty main room. Banging house is the soundtrack there, while two other rooms are dedicated to chilled disco and pop. Brilliantly produced by London club legend Jodie Harsh and the Little Gay Brother crew, Feel It brings Berlin-style thrills and spills to south London. @feelitparty Photograph: Henri TButch, Please! 2. Butch, Please! Launched by Tabs Benjamin in 2016, this monthly club night at south London’s Royal Vauxhall Tavern celebrates the butch identity and its place in queer culture. Each party has a different theme – from ‘kinky butch’ to ‘muscle butch’ – and prides itself on being fully ‘dyke-centric’ from the performers to the door policy. It’s a space for lesbian and bi women, as well as trans and non-binary people, so don’t bring your cis male mates. @butchpleaselondon 3. Horse Meat Disco Ther

If you’ve ever tried nabbing an hour-long slot at London Fields Lido on a hot July afternoon, you’ll already know that it’s somewhat akin to trying to secure tickets to Glastonbury.  The destination of choice for east London’s outdoor swimming fanatics, London Fields’ 50-metre heated pool has become progressively more popular in recent years, welcoming more than 340,000 visitors in 2022. Now Hackney Council has proposed planned improvements to the facilities that will allow even more locals to feel the wind in their hair as they consistently fail to overtake an octogenarian in the slow lane (just me?) via the addition of a new training pool where beginners will be able to learn to swim. Photograph: Hackney Council Designed by architects FaulknerBrowns – who previously worked with Hackney Council on the nearby Britannia Leisure Centre – the proposed plans feature a 13m x 7m indoor training pool in place of the previously decommissioned paddling pool, as well as accessible toilets, a moveable floor and a viewing gallery.  The proposal for the pool extension is currently in a six-week consultation stage in which local residents are invited to have their say on the project, at the end of which a planning application will be submitted. Should this be successful, construction will begin at the end of the year and is expected to be completed by the summer of 2024.  If you’re a Hackney resident and fancy weighing in (or maybe diving in?) on the plans, you can access the online sur

Remember that historic burial site in Euston that had to be excavated to make way for the new HS2 station? Archaeologists found all sorts of cool stuff during the four-year works, and it’s all on display now as part of a new exhibition at St James’s Church in Piccadilly.  Headland Archaeology and the Museum of London Archaeology worked on the project between 2017 and 2021, sensitively exhuming and documenting more than 30,000 bodies from the St James’s Burial Ground in the largest archaeological excavation of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century burials ever undertaken in the UK. The site’s clay-based soil means that the coffins interred there between 1789 and 1853 have been much better preserved than at other sites of a similar age. The project has proved to be unusually rich in discoveries as a result, with organic items including clothing articles and wooden coffins uncovered intact during the dig.   Photograph: Courtesy of HS2 Personal items ranging from clay pipes and pocket watches to hair combs and slippers can now be viewed as part of the ‘Stories of St James’s Burial Ground’ exhibition on display at the Sir Christopher Wren-designed church which conducted the majority of the graveyard’s burials. The exhibition also features these only-slightly-sinister cardboard models (above), scattered around the church’s pews, all of which depict real people who were buried at the site, from dressmaker and amputee Elizabeth Mercer, to businessman Charles Fortnum, a member of the

It might not seem like it given the miserable weather across the UK this week, but spring is officially just days away. The impending change of season is especially good news if you happen to live in London, because a new report has just named the capital as the most picturesque city in the world during springtime.  It’s not all that surprising, really. Sure, London might have a reputation for being a bit grey during the colder months, but its world-famous landmarks, gorgeous works of architecture and leafy green spaces really come into their own when the temperature starts to climb. From World Heritage sites like Kew Gardens and The Tower of London to the plethora of springtime flowers that bloom across the city each year, there are a shit ton of picture-perfect London scenes to post on socials. And plenty of people are doing exactly that according to the study conducted by Travelbag, who compiled data for over 170 destinations across the world based on hashtag usage on Instagram. The tourism website found that users of the photo and video-sharing site used the hashtag #springinlondon for over 100,000 posts, beating out every other major city for hashtag usage. Second on the list was Paris, with Instagram users posting 78,981 times using #springinparis, while Seattle came in at number three on the list thanks to the 24,220 posts made using #springinseattle. Here’s the top ten in full: London - 100,832 Paris - 78,981 Seattle - 24,220 Melbourne - 23,549 Chicago - 23,536 Sydne

Catherine Cohen loves a photoshoot. New York City’s favourite ‘one-woman cabaret chanteuse’ is extremely jet-lagged when she turns up at Time Out’s office less than 24 hours after landing in the city ahead of her first UK tour. Barely ten minutes later, she’s got a conspiratorial glint in her eye and a fake Martini in hand as she reclines on the leather banquettes of our local old-man boozer – shout out The Cross Keys in Covent Garden – looking for all the world like she’s just taken huge pleasure in telling an over-refreshed patron to sling their hook.  This impressively gung-ho approach to self-promotion is pretty much exactly what you’d expect if you’ve watched Cohen’s 2022 Netflix special ‘The Twist?… She’s Gorgeous’, a recording of her monthly show at NYC cabaret venue Joe’s Pub that begins with a jazz-hands-heavy musical number called ‘Look at Me’.  It also comes in quite handy when you’ve got a brand-new show to promote. After we’ve finished alarming the pub regulars, we head back to the Time Out photo studio to chat about it. Photograph: Jess Hand Hey, Catherine, welcome back to London. Let’s start with a quickfire round of London v New York.  ‘Ugh, impossible! Impossible to choose!’ And yet… subway or tube? ‘The tube is better.’ Salt-beef bagel or pie and mash? ‘What’s a salt-beef bagel?’ Is that not a really New York thing?  ‘I guess it would be more like bagel and lox.’  Right. ‘It’s okay, we can help each other. And I don’t know about pie, but I’ve had, like, ba

It’s a crisp, sunny Monday lunchtime in late October and a spontaneous round of applause has erupted from the astroturf pitches above Hoxton’s Britannia Leisure Centre.  For the past hour or so, a low hum of excitable chatter has been punctuated only by the periodic thwack of footballs against walls. Forty-odd amateur players, from a host of local women’s teams, stand around doing keep-ups and taking turns to fire off shots at a goalkeeper on the far end of the pitch. But now Lioness Chloe Kelly is here, giving a meek wave as she steps onto the turf, and everyone is cheering like it’s July 31 all over again.   Five months earlier, the reaction of even the most ardent of women’s football fans to the arrival of the England forward might have been a little more muted. But that was before 23 million Brits tuned in to watch her punt the ball over the line in the 110th minute of extra time at this summer’s Women’s Euros Final, securing the Lionesses’ first ever major trophy in front of a record-breaking Wembley crowd.  That was before her instantly iconic celebration – pausing just long enough to check that the goal would stand before whipping off her shirt and helicoptering it overhead, sports bra on full display – or an equally memorable post-match interview where she ran off with the microphone mid-sentence to join her teammates in an ecstatic rendition of ‘Sweet Caroline’.  In short, that was before the 24-year-old from Ealing became a household name literally overnight.   Comi

Transport for London is fast becoming one of English football’s most sought-after signings. First, north London club Arsenal collabed with TfL on that tasty little Piccadilly line training kit. Then there was the bus route named after Euros-winning west Londoner Chloe Kelly. And now, England and Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling has gone and released a pair of London bus-inspired football boots. The Brent-raised footballer collaborated with his boot sponsor New Balance on the signature ‘Route to Success’ design, which features a pattern based on a fabric moquette found on London buses in the 1990s. The recently revived design is one that Sterling knows well from the countless hours he spent travelling across London with his older sister to attend training at QPR’s academy five times a week during his youth.  Photograph: New Balance ‘Three buses to get to training: 18, 182 and 140. I’ll never forget those numbers,’ the four-time Premier League winner tweeted about his journey. ‘No matter what, my big sister Lakima with me every single day. My latest boot is dedicated to her and all those moments we shared together.’ The 79-cap England star debuted the design in Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday, and the Furon 7 boots are on sale now for £220. We’d suggest pairing them with some Elizabeth Line socks. Stunning. Everything you need to know about October’s London train and Overground strikes. Tube cleaners and other low-paid workers will get free travel on TfL.

After 70 years on the throne, the sad announcement was made on Thursday September 8 that Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch, had died at the age of 96.  The announcement has set off a series of carefully planned official events, marches and memorials. Plans are currently being put in place for her state funeral, which will take place on Monday September 19. She will be the first British monarch to have her funeral at Westminster Abbey since 1760 and her coffin will lie in state for five days beforehand (Wednesday September 14 to Monday September 19) in Westminster Hall where the general public will be able to walk past the coffin to pay their respects.  As well as changes to strike action and transport services, many major events will be postponed and landmarks closed as a mark of respect on Monday September 19. Here’s a list of all the major London events and landmarks that will be closing and cancelled on the day of the Queen’s funeral. Museums and galleries  Alfred Waterhouse’s Romanesque cathedral of nature, the Natural History Museum, will be closed all day on Monday September 19, as will its neighbour the Science Museum. The art world also pays its respects on Monday, The National Gallery, Tate Modern and Tate Britain all closed too.  Tourist attractions Queen Elizabeth II was a patron of London Zoo. As a mark of respect, the London landmark and its Whipsnade sister site announced that both will close on Monday. ZSL said in a statement: ‘Her passion f