For more Christmas markets, check out our 2026 roundup.

Columbia Road stays open late on four Wednesdays this Christmas. Image: Shutterstock

While a few more Londoners might be tempted to the freshly-pedestrianised Oxford Street for this year's Christmas shopping, over on Columbia Road, the shops remain infinitely more independent and individual — and the Hackney street has now announced its 2026 season of late-night festive shopping.

As has become tradition, Columbia Road's shopkeepers will keep their doors open late on Wednesday evenings in the run-up to Christmas, offering Londoners the chance of an after-work spree with the stress of seasonal shopping substantially numbed by mulled wine being ladled out at the side of the road.

Mulled wine always make Christmas shopping a little more bearable. Image: Tom Burns

Many of the street's 60 independent shops will be open until 9pm, selling homeware, pottery, vinyl, beauty products, handcrafted jewellery and more. And not a Disney Store in sight.

This being Columbia Road, you might also want to stock up on seasonal foliage and — if you don't live too far — maybe even buy your Christmas tree.

Shops will be open/mulled wine flowing from 5pm-9pm on the following dates:

🎁 25 November
🎁 2 December
🎁 9 December
🎁 16 December

Columbia Road Christmas shopping lates, 25 November and 2, 9 and 16 December 2026.

All weekend

Principessa is on the schedule this weekend at Voila! Image: Voila! Festival

FIREWORKS NIGHT: 5 November is Bonfire Night, the anniversary of Guy Fawkes' foiled attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament. There are firework displays and events all over London this weekend, from the city's largest at Blackheath (more on which below), Battersea Park and Ally Pally, to smaller local events.

PITCHFORK MUSIC FESTIVAL: Organised by the Pitchfork music magazine team, Pitchfork Music Festival enters its final two days. Gigs this weekend include Thaiboy Digital at Village Underground, Hania Rani at Southbank Centre, and a day-long Dalston takeover, with one wristband getting you entry to several venues in the area. 2-8 November 2026

THEATRE FESTIVAL: Voila! Theatre Festival spans multidisciplinary, multilingual and multicultural performance. This year, that translates into close to 100 productions across several genres, and this weekend includes one-woman rom-com tribute Principessa, and Devour, described as "Nigella Lawson meets kink". 2-22 November 2026

PRINCESSES OF PUNJAB: Closing this weekend: learn about Punjabi princess and suffragette icon (and goddaughter of Queen Victoria), Sophia Duleep Singh, as well as five women who shaped her extraordinary life, in a Kensington Palace exhibition. Until 8 November 2026

Over 50 artists exhibit their work. Image: Highgate Art Fair

CHARLIE MACKESY: Author and illustrator Charlie Mackesy — creator of The Boy, the Fox, the Mole and the Horse — is the subject of a new Dulwich Picture Gallery exhibition. View never-before-seen early sketches, unpublished studies and original works from across Mackesy's career. 3 November 2026-7 February 2027

TEDDINGTON BEER FESTIVAL: If you've just about recovered from London's Oktoberfest celebrations, head to the Landmark Arts Centre for Teddington Beer Festival. Sample cask ales and ciders, with proceeds supporting the Landmark Arts Centre, where the event is held. 5-8 November 2026

TANGO AFTER DARK: World Tango Champion Germán Cornejo brings his company to Sadler's Wells for Tango After Dark, a two-hour production featuring 10 dancers, a five-piece live orchestra and two singers performing the music of Astor Piazzolla. The show mixes intimate, athletic choreography with dramatic storytelling, and returns after a sold-out 2018 run. 5-9 November 2026

EVER AFTER GARDEN: Illuminated by the light of more than 30,000 glowing roses, the Ever After Garden returns to Chelsea's Duke of York Square. Anyone can visit, and though there's no admission fee, the installation raises money for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, so consider donating. Alternatively, dedicate a rose to a loved one (minimum suggested donation £15). 5 November-21 December 2026

HIGHGATE ART FAIR: Throughout the weekend, artists, galleries and creative collectives showcase their work at Highgate Art Fair, which takes place at Highgate Primary School. A vibrant mix of practices and mediums is promised, with plenty of chances to talk to the artists behind the work, with various creative workshops running throughout the weekend too (advance booking required for those). 6-8 November 2026

Arcadia is on at the Natural History Museum. Image: © John Akomfrah. Courtesy Smoking Dogs Films and Lisson Gallery

LUXMURALIS: Light art specialists Luxmuralis take over the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich for Lost Worlds, an immersive journey through the great civilisations, myths and forgotten histories of humanity. Light and sound effects combine as you wander through the historic spaces of the ORNC after dark, surrounded by depictions of prehistoric cave art, the lost worlds of Atlantis and Troy and the age of the dinosaurs. 6-15 November 2026

THROUGH OUR EYES: The first group exhibition in the UK to home in on the vibrant art and culture of the Sámi people, Through our Eyes: Sámi Art and Culture opens at Somerset House. View works by 19 artists from Europe's only recognised indigenous people, whose traditional land spans the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. 6 November 2026-February 2027

NUE BLACK AESTHETIC: The Design Museum celebrates contemporary Black designers who are reshaping the British design landscape in furniture, architecture, fashion and installation — exploring identity, culture, community and more. 6 November 2026-8 August 2027

ARCADIA: Sir John Akomfrah's Arcadia is a film installation exploring the Columbian Exchange — the mass movements of people, species, goods and disease between the Americas, Afro‑Eurasia and Europe. The piece mixes landscape and sea imagery with a layered soundtrack of nature sounds, opera and poetry. It's screened at the Natural History Museum. FREE, from 6 November 2026

CONSTANTINOPLE TO ISTANBUL: A major UK-first exhibition at the V&A South Kensington explores 1,600 years of art and design from a city shaped by more than a millennium of artistic excellence. Constantinople to Istanbul: One City, Two Empires brings together objects including Byzantine caskets, Ottoman textiles, manuscripts, paintings, musical instruments and processional scrolls. From 7 November 2026

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Blackheath Fireworks is back!

South east London's biggest Bonfire Night celebration takes over Blackheath Common this Saturday. Come for the jaw-dropping pyrotechnics, stay for the fairground rides, thrilling live entertainment and street food at the festival-esque autumnal extravaganza that is Blackheath Fireworks.

Join some 40,000 Londoners for five whole hours of fun, including music from UK Garage stars DJ Luck & MC Neat and club legend Brandon Block, an epic Massaoke singalong, Big Belly Comedy sets and Lord of Lightning’s electrical arc spectacular. Enjoy both adrenaline-pumping and family-friendly rides, and sample refreshments from 60+ food traders (though maybe save that burger/doughnut/mulled wine for after your fairground visit).

Blackheath Fireworks runs all the way through to 10pm, giving you plenty of time to get your money's worth and soak up the seasonal cheer. Party season starts here!

Blackheath Fireworks, 5pm-10pm on 7 November at Blackheath Common. Get your tickets now.

Saturday 7 November

Celebrate Diwali in Greenwich. Image: © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

SENSING LONDON: Open City's walking tour explores how vision shapes our perception of the built environment, using neuroscience to encourage a closer look at the city's spaces. The route takes in Inner Temple, Strand Aldwych, Somerset House, Air Street Arch and Burlington House, ending outside the Royal Academy. 10am-12.30pm

PUMPKIN PATCH DASH: Young riders aged two-eight can enjoy a Halloween-themed balance bike celebration at Herne Hill Velodrome. There are free-ride sessions, age-category racing, face-painting and creative activities; every racer receives a medal, and hire bikes and helmets are available free of charge. 10am-1pm

MAKE JOY: Crafty types, swing by Woolwich Works for Make Joy, a celebration of the yarn family of crafts, including knitting and crocheting. Explore a curated marketplace of suppliers offering hand dyed and rare breed yarns, project bags, and more, and catch a programme of talks from experts within the craft industry. 10am-5pm

DIWALI: Though London's main Diwali celebrations in Trafalgar Square were cancelled due to the weather, there are plenty more ways to celebrate in London, including a free Diwali festival at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich today. Watch dance performances, have a go at Rangoli art or lantern-making, and try on a selection of traditional South Asian clothing. It all culminates in a lantern parade through Greenwich Park. FREE, 10.30am-5pm

COMEDY SALON: Robert Ross, dubbed 'Britain's Comedy Historian', and Gemma Ross, co-author of The Carry On Girls, return to The Cinema Museum in Kennington for a full day of comedy anecdotes, rare treasures and special guests. 12pm

The Comedy Salon pops up at the Cinema Museum. Image: Matt From London, Creative Commons

SPIRIT & SPICE: Chef and Cinnamon Club restaurateur Vivek Singh discusses his new book, Spirit & Spice, at Fortnum & Mason. As part of Kitchen Stories at Fortnum's, he reflects on 25 years of The Cinnamon Collection and the stories, recipes and inspirations behind his career in Indian dining. 1.30pm-3pm

VICTORIAN CRIME: How does the London depicted in the novels of Charles Dickens compare to the real experience of crime, poverty and the workhouse in Victorian London? The London Archives in Clerkenwell hosts Blue Badge Guide Patrick Voss to discuss the real conditions behind the fiction. 3pm

PICKLE FESTIVAL: Deptford pub the Dog & Bell holds the 30th edition of its annual Pickle Festival, where people enter their homemade pickle recipes for a chance of being crowned the winner. Beyond that, it's a whole pickle-centric afternoon with preserves, hot sauce, chutney, bread and cakes also getting involved, along with arts, crafts and photography. All entries must be submitted by 4pm

LIVE AT THE CHAPEL: Chris McCausland headlines a comedy night at Union Chapel in Islington, joined by Lou Sanders, Emmanuel O and Janine Harouni, with Phil Ellis hosting. The monthly show takes place in the atmospheric chapel, with seating allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. 7.45pm

Jack Shep is this month's guest DJ. Image: Scared To Dance

JAMAICA LOVE: Jamaica Love, an uplifting musical celebrating the legacy of Windrush, comes to Croydon's Fairfield Halls. Storytelling, humour and Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae all feature, and the cast includes vocalist John McLean, Celia Wickham-Anderson of Black Voices and a live band, with a special tribute to Jamaican theatre icon Oliver Samuels. 7pm

BRIGHT FEAR: City of London Sinfonia launches The Collections: Bright Fear at Kings Place, pairing Mary Jean Chan's poetry with a new score by composer Nicola T. Chang for traditional Chinese instruments. The performance creates a dialogue between words and music, in partnership with Faber & Faber. 7.30pm

PULP SPECIAL: Dance to Pulp's extensive back catalogue at Feeling Gloomy: Pulp Special at the Phoenix on Cavendish Square. Expect Common People, Disco 2000, Razzmatazz and deeper cuts, alongside gloomy indie favourites from David Bowie, the Smiths, the Cure, Suede and more. 10pm-3am

SCARED TO DANCE: In a similar vein to Feeling Gloomy (above), Scared To Dance is a night of  post-punk, indiepop, new wave and art rock music at the George Tavern in Shadwell. Comedian and actor Jack Shep, known for his appearances on SNL UK, is this month's guest DJ. 11pm-3am

Sunday 8 November

Wander through Horniman Gardens on a fungi walk. Image: OrdinaryTomatoes, Creative Commons

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY: Today is Remembrance Sunday, when events are held to commemorate those who have lost their lives in wars and conflicts around the globe. London's main event is a procession and laying of wreaths, at the Cenotaph on Whitehall; expect road closures if you're in the area, with a national two-minute silence at 11am

THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS: A handmade-puppet adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's classic The Wind in the Willows comes to Artsdepot in Finchley. Follow Mole and Ratty from the river bank into the Wild Wood, alongside Badger and Mr Toad, with original music, props and costumes. Age five+. 10.30am/1.30pm

THE BIG MARKET: Browse a curated selection of 30 local makers, designers and small businesses at the Fox and Firkin in Lewisham. Alongside the stalls, there are free artist workshops, a new craft area, an activity book and DJs throughout the day. FREE, 12pm-6pm

Take the whole family to a rave. Image: Big Fish Little Fish

FUNGI WALK: Search for wild fungi in the Horniman Gardens on a guided walk led by urban foraging education project Rights For Weeds. Learn how to identify species while discussing fungal ecology, folklore, medicinal mushrooms, foraging and land politics. The relaxed-paced walk ends at the Horniman Pavilion, where participants make something edible to enjoy together. 1pm-4pm

WARTIME WILLESDEN: Retired Judge Dr Jonathan Lewis gives a keynote speech based on his recent book, about wartime during Willesden. Particular focus is on the war heroes who are commemorated at Willesden Jewish Cemetery. The afternoon also includes stories of the first Jewish chaplain to serve in the field, and Jewish involvement at Bletchley Park. 1.45pm-4.30pm

FAMILY RAVE: Legendary family rave organisers Big Fish Little Fish get the festive season started nice and early with a Snow Ball Festive Family Rave at Between the Bridges on South Bank. All generations are invited to gather together on the dance floor as Jungle genre legend DJ Aphrodite plays a DnB soundtrack, with glitter cannons, bubbles and giant balloons thrown in. 2pm-4pm

JEWISH HISTORY: Marc Gardiner leads a walking tour exploring 1,000 years of London's Jewish history, starting in Aldgate and crossing the historic City of London. Hear about Jewish life from the medieval period to the present, including the 1290 expulsion, resettlement under Cromwell and later immigration. 2pm-4pm

Enjoy an afternoon of poetry at Keats House. Image: Peter Curbishley, Creative Commons

POETRY OF DECADENCE: Hear a free reading of poems from the anti-moralist, fantastical Decadence movement of the late 1800s at Keats House in Hampstead. Afternoon Poems includes work by Aubrey Beardsley, Oscar Wilde and Charles Baudelaire. FREE, 2.15pm-3.15pm

MONET'S POPPIES: Try an impressionistic afternoon at London Art Bar in Holborn, painting your own version of Claude Monet's Poppy Field — an apt one for Remembrance Sunday — with step-by-step guidance from a professional artist. Ticket includes art supplies, a canvas and apron, plus a glass of prosecco. Your finished work is yours to take home. 3pm-5.30pm

BLACK ALTERNATIVE MUSIC: Journalist and feminist punk musician Stephanie Phillips explores the Black artists who shaped rock 'n' roll and alternative music at Conway Hall in Holborn. Drawing on her book We Were Here, she discusses figures including Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Little Richard, Jimi Hendrix, Tina Turner, Betty Davis, Poly Styrene and Bad Brains, as well as the future of punk, metal, hardcore and indie. 3pm-4.30pm

HYPERPOLITICS: Anton Jäger discusses his book Hyperpolitics with James Schneider at Waterstones Gower Street. The conversation examines how protest, spectacle and moral urgency have shaped public life, from Thatcher's London to the Black Lives Matter movement, alongside the decline of parties, unions and civic solidarity. 4pm

NELL!: South London Theatre presents Nell! at SLT Fire Station, a play by L.A. Green about Nell Gwyn — actress, philanthropist, orange-seller and mistress to King Charles II. As she prepares for Charles's funeral, Nell reclaims her story and shares lesser-known truths, including her petition for aid for impoverished and injured soldiers and sailors. 6pm-7.10pm

Looking for all of London's Christmas lights? We've got information about all of the 2026 switch-on dates and events.

This year's lights are magical in more ways than one. Image: Oxford Street/Dani Adkins

The Oxford Street Christmas lights will have a Harry Potter theme for 2026, and they'll be illuminated from ✨ Monday 9 November ✨.

Over 5,000 white stars will once again dangle above the world-famous shopping street — as they have done every Christmas since 2021 — consisting of more than 300,000 LED lights, designed to use less energy than regular ones.

And this year, they'll be joined by a series of specially created illuminated designs to bring the world of Harry Potter to life.

The wizarding twist to the festive illuminations celebrates the opening of the world's largest Harry Potter store, which comes to Oxford Street on 4 November 2026, as well as the new HBO series Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Image: alexdavidbaldi, Creative Commons

While fans of the franchise welcome the new theme, trans activists and campaigners have criticised the move, demanding that the partnership be cancelled, due to Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling's controversial stance on transgender issues. Rowling is an executive producer on the new HBO series.

A special lighting event takes place from 4.30pm on Monday 9 November, with more details about that due to be announced on Thursday 5 November. We're also promised Harry Potter-inspired celebrations throughout the festive season. Keep an eye on the Oxford Street Instagram and website for updates.

It's all change on Oxford Street this Christmas, as the western end is now pedestrianised, giving us more room to wander beneath the lights, and take a few festive snaps without having to dodge traffic. Room for a quidditch pitch too, perhaps?

Looking for Christmas pressie inspiration? Here's our hand-selected gift guide, featuring exclusive London-themed/crafted present ideas. By the time you've read this article, you might have your festive shopping done!

London gifts for transport geeks

Brighten up the blandest of homes with this dazzling riff on the Tube aesthetic. Image: Adam Nathaniel Furman

After London transport-themed goodies? These are all wheely good:

🚇 Any transport lover will be au fait with the London Transport Museum shop and its embarrassment of transport-themed riches for everyone from babies to boomers. Next stop: a moquette tea towel... or sofa.

🚇 For a subtler take on that Underground aesthetic, Wallace Sewell — the folks who designed a number of the Underground's moquette motifs — have some gorgeous moquette-style pieces, from coasters to scarves.

🚇 Adam Nathaniel Furman's trippy take on the classic London Underground motifs (designs including 'Bakerloo Boogie Woogie' and 'Mighty Metropolitan') make for eye-catching cushions, mugs, backpacks and sweaters.

The expanded 2026 edition of the Seats of London book is a doozy. Image: TfL/Seats of London

🚇 If you'd rather read about moquette than wear/sip from it, we highly recommend 2026's expanded edition of Andrew Martin's generously-illustrated book, Seats of London: A Field Guide to London Transport Moquette Patterns.

🚇 Friend of Londonist Luke Agbaimoni, aka Tube Mapper, has released a 2027 A3 calendar — each month featuring one of his finest London Underground snaps from the past year. Here's to a satisfyingly symmetrical New Year.

🚇 Supperclub.Tube serves up Latin American inspired dishes on a 1967 Victoria Line Tube carriage, which as you can imagine, makes for a memorable night out. Get gift cards here.

Walking tour and experience gift vouchers

The ever-fascinating Look Up London sells gift vouchers for private guided tours. Image: Look Up London

After a present for someone who likes to get out there, walk around, learn stuff... and maybe eat/drink stuff too? Here you go:

🔍 Liquid History run regular booze-themed walks of London, where you can glug down quirky anecdotes and trivia, while calling in at some of the city's iconic watering holes. They sell gift vouchers, as well as other themed merch.

🔍 Look Up London sells gift vouchers for private guided tours, where you can choose from a lengthy list of neighbourhoods, from Bankside to Soho to Waterloo. There's a much-lauded feminist Jack the Ripper tour, too.

🔍 The sagacious Footprints of London team — with whom we've enjoyed numerous enlightening wanders — offer a range of vouchers for public, private, and even virtual, tours exploring the city's nooks and crannies.

🔍 Vouchers of various denominations are also available for TfL's Hidden London tours, which whisk you into secretive spaces beneath the city's streets. Some of these experiences are on the 'premium' side, price wise; make sure you love your giftee very much.

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Spend well this Christmas with the National Portrait Gallery

Leave it to one of London’s most iconic art galleries to conjure up the most eye-catching, aesthetically-pleasing gifts of the season! The National Portrait Gallery's shop really comes into its own at Christmas, offering unique stocking fillers and some of the most beautiful festive decor we’ve ever seen, on top of its exclusive collab ranges, so you can treat a special someone to a treasure developed with a favourite artist or fashion designer (without breaking the bank!)

Highlights include quirky Grayson Perry homeware (think gold-gilded, playfully-illustrated fine bone china); Bella Freud streetwear inspired by the words and doodles of her father, the late great Lucian Freud; and wonderfully whimsical Pandora jewellery, designed by Tim Walker. Ideal if you’re looking for a show-stopping present for the art/design lover in your life.

Explore loads more seasonal goodies online, with the National Portrait Gallery shop's specially-curated Christmas collection. Doing Secret Santa? Fruit-shaped (and scented) candles and still-life socks are crowd-pleasers with personality. Hosting Christmas this year? Level up your tablescaping with pastel-hued champagne coupes and velvet ribbon-finished crackers. Want to give your Christmas tree a serious glow up? The shop’s charming felt decorations and marbled paper garlands should do the trick!

Discover the full range online now, or pop into the bricks and mortar shop next time you’re near Trafalgar Square (the National Portrait Gallery is located just off it, at St Martin’s Place).

A gift subscription that history fans will drool over

Have you discovered our weekly newsletter about London's history? Each week, Londonist: Time Machine digs deeper into a little-known chapter from the capital's past. We ask questions like "Who was the first person to ever ride the Tube?". We see how Londoners of yesteryear imagined the 21st century city might look. And we colour in a lot of old maps.

AND there's an added level to Londonist: Time Machine. For a small subscription, you get to access additional newsletters, browse the full archive, get invitations to meetups and behind-the-scenes tours and be part of the Londonist: Time Machine community.

If you know someone who's sweet on history, consider buying them a gift subscription for Christmas. It's just £7 for a month or £50 for an entire year.

London gifts for kids

All aboard! Image: Historic Royal Palaces

🦖 Baby grows, snow globes — even mini guard's hats (which aren't made from real bearskin FYI): Historic Royal Palaces has a fab collection of London-themed kids gifts to peruse.

🦖 Wimbledon, Stokey, Croydon, Hampstead, Brixton and a host of other London locales feature in the Colour Your Streets colouring book series. Children will love it, as will certain adults in your life.

🦖 Know a young kid who's a West End star/director/costume designer of the future? Fan the flames of their passion, with one of these beautiful paper theatres from Benjamin Pollock's Toyshop in Covent Garden — it's an IRL shop, though they also do online orders.

🦖 For offline shopping, consider an independent boutique like the Children's Bookshop in Muswell Hill, Puppet Planet in Wandsworth or Just Williams in Dulwich and Beckenham.

Boozy London gifts

Image: Blue Crow Media

Suggestions for beer, wine and spirit drinkers. We've got teetotallers covered, too:

🗺️ Pub map: Published in 2026, the Historical Pubs of London Map, penned by the author of this very gift guide — the cheek! — leads you to 50 glimmering gin palaces, sawdust-sprinkled hideaways and bibelot-strewn boozers. A good little stocking filler, and the perfect excuse to bail on Dry January.

🍺 Beer: If you're looking to buy London-crafted beer for someone, but don't know where to start, check out our list of taprooms and click on the web shops to see what they offer (lots of breweries sell selection boxes, which make a fine festive gift). A brewery tour makes a thoughtful present too; among breweries offering them are Fuller's in Chiswick (one for the heritage lovers), Five Points in Hackney (purveyors of one of our all time faves, Railway Porter), and the excellent Southwark Brewing Company.

🍷 Wine: If it's vino you seek, make sure it's a London label: Blackbook make "bloody good wine" in their Battersea winery, thanks to grapes sourced from vineyards a stone's throw from the capital. Their "Londoner" 6 pack of wine would make for one stonking great present, or six very good ones. Otherwise, pick up a mixed case of reds, whites and sparklings from E17's Renegade Urban Winery, famous for their 'face' labels.

🍹 Rum: Buy a bottle of Market Row rum, described as "Brixton in a bottle" — and guaranteed to perk up any festive punch.

Buy London-crafted beer, wine, gin, whisky — you name it. Image: Renegade

🍋 Gin: Graveney Gin sells a selection of juniper-infused nectar, including a rosemary and thyme variation. Or book a gin tasting experience for two at its home in Tooting Market.

🥃 Whisky: Yes, you can get a bottle of Scotch in the shape of Big Ben. Also, yes, London-made whisky is a thing. Alternatively, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society sells various memberships, allowing access to their plush Hatton Garden tasting rooms. Memberships include a bottle of whisky.

🎨 Pub pics: As Lydia Wood continues on her quixotic quest to draw every single pub in London, know that she sells prints of various boozers (perhaps you'll find one of a friend/family member's fave drinking hole).

🫖 Alcohol-free: Drink gifts for the non-drinkers in your life? How about one of these literary afternoon teas, or a tea blending workshop at Covent Garden's Bird & Blend.

London book gift ideas

A cornucopia of fabulous London books was published this year, including London's Real Heritage Pubs. Image: CAMRA

2026 has been another bumper year for books about London. Here's our shortlist of some which we think will tickle your fancy.

📖 What do you get if you mix London's most famous diarist with Poirot? Something along the lines of Jack Jewers' thriller Seething Lane, which reimagines Samuel Pepys as a detective investigating the brutal murder of a libertine aristocrat.

📖  Discover art deco picture palaces, cult film libraries, movie memorabilia shops and more with An Opinionated Guide to Film London, penned by cinema buff and tour guide, Nigel Smith.

📖 RAYE, Fara Williams, George Eliot, Margaret Rutherford... all and many more are celebrated in Extraordinary Wandsworth Women, which dropped earlier in 2026.

📖  Speaking of remarkable women, the life of a Soho model, muse and memoirist is celebrated in Darren Coffield's biography Hen, Mistress of Mayhem: A Portrait of Henrietta Moraes.

Well that's one gift solved, anyway. Image: The History Press.

📖 London's Real Heritage Pubs is the kind of book that'll have giftees feasting on its beautiful images for most of Christmas Day, before sloping off to one of the featured boozers on Boxing Day.

📖 Courgette & broad bean shakshuka, a crispy za'atar chicken schnitzel sandwich, and scrummy ginger & chocolate cookies feature in Honey & Co Daily — a cookbook based on the menu at Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer's Bloomsbury restaurant.

📖 There's more to Kew Gardens than (usually) meets the eye: according to Ghosts, Myths and Oddities of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew by Jonathan S. Farley, spirits galore are lurking in the bushes...

📖 From Poirot's dining establishments of choice to Miss Marple's fave department stores, Agatha Christie's London: A Historical Guide to the Queen of Crime's Capital is a must for any whodunnit/London lover.

We featured these books because we know it's the kind of thing our readers will enjoy. By buying them via links in this article, Londonist may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, which also helps support independent bookshops.

Tickets for London theatre shows in 2027

Start someone special's year with song and dance on the West End. Image: Wassssuuuup! (talk) (Uploads), Creative Commons

The answer to the question: 'What do I get the person who has everything?' is so often: 'Tickets to a show!' Here's our pick of those arriving on the London stage in early 2027:

🎟️ The Seagull, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (opens 15 January): With tickets starting at just £8, tickets to Chekhov’s classic tale of art, ego and love could make for a nifty gift.

🎟️ Dirty Dancing, Prince Edward Theatre (opens 19 January): Its soundtrack featuring Hungry Eyes, Hey! Baby and the irresistible cheese-fest that is (I've Had) The Time Of My Life, a trip to see Dirty Dancing just might help someone through the dirgy days of Jan/Feb.

🎟️ John Proctor is the Villain, Wyndham's Theatre (opens 2 February): Kimberly Belflower's revisionist take on The Crucible sold out its Royal Court run, garnering ★★★★★ notices left, right and centre.

🎟️ Billy Elliot the Musical, Adelphi Theatre (opens 12 February): Pirouetting its way back onto the West End, tickets for the ultimate British feel-good story are already dancing off the shelves — a good excuse to get your Xmas shopping started early!

🎟️ Insane Asylum Seekers, Bush Theatre (opens 12 February): Head off West End for this show about the British-Iraqi refugee experience, which is as hilarious as it is touching.

🎟️ The Popinjay Cavalier, Phoenix Theatre (opens 23 February): A little-known playwright by the name of Quentin Tarantino has his West End debut with this swashbuckling tale in which the world's greatest actor goes to perform at Paris' illustrious Comédie-Française, only to find himself on the sharp end of the sword...

Londony stocking fillers

You needn't spend a fortune. Image: Boostology

Simply looking for something small to slip in a stocking? Here are a handful sockful of suggestions.

🧦 Indie London setup Boostology sells this very cute fold-it-yourself Paper London set, perfect for making while other family members fall asleep in front on Ratatouille on Christmas afternoon.

🧦 W Martyn in Muswell Hill has barely changed since 1897. It's a shoo-in for coffee, chocolates, tinned biscuits, Turkish delight, preserves and the like. You can buy online, but visit in person if you can — they put on an enchanting yuletide display.

🧦 Pink gooseberry & elderflower; damson & black pepper; and mandarin and sherry are among the zesty preserves available from London Borough of Jam, a small-batch company based in Clapton.

🧦 Soapsmith takes the concept of London neighbourhood-inspired aromas, and runs with it. The Walthamstow-based setup crafts soaps and bath soaks with names including Brick Lane, Lavender Hill, Marble Arch and Hackney Marshes.

W Martyn is a wonderful place to shop for stocking fillers. Image: Londonist

🧦 OK, you might struggle to fit one of Simon Turner's coal hole bowls into a stocking, but one of these handmade beauts will surely make a unique Londony present for the tricky-to-buy-for.

🧦 Something a little different courtesy of the Science Museum: a chance to adopt an object (teddy bear, Enigma machine, Victorian toilet) on behalf of a culture-loving friend/family member. They'll receive a digital certificate, and we'd also recommend pairing this gift with VIP tickets to one of the museum's Lates.

🧦 Sniffing out a beautiful box of pralines, a bar of salted caramel milk chocolate or some luxurious passion fruit ganache? Steer yourself in the direction of our delicious roundup of chocolate shops.

Londonist merch (aka the shameless plug section)

You know you want this in tea towel form. Image: Matt Brown/Londonist

T shirts, prints, mugs and tea towels: Londonist's online shop is brimming with merch that you won't find anywhere else. Plenty here for secret Santas, stocking fillers and main pressies.

Still got some bits and pieces to tick off your shopping list? Read London's Best Christmas Markets And Festive Fairs.

Our pick of free things to do in London this week. Get earlier access to this article, delivered straight to your inbox for free every week, via our newsletter.

Celebrate Diwali at a free family festival. Image: © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

Christmas light switch-ons

November's barely begun when London's Christmas light switch-ons get started. Carnaby is among those leading the charge, with its '90s-themed illuminations switched on from Wednesday, with a special event. Regent Street lights up from Thursday, and goes pedestrianised for the afternoon, making way for various stalls and entertainment. We expect the Oxford Street Christmas lights might go on sometime this week too, though no date has been confirmed at time of writing. Freshly pedestrianised, you'll be able to walk right beneath them.

See the dates for all of London's 2026 Christmas lights.

From 4 November.

3...2...1... Christmas! Image: Carnaby

The aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot

Ahead of Bonfire Night on Thursday, the National Archives looks at what happens after Guy Fawkes was caught attempting to blow up Parliament. In an online talk on Wednesday evening, collections specialist Dan Gosling delves into what official records can tell us about the immediate aftermath, including the hunt for Fawkes' co-conspirators, and the plotters' trial.

4 November.

London through a camera obscura

Remember the camera obscura which popped up at Ally Pally over the summer? Experience it again, this time indoors at the East Court, thanks to a free display showcasing photos taken from the summer installation — all displayed upside down, as if being projected live.

4-17 November.

Free fireworks in central London

Wherever you are in London this week, expect to hear plenty of whizzbangs as firework displays take place all over town. The majority require a paid ticket to get close to the action, but there is one FREE display on Bonfire Night itself, and it's in central London.

Fireworks Night at Coram's Fields in Bloomsbury is free to attend, with gates open from 3.30pm, and live performances on stage followed by the fireworks display. Note that due to the rules of Coram's Fields, no adults will be admitted without children.

5 November.

Stay late at the Royal College of Physicians

On Thursday, the Royal College of Physicians Museum stays open for an evening focused on its new exhibition, Patient Voices: Power, Truth, Understanding.

Join a free tour with senior curator Liz Douglas, focusing on the lived experiences of healthcare shared through diaries, letters, images, oral histories, objects, artworks and more. There's also a chance to explore the rest of the museum, including its apothecary jar collection and collection of fine art.

5 November.

Exhibition in an old house

Safehouse 1 in Peckham, a derelict-house-turned-event-space, hosts the exhibition Figurings of the Real. It involves three artists — Andrew McDonald, Thomasina Smith and Matthew Swift — transforming their embodied pasts and lived encounters into creative forms, including mask-like faces and hairy, abstract mixed-media works.

5-8 November.

Wander through the Ever After Garden

Image: Sam Mellish

Back for Christmas 2026, the Ever After Garden opens at Duke of York Square in Chelsea on Thursday night, with more than 30,000 glowing white 'roses'.

Anyone can visit, and though there's no admission fee, the installation raises money for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, so consider donating if you can. Alternatively, dedicate a rose to a loved one (minimum suggested donation £15).

5 November-21 December.

The Colombian Exchange

Image: © John Akomfrah. Courtesy Smoking Dogs Films and Lisson Gallery

Sir John Akomfrah's Arcadia is a film installation exploring the Colombian Exchange — the mass movements of people, species, goods and disease between the Americas, Afro‑Eurasia and Europe. The piece mixes landscape and sea imagery with a layered soundtrack of nature sounds, opera and poetry. It's screened at the Natural History Museum from Friday.

From 6 November.

Celebrate Diwali at the National Maritime Museum

Greenwich's National Maritime Museum goes big for Diwali on Saturday, with a huge free day of family-friendly celebrations. Watch dance performances, have a go at Rangoli art or lantern-making, or try on a selection of traditional South Asian clothing. Things culminate in a lantern parade through Greenwich Park accompanied by the rhythms of Eternal Taal's dhol drummers.

7 November.

This November, for the second year in a row, Katya Lebedeva — Professor of Piano at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music — will play a grand piano as it makes its way through the City's streets, as part of the Lord Mayor's Show. Here, Katya explains what it's like to play a concert that is moving in more ways than one.

"You make the city your own as you take music you love to the people." Image: Katya Lebedeva

There are huge advantages to playing a mobile piano.

You make the city your own as you take music you love to the people. It is a truly democratic act and a generous one on both sides. It also liberates you, the musician, from having to be flawless and makes you more engaged in the process of creative communication with your fellow humans.

I grew up in a very musical family. At the time of the Soviet Union (where I grew up) any Church activities were not allowed to people with positions in society. Yet my mum went around monasteries and collected old manuscripts of sacred music which she then performed with her choir. She was a real pioneer of sacred music at the time, and a rebel! My grandfather was an accomplished accordion player, but had to sell his instrument and a leather coat to pay for my mum's education and to buy her piano.

This was the piano on which I learnt too, and it still takes centre stage in my house.

He looked at me seriously and said "I have the truck!"

"Street performing is a harsh but invaluable filter." Image: Matt From London, Creative Commons

How did playing a mobile piano come about? Elisabeth Mainelli, Consort to the 695th Lord Mayor Michael Mainelli, asked me to provide a prize for the auction in the Grand Finale of the Lord Mayor's Appeal, which I did in the form of a concert. My concert was bought by John Burton, Chairman of the charity Pollinating London Together.

I presented the concert at the Ironmongers Hall, after which John asked me to dinner, where we exchanged ideas and aspirations. I explained that I strongly believe classical music should be accessible to all; if only the piano could be taken to a truck, one can play anywhere and be close to people. John looked at me seriously and said "I have the truck!"

"The moment the crowd doesn't like what you are playing, they voice it!"

"I really like the word 'pollinating'. It is not just about flowers and insects, but also about educating and inspiring minds." Image: Matsvei Liatkouski, Unsplash License

The float last year was decorated beautifully with fresh flowers — a magnificent travelling garden with a grand Yamaha piano in the middle. We had to amplify the sound of the piano to make sure it cut through the noise of the crowds.

When I climbed on the top of the float, the feeling was amazing. It felt very secure and grand, being so high up, almost omnipresent! Once we started moving slowly through the streets of London, it got more and more exhilarating because thousands of people were out on the streets to cheer. I effectively became a street performer. The concept was to play pieces in the rhythm of a moving vehicle. Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee was played right in front of the Mansion House.

Street performing is a harsh but invaluable filter. It teaches a musician how to capture a distracted crowd's attention within seconds, command an "audience" without a traditional stage, and build a resilient, stage presence with no ego. The moment the crowd doesn't like what you are playing, they voice it! You don't get that in the concert hall.

I got so many declarations of love! Looking at people's faces as the float came fully into their vision and hearing and seeing the expressions of pure awe, was extremely rewarding. People danced, swayed, sung and expressed their joy alongside the float.

"When we turned into the narrow street, we immediately started jamming together"

Katya will perform at 2026's Lord Mayor's show. Image: Katya Lebedeva

The drummers band was not too far behind us, and when we turned into the narrow street we could hear each other and immediately started jamming together — hugely exciting and spontaneous. Then, at the very end of the parade, we were passing under a bridge on the way to the final stop and I played Melodie from Gluck's opera Orfeo ed Euridice. The acoustics were perfect, and everyone just listened. A magical moment.

For 2026, I have perfected the programme to reflect the rhythm, atmosphere and ecological message that we want to send to the world. There will be plenty of dances from composers such as Chopin and De Falla, as well as the marches of Prokofiev and beautiful music about nature by Grieg. Pollinating London Together will once again be presenting a beautiful float.

I really like the word 'pollinating'. It is not just about flowers and insects, but also about educating and inspiring minds; about bringing awareness through the beauty of music and nature.

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Looking to volunteer in London but don't know where to start? Here's a selection of opportunities to help you do good and feel good, whatever your interests or skillset.

For loads more top tips on living your best London life (but without breaking the bank) subscribe to Londonist: Keys to the City.

Image: RDNE Stock project, Pexels License

When I first came to London for uni, I was convinced I was completely unemployable. Anxious, overthinking past-me concluded the only way to build experience and feel like a functional adult was… to volunteer literally everywhere. And honestly, it turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made.

Through all that volunteering — some good, some chaotic, some hilariously disorganised — I discovered that volunteering isn’t just about padding a CV. It’s about learning skills, meeting people, and finding little pockets of joy in the city. Now, even as a grown-up with a full-time-ish job, I still volunteer regularly. My main haunts are my local pottery studio and my community centre, both of which I’ve been at long enough to feel like part of the furniture. But for anyone with a do-gooder heart, volunteering doesn’t have to mean stress, drama, or terrible organisation.

Over the years, I’ve gathered what is actually quite a long list of spots — most I’ve tried myself, some recommended by friends and colleagues — that are truly good vibes. Places where you can help out, feel useful, and actually enjoy yourself. No disorganisation, no shouting, no tears on the Tube afterwards — but actual fun, meaningful, hands-on ways to give back in London.

It goes without saying that the first place you should check out is your local community centre! I am incredibly pro-community centre, as you might know about me if you’re a regular reader. They likely have in-house opportunities you can take them up on — and if not, they’ll also likely have strong links with whatever volunteer action is going on in your borough and be able to put you in touch with people and organisations that interest you! But that aside: here are some other spots that are great to bring your time and energy to.

If you wanna support vulnerable people

(Bear in mind you will likely need a DBS).

This one’s for anyone who wants to give their time to people who might need a bit more support. Think mentoring, practical help, or just being a friendly presence — it can be really rewarding, but it can also be a little on the draining side, so it’s important to stay plugged into the community and make best use of the support available to you in these roles.

Ministry of Stories

Image: Mary Taylor, Pexels License

I volunteered with the Ministry of Stories for about four years back in uni, and honestly, it was an absolute blast. I really recommend volunteering there on your birthday if you can — all the kids will think you’re so special, remember it forever, and it’s a super easy way to break the ice if, like me, you’re not naturally a kid whisperer.

This place is just lovely; you’re helping kids (aged eight to 18) write stories and build their creativity, which is like… so nice?? They also have a pretty organised online system for picking up shifts, and they have activity options depending on what kind of vibe you want:

• Writing mentor - help kids craft their own stories and get creative either in-house on a regular basis or in a school
• Monster shop volunteer – sell sweets that are for and made of monster parts (yes, really)

If you do the latter, you’ll need a flair for the dramatic — it’s full-on theatre.

The Literacy Pirates

Image: Marta Wave, Pexels License

The Literacy Pirates are doing similar good stuff to Ministry of Stories, but with a slightly different flavour. It’s still creative, still warm, still kid-focused — but there’s a bit more emphasis on the nuts and bolts of literacy. Think grammar, structure, confidence with writing, that sort of thing.

They work with young people aged nine to 13, and you volunteer supporting small groups with reading and writing tasks. You do need to commit to a minimum of four shifts per term, so this isn’t a casual pop-in situation. But that consistency is kind of the point; the kids actually get to know you, and you get to see their confidence build over time, which is really lovely.

If you like the idea of helping kids feel smarter, braver, and more capable and you don’t mind the occasional apostrophe chat, this one is very good vibes.

Number Champions

If writing ain’t your thing, maybe numbers are? Number Champions is great for anyone who likes the idea of helping kids feel less scared of maths. They work with primary school children who are struggling a bit with numbers and confidence. They have a couple of main roles:

As an in-school volunteer, you meet with the same child once a week during the school day for about an hour and a half to help them get to grips with maths concepts. It’s not drill-sergeant times tables energy, it’s much more focused on the fun. It runs on a full school-year cycle, so you’re committing to seeing the same child across the year. Which sounds like a lot, but it’s actually the magic of it — you really see their confidence grow, and you become a stable, encouraging presence in their week.

If that feels like too much of a commitment, there’s also a mentor role (for current or prior primary school teachers mostly), which is a bit more flexible. Mentors support the in-school volunteers — offering advice, helping with training, occasionally sitting in, and developing resources. It’s less about working directly with a child every week and more about being the calm, capable maths fairy godparent behind the scenes.

This one’s ideal if you like structure, schools, and the idea of making numbers feel less intimidating. Watching a six-year-old go from ‘I hate maths’ to ‘wait… I get it?’ Is actual elite-tier volunteering joy.

Angel Shed

Image: Joe Mabel, Creative Commons

Angel Shed is pure theatre kid joy, and inclusive and wholesome.

You’re supporting weekly sessions (either with theatre or music!) where kids and young people get to act, sing, dance, and make up their own scenes — and you’re right there with them. Leading games, hyping them up, helping them build confidence, and occasionally committing fully to a movement exercise you prooobably did not expect to be doing when you woke up that morning.

It’s high-energy in a really lovely way. The vibe is supportive, creative, and at times, very silly. If you enjoy being on your feet and watching someone go from shy to centre stage over the course of a term, this one’s a total heart-warmer. And yes: there are end-of-term shows. So if you’ve got even a tiny dormant theatre kid inside you, consider this your sign.

Haringey Shed

Haringey Shed is another absolute gem if you like your volunteering with a side of stage lights and organised chaos.

They run inclusive performing arts programmes for children and young people, and volunteers get stuck into all sorts: leading songwriting and stage play activities, supporting weekly after-school sessions, helping out at events, joining the backstage team for shows, or even taking part in leading creative workshops in schools and the wider community.

It’s all hands on deck — one week you might be helping a small group warm up with drama games, the next you’re wrangling props backstage while someone prepares for their big moment. The vibe is energetic but supportive: lots of teamwork, lots of celebrating small wins, lots of watching kids grow braver in real time.

Heart ‘n’ Soul

Heart ‘n’ Soul is one of those organisations that feels so joyful from the inside out. They’re an arts organisation working with adults with learning disabilities and autistic people, and everything they do is rooted in creativity, visibility and celebration. It’s colourful, loud in places, and very community-led — and they encourage everyone that comes through to take up space and be fully themselves.

Their projects include a variety of activities for different cohorts — from their choir, their radio show, their drop-ins, or even the beautiful octopus club, which is their inclusive club night. As a volunteer, you’re part of that ecosystem. Whether you’re committing regularly to projects or helping out at events, it’s about supporting creativity and being part of a space that feels empowering and alive. If you like your volunteering with music, movement and the occasional dancefloor moment, this one’s a very good vibe indeed. Volunteers also get 15% off at their shop so you can secure yourself some pretty banging merch or mixtapes at a discount!

Spark the Noise

Image: Aliane Schwartzhaupt, Unsplash License

Spark the Noise is a cause so close to my heart that I somehow ended up as co-chair of the charity. So yes, I’m biased. But also, I’m so right. I’ve never been more right about anything. It’s a breathing, thriving community of female and non-binary musicians working together to empower young people to learn instruments, form bands, take up space on stage, and gently but firmly dismantle inequity in the music industry one band, one gig at a time. It’s about confidence and collaboration. If you’re at all familiar, it’s part of the Girls Rock! Camp Alliance.

A lot of the charity’s energy centres around summer camp — a massive, intense, magical week in August where loads of young people come together, often picking up an instrument for the first time. Over the course of the week they learn to play, to write songs, to work as a band, and to perform. And the stuff they come up with? Heartwarming and so great. You haven’t heard music until you’ve heard a fourteen year old reinvent the concept of what a song even is. It’s all chorus? It’s for me.

I’ve volunteered with many of the organisations on this list, but being part of Spark the Noise has changed my life in a way that’s hard to overstate. It’s community in the truest sense — loud, messy, joyful, transformative, care overflowing from the seams. If you care about music, representation, and young people learning to be bold, this one is very, very special.

Rosetta Arts

Rosetta Arts is a proper local arts hub, and volunteers are a big part of how everything runs, from workshops and exhibitions to classrooms and gardens. You could be helping with assisting artists during workshops, supporting teachers in creative learning sessions, getting stuck into the community garden, or lending a hand behind the scenes with admin. If you’ve got experience working with SEND students, that’s especially valued too as they have specific roles for it. It’s very hands-on and very community-facing — you’re not filing papers in a cupboard somewhere, you’re helping actual creative stuff happen.

They’ve got two routes in: regular volunteering (a consistent day every week or two, usually for at least three months) or micro-volunteering, which is more dip-in-dip-out. So whether you want something steady and long-term or just the odd day of useful pottering, there’s flexibility.

The Gate W5

The Gate is an arts centre for people with learning disabilities based in what feels like a giant apartment in Shepherd’s Bush — it has that slightly magical ‘why doesn’t every neighbourhood have one of these?’ energy. It started about 20 years ago supporting tenants from Yarrow Housing, but it’s grown into something much bigger — a creative base where people can show up, be themselves, and express that through art.

It is basically a full-on arts collective. There’s a regular timetable of creative activities, but it’s not rigid in a corporate way — it’s a space where you can make, collaborate, hang out, be a part of the radio show or a jam, or just drop tools and have a coffee and a chat when that’s what’s needed. The emphasis is on expression, freedom, and community rather than output or pressure. As a volunteer you can get involved by just being a part of the furniture, or by helping the attendees out with their own projects, or being a friendly face or part of a field trip!

Hackney Night Shelter

Hackney Night Shelter runs on volunteers, and you’re honestly right there in the thick of it. In the evenings, teams welcome guests in, cook and serve a hot meal, and help create a calm, friendly atmosphere. In the mornings, another group comes in to make breakfast and help people start the day on a steadier footing.

You’re never doing it alone — volunteers work in small groups, so it feels collaborative and not too overwhelming. The vibe is practical and people-focused. It’s about showing up consistently, being kind, and helping create a space that feels safe and respectful.

If you’re interested in volunteering around homelessness but want something structured and team-based rather than chaotic, this is a solid option. It’s direct, meaningful, and very much about small acts — a meal, a chat, a warm welcome — adding up to something bigger.

If you wanna work with your hands

Image: Louis Hansel, Unsplash License

Sometimes the best way to feel useful is to actually do something. Whether that’s fixing, building, making, or getting your hands dirty, these spots let you leave with a sense of accomplishment — plus maybe a bit of dirt under your nails or a bike that actually works.

Restart Project Nunhead

The Repair Café in Nunhead is one of those totally brilliant, hyper-local things that makes you feel better about the world. It runs on the last Saturday of every month at the green community centre in Nunhead, right opposite the Old Nun’s Head pub. You bring something broken, they help you fix it. And you can be one of the people who fixes things.

The volunteer fixers cover all sorts — small electricals, computers, textiles and clothes, toys, bits of woodworking, general household stuff — basically anything you can carry in yourself. It’s first come, first serve, and you’re encouraged to stay with the fixer while they work, learn what’s happening, and even have a go, so volunteers also get to do a little bit of teaching. True anti-landfill energy.

Volunteering here is perfect if you’re good at fixing something specific and want to put that to use. You share tools, share knowledge, drink tea, and help someone keep a beloved object going a bit longer. The true anti-climate doom mood.

Fixing Factory

Fixing Factory is like the slightly more scaled-up cousin of your local repair cafe, running community repair events across several north east London boroughs. You can volunteer as a fixer (whether you’re just starting out or already pretty proficient), help host community repair events, or get involved behind the scenes managing their eBay shop where refurbished items get a second life instead of heading to landfill.

What’s especially appealing here is the upskilling. If you want to become a fixer properly, you can apply for courses in-house, including a more in-depth training route for long-term volunteers. It’s very much about learning by doing, building confidence with tools, and gradually levelling up.

Volunteering here doesn’t just mean helping someone mend a toaster once; it can actually turn into a skillset.* you show up to help, and end up leaving knowing how to diagnose problems and actually fix them. Practical and sustainable? Get yourself there TBH.

*and once you have that skillset, you can consider asking your local Library of Things if they’ll have you as a technician!

Cycletastic community bike shed

Image: Leon Wilson, Creative Commons

Cycletastic is a volunteer-led project that’s been running since 2010, originally set up in Kilburn to help get more people confidently cycling. They recycle pre-loved bikes back into the community and offer repair support and riding training.

The shed opens on the first and last Saturday afternoons in the warmer months, and it’s very much a drop-in, fix-it-together space. You can use their tools and parts, get help from skilled volunteers, learn basic mechanics, or join free learn-to-fix and learn-to-cycle sessions (especially aimed at adults). It’s all about keeping bikes roadworthy and helping people become more self-sufficient. If you like using your hands or are already someone who knows about bike repair, this is a great way to make use of that.

Kiln Rooms

Kiln Rooms volunteer exchange is one of those mythical London opportunities: very oversubscribed, long long waitlist (if they contact you just say yes and figure out how you’ll get it sorted later), but if you’re a ceramicist it’s kind of gold dust. They offer 18–20 early-career ceramicists free studio membership at their Peckham Levels space in exchange for around seven hours a week of hands-on support alongside a technician.

They properly train you: how to manage a studio, mix glazes, pack and service kilns, troubleshoot the chaos that can erupt in a ceramics workspace. You get 1-to-1 support, access to demos from teachers, occasional paid work, and the chance to sell in their shows. Firings (within reason) are free, glazes are free, you get storage. The real appeal is that you’ll finish your term there understanding how a ceramics studio actually runs, so it’s skill-building in a very real way — less romantic pottery dream, more learning the systems that make the dream sustainable. Competitive, yes. But if you’re serious about ceramics, it’s a serious opportunity.

Dalston Clay

Image: Courtney Cook, Unsplash License

If you’re curious about ceramics but balking at the £250+ price tag of a course, Dalston Clay has your back. They run a work exchange that’s a bit more low-key than Kiln Rooms, but still popular enough that you have to keep an eye out for shifts, because they tend to get snapped up months in advance — so when you’re in, be vigilant. The idea is simple and fair: you assist in the studio for three 3-hour sessions, and in return you get three 3-hour drop-in sessions to use whenever suits you, 9am-9pm, seven days a week. Not bad, given how expensive ceramics can be as a hobby.

No prior ceramics experience is needed, which is part of the appeal. During your exchange sessions you’ll help with the real, behind-the-scenes stuff — glazing, loading and unloading kilns, tidying, cleaning, organising shelves, maintaining equipment — all guided by the studio manager. The exchange programme keeps their prices affordable, opens the space up to people who might not otherwise access it, and gives you studio time in exchange for graft. Practical, communal, and a solid entry point if you want ceramics access without the full membership cost.

If you wanna work outside

Image: Helena Lopes, Pexels License

Sun on your face, dirt on your hands, fresh air in your lungs; volunteering outside is a great way to feel useful and energised. Whether you’re planting, maintaining green spaces, or helping out in a park, these spots let you give back while actually enjoying being outside.

City farms

London’s city farms are some of the sweetest, most grounding places to volunteer. There are literally tons of them — from Hackney City Farm, Mudchute Park and Farm, Spitalfields City Farm and Kentish Town City Farm to Freightliners. They’re tucked between estates and high streets, but inside there’s greenery to be maintained, animals to be mucked out and cared for, and a really welcoming community.

Image: King...., Creative Commons

Volunteering usually means getting stuck in with the hands-on stuff: feeding animals, mucking out, gardening, composting, helping with family events or school visits. It’s the kind of physical work that leaves you pleasantly tired but calmer and more connected to nature. The vibe is always relaxed and intergenerational; you’ll meet locals, students, and other people who just needed a break from screens and city chaos and just wanna vibe out and make intense eye contact with some ducks.

What makes city farms especially good vibes is that they’re actually part of the neighbourhood. You’re not helping an abstract cause; you’re contributing to a shared space where kids learn about food, adults can escape for a bit, and everyone gets to feel useful and connected.

Bee Urban

Image: Kai Wenzel, Unsplash License

Bee Urban is perfect if you like learning new things, and hanging with friendly humans — and of course, being around bees. You can head to the hive any Thursday or Friday afternoon and just see what’s happening; no pressure to commit to anything.

There are literally tons of activities going on here — gardening, hive maintenance, making frames, hand dipping candles, equipment care, making soaps and balms, harvesting honey. I feel like you could literally learn to prep for the apocalypse here. So whether you want to get your hands dirty, learn a craft, or just sip tea and chat while buzzing around the apiary, there’s something for everyone.

Your local green

If you wanna be outside and literally get your hands dirty, volunteering in community gardens and parks across London is one of the most rewarding things you can do. It’s slow, tactile, a little bit sweaty, and super grounding — all the good kind of physical work mixed with lots of fresh air and actual living plants.

Places like Bankside Open Spaces are tucked into little pockets between the South Bank streets, and you end up looking after beds of pollinator‑friendly plants, weeding paths, planting flowers, and chatting to the crew about everything from compost to life hacks. It’s super wholesome and calm.

In Islington and Clerkenwell, Culpeper Community Garden is this classic neighbours‑tending‑a‑garden energy: fruit trees, veg beds, and a crew of volunteers who basically keep it thriving. There’s always some planting or pruning to do, and a really warm, friendly rhythm to it: people showing up with coffee, swapping gardening tips, and feeling proud of what they’ve grown together. This spot is super easy breezy — you can literally just show up for an open session whenever you can muster it, no need for a lasting commitment (although if you get regular you might get a key to the tea hut!)

You’ve also got spots like Brockwell Community Gardens (where the volunteers literally make their own jams), Edible Landscapes, and Dalston Curve Garden, which all share that same neighbourhood‑grown vibe. Whether you’re trimming herbs, sowing seeds, leading a workshop, or just watering beds on a sunny morning, it’s the kind of volunteering that feels like an actual contribution to your corner of the city. You get to see things grow, watch the seasons shift, and have some real moments of pride when something you helped plant actually flowers.

Then there are the bigger green spaces: Royal Parks, where you can get involved either by tending the grounds or by helping out with enrichment and teaching attendees about biodiversity. There are also opportunities across the London Wildlife Trusts covering similar grounds.

There are also teams like Heath Hands. These feel more wide‑open and run light to heavy conservation work. You might be in heather fields, coppicing, planting saplings, or doing seasonal habitat work on a section of heathland. It’s a mix of serious outdoors‑work and friendly chats with people who are just there because they love being outside.

What links all of these is that the vibe is calm, collaborative, and satisfying. Mostly you show up, get stuck in, and leave with dirt under your nails, a smile on your face, and a real sense of having helped a bit of London stay alive. It’s the anti‑bureaucratic way to give back, and honestly one of the best ways to feel like you’re part of the city in a grounded, tangible way.

If you wanna work with food

If you love good vibes and good food, these volunteering spots are for you. Cook, deliver, sort, or share surplus food. You’ll be helping people eat, reducing waste, and likely getting a few tasty perks along the way.

The Felix Project

If you’re interested in food systems, mutual aid, or if food waste just grinds your fucking gears, volunteering with the Felix Project is one of the most hands-on ways to help out. Their whole thing is building a city where no one goes hungry, and volunteering there, you’re right in the middle of making that happen.

There are loads of ways in. You could be in the kitchen turning surplus ingredients into ready meals that go straight out to food banks and community projects. You might be doing mass processing — think big batches of chopping, cooking, canning, jamming — or supporting the bakery team. You can help in the warehouse sorting and organising crates of fresh produce, drive deliveries across the city, or even be part of the teams rescuing surplus food directly from suppliers. A lot of what they redistribute is high-quality, nutritious food that would otherwise go to waste.

Volunteering with Felix is honestly really interesting. You see the scale of food waste up close, but you also see the scale of impact: hundreds of charities, schools and community groups receiving food that same day. If you’re curious about how food redistribution actually works, or you want to understand the logistics behind running a large-scale food project, this is a brilliant place to learn about it. Not to mention it’s practical and immediate.

City Harvest

Quite similarly to the Felix Project, City Harvest is all about moving food fast, and volunteering here is exactly that kind of hands-on, satisfying chaos. Most volunteering is warehouse- or driving-based. You might be sorting crates of fresh produce, packing boxes, loading vans, or helping plan delivery routes. It’s very physical work, fast-moving, heavy lifting, and oddly addictive.

Shifts are flexible, so you can drop in when you’ve got time, and you end up feeling like part of a city-wide machine. If you like volunteering where you can see the results right away, this one hits that sweet spot: hands in food, heart in the city, and miles of good karma delivered along with it.

Peckham Pantry

Peckham Pantry is a membership food club that supports people on low incomes across Southwark. Families, households, whoever needs a hand — it’s self-referral mostly, so people can decide when they start and stop engaging with the service. It’s run by Pecan, a local community development charity, and it’s one of my favourite spots from my many volunteer stints.

The pantry model gives people choice, which is huge. Rather than just taking what’s given, members pick the food they want and need. You can help out on the ground, support the membership scheme and help behind the desk, or get involved in setting up and running the shop. Volunteering here is all about helping in a way that respects people’s dignity, reduces food insecurity, and builds a bit of community along the way. It’s hands-on, grounding, and you leave feeling like you actually helped someone keep a bit of agency in a tough situation.

Made in Hackney

Made in Hackney is a tiny workshop tucked into the green in Clapton, and it’s got a proper state-of-the-art teaching kitchen where all kinds of cuisine classes happen. As a volunteer, you mostly help with the practical side of things: setting up before classes, packing away afterwards, cleaning, and assisting the teacher during sessions — but the learning side is huge. You pick up loads about healthy, sustainable vegan cooking, seasonal ingredients, and clever ways to cook for groups. Usually you get to eat with the class and take some home too, which is obviously a very solid bonus.

There’s a bunch of other ways to get involved beyond the kitchen: you can help run foraging walks, represent the charity at pop-up events and fairs, support cycle deliveries, or join a batch cooking session where you cook big quantities of vegan meals to go out into the community. Classes take place in a few different locations, so you can see a bit of London while volunteering, and the vibe is super friendly and collaborative. It’s a mix of practical work, skill-building, and just generally being part of a project that’s making plant-based food accessible, fun, and sustainable. They also have cookout socials every so often, which are pretty delicious to boot!

If you wanna work in a social justice space

Image: Eden, Janine and Jim, Creative Commons

For anyone who wants to combine doing good with a bit of politics — think grassroots organising, social justice projects, and community spaces that actually care about people and values over profit. These spots are usually low-drama (which is tricky in this subsect of volunteering!), high-impact, and full of folks who are as earnest as they are welcoming.

Dalston Solidarity Café

Dalston Solidarity Café usually happens on the second Saturday of every month, and the volunteering starts before the doors open. The event runs on rescued food: stuff that would otherwise get thrown away, so you can get started wherever you like with it. You might help collect donations from shops, apps like Olio, or the occasional playful dumpster dive, then spend the morning chopping, roasting, and cooking alongside the team. It’s hands-on, full of chatter, and you pick up a few recipes along the way.

During the café event itself, once it opens, you can help welcome people, keep tables stocked, or just make the space feel inviting. Closing is a team effort too: cleaning, packing up leftovers to give away, and resetting the space. It’s busy and super immersive — you leave feeling like you helped make a little community happen, all around rescued food and good vibes.

Your local community bookstore

Image: John Michael Thomson, Unsplash License

Book shops feel like little worlds unto themselves, and London has some brilliant options, each with their own flavour (and that flavour is quite often a bit anarchist).

House of Hodge is this cosy, slightly ramshackle nook in Finsbury Park that’s packed with general secondhand treasures. It’s the kind of place where you can spend an hour just wandering and still feel like you’ve uncovered something special.

Freedom Press is the classic anarchist spot, small and full of radical political history, zines, pamphlets, and the kind of books that make you want to start a debate.

Housman’s is similar, maybe more iconic in its literary seriousness, with walls stacked high with discourse, essays, and a very particular old-school charm. If you want something a bit bigger and less niche, Oxfam Books and Music has a steady stream of donations, a more organised setup, and a real sense of helping keep good books in circulation while supporting charity.

Volunteering in these spots is usually a mix of shelving, sorting donations, helping customers, and just hanging out surrounded by books. It’s quiet and grounding, and you get to feel like part of a community of readers and collectors, all while discovering weird gems and supporting causes you care about.

56a Infoshop

Image: secretlondon123, Creative Commons

56a Infoshop is part Bikespace, part food co-op, and part learning hub. The Bikespace is where a lot of the magic happens — you can help visitors find the right tools, give advice, and assist people fixing up their shonky bikes. You don’t need to be an expert, just patient, enthusiastic, and ready to get your hands dirty. It’s also a real community: equality among volunteers is central, so you get to teach, learn, and laugh together while helping people gain confidence in bike mechanics. If it suits you, they also have the most detailed board of up to date squatting locations you can find and tons and tons of anarchist literature lining the shelves.

The food co-op side is another way to get involved. Beyond shopping, there are tons of ways to pitch in: unpacking deliveries, stocking shelves, helping with orders, or even supporting admin, social media, and volunteer training. Shifts run at different times throughout the week. Volunteering at 56a is hands-on, social, and empowering — a perfect mix of practical skills, community energy, and doing things for yourself rather than paying someone else to do them.

Lambeth Mutual Aid

Lambeth Mutual Aid grew out of the Covid moment and stuck around because the people involved really believe in solidarity and community organising. They’re not a charity and no one’s paid (though they do have a solidarity fund) — it’s a small collective in Lambeth bringing their own time and energy because they believe in building support networks that are horizontal.

Full disclosure: I haven’t been, but one of the organisers is my DIY scene pal/colleague — we’ve played together loads — and he’s someone who truly lives his politics. So I trust it’s sound.

They meet regularly in Brixton, make decisions collectively, and respond to requests for support each week, often signposting to other groups or offering help directly if they can. If you want to get involved, there’s solidarity Sunday, their free cafe on the second Sunday of the month at Platform Cafe in SW9, plus organising meetings, learning projects, language exchanges and more. They tend to receive mutual aid requests each week that they tackle on an as needed basis, so the action you do will be pretty variable!

Cafe Oto

Image: willnoble13, All Rights Reserved

Oto is one of those places that loudly shapes London’s experimental scene. It’s not explicitly political in a banner-waving way, but the programming leans radical: free jazz, noise, avant-garde electronics, improvised sets that feel like they’re being invented in real time. If you like your culture slightly left of centre, this is home turf.

Volunteering here usually means working on the door or behind the bar. You’re checking tickets, pouring drinks, helping the night run smoothly — and in return you get to catch some wild sets. The vibe is low-key, respectful, and a bit nerdy. You leave with ringing ears (wear earplugs folks!), a new favourite artist, and the feeling you helped make something special happen.

Volunteering in London is honestly such a good time, and I’ve done it at loads of different places over the years. It’s a great way to learn stuff, meet people, and feel like you’re actually part of your city. There’s no perfect way to do it; just pick somewhere that sparks your interest and get stuck in, you’ll probably have more fun than you expect, not to mention you get to give back to the city and help keep the pockets you care about keep going.

Thousands of people will be taking elfies this Christmas... Images: Andrew Abbott/Jasmeen Hemmings via creative commons

You've heard of Elf on the Shelf — now it's time for the slightly less catchy Massive Elf in front of the King's Official Residence.

From 16 November 2026, an Elf on the Shelf sculpture trail will be scattered around central London, with 12 oversized Santa's helpers appearing by 12 landmarks including Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square and Westminster Cathedral.

Individually designed by artists, each elf is almost two metres tall, and will surely prompt a clamour for festive selfies elfies.

The trail is part of London Heritage Quarter's programme of free experiences to raise money for charity, which also features a Hornby miniature railway installation at Victoria station featuring recreations of London landmarks including Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. That one launches on 24 November.

This isn't the first time an oversized Elf on the Shelf has appeared in London; for the past couple of years, a giant elf has cropped up at landmarks around central Croydon.

Elf on the Shelf sculpture trail 16 November 2026-sometime in late December

There's something extra-enchanting about the London stage come Christmastime. Here's our roundup of the best festive shows on stage in 2026.

Looking for pantos? We've put together a dedicated roundup, oh yes we have. We also have roundups for family-friendly Christmas shows and productions of A Christmas Carol.

The Great Christmas Feast, West Kensington

Travel back to 1843 to meet Charles Dickens, and a host of other beloved characters.

An all-immersive experience is on the (Christmas) cards as Lost Estate returns once again with The Great Christmas Feast. Be transported back to Christmas Eve 1843 for a snow-flecked night of live storytelling and music, dishes scoured from the pages of Victorian cookery books, and a mug or two of smoking bishop. At the heart of this show is a unique telling of A Christmas Carol, with an actor channeling its excitable author, plus a host of other beloved characters to boot. The show's become mighty popular; you'll need to subscribe for the final batch of 2026 tickets. Also check out: Where To Watch Dickens' A Christmas Carol On Stage In London.

The Great Christmas Feast, West Kensington, 6 November-31 December 2026.

A Homo Alone 2: Yikes, We Did It Again!, the Other Palace

Image: The Other Palace

It's Home Alone 2, but not as you know it. In this sequel to the Other Palace's filthy-fun musical parody, A Homo Alone 2: Yikes, We Did It Again! sees the return of a very camp Kevin, who this time, winds up in 'the gayest place on Earth', aka New York City. Bring on a Rocky Horror-esque hotel manager (wonder who the inspiration for that could be?) and a Trump cameo nobody asked for — and you'll be slapping your cheeks like no one's business.

A Homo Alone 2: Yikes, We Did It Again!, the Other Palace, 13 November 2026-3 January 2027.

It's A Wonderful Life!, Jermyn Street Theatre

Attaboy! Image: It's a Wonderful Life!

No doubt you've watched the 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life (if you haven't, stop reading this article and watch it posthaste). But have you ever listened to the radio play? In fact, the film's stars Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed reprised their roles as George and Mary Bailey in three different radio broadcasts between 1947-1951. Fast forward to 2026, and Jermyn Street Theatre delivers the timeless story of a selfless man pushed to the brink, with a live radio broadcast-style play — as performed by a group of multi-role actors in a 1940s studio setup. Attaboy!

It's A Wonderful Life!, Jermyn Street Theatre, 19 November 2026-3 January 2027

The Snowman, Peacock Theatre

Altogether now: "We're bombing through the wooooods..." Image: Tristram Kenton

This balletic riff on the seminal book/TV show has now been going for over quarter of a century — taking the late Raymond Briggs' masterpiece and running pirouetting with it. This year, however, sees a brand new staging, so while they can hardly cut the famous Walking in the Air scene, whether there's still a marauding troupe of tropical fruits and a sneering baddie in the guise of Jack Frost, remains to be seen.

The Snowman, Peacock Theatre, 21 November 2026-3 January 2027.

Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas, Alexandra Palace Theatre

Sherlock brings seasonal sleuthing to Ally Pally. Image: Alexandra Palace Theatre

When West End actors begin dropping down dead, it's up to the world's greatest detective (that's Sherlock Holmes, not Ludwig) to save the season. What links the deaths? That really annoying song The 12 Days of Christmas, of course — but time's running out to catch the murderous Grinch behind it all. Ally Pally's gloriously distressed Victorian theatre should prove the perfect setting for this Christmas caper.

Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas, Alexandra Palace Theatre, 24 November 2026-17 January 2027

Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Park Theatre

How, pray tell, is that star going to balance on there? Image: Park Theatre

The Other Bennet Sister was one of the TV hits of 2026, and this festive period piece is another about that 'other' Bennet, Mary. In the UK premiere of Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon's smash hit play (which has already charmed audiences in Canada and the US), Mary's Christmas is turned on its head when Lord Arthur de Bourgh arrives for the festivities, and the possibility of a wholly different future rears its head.

Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Park Theatre, 2 December 2026-10 January 2027

All I Want for Christmas is Cabaret, Phoenix Arts Club

Didn't know Richard Attenborough was still kicking around... Image: Phoenix Arts Club

A veritable advent calendar of drag, burlesque, musical theatre and comedy, All I Want for Christmas is Cabaret promises a raucous 100 minutes of festive entertainment, performed in the bowels of the Phoenix Theatre — which is decorated with thousands of fairy lights for extra twinkle. Themed cocktails, mulled wine and dinner packages are available. The only thing it's missing is Mariah herself.

All I Want for Christmas is Cabaret, Phoenix Arts Club, 5-20 December 2026.

The Nutcracker @ Royal Ballet and Opera and London Coliseum

It ain't Christmas without The Nutcracker. Image: English National Ballet/London Coliseum

A seven-headed mouse king and pirouetting candy set to a swirling Russian overture sounds like the fever dream of some kid who's knocked back an entire tin of Roses while doom scrolling. But we're talking about timeless Christmas tale, The Nutcracker. Two biggies return to the capital this Christmas: London Coliseum's epic English National Ballet staging (feat. over 100 dancers and musicians); and the long-lauded Peter Wright production at the Royal Ballet and Opera in Covent Garden. Both promise to be bewitchingly bizarre as ever — and will have you twirling around till the new year.

The Nutcracker at the Royal Ballet and Opera (3 December 2065-13 January 2027), The Nutcracker at London Coliseum (17 December 2026-10 January 2027).

A Very Sheeps Christmas – Live in Concert!, Soho Theatre Walthamstow

Udder joy: Sheeps are back with their Christmas show. Image: Sheeps

It is nothing less than utter (udder?) joy to learn that comedy trio Sheeps are returning with their now semi-legendary Christmas show. We've had the pleasure of watching their daft banter/Dickensian musical hijinks unfold in smaller venues like MOTH Club, but these days they're big enough to pack out the 1,000 capacity Soho Theatre Walthamstow. No doubt Sheeps, their house band — plus a sackful of quality guests — will fill the joint with festive mirth.

A Very Sheeps Christmas – Live in Concert!, Soho Theatre Walthamstow, 8 December

Anton at Christmas, Lyceum Theatre

Not gonna lie; kind of want that jacket. Image: Anton at Christmas

Everyone's favourite Rob Brydon/Bruce Forsyth/Gene Kelly lovechild, Anton Du Beke returns with another instalment of his festive show. Anton at Christmas is touring selected UK venues, waltzing into London's Lyceum Theatre for a one-off night on 14 December. Expect a deluge of dancing from a professional troupe, soundtracked by a house band and vocalist Lance Ellington. Also check out: Christmas Music Shows In London

Anton at Christmas, Lyceum Theatre, 14 December

Connoisseurs will note that the wine pictured in this stock image is likely too deep to be beaujolais nouveau. Image: Kelsey Knight via Unsplash

While some oenophiles turn up their noses at Beaujolais Nouveau Day — a seasonal saturnalia in which folks enjoy the first wine made from gamay grapes harvested that year in France — it can be lots of fun, especially if you have the day off work. This year's Beaujolais Nouveau Day falls on Thursday 19 November 2026 and as ever, London is lapping it up. Here's where to get your glug on.

All events are on 19 November, unless otherwise stated. We'll update this list as more are announced.

Beaujolais Nouveau 2026 at Le Beaujolais, Charing Cross

No reservations at London's oldest french wine bar — just walk in/stagger out. Image: Tansholpan, Pexels License

London oldest French wine bar is naturally in on the Beaujolais Nouveau game — indeed, it has been since opening in 1972. They keep things très simple at Le Beaujolais on the third Thursday of November; it's walk-ins as usual, although you may be staggering out again a few hours later.

Beaujolais Nouveau breakfast at Gordon's, Charing Cross

Every Londoner's had a drink at Gordon's — but how about breakfast? Image: Londonist

A full English breakfast, coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice... now what are we forgetting?... oh yeah, lashings of fruity red wine are served from 8am-10.45am at the legendary Gordon's Wine Bar. Though they don't usually take bookings, they're making an exception in this case. If you haven't wangled a day off work, Gordon's will continue to serve beaujo for the rest of the month at a more orthodox hour.

Beaujolais Day at Galvin Bistro & Bar, Spitalfields

Galvin Bistro & Bar is serving beaujo throughout the day.

Earlybirds can also make an appointment at Galvin Bistro & Bar, where their Beaujolais Day breakfasts kick off pre-midday, bristling with croque monsieurs and joie de vivre. There are also lunch and dinner sittings/menus for those who need a latte before they start tucking into the boozy grape juice.

Beaujolais Nouveau Supper at La Fromagerie Marylebone

The folks at La Fromagerie take great pride in racing back from France in a Morgan sports car, armed with a crate or two of Beaujolais Nouveau-Village. They've selected this particular label for its wild blackberry and blackcurrant flavours, and you can quaff a glass or two at a special supper at La Fromagerie Marylebone, featuring a three-course menu devised by Head Chef, Alessandro Grano — options including snails on toast, beef bourguignon and tarte tatin.

"Her name belongs above our door." Image: Jon Huddart

A new pub in the City is dedicated to Catherine Eddowes, one of the victims of Jack the Ripper.

Opened on 27 October, the Catherine Eddowes is the latest addition to the Craft Beer Co. chain, and stands opposite Mitre Square, where, in the early hours of 30 September 1888, the 46-year-old Londoner — who had recently returned from a hop-picking excursion in Kent — was found murdered. She was the fourth of the "canonical five" women killed in the East End that year.

"We wanted to name our pub in her honour, to remember the woman and give her a lasting place in the City's everyday life,"Jon Huddart from the Craft Beer Co. tells us. "Her name belongs above our door."

A sign hanging above the entrance, produced by Ash & Sarah Bishop at the Brilliant Sign Co., depicts Catherine walking across a cobbled street, with a basket of flowers in her hand and a shawl draped over her shoulders.

The pub stands opposite the site where Catherine died. Image: Jon Huddart

In recent years, there has been an increased push to de-romanticise the horrific killings that took place in 1888, instead shifting the focus onto the women who suffered. Look Up London organises a Feminist Jack the Ripper Tour.

Earlier this year, Nancy's Cocktail Bar opened at London Bridge, its name a nod to the fictional character in Oliver Twist who is a victim of domestic abuse — and eventually murder — at the hands of her partner.

Christie's own typewriter features in the exhibition. Image: Londonist

The British Library's long-awaited Agatha Christie exhibition is here, marking 50 years since the death of the "Queen of Crime".

Books, personal letters and photos, plus her typewriter, passports and other personal objects are all on show in a display which seamlessly extols the legacy of the creator of characters such as Miss Marple and Poirot.

The wallpaper contains hidden motifs. Image: Londonist

While "immersive" is a word thrown around too liberally in relation to exhibitions these days, the British Library has created the real deal. Visitors begin in a realistic facsimile of an English country house, similar to the setting for many of Christie's novels. Here, focus is primarily on the author's childhood and very early writing. Christie's hand-drawn map of Miss Marple's fictional village, St Mary Mead, and her family's 'Confessions' book are among the fascinating objects on display, but the room itself is worth a closer look: the patterned wallpaper contains motifs, including blackbirds and yellow irises, which reference some of Christie's works.

Photo by Justine Trickett. © British Library Board

A recreation of a wartime pharmacy details a lesser-known influence on Christie's work: her knowledge of pharmaceuticals, specifically of poisons, which she picked up in her medical training during the Second World War, and utilised as a weapon in several of her novels. A decorative ceramic skull stands in for 'Eric', the real human skull on which Christie and other crime writers pledged their membership to the Detection Club.

Step on board a recreation of the Orient Express. Image: Londonist

The exhibition peaks as we round a corner onto a station platform, inviting us to step into a train carriage — its blue colouring possibly a nod to The Mystery of the Blue Train. Inside though, it's a recreation of the Orient Express, dripping in art deco details, the moving snowy vista beyond the train 'windows' setting the scene for the time Christie herself spent trapped on the Orient Express in a blizzard — which resulted in perhaps her most famous work. It was this setting which led her down the route of "closed-circle" mysteries, where a limited pool of people make up the suspects in a crime mystery.

Christie herself was trapped on the Orient Express during a blizzard. Image: Londonist

The portable typewriter on which Christie wrote many of her novels (pictured top) is the highlight of The Dig, a section of the exhibition dedicated to her life in the Middle East with her second husband, archaeologist Max Mallowan — giving rise to novels including Death on the Nile. Her original passports, with stamps from countries across North America, Europe and Oceania, challenge the misconception that Christie spent most of her life in the bucolic English countryside about which she predominantly writes.

The final chapter whisks visitors — via a recreation of a Tube station corridor — into Theatreland, delving into Christie's work on stage, not least the record-pulverising Mousetrap. Theatre-style seating once again immerses us fully, with a rare video of the notoriously-shy writer giving a speech, shown on loop.

Image: Londonist

Naturally, keen Christie fans will find plenty to latch onto in this triumph of an exhibition, from the inspiration behind small plot details to a wider context for her writing. That said, anyone who's never read a single page or watched a minute of her work will still have lots to entertain their little grey cells, such as original notes, letters and plot points scrawled in Christie's own hand, alongside costumes from screen adaptations of her work, and even clothes worn by Christie herself.

Christie knew a lot about poison, and used that knowledge in her books. Image: Londonist

Woven throughout are examples of how Christie shaped the entire crime fiction genre, with elements such as her "closed-circle mystery" and Poirot's iconic "drawing room reveal" replicated countless times in books, films and TV shows since. The exhibition doesn't shy away from some of the more inconvenient aspects of Christie's legacy, briefly addressing the renaming of the book now known as And Then There Were None, and her early depictions of Jewish people, which would not be considered appropriate if they were published today.

Image: Londonist

A treasure trove of genuine artefacts, cultural references and thoughtful curation come together in this exhibition like a well-crafted novel. Like Christie's own work, the exhibition is an eloquent, comprehensive and pacy ride through a fascinating story, and gripping from start to end.

Agatha Christie: A World of Mystery is at the British Library, 30 October 2026-20 June 2027.

See how many of these roundels you can spot in the next couple of weeks. Image: TfL

A number of poppy roundels can be found on platforms at Tube and Overground stations across London, for Poppy Day (29 October) Remembrance Sunday (8 November) and Armistice Day (11 November).

Poppy roundels first appeared in November 2018, and have since become a fixture of this time of year. They're not specially-made roundels as such; the poppy design is a vinyl that's stuck onto existing roundels.

As well as the roundels, you'll see TfL tubes, trains, trams and buses 'wearing' poppies over the next couple of weeks. As with the last couple of years, The IFS Cloud Cable Car once again features commemorative design poppy illustrations too.

Look out for the Poppy buses again this year. Image: TfL

On Poppy Day (that's 29 October this year, not to be confused with Armistice Day itself) some 2,500 personnel, veterans and volunteers are at stations across the network collecting donations for the Poppy Appeal, which raises money to support former service personnel and their families. They'll accept contactless as well as cash. 2026 marks 20 years of London Poppy Day, with volunteers at the stations from 7am-7pm, and Royal British Legion bands performing at stations including Battersea Power Station, Blackfriars, Canary Wharf, Stratford and Westminster.

Here's a full list of where you'll find the poppy roundels in 2026:

Underground stations with poppy roundels

• Baker Street
• Balham
• Bethnal Green
• Bounds Green
• Canary Wharf
• King's Cross St Pancras
• London Bridge
• Tower Hill
• Westminster

Image: TfL

Overground stations with poppy roundels

• Hackney Downs
• Hatch End
• Hoxton,
• Shepherd's Bush
• South Tottenham

Additionally, poppy roundels can be seen at Hammersmith, Harrow, Kingston, Turnpike Lane and Vauxhall bus stations, and Victoria Coach Station.

Poppy buses

Buses decorated with poppies (pictured above) will also run on certain TfL routes.

A special announcement...

Image: TfL

... about a special announcement. On 29 October 2026, listen out for the voice of singer and actor Dame Elaine Paige. She's recorded a special message that will play over London station tannoys, encouraging people to donate.

Millions of paper poppies are crafted by hand at a factory in Richmond, and they often have public open days, where you can make your own poppy.

Adapted from a feature that first appeared in October 2025 on Londonist: Time Machine, our much-praised history newsletter. To be the first to read new history features like this, sign up for free here.

Today, we’re back in 1851, the year of the Crystal Palace and the Great Exhibition. And we’re poised hundreds of metres above the ground, looking south over the sprawl of London.

Click or tap for larger version

Have you got your bearings? We’re to the north of London, and specifically in the skies over Hampstead. Our view looks south. The park towards the bottom-right is Regent’s Park, while to the top-left we see the Thames curling around Rotherhithe and the Isle of Dogs.

Most of us have seen such views from an aeroplane window. But in the mid-19th century, such perspectives were novel, even astonishing. Perhaps only a few hundred people had ascended by balloon over London at this point. What did those privileged eyeballs take in? With photography still a temperamental novelty, artistic panoramas were the only way to communicate the view.

Despite its title — “A balloon view of London (as seen from Hampstead)” — this panorama was not drawn from a basket. It can’t have been. The cold, the wind, the motion, the peril and the expense of balloon flight would all conspire against the draughtsman. It’s possible that the anonymous artist made a preliminary sketch from a tethered balloon, but most of the work would have been done on the ground by cross-referencing with existing maps and drawings. It is a simulated ‘balloon view’ in the same way we might speak metaphorically of ‘a bird’s-eye view’.

The result is imperfect. For all its thrilling detail, the ‘balloon view’ is riddled with awkward perspectives and clunky proportions (just zoom in on St Paul’s). But we can forgive the artist. He or she was drawing more from the imagination than direct study. Their finished work is still a marvel to behold, and packed with insightful detail. It was published by Banks & Co. and sold from the Royal Exchange for six shillings, by Effingham Wilson from May 1851. Its publication was no doubt timed to entice wealthy out-of-towners, here for the Great Exhibition.

In many ways, the view shows familiar terrain. Parks and bridges and much of the road network are as we’d expect them today. Yet in other respects this is a very different city. Tall ships beshoal the Thames; much of the ‘Surrey side’, particularly to the south-east, is open fields; the early railway termini have begun to appear, but they don’t yet dominate their neighbourhoods. You’ll find no Shaftesbury Avenue, Charing Cross Road, Kingsway, Queen Victoria Street or Embankment. Of skyscrapers there are none; of stacks and steeples there are many.

Let’s zoom in on a few of the more intriguing areas. (Note: a slightly higher-resolution scan can be found under copyright on the London Picture Archive.)

The Crystal Palace

Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens are easy to spot. They closely resemble their modern forms, with the Serpentine/Long Water and Round Pond exactly as you’d expect to find them. But glance to the south (top) of the park and you’ll spy something that isn’t there today, and wasn’t there a year before. It’s the mighty Crystal Palace, built by Joseph Paxton to house the 1851 Great Exhibition. Without that unprecedented tourist magnet, our alleged balloonist’s view might not have been commissioned. The Crystal Palace would remain in this location for a year only. It was then dismantled and re-erected (with modifications) up in Sydenham, where it eventually gave its name to the area.

Look behind the Palace, and you’ll see a series of empty grey plots. These wouldn’t remain undeveloped for long. The profits from the Great Exhibition were ploughed into the area, bringing us the great cultural and academic institutions for which South Kensington is still renowned today.

The nascent King’s Cross station

The other big development of the time was at King’s Cross. The Great Northern Railway had arrived in London just a year before, but its first terminus was not where you’d catch a train from today. A temporary terminus had been hastily built in 1850 to the north of Regent’s Canal, where now we find the Granary Building and St Martin’s College. It would be very short-lived. Look to the south (‘up’ in the image) and you can see the cleared plot where King’s Cross station was about to emerge. Construction would be complete by 1852, and would include a clock displayed at the Great Exhibition.

This small section of the panorama contains much else of interest. The feature I’ve marked as ‘The King’s Cross’ was a clock tower surmounted by a statue of King George IV. This glorified traffic island gave the area its name of ‘King’s Cross’, where before it had been known as Battle Bridge. Curiously, the monument and statue to the unpopular king had been demolished by 1845, six years before our panorama. It has no business being here. I suspect the artist has copied from older maps or illustrations without realising the monument had gone. Curiouser still, it is one of the few structures on the drawing to cast a shadow, and it does so in an impossible SSW direction (I do love nitpicking people who’ve been dead for over a century.)

We can also see the Imperial Gas Works, whose echoes remain in the modern Gasholder Park and apartments. Meanwhile, the ancient St Pancras church remains, though the cemetery buildings beside it have gone.

The West End

By 1851, the essentials of the West End were largely complete. Regent Street had been knocked through a generation before, Nelson’s Column and the National Gallery had been up for about a decade. It mostly looks familiar.

The eye is drawn, however, to a building that many of us will not recognise. This is the ‘Rotunda’, an early form of ‘immersive experience’ built just north of Leicester Square in the early 19th century. Its main purpose was to show off the huge panoramas of Robert Burford. These 360 degree paintings, much larger than our ‘balloon view’, would line its drum-shaped walls, transporting visitors to faraway places. Here’s a cutaway:

Image: public domain

The rotunda was hugely popular — one of London’s ‘top tourist attractions’, as we might say today. What few people realise is that it still exists, and can be visited any day of the week. It now forms the shell of the Roman Catholic Church of Notre Dame de France, just north of Leicester Square. Its drum-shaped form cannot be recognised from the street, but it stands out in satellite view (along with its intriguing roof garden, which I’d love to see up close).

The South Bank

Like much of the river front, the South Bank was heavily industrialised in the mid-19th century. Indeed, it would remain so until half-way through the next century. The Lion Brewery (labelled) was only demolished in 1949 to make way for the Royal Festival Hall. Its rooftop lion still guards the area, from its plinth on Westminster Bridge.

Image: Matt Brown

The stack labelled as “Shot Tower’ would last even longer. It towered over the 1951 Festival of Britain, and was finally taken down in 1962. The Queen Elizabeth Hall now stands on the site. Meanwhile, Waterloo Station is already a presence, having opened about a decade before. It would grow much more prominent over the coming years and eventually give its name to the wider area.

Our panorama features eight bridges over the Thames; all have since been replaced. The one partial exception is Hungerford Bridge, depicted in 1851 as a pedestrian suspension bridge, and designed by IK Brunel. The deck and towers are long gone, but the supporting piers still hold up the Charing Cross railway bridge. (The suspension cables also had an afterlife, and were reused on Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol.) Meanwhile, the panorama is notably absent London’s most famous span. Tower Bridge would not be built for another 40 years. The Thames here is instead thick with tall-masted cargo ships, unloading at places like Hay’s Wharf and Butler’s Wharf.

Canals and railways

As already noted, the anonymous artist behind the panorama was not a draughtsman of the first order. The plan’s shortcomings are most keenly seen at the extremes. The fields and hedgerows to the upper-left, for example, are drawn with questionable perspective. Most egregious of all is the ‘Grand Surrey Canal’. This almost forgotten waterway was no wider than a typical canal, yet here it’s given the prominence of a major river (and perhaps even a lake as it curves towards Peckham).

The waterway was built in the early 19th century to take cargo inland from the Surrey Commercial Docks (upper-left of image). It remained intact until the Second World War, after which it was gradually filled in. Its route can still be followed easily, and features many leftovers of the canal, such as mooring posts and a bridge to nowhere in Burgess Park. I’ll write a feature on it one day.

More prominent still in this part of the image are the snaking rail viaducts heading off to the south-east (you can even see the trains). These remarkable structures were built in the 1830s to support lines into London Bridge, and they still carry trains today, almost 200 years later. The London to Greenwich stretch alone features 878 brick arches, a colossal undertaking in a time before power tools and machinery.

If you like pomp and ceremony you'll love the Lord Mayor's Show. Image: City of London

What is the Lord Mayor's Show?

The annual event takes place in the City of London, celebrating the new Lord Mayor (or Lady Mayor, as was the case in 2025) taking on the role. This longstanding tradition is bursting with pomp and ceremony — marching bands, bells pealing, a golden coach: the works.

In 1215, King John was persuaded to let the City of London elect its own mayor, with one major condition: each year the new mayor must travel from the City to Westminster to swear loyalty to the crown. Those are the origins of the Lord Mayor's Show which has run for more than 800 years, despite some major obstacles along the way.

When is the Lord Mayor's Show 2026?

The Lord Mayor's Show takes place on Saturday 14 November 2026, beginning at 11am.

Who is the new Lord Mayor for 2026?

Bronek Masojada is the new Lord Mayor for 2026. Image: City of London

The new Lord Mayor for 2026 is Bronek Masojada, who works in the insurance and financial sectors. He was elected Alderman for the Ward of Billingsgate in 2019 and served as Sheriff of the City of London in 2023/24. He is Chair of the East End Community Foundation.

He takes over from 697th Lord Mayor of London, Dame Susan Langley DBE. She was only the third woman to hold the post in over 800 years, and the first to be titled the 'Lady Mayor of London', making last year's event a special one, as it was officially known as the 'Lady Mayor's Show' for the first time ever.

Lord Mayor's Show and Parade 2026 events and route: schedule of the day

Thousands of people take part in the Lord Mayor's Show. Image: City of London

There's a change to the day's schedule this year, as the incoming Lord Mayor travels down the river on a flotilla before the main shindig begins. Bronek Masojada and his wife Jane join the Sheriffs of the City of London aboard the Royal Shallop Jubilant, part of a flotilla of Livery boats, disembarking at HMS President and joining the festivities in the Square Mile.

The river journey is an historic part of the Lord Mayor's Show, dating back to the days when the incoming Lord Mayor would travel to Westminster to swear loyalty to the crown. The flotilla last took place in 2017, and is being revived for 2026.

At 11am on the dot (there's no question the military is involved in this event), the parade begins to leave Mansion House, the Lord Mayor's official residence.

The Lord Mayor's Show flotilla returns in 2026. Image: c-u-b, Creative Commons

It's an epic three-mile long procession (the procession being longer than the actual route), taking about an hour and a quarter to pass a single point. It winds its way through the City, beginning at Mansion House, via Cheapside and St Paul's Cathedral (approx 11.13am), usually arriving at the Royal Courts of Justice around 11.30am.

At this point, the new Lord Mayor spends some time inside the Royal Courts to swear an oath of allegiance, before rejoining the procession at Temple Place (1.10pm) and heading back to Mansion House. If you want a quieter or less crowded experience, head to the Embankment area between 1.15pm-2.30pm to watch the parade on its return journey.

Following the procession, free walks led by City of London guides are available from outside Bank, between 3pm-4pm. You can also get free entry to the cathedral floor at St Paul's Cathedral until 4.30pm, or ascend to the Dome Galleries for just £13.50, though this too is likely to be very busy.

Are there fireworks at the Lord Mayor's Show?

Previously, a fireworks display was held in the evening of the Lord Mayor's Show, but it was cancelled in 2015 as a mark of respect for the terror attacks which had taken place in Paris the day before, and the fireworks haven't been reinstated, with no plans to do so in the future. London has plenty of other Bonfire Night firework displays in early November, as well as the famous New Year's Eve fireworks.

Who's in the Lord Mayor's Parade 2026?

Our advice to spectators: wrap up warm (unlike some of the participants). Image: City of London

They pack a lot in: 6,500 participants, 250 horses and more than 50 decorated floats are expected to take part this year. The full participant list will be available on the Lord Mayor's Show website closer to the time, but it usually includes military bands, Taiko drummers, mounted knights, and has on occasion featured a 1955 Austin Champ... and a large inflatable pig.

Representatives from charities, schools, community groups, musicians, performers, financial institutions, military bands and Livery companies will be involved, along with the Pearly Kings and Queens.

A special treat for 2026: As the event falls on the birthday of King Charles III (his 'real' birthday rather than his 'official' one), the Royal Navy will provide the Guard of Honour and parade the King's Colour during the procession.

The absolute highlight, though, is the golden State Coach, used in every Lord Mayor's Show since 1757, and the oldest ceremonial vehicle in regular use in the world. It's previously been on show in the London Museum, but it's now in storage ahead of the museum's move and imminent reopening.

Where to watch the Lord Mayor's Show and Parade 2026

The procession ventures through the Square Mile. Image: iStock/lovemax

It's free to stand and watch the procession — the world's oldest and longest civic procession — pretty much anywhere along the route, and around 350,000 are expected to turn up to do so this year.

The procession can usually be seen between 11am-12pm in the area between Bank and St Paul's, but lesser-known is the stretch between Temple and Blackfriars on the return journey, which draws smaller crowds. Get to this area between 1.15pm-2.30pm.

Remember, if you want to see the full length of the parade, it's expected to take an hour and a quarter to pass you so... comfy shoes, and maybe a cagoule, this being London.

Here's a look at the 2024 Lord Mayor's Show, to give you an idea of what to expect:

Is the Lord Mayor's Show 2026 shown on TV?

Yes. If you can't make it in person, there's live coverage on BBC One and online. This year marks 100 years since it was first broadcast live on BBC radio.

Getting to the Lord Mayor's Show 2026

Be aware that there are road closures right along the route and the surrounding roads on the day of the Lord Mayor's Parade, usually from around 7am, with many buses on diversion. Getting to the event by car, bus or bike is not an option. Your best bet is to get to one of the nearest train or Tube stations, and walk from there. We recommend Bank or St Paul's stations. Most roads reopen around 4pm.

Aside from traditional costume there's plenty of more unusual outfits. Image: City of London

What's the Lord Mayor's 'ghost parade'

Once a year, in the early hours of the morning (from 3.30am), the City of London's streets come alive with horses, carriages and police, for an event informally known as the 'ghost parade'. It's the rehearsal for the Lord Mayor's Show, when the organisers take advantage of the lack of traffic to check the parade's timings, to ensure everything runs smoothly on the day. We went along in 2019. It's kept under wraps, so the date of the rehearsal isn't made public, to avoid drawing crowds.

The Lord Mayor's Show takes place on Saturday 14 November 2026. Keep an eye on the official website for the latest updates.

For the 15th year, WrapUp London wants your pre-loved winter coats. Image: WrapUp London

Last year alone, WrapUp London collected almost 15,000 pre-used winter coats, distributing them to people who need them.

In its 15-year history, the initiative has now reassigned some quarter of a million coats — passed on to frontline charities to reach people who are homeless, refugees or families in emergency accommodation.

Want to be part of the goodwill this winter?

HandsOn London is once again asking Londoners to sift through their wardrobes, dig out old coats and donate them at over 40 designated collection points located across the city, along with selected Young's pubs (9-21 November) as well as some libraries (opening hours only) and fire stations. These points are dotted across London from 2-22 November 2026. Find your nearest here.

Donors sometimes leave little messages of hope in their coat pockets. Image: WrapUp London

You can also volunteer by sorting coat donations at some of the launch weekends and sorting hubs; more details here.

This winter will be especially tough for many — what with the continuing cost of living crisis, and energy bills set to rise yet again. The simple gesture of decluttering your wardrobe could make someone's day, or even go further. As WrapUp London say: "A coat doesn't only provide warmth, it is often a gateway for someone to access services to help them get back on their feet."

WrapUp London collections take place all over London, from 2-22 November 2026.

A piece of the Barbican Conservatory could be coming to live in your home! Image: Chris Gorman

Bad news: the Barbican Conservatory is closing for three years from the beginning of 2027. Good news: you can adopt one of its plants.

Well, you can if you're lucky.

Opened in 1984, the primary reason for the Barbican Conservatory was to hide the theatre's fly tower, but it has since become a firm favourite among visitors to the cultural complex, and the perfect antidote to many a rainy afternoon.

Ahead of its closure, which comes as part of extensive Barbican renovations, more than 2,000 plant cuttings of the Conservatory's temperate and arid plants — including giant-leafed monstera, glossy ficus and purple-and-green tradescantia — are being offered to visitors to take home.

At each 'adoption' event, visitors will learn about the Conservatory's architectural history, the development of its horticultural collection and its planned revitalisation. Tickets (and plants) are free, with donations encouraged.

The final event takes place in December, but tickets will go fast. Image: Chris Gorman

It appears that Londoners have some seriously green fingers, because the first two batches of tickets have been snapped up like a Venus flytrap on a, er, fly.

There is, however, one more plant adoption event planned, on Wednesday 2 December 2026 — 700 tickets for which are available in a ballot that goes live at 2pm on Thursday 29 October. The ballot closes Thursday 19 November.

If you're not fortunate enough to nab tickets, the conservatory also hosts a series of 'Rest, Reflect and Recharge', events across November and December, featuring a programme of yoga, guided relaxation, mindful movement, breathwork and creative workshops.

Additional free public openings over the tail end of 2026 will also allow people to explore the conservatory before it closes. Stay tuned to the Barbican website for details.

After shutting in early 2027, the Barbican Conservatory will reopen in 2030, relandscaped for optimal plant growing conditions and fitted with more sustainable systems. It will also be fully accessible, with step-free access throughout, widened paths and a new lift.

In another exciting twist, it will open daily, rather than a few times a month. Entry will continue to be free.

For more from London's art world, sign up for our free newsletter: Londonist: Urban Palette.

We look ahead and pick the best exhibitions to see in London's galleries and museums, opening this November and December.

Sámi Art & Culture: Through Our Eyes at Somerset House

Photo by Jean-Baptiste Béranger © 2026 Accelerator, Stockholm University

The Sámi are Europe's only recognised Indigenous people, living across parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. This exhibition showcases work by 19 Sámi artists, including sculpture, photography, video and performance art. It features a new commission made from hundreds of traditional shawl tassels and the work of a street artist who uses graffiti on road signs to change them to the Sámi name for these places. There's been a welcome surge in the showcasing of Sámi art in Europe, and this is the UK's first group exhibition celebrating the culture.

Through Our Eyes: Sámi Art and Culture at Somerset House. 6 November 2026-7 February 2027, free.

Migration and Colonialism: Arcadia by John Akomfrah at the Natural History Museum

© John Akomfrah. Courtesy Smoking Dogs Films and Lisson Gallery

We've always been huge fans of John Akomfrah's moving and stunning films, where scenes across multiple screens look back at human history, colonialism and environmental destruction. Arcadia is his latest film, which looks back at the impact of the Columbian exchange, the movement of plants, people, animals, precious metals, commodities, technology, diseases and ideas, across the Atlantic. Images of deserts, ice fields, mountains and seas are interrupted by decaying ships, disease, cargo, and symbols of cross-continental trade.

Arcadia by John Akomfrah at the Natural History Museum. 6 November 2026-3 May 2027, free.

Pioneering designs: The Nue Black Aesthetic at the Design Museum

A braided rocking chair. Courtesy Taiba Akhuetie

Bringing together leading Black designers, this exhibition of over 100 objects includes tables, chairs, chandeliers, ceramics, sculpture, clothing, architecture and much more. It's designed to showcase the latest generation of Black designers but also to demonstrate that Black design is not a monolith and that there is no single way to be a Black designer. Many of these designers are from diasporic communities, combining their lived experiences with their heritage to produce a new take on identity, culture, and community.

The Nue Black Aesthetic at the Design Museum. 6 November 2026-8 August 2027, £15.29.

Centre of power: Constantinople to Istanbul at V&A

'Ays Sofia Constantinople'. Copyright V&A.

Now called Istanbul, the city formerly known as Constantinople has a rich history and heritage. It was the capital of two powerful empires, the Byzantine and Ottoman, and therefore had a massive impact on the shaping of the Christian and Islamic worlds. It was a centre of art, architecture and design, as shown through paintings, textiles, mosaics, tablework, jewellery and dozens of other artefacts. Starting from the Roman era, this show guides us through how the city thrived as a city of religion, art, and trade, and takes us through to the height of the Ottoman era, and how that influenced European art and design.

Constantinople to Istanbul: One City, Two Empires at V&A. 7 November 2026-9 May 2027, £25-27.

Bloomsbury duo: Vanessa Bell & Duncan Grant at Tate Britain

© 2026 Estate of Duncan Grant All rights reserved, DACS.Photo © Tate (Mark Heathcote & Abbie Soanes)

Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant were two of the core members of the Bloomsbury Group, a circle of English writers, intellectuals, philosophers, and artists who met in the Bloomsbury area and left a lasting legacy on British art, literature and society. This exhibition features over 300 works, including still lifes, landscape paintings, decorative works on furniture, ceramics, and textiles. One of the highlights is a restaging of their studios so we can see how and where they worked.  

Vanessa Bell & Duncan Grant: Inside Bloomsbury at Tate Britain. 12 November 2026-11 April 2027, £20.

Funky fashion: Tradition/Rebellion at Japan House

Young people celebrating Coming-Of-Age Day in Kitakyushu. © Nakamura Kenta

From fur-trimmed kimono to gravity-defying hair, this is a celebration of the eclectic fashion worn by 20-year-olds in the Japanese city of Kitakyushu as they mark their entry into adulthood. In the rest of Japan, this is normally a formal affair, but in Kitakyushu they combine tradition with deeply personal fashions, all in the name of demonstrating individuality. The exhibition follows eight of Kitakyushu’s ‘new adults’, from the first fitting to the ceremony itself. Each look is made possible by the local industry of kimono renters, fashion designers, hairdressers and photographers, all playing their part in the transformations.

Tradition/Rebellion: Coming-of-Age Style in Kitakyushu at Japan House London. 11 November 2026-18 April 2027, free.

Graffiti galore: Beyond the Streets at Saatchi Gallery

Photo: Martha Cooper.

After the success of the 2023 exhibition of the same name, Saatchi Gallery has brought back Beyond the Streets with many new artworks. It covers six decades of street culture's influence on contemporary art, photography, fashion, music, and activism. It's the story of graffiti and street artists, and hip-hop musicians who were willing to challenge boundaries and take risks, reshaping the world around them. The gallery has been turned into an immersive journey through the history of street culture and its ongoing influence, spanning more than 10 rooms and bringing together over 100 international creators in painting, sculpture, fashion, ephemera, and interactive experiences.

Beyond the Streets at Saatchi Gallery. 11 November 2026-5 May 2027, £25.

Childhood and nature: Where We Grow at The Foundling Museum

Copyright Andy Holden

Whether it's running around your local park or out in the countryside, it's our experiences with nature that shape us as children. This exhibition traces how this relationship evolved, including how children interacted with the Foundling Hospital's gardens, through archival materials such as 18th-century seed lists, and the botanical motifs found in the Museum's galleries. Alongside this archive, contemporary artists have made work about their own childhood experiences, including Andy Holden's installation, where the bird eggs reference growing up with an ornithologist father.   

Where We Grow: Nature, nurture and childhood at the Foundling Museum. 17 November 2026-18 April 2027, £13.50 (includes admission to the museum).

A powerhouse collector: Peggy Guggenheim in London at the Royal Academy of Arts

© 2026 Salvador Dali, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, DACS

American-born Peggy Guggenheim is one of art history's greatest collectors and taste-makers. She set up a gallery in Mayfair in the 1930s, which became known for showcasing artists whose work fell outside the conservative tastes of the London art scene at the time. This included artists such as Vasily Kandinsky, Salvador Dalí, Barbara Hepworth, and Henry Moore. 88 years after her gallery opened its doors to more avant-garde art in Britain, many works by the artists she championed are returning for an exhibition celebrating her time in London.

Peggy Guggenheim in London: The Making of a Collector at the Royal Academy of Arts. 21 November 2026-14 March 2027, £17.

Moomins and more: Tove Jansson and her Families at Quentin Blake Centre

© Moomin Characters™

Many of us have fond childhood memories of reading or watching the Moomins, those strange hippo-human hybrid creatures, and their adventures. They were created by Finnish author and illustrator Tove Jansson, and here's our chance to throw ourselves into the Moomin-verse and experience her other creations. There are over 100 rarely-shown sketches, paintings, illustrations and photographs from Jansson and those closest to her, plus scraps from the first published Moomin book. It's also a chance to discover her broader life, the influence of her graphic designer mother, her early work for a satirical magazine, and her contribution to Finland’s public realm through large-scale murals.

Tove Jansson and her Families at the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration. 21 November 2026-9 May 2027, £15 (includes entrance to all exhibitions).

Groundbreaking portraiture: Van Eyck at The National Gallery

Copyright The National Gallery.

Painter Jan van Eyck is best known for the Arnolfini Portrait, in which a wealthy couple pose in a small room. The convex mirror in the background lets us look back on where we would be if we were observing them, only to see two other persons there. It's one of the gallery's best-known masterpieces, but here we can see all nine of van Eyck's portraits together for the first time in London. They were painted over 600 years ago, and while they are masterfully executed, what made his work radical was that he didn't paint kings, queens, and aristocrats; instead, he depicted successful craftsmen, merchants, and his own relatives.

Van Eyck: The Portraits at The National Gallery. 21 November 2026-11 April 2027, £18.

Tender photography: Nan Goldin at the Hayward Gallery

© Nan Goldin, courtesy the artist and Gagosian

Over the past five decades, Nan Goldin has photographed personal relationships, addiction and queer subcultures, forming what she calls ‘a record of my life that no one can revise.’ She gained global recognition for her public protests against the funding of the arts by the Sackler family, and their role in the opioid epidemic. Here's a chance to see the intimate and tender moments in her photography, as well as the beauty and fragility of human, animal and environmental existence.

Nan Goldin: You Never Did Anything Wrong at the Hayward Gallery. 24 November 2026-14 March 2027, £19.

Pop art legend: Peter Blake at Pitzhanger

Photo: Jonathan Donovan. Artworks © Peter Blake. Courtesy Waddington Custot Galleries, London, Paris, Dubai

Peter Blake is one of the biggest names in British Pop Art, and across a career spanning seven decades he has created paintings, collages, prints and album covers — including, famously the cover of the Beatles album, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. His west London studio, located in nearby Hammersmith, has been recreated at Pitzhanger in Ealing, offering insight into his working life, alongside paintings, sculpture, collages, and works on paper, revealing his fascination with pop culture and British and American cultural life.

Peter Blake: In The Studio at Pitzhanger. 25 November 2026-18 April 2027, £17.

It's back: London Museum opens

Copyright Secchi Smith

10 years in the making — and four years since the previous venue closed — we finally have the chance to see the new London Museum, the reincarnation of the former Museum of London. The brand new museum in Smithfield pulls together several historic buildings into one giant celebration of the city and its history, drawing on over seven million objects. The permanent collection includes highlights such as "The Lord Mayor’s Coach, Banksy’s Piranhas artwork, Charles I's execution vest, Emmeline Pankhurst's hunger strike medal, the Whitechapel Fatberg, and Anna Pavlova's 'Dying Swan' dress." The Cheapside Hoard will also be on display, along with archaeological treasures of the Roman period from beneath the Bloomberg building.

London Museum. Opens 28 November, free.

Short-run exhibitions and art fairs

A sculpture by Annie Trevorah, copyright the artist.

The National Army Museum will have a special display on the experiences of South Asian communities during the Second World War and its immediate aftermath, including how people from South Asia were recruited to support post-war reconstruction in Britain (3-15 November, free). Sculptor Annie Trevorah has taken aim at the contemporary beauty industry with an aesthetic clinic for animals named after the first cloned mammal, as seen in her playful sculptures at Coningsby Gallery (4-14 November, free).

Two of our favourite prizes for emerging artists hold exhibitions of their shortlisted artists, with the Ingram Prize supporting artists who have recently graduated showing their works at Unit 1 Gallery in West London (5-10 November, free). The Cass Art Prize champions contemporary art from across the UK and the Republic of Ireland, and we're fans of many of their previous winners and shortlisted artists. This year the works will be shown at the Bomb Factory in Marylebone (6-14 November, free).

An image from a previous edition of Discerning Eye.

The International Original Print Exhibition returns to Bankside Gallery (5-15 November, free), and printmaking is a medium where you can always find affordable works to purchase. Speaking of buying works, the Discerning Eye* returns to the Mall Galleries (13-21 November, free), where six expert judges each have a wall to showcase around 100 works at a domestic scale for visitors to buy. If you prefer buying directly from artists and galleries, then Highgate Art Fair (6-8 November, free) has a mix of artists and galleries all presenting their work in a primary school in north London.

Heading into December, spectacularly detailed architectural drawings by Minty Sainsbury are on show at Coningsby Gallery (1-5 December, free), and the Royal Drawing School showcases its students' work in its end-of-year exhibition (2-19 December, free). Plus, artist and author Robert John launches his book and the artworks that go alongside it at Zari Gallery (10-20 December, free).

Exhibitions outside London

Georg Wilson. Underling (After Gainsborough). © Georg Wilson

Gainsborough's House in Sudbury is hosting the work of three contemporary artists who incorporate nature and landscape into their art (8 November 2026-18 April 2027, £15 entry fee for the house). Glenn Brown references the relationship between art history and the landscape in his works, which sit at the intersection of the beautiful and the grotesque. Georg Wilson imagines a world without humans, celebrating the animals we often overlook, and the late Monica Poole's works explore nature's dark beauty through wood engravings.

Copyright Ryan Gander. Courtesy the artist and Esther Schipper. Photo: Andrea Rossetti.

Conceptual artist Ryan Gander has his first major UK show in 20 years at the Towner Art Gallery in Eastbourne (14 November 2026-11 April 2027, £5-14). It includes one of his best-known works, in which an animatronic mouse pokes its head out of a hole in the wall before philosophising to the room. There's an expansive floor installation of colourful, repurposed toys, a fully mirrored room, paintings, and his first AI virtual-reality experience, where we get to meet the artist's avatar.

© Ragnar Kjartansson, Margrét Bjarnadóttir, and Bryce Dessner. Courtesy the artists, Luhring Augustine, New York and i8 Gallery

Ragnar Kjartansson is an artist we've admired for his ability to mix music with art, and meaningful ideas with playfulness. He brings this eccentric energy to Goodwood in Weekdays in Arcadia (26 November 2026-12 April 2027, £15), which includes a six-channel video installation featuring eight female performers from the Iceland Dance Company moving between screens, singing, and playing acoustic guitars, as well as a large-scale ceramic installation, and paintings which depict Kjartansson’s experience of shepherding in southern Iceland.

* The author of this piece is a trustee of Discerning Eye.

Keep up date with festive happenings in the capital on our Christmas 2026 in London page.

Solo Craft Fair holds several festive events, including at Between the Bridges on South Bank. Image: Solo Craft Fair

Whether you want to get your Christmas shopping done, or you're looking to buy festive treats and Christmas decorations, London's many festive markets and fairs are the place to be. They're also a great chance to shop small and support local and independent businesses. The following festive events are confirmed to be happening for Christmas 2026.

Central London Christmas 2026 markets and fairs

The Southbank Winter Market is a staple of Christmas in London. Image: Southbank Centre

CHRISTMAS IN LEICESTER SQUARE: For the second year, ice rink Skate Leicester Square opens, surrounding the William Shakespeare statue — and again, Christmas market stalls will pop up alongside the rink. 31 October 2026-3 January 2027

SOUTHBANK CENTRE WINTER MARKET: Wooden chalets and twinkling lights flank the Thames for Southbank Centre's Winter Market. It focuses mainly on food and drink — think mulled wine, hot chocolate and warming street food — with a few craft traders in the mix. Be aware that the area gets VERY busy, particularly over the weekends. 2 November 2026-4 January 2027

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is home to one of London's most famous Christmas markets. Image: Justine Trickett

BETWEEN THE BRIDGES: South London-based creative hub Solo Craft Fair returns to Between the Bridges for a series of Christmas markets. Head for the events venue — between the London Eye and the Hungerford Bridge — on selected Sundays to browse products by up to 60 makers. BTB has plenty of bars and street food/drink traders too, so mulled wine and the like will be readily available. Sundays 15, 22, 29 November and 6, 13, 20 December 2026

HYDE PARK WINTER WONDERLAND: If you like your Christmas shopping with a side of rides, theatre shows — and even an ice rink — then Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is where it's at. Visit traditional wooden chalets selling gifts, decorations, and more seasonal refreshments than you can shake a chimney cake at. Be warned though — it gets HECTIC, particularly on evenings and weekends closer to Christmas. 19 November 2026-3 January 2027

Get your Christmas shopping done at Between the Bridges. Image: Solo Craft Fair

SWEDISH CHURCH, MARYLEBONE: The Church of Sweden's London outpost, just off the Marylebone Road, opens its doors for a Christmas fair with food, mulled wine, Christmas items and a café. 20-22 November 2026

ST MARTIN-IN-THE-FIELDS: One of London's most central Christmas fairs sees Solo Craft Market take over the Crypt of St Martin-in-the Fields on Trafalgar Square for two weekends in November with 90 independent makers, and free creative workshops. 21-22 and 28-29 November 2026

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Three floors of handcrafted gifts, in a stunning riverside setting

On the hunt for Christmas presents you won’t find anywhere else? We've got three words for you: OXO Tower Wharf. This icon of the South Bank is home to a thriving creative community — independent designer-makers producing original jewellery, ceramics, fashion, art, homeware and more.

This festive season, you can meet the makers, uncover hidden treasures and shop for thoughtful gifts that will be remembered long after your Christmas tree has dropped its last needle. We’re talking handmade coil vases (BY RAFFAELLA), playful neon lamps (Locomocean), one-of-a-kind silk scarves (Furious Goose), award-winning contemporary jewellery (David Ashton, Sima Vaziry, Ringsmiths, JeDeCo), and so much more. With every purchase, you’ll be supporting London's independent creative economy, and helping local social enterprise, Coin Street, build a thriving community.

You'll find it all across three floors overlooking the River Thames. Fancy making a day of it? OXO Tower Wharf is also home to some rather lovely food and drink destinations — from independent artisan café Coffee Academy (PSA: these fine folk stock Crosstown doughnuts) to OXO Tower Bar, Restaurant and Brasserie, if you’re looking for an elevated (in more ways than one!) end to your festive shopping trip.

Find OXO Tower Wharf in the heart of South Bank, near Blackfriars Bridge.

The Mayfair Christmas market returns in 2026. Image: Novikov

MAYFAIR CHRISTMAS MARKET: Italian-Asian restaurant Novikov closes Mayfair Place (close to Green Park station) to traffic for its three-day Christmas market. Gift stalls are present (if you'll excuse the pun), but as you might expect from a restaurant, there's a heavy focus on food — think speciality stalls offering parmesan wheels, oysters and caviar, as well as a champagne bar. Entertainment takes the form of DJs, roaming carol singers, and an appearance from Santa on the Saturday afternoon. 26-28 November 2026

THE FRENCH HOUSE: Legendary Dean Street pub the French House holds a one-day Christmas market in its upstairs dining room, encouraging shoppers (and drinkers) to eschew commercial and mass-produced Christmas items in favour of "a show-stopping cornucopia of covetable wares". Bespoke hats, original prints, cards, books, fine artwork and handcrafted Christmas decorations are among the products. 6 November 2026

North London Christmas 2026 markets and fairs

King's Cross has a new Christmas market for 2026. Image: John Sturrock

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING AND COUNTRY LIVING CHRISTMAS FAIR: Expect high-end goods aplenty at the Country Living Magazine Christmas Fair at the Business Design Centre in Islington, which caters for all aspects of the festivities — jewellery, gin, cheese, textiles, artworks, you name it. There's also a programme bursting with talks and workshops, where you can make your own felted baubles or reindeer bunting. 11-14 November 2026

PAX LODGE, HAMPSTEAD: Girl Guides and Girl Scouts base Pax Lodge in Hampstead hosts a fundraising Christmas bazaar with stalls from Girl Guiding units and organisations as well as other vendors, selling handcrafted Christmas decorations and gifts. A raffle, live music and children's activities are also part of the fun. 14 November 2026

CRAFTY FOX CHRISTMAS MARKET: We're fans of Crafty Fox markets, which give local artists and craftspeople a place to sell their wares. Special Christmas Markets take place in November and December, stalls tending to chop and change every year, with a mixture of jewellery, ceramics, homewares, beauty products, textiles and cards. We've never left empty-handed. FREE entry, 14-15 November (British Library) and 6 and 12 December 2026 (King's Cross)

KING'S CROSS CHRISTMAS MARKET: King's Cross gets a brand new Winter Village Christmas market for 2026, taking place across Granary Square, with a bandstand and three bars. Traders are due to be announced soon. 16 November 2026-3 January 2027

HANDMADE IN HIGHGATE: The Highgate Scientific & Literary Institute holds two winter fairs, with different designer-makers at each one, both local to Highgate, and from across the British Isles. It's also a chance to see inside the HLSI building, which is normally closed to the public. 20-22 and 27-29 November 2026

DANISH YWCA, HAMPSTEAD: Experience a Danish Christmas bazaar complete with traditional festive goods, such as elves and pleated Christmas hearts. You can also gorge on Danish scran: open sandwiches, gløgg and Danish hotdogs fuelling your shopping experience. 28-29 November 2026

South London Christmas 2026 markets and fairs

Image: Independent Ceramics Market

KINGSTON CHRISTMAS MARKET: A European-style Christmas market takes over the centre of Kingston, including the Ancient Market Place. Wooden chalets, twinkling lights, a carousel for kiddies... all very photogenic. 12 November-3 January 2027

NORWEGIAN CHURCH: Rotherhithe's Norwegian Church offers a Scandinavian twist on a Christmas market, or 'Julebasar'. Expect stalls brimming with Nordic crafts, handmade gifts, beautiful design pieces and plenty of traditional Norwegian treats to feast on, including gløgg and cinnamon buns. Delish! 20-22 November 2026

DULWICH COLLEGE: A rare chance for the public to see inside Dulwich College, as the Barry Buildings, cloisters and courtyards host 130 stalls for its annual Christmas fair. Rumour has it that Father Christmas is planning to drop by too. 22 November 2026

FINNISH CHRISTMAS FAIR: Rotherhithe's Finnish Church hosts a traditional Finnish Christmas fair, with various traditional gifts and food from that corner of the world. 27-29 November and 4-6 December 2026

THE GARDEN MUSEUM: The Beautiful & Useful Craft Fair at the Garden Museum in Lambeth has an emphasis on supporting British designer-makers, with a carefully curated selection of small businesses selling their products. 6 December 2026

PECKHAM: Let it throw! A festive edition of the Independent Ceramics Market pitches up at Copeland Park in Peckham, showcasing work by 150 up-and-coming ceramics artists and makers. Browse unique, colourful ceramics, from mugs to art sculptures. The previous day, a DIY Christmas Art Market, by the same organisers, takes place at the same venue. 12-13 December 2026

East London Christmas 2026 markets and fairs

Leadenhall is a lovely venue for a spot of Christmas shopping. Image: Leadenhall Market

SHOREDITCH: Independent makers are celebrated at the TOAST Festive Market, which takes place in Shoreditch for the second time (previously held in King's Cross). Events venue Kachette is the place to head in mid-December with full details due to be announced closer to the time. 10-13 December 2026

LEADENHALL CRAFT MARKET: Traders from Solo Craft Fair set up in the Leadenhall Market atrium, alongside its lofty Christmas tree, for a Christmas fair. 14 November and 12 December 2026

West London Christmas 2026 markets and fairs

Chiswick House holds several Christmas markets throughout November and December. Image: Andre Pattenden

CHISWICK HOUSE AND GARDENS: Several festive fairs take place in the grounds of Chiswick House, including the Duck Pond Festive Market (1 November, 5-6, 19-24 December 2026) bringing together local and ethical independent businesses. The Urban Food Fest Christmas Market (28-29 November 2026) focuses on global street food with a festive twist, to be enjoyed while you browse a curated selection of art stalls. The Lazy Flea Christmas Market, meanwhile, (12-13 December 2026) brings vintage finds together with independent crafts and makers.

SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS FAIR: If you're the sort of person who's already started counting down to Christmas by Halloween, the Spirit of Christmas Fair at Olympia is very much for you (and this year is the 25th anniversary of the event, so expect to see some special celebrations). It's a great excuse to officially begin the festivities in early November (!), and goes on for a whole week — ample time to browse the 600+ independent brands selling everything from clothes, health and beauty products, and food and drink, to Christmas decorations and other festive paraphernalia. 2-8 November 2026

Chelsea holds a one-day art market. Image: Cadogan

NOTTING HILL CHRISTMAS MARKET: The Rugby Portobello Trust's Christmas market gets underway with a VIP Christmas shopping evening on 18 November (tickets here) followed by the main market day on 19 November (tickets here). It all happens at 221 Walmer Road in Notting Hill, with 50 independent stallholders, makers and designers selling everything from fashion to food. Santa Claus also swings by on the Thursday. 18-19 November 2026

FESTIVE ART MARKET: Part of the wider Christmas celebrations in Chelsea, a festive art market pops up for one day only, with independent artists and contemporary makers showcasing and selling their crafts, accompanied by live music performances and creative workshops. 22 November 2026

BELGRAVIA WINTER MARKET: A short stroll from the happenings in Chelsea on the same day (above), the Belgravia Winter Market takes over Elizabeth Street — think festive chalets with twinkling lights where you can stock up on candles, ceramics, jewellery, cheese and panettone (all the festive essentials, then), while enjoying live music and 'snowfall'. 22 November 2026

CHELSEA PHYSIC GARDEN: 100+ curated stands take over Chelsea Physic Garden for its Christmas Fair, spanning food, accessories, homewares and plants. The cafe is open too, serving up festive refreshments. 26-29 November 2026

Image: Chelsea Barracks

CHELSEA BARRACKS: The landscaped surroundings of Garrison Square at Chelsea Barracks hold a two-day Christmas fair, with stallholders peddling crafted gifts, decorative objects and festive food alongside live entertainment such as carol singers, and a visit from Santa. 28-29 November 2026

FULHAM PALACE CHRISTMAS FAIR: Do your Christmas shopping in the grounds and rooms of Fulham Palace. There's a special adults-only preview evening on the Friday night, before the fair opens to everyone on the Saturday and Sunday. Browse small-business stalls selling gifts and food items, tuck into festive refreshments including mince pies and mulled wine, enjoy performances by local choirs in the courtyard, and keep the kids occupied with a Christmas tree trail. 4-6 December 2026

HAMPTON COURT PALACE: Henry VIII would be happy that food is the theme at the Hampton Court Palace Festive Fayre, spanning two weekends in the courtyards of the Tudor king's former pad. Stock up on Christmas gifts for the foodies in your life, and keep yourself well-refreshed with street food and warming bevvies. Festive singalongs take place in front of the bandstand throughout the weekend, as well as carol services in the Chapel Royal. And Psst! the Hampton Court Palace ice rink is open by then too... 4-6 and 11-13 December 2026