There are a thousand things to do in London, but sometimes when it comes to narrowing one down – perhaps to impress that special someone/total stranger off the internet – it can be hard to choose. Here’s a list of fun ideas that might not have occurred to you before. I hope you find some inspiration!

Many of these suggestions are also perfect for stags, hens and corporate events. I’m all about making life as easy as possible, so I’ve tagged these to make them easier. Just use Ctrl and F (Windows) or Cmd and F (Mac) and type ‘GOOD FOR GROUPS’ to search through the page. These are ideas that either work well for larger groups of people, or whose organisers can arrange private sessions. (I also have a whole post here about organising a hen do in London!)

If you’ve done something rad and want to see it on the list, tweet me at @CuriouslyEmily.

FREE THINGS

Discover Harry Potter’s London

If you don’t have the time or the $$$ required to visit the Warner Bros Studio Tour up in the Watford, try Strawberry Tours’ Harry Potter walking tour in Central, which runs every day. It covers shooting locations from the movies and tonnes of trivia from the wizarding world. Tours are free but, of course, if you enjoy yourself you should tip your guide, especially as 10% goes to charity. Reserving a place is essential and should be done here.

Explore the flower market

Columbia Road is home to probably London’s most famous flower market, and it’s a great spot for amateur photographers (or budding flower-arrangers!) Fresh blooms can be picked up for a fraction of the florist or supermarket price – last weekend I picked up a huge pot of stargazer lilies for just £4.

Light up your life

London’s Soho neon art gallery has now sadly closed down, but if you fancy a trip out to Walthamstowe – surprisingly speedy on the Victoria line – you can visit God’s Own Junkyard, Europe’s largest stock of neon artwork.

Visit the Wellcome Collection

‘The free destination for the incurably curious’, the Wellcome Collection is my favourite museum in all of London. It’s full of oddities and the best possible place to take someone with an insatiable love for trivia and weird facts. Also it’s freeeeeee. Find out what’s on here.

Go to the Bank of England museum

It’s almost like they don’t want visitors. The Bank of England museum is only open 9-5pm on weekdays, but if you’ve got a day off, it’s an interesting (albeit fairly serious) afternoon.

Explore a city farm

London is home to a handful of city farms that are home to rare breeds, petting zoos and – if you’re lucky – tractor rides. There’s a full list on Time Out. Replica rolex gmt Replica rolex submariner replica tag heuer

Wander along the South Bank

An oldie, but a goodie. The South Bank is home to dozens of street performers, the National Theatre, outdoor food markets, second-hand book stalls and God knows what else. There’s also a great little fringe theatre called Udderbelly. See what’s on here.

Spend the day at Ally Pally

Alexandra Palace offers every outdoorsy pursuit from pedalos to pitch ‘n’ putt. If you’re feeling especially energetic you can go on a Segway rally, swing through the trees or visit the ice rink, or, if you’re feeling sluggish, just grab a jug of Pimm’s and enjoy the view.

Visit the Sky Garden

The Shard costs £25 per person to visit the top but the Sky Garden at 20 Fenchurch Street is free, though the advance booking system is a little temperamental. If you can’t get one of the free tickets, you can also get up by making a reservation at one of the restaurants. (My review of the Darwin Brasserie is here.)

Go behind Big Ben (SUSPENDED UNTIL 2021 DUE TO RENOVATIONS)

Not many people know that you can book tours to the top of Elizabeth Tower with their MP, but now you do. Waiting times are long – usually a few months – and the hours are weird, but if you’ve got some spare annual leave rolling around it’d be a great day out. The tour is open to UK residents only. Find out how to apply here.

Bag a bargain

Hackney Walk is a new designer outlet centre in East London. It’s not quite Bicester Village, but you also don’t have to compete with millions of day-tripping tourists or spend two hours on a bus to get there. You’ll find Burberry, Anya Hindmarch and Nike outlet stores, plus pop-up shops showcasing fresh new homegrown talent.

Learn to play the ukelele at the Queen of Hoxton

It’ll be the most hipstery thing you’ll ever do, but the Hoxton Ukulele Hootenanny at the Hoxton Square Bar takes place every Monday for “regular Ukers, beginners or anyone who is just Uke curious.” It’s free, and ukes can be hired for a £20 refundable deposit. If you’re really serious about it, try Learn to Uke, which runs taster classes and longer courses for budding ukelings. copy rolex fake audemars piguet replicas rolex watch

Take yourself on a self-guided tour

Walkster London is a free smartphone app that offers a range of self-guided walking tours around different bits of London, including Hammersmith Bridge, the South Bank and the East End.

CHEAP THINGS (< £20)

Go for ice cream

Gelupo is my absolute favourite ice cream shop in London. It’s in the middle of Soho and open until 11pm (or midnight on Fridays and Saturdays), so if you don’t fancy a traditional restaurant pudding after dinner it’s always fun to swing by and get a scoop of ice cream instead! The menu changes every day (though I’m always really boring and get Hazelnut), and they do some really unusual flavours. Some of these can be quite expensive, like the White Alba Truffle and CBD Oil and Chocolate flavours, but if you swing by after 2pm on a Saturday you can try them for the same price as the regular gelatos.

Try a Bullshit Tour

If your prefer your tours to be more comedic than, er, technically correct, Bullshit Tours promises to teach you absolutely nothing about some of London’s most celebrated landmarks. Tickets cost around a tenner and must be booked in advance. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Attend a life-drawing class

Mondays are hideous, so ease back into the week with a bit of soothing creative time with Soho Life Drawing, which organises art classes every Monday evening. Sessions cost just £12 and everyone is welcome, from students and professional artists to complete beginners.

Dare to ride the slide

The world’s longest tunnel slide, which is a stomach-churning 178m long, can be found winding around the ArcelorMittal Orbit in Stratford’s Olympic Park. Tickets must be booked in advance and cost £16.50pp (or £10.50 per child) including general admission to the viewing platform. The views aren’t all that but the slide is terrific fun – if brief, at just 40 seconds.

Visit the Cutty Sark

The Cutty Sark in Greenwich is a great day out – the legendary 19th century ship now stands raised above a specially-designed viewing chamber, so you can walk right under it. It also runs a varied programme of events, including comedy, music, life drawing, silent discos and film. Check out what’s on here.

Tour a brewery

A must for beer fans (and quite interesting for non-beer drinkers, like me), a trip to the Camden Town Brewery not only includes a tour of the facilities but many, many cans of beer fresh off the production line. Tours last 90-120 minutes and run on Thursdays and Saturdays. They tend to sell out a couple of weeks beforehand so reserve your spot in advance here. Tickets cost £15pp. GOOD FOR GROUPS.



Walk the Bermondsey Beer Mile

If you prefer something a little more relaxed than an organised brewery tour, take a meander down Bermondsey’s Beer Mile, a cluster of twenty or so independent breweries that maximises boozing and minimises walking. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

London Transport Museum

The surprisingly un-dreary London Transport Museum is a treasure trove for design-lovers, with exhibitions focusing on iconic London transportation, including the Tube, black cabs and double-decker buses. Entry costs a whopping £17.50/adult but you can get 241 tickets with National Rail’s Day’s Out promotion (which requires two valid train tickets).

Go for £10 steak

There are a few places to go in London now for a cheap steak dinner, most notably Flat Iron, whose multiple locations can attract queues of up to two hours. Fortunately, they work the queue with a mobile app, so you can bugger off to the pub while you’re waiting for your table.

Visit Soho’s Murder Mile

Snooze. Jack the Ripper is so 1888. Instead, try a tour with Murder Mile Walks, which offers you more bludgeonings for your buck, featuring over 18 murderers in just two hours. Plus, it starts at Tottenham Court Road, and Soho has better bars than Whitechapel, so you can make a day of it. Places cost £15pp.

Learn to swing dance

Swing Patrol is London’s biggest swing school, popping up in dozens of locations all over town. Classes cost £10 a person, and additional classes on the same night cost just a fiver. There are lessons for total beginners, improvers and experienced dancers, and time is set aside at the end of the evening for extra practice.

Go on a Highgate Cemetery Tour

Probably not the best for a first date as it’s a bit morbid, but fascinating nonetheless. The guides are almost obscenely knowledgeable about the cemetery’s 170,000 residents, and you can see the final resting places of Douglas Adams, George Eliot and Malcolm McLaren. You can book tickets in advance for weekdays online.

…Or just drink a lot of it

Don’t be fooled by the crap website, The London Gin Club is a hidden gem amidst Tottenham Court Road’s never-ending construction work. It runs formal tasting sessions from £32pp but also offers tasting menus from £25-55.

Watch a film outdoors…

Obviously a seasonal option, but in the summertime you can barely move in London for outdoor screens. There’s the Rooftop Cinema that pops up in Shoreditch, Stratford and Peckham; Backyard Cinema in Camden and the Luna Cinema that projects its classic movies wherever it can.

…Or in an awesome independent cinema

Alternatively, if it’s winter or you’d rather see a new release in something a little less faceless than a Cineworld, there are some amazing little cinemas all over London. They’ve got leather sofas and an in-screen bar, although most of them are a little more expensive than your standard multiplex. Try the Electric Cinema on Portobello Road or in Shoreditch, Everyman cinemas (I like Screen on the Green, Upper Street), the Phoenix in Finsbury or the Ritzy Picturehouse in Brixton. If your budget is tight, try Genesis cinema. Tickets to its luxury Studio 5 screenings cost just £8. (A full list of Indy cinemas can be found here.)

Play an urban wide game

Fire Hazard Games organise urban wide games with cryptic clues and real life guards including the ever-popular City Dash. Tickets are cheaper the further you book in advance, and start from £15. Review here. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Catch some comedy at the Pleasance Theatre

The Pleasance is a tiny, tiny theatre close to Caledonian Road station, and it’s especially good for Edinburgh Fringe previews. It draws the occasional big name – although you have to get in quick – but you can usually go and see some undiscovered talent for under a tenner. Listings online.

Get crafty at Drink, Shop & Do

By day a quirky cafe hosting all sorts of weird and wonderful workshops, by night a bar and dance club. Drink, Shop & Do really does have it all, from dance lessons and coffee tasting to screen printing and clay classes. They also host afternoon teas at weekends, comedy nights and musical bingo. Find out what’s on online. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Go undercover

The makers of urban wide game City Dash are back with a new game that requires stealth, subtlety and, quite possibly, false moustaches. Become a covert operative for 90 minutes with Undercover London from £15. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Visit London Cru winery

London’s only city winery runs 60-90 minute tours at £20pp and includes some tastings, too. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Go on a London Loo Tour

Sounds interesting, but of course could be total crap. Tickets are £15pp and available in advance online.

Go rock climbing

Quite a few opportunities to make a tit of yourself here, but rock climbing at one of the city’s many climbing walls is a fun way to spend the afternoon. I reviewed the Arch in Bermondsey, but there’s also the Mile End Climbing Wall and the Castle at Archway.

Play board games

Yes, it’s on the nerdy side, but for a relaxed night of cocktails and Cluedo try Draughts, which has bars in Hackney and Waterloo, or The Ludoquist in Croydon. If those locations don’t work for you, you can check out London on Board to find your nearest board game meet-up instead.

Feast on the streets

Food out of a van: it’s come a long way since my mates and I spent the arse-end of our nights out crowded round Papa Simon’s decrepit old kebab-mobile outside Loughborough Students’ Union in 2009. Nowadays in London the street food scene is massive – Maltby Street Market is one of my favourites but there are great places to go all over town. Time Out has a pretty comprehensive list.

Visit the Butterfly House at the Horniman Museum (March-October)

The Horniman Museum is a good year-round freebie, but its summertime butterfly house is home to thousands of rare and beautiful butterflies, caterpillars and moths. Tickets cost £6.00pp.

Rise and shine for an early morning rave

Get the workday off to a jolly start by raving it up in (of course) East London with a pre-work bop with Morning Gloryville, a new global concept now found in eleven countries across the world. It’s almost certainly better for you that the regular kind of late-night dance-a-thon; Gloryville ravers spend their time not snorting coke off each other’s arseholes in the bogs, but indulging in superfood smoothies and early morning massages. More information and tickets (from £18 in advance) can be found online.

Play laser tag

Bunker 51’s runs a ‘Star Command’ themed laser tag in Whitechapel, allowing you to relive your childhood years Barney Stinston-style for as little as £7.50 per 20 minute session. They also do party packages, and a truly terrifying version with live action zombies. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Meet minds with Thinking Bob

Even in this bustling city, it can be hard to meet new people. If you’re seeking like-minded souls, check out Thinking Bob’s ever-expanding roster of themed meet-ups and kooky socials. Many of their events take place in pubs, so there’ll be plenty of social lubricant (i.e. beer) if you’re not a natural natterer.

Go to a Roller Derby

Roller derby is a full-contact women’s sport played on roller skates; it’s like lady Gladiators on wheels, and completely brutal. Keep an eye on London Rollergirls’ and London Rockin’ Rollers’ events pages for matches and (if you’re not a wuss, bloke or child) training sessions.

Make a great escape

Escape adventure rooms are massive in London at the moment, and a LOT of fun. I recently took some amateur cryptographer friends to Lockd, a new venture in South London with puzzles dreamed up by two Russian physicists. Games cost from £20pp based on a team of five. Review here. (A great resource, listing every escape room in London, can be found here.) GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Turn the city into your gym

If you’re bored of pounding the treadmill in some windowless sweatbox, air out those muscles with a free-running lesson from Parkour Generations. Classes cost £10pp.

Explore Viktor Wynd’s Cabinet of Wonders

The Last Tuesday Society’s basement museum is tightly packed with oddments and curiosities. Entrance is £6pp, or £2.50 on a Thursday evening. Special tours and storytelling events cost around £10pp.

Draw on your dark side

Art Macabre hold quirky drawing salons on all things weird, wonderful, camp, creepy and odd. At the time of writing they’ve got ‘adult Alice’, Marie Antoinette and ‘bare and bearded’ coming up. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Slurp on London’s best hot chocolate

Paul A. Young is a master chocolatier, and his Aztec hot chocolate is the stuff of legend. Pop in to one of his stores in Angel, Soho or Bank to try a thick, creamy cupful of molten chocolate laced with fragrant winter spices. At £3.95 it’ll be one of the posher hot chocolates you’ll ever drink, but on a cold day it’s absolutely worth it. (In summer, try his homemade ice cream with melted chocolate sauce.)

Visit the Ginger Pig

The Ginger Pig is the fabled supplier of all of London’s best steakhouses, including Hawksmoor, but it’s also home to the city’s best sausage rolls. Drop in to the Marylebone, Hackney or Borough Market outposts for £3.50 worth of hot, flavoursome meat swathed in layers of delicate flaky pastry.

Climb the Monument

The Monument to the Great Fire of London is 202ft tall (and 202ft away from where the fire began on Pudding Lane). You can climb its 311 steps for just £5.

Discover the National Theatre

The National Theatre is home to some of London’s most prestigious productions, but if you’re an design buff you can take a tour (£14pp) of its iconic brutalist architecture.

Cross Tower Bridge’s glass floor

The highlight of the Tower Bridge Exhibition is its glass floor, allowing visitors to watch the bridge lifting from above. Adult tickets cost £9, but they’re cheaper bought in advance online or with a Monument ticket. Keep an eye out for other events in the space too, including literary salons, engineering tours and sky-high yoga sessions.

See the city through new eyes

Unseen Tours is an award-winning London tour company with a difference: all the guides are homeless, ex-homeless or vulnerably housed Londoners. Tickets cost just £15pp and tours cover half a dozen different neighbourhoods and run every day of the week.

MIDDLY-PRICED THINGS

Visit London’s only magic bar

The Maskelyne & Cooke bar at Le Méridien Piccadilly hotel, named after two of Victorian London’s most celebrated illusionists, serves up table magic four nights a week (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursday and Saturdays) alongside signature cocktails and bar snacks.

Throw some axes

Urban axe-throwing has come to London (now we’ve seen everything). Whistle Punks Axe Throwing near Vauxhall offers willing punters the chance to learn how to throw blunt weapons at targets with terrifying and deadly accuracy. Spots cost £22 off-peak, or £29 peak.

And if you turn out to be really good at it, there’s even a league. Like bowling.

Visit a gin distillery

There are a few gin distilleries in London now, but Sipsmith is one of our favourites. Tours cost £25 and include a G&T, but must be booked a few weeks in advance. Reserve your place online. On the other side of town is The East London Liquor Co, which makes not only its own gin but vodka and whisky too, is also a good bet. (Tours £15-45pp – review here.)

Take your tossing to the next level

Covent Garden cocktail bar Bungatini – yes, inspired by the antics of former premier Silvio Berlusconi – runs every Monday and Tuesday from 7pm. Your ticket costs £30 and includes a welcome drink and antipasto, a pizza-making masterclass, tossing competition and, of course, the fruits of your labour. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Get up close and personal with magic

The Magic Hour is an intimate close-up magic show that sells out almost as quickly as tickets go on sale. Ranked at #15 on TripAdvisor, it’s pretty much considered the best magic gig in London, with its star Tony Middleton, alias Sonic, renowned worldwide for his incredible sleight of hand. Tickets range from £29-40pp plus booking fee. Review here. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Turn your hand at terrariums

A terrarium is essentially a little glass box containing plants that can, in theory, live indefinitely as water evaporates, condenses, and slides back into the soil. They’re also very in right now, and you can make your own with the guys at Jar & Fern, who run workshops in various London locations from around £35pp.

Get crafty in Carnaby

Maverick souvenir emporium We Built This City runs all sorts of arty events in collaboration with the many local artists that stock its shelves. Tickets cost up to £25, though some are free to attend, but places fill up fast. Past events have included jewellery-making, paper-cutitng and live portraiture.

Check out the Vaults

The eerie Waterloo Vaults play host to oodles of cool and creative events all year round, and tickets are usually pretty reasonable. In the past it’s been home to close-up magic shows, an immersive supper club inspired by Roald Dahl’s The Twits and a reimagined Wonderland.

Get creative at an arty party

Paint Republic offer painting parties where even the artistically challenged can take home a piece of canvas artwork they can be proud of. Tickets cost £25 but you can get a 10% discount with the code PRUK16. GOOD FOR GROUPS.





Spend an afternoon with bees and beers

Hiver, the honey beer, runs bee-keeping experiences in Kennington alongside tastings of its sweet, sweet, alcoholic nectar. Get up close to a live hive at Bee Urban and follow it up with a tutored beer and food matching sesh. Tickets cost £39pp.

Go scavenging

Especially perfect for hen dos, stag dos and corporate events, The Big Smoke Events arranges scavenger hunts that encourage participants to explore the city while making memories (and taking lots of comedy photographs!) A hunt costs around £27.50pp. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Sign up for a masterclass

The City Literary Institute offers an ever-changing carousel of evening classes and short courses – over 5,000 of them! There are lectures from £9.00, academic walking tours from £19.00 and a smorgasbord of other classes, which vary from the standard literacy and numeracy stuff to the weird and wonderful. Options include a vintage dance masterclass (£19.00), Gesturing In Italian (£29.00) and a workshop on Dream Sequences in Cinema (£29.00).



Go white water rafting

Hiding away in Waltham Cross is the massive Lea Valley watersports facility that was initially built for the 2012 Olympics. These days, it earns its keep with all kinds of aquatic activities for adventurous types, including white water rafting, hydroboarding, canoeing and kayaking. Prices from £25pp. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Explore the Enigma

Okay, it’ll require a bit of a schlepp, but Bletchley Park is only 30 minutes from Euston and is home to the legendary Enigma machine, used to crack codes in WWII and the subject of the recent movie The Imitation Game. Entry costs £17.25, plus a train ticket from London Midland – about £15 without a railcard. (Bletchley Park is just around the corner from the train station, so no crazy non-London bus routes necessary.)

Get crafty

Tea & Crafting is a cave of crafting wonder tucked away in Camden Market, and offers casual classes on knitting, crochet, millinery, jewellery-making, paper-cutting and more. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Visit the Indytute

Shoreditch’s Indytute is a hub of all kinds of weird and wonderful workshops, including hula-hooping, playing the harmonica, aerial silks and more.

Eat at The Clink

Prison charity The Clink offers unique dining experiences to support the rehabilitation of prisoners through hospitality training, and you can find one of their restaurants at HMP Brixton. Your entire meal will be cooked and served by prisoners, and all proceeds go to charity.

Play ping pong

Ping pong bars are becoming increasingly popular in the city, and are a great venue for a date or (smallish) birthday gathering. Bounce in Holborn has recently opened a new location in Shoreditch, and ‘urban pub’ The Bat & Ball in Westfield Stratford offers top-class ping pong alongside hot wings, pizzas and craft beer. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Bowl at All Star Lanes

Continuing the theme of non-athletic semi-competitive games, All Star Lanes gives you the opportunity to casually rub your friends’ noses in the poo impress your mates with your awesome ball skills. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Go to a museum at night

Museums are the most obvious things in the world, but it’s worth checking out the special grown-up times where you can enjoy the wonders of science/nature/history with a beer in hand and no screaming kids in sight.

Science Museum: Last Wednesday of every month. Listings here.

Natural History Museum: Last Friday of every month. Listings here.

Visit London Zoo

Similarly, in the summer London Zoo puts on adults-only events every Friday night. And there’s a bar. Tickets are cheaper in advance.

Dress up for Blitz Party

Blitz Party is a monthly(ish) event that recreates the glamour of 1930s Blighty. Fancy dress is essential. Book tickets online from £25pp. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Listen to live piano music

Piano used to be close to my work so we went there a lot. Invariably we all get accidentally trashed and waltz around the place as though it’s a banging nightclub, not a classy joint with fantastic live music. The pianists change all the time, but most of them can do a decent rendition of Single Ladies as well as all the classics. You can even sit at the glass-topped baby grand and make requests (although, of course, it’s polite to tip if you do!) They also have a branch in South Kensington. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Stuff some animals

Not for the squeamish. Tonja Grung of the Last Tuesday Society teaches half-day taxidermy workshops that’ll teach you how to stuff a dead rodent and turn it into a delightful objet d’art. All creatures are ethically sourced, and you can even take your furry friend home with you at the end. It’s unusual, you have to admit. Buy tickets here, from £55pp. I reviewed a class here. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Buy some affordable art

Art aficionados looking to adorn their abodes with affordable, original pieces can visit the Affordable Art Fair or The Other Art Fair, which pop up periodically in Battersea, Brick Lane, King’s Cross and Hampstead. Prices start from £20, but even if you’re not in the market for something pretty, it’s nice to window shop.

Kayak down the Thames

Touring the Thames from a passenger boat is so passé, but London Kayak Tours give you the opportunity to paddle your way past the Palace of Westminster, Big Ben and all of London’s other top landmarks under your own steam. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Attend a graffiti art class

The Alternative London people do fantastic walking tours of Shoreditch’s street art scene (review here), but they also do graffiti workshops for people who fancy having a go at wielding a spraycan themselves. It costs £40 for a four hour class (or £30 for a 2.5 hour class) and you can book your place online. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Visit the London Cocktail Club

If you’re going to drink cocktails, make sure you do it right. The London Cocktail Club is an underground bar (aren’t they all?) off Goodge Street where flamboyant bartenders leap around the place setting fire to things and serving up elaborate cocktails served in teapots and fuck knows what else. It is loud in there, so don’t go if you’re planning on some deep and meaningful conversation. They also have branches in Covent Garden, Oxford Circus, Shoreditch and Shaftesbury Avenue, and run cocktail classes if you want to learn how to DIY. Cocktails are an expensive way to drink, but they have 241 happy hour promotions all day Monday and 4:30pm-7pm the rest of the week.

Listen to live jazz at Nightjar

This is a favourite bar of the trendiest guy in our office. It’s classy as fuck – cool, intimate and table service only, with live jazz most evenings. Advance booking – weeks in advance – is essential. Listings online.

Bring your own booze at BYOC

You bring the booze (and £30); they bring every mixer under the sun and the expertise of pro mixologists. Bookings are in two hour slots and can be made online. Inventive Productions has a similar concept, except their bars are themed like prison (review here), a pirate ship and the Wild West. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Visit Cellardoor

It used to be a public toilet, now it’s the world’s weeniest cabaret club. There’s no cover charge, but drinks are a little more expensive than average. If you’re super organised you can nab one of few reservable seats, but otherwise it’s standing room only. Listings online.

Go in fancy dress

The Last Tuesday Society always hold the most insane events. I went to their Valentine’s Day Animal Ball once dressed as a zebra. They had a ball pit, tarantulas and lots of live music. Weird but fun. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Attend a Intelligence Squared debate

Intelligence Squared organises highbrow debates about history, economics, politics and sociology. Tickets to watch are generally £30 (half price to students) and available online.

Visit the Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town

It’s barely a secret any more, but it’ll impress out-of-towners and people who’ve been living under a rock. It’s behind a Smeg fridge at the Breakfast Club, Artillery Lane; all you have to do is tell the waitress you’re looking for the Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town and in you go.

Run from zombies

For people who get off on running around like a maniac from zombies/paintballers, there’s Escape From A Room With Zombies, an undead-themed escape game (£30pp), or Bunker 51 near London Bridge. Off-peak prices start at £25, but remember you’ll always need to factor in more paintballs than you think. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Indulge in a bottomless boozy brunch

Spend an indulgent weekend feasting on some of the best brunches the city has to offer alongside unlimited bubbles and breakfast cocktails. Here’s my list (of over fifty!) boozy brunch options. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Watch some fringe theatre

Because West End shows are mega expensive and we’re not all made of money, I wrote up everything I know about going to see cheap things on a stage. Read all about it.

Learn the flying trapeze

This probably isn’t one to spring on someone, but if you’ve ever fancied learning the flying trapeze, Gorilla Circus runs classes in parks all over the city. Prices from £26pp for two hours. Review here. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Sing along to your favourite films

The Prince Charles cinema regularly screens sing-a-long classics, including Grease, Dirty Dancing, the Rocky Horror Picture Show, Moulin Rouge, Spice World and, most recently, Pitch Perfect and Disney’s Frozen. They’re also known for their movie marathons and quote-alongs (including Anchorman and Mean Girls). Full listings are available online. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Dine somewhere different

Tock is an online platform that sells tickets to pop-up dining experiences hosted by enthusiastic foodies and professional chefs alike. I’ve been to a few and the food is top notch, plus many venues are BYOB. If you don’t know where to start, my pal Rosie is one of their highest-rated supper club chefs in London. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Skate the night away

Vauxhall’s infamous roller disco is now sadly closed, but Trip Savvy has a great list of everywhere to skate in London.

Get into bingo

Unconventional bingo halls are popping up all over London. It’s cheap, sociable and doesn’t require much concentration, which means it’s an excellent excuse to drink mid-week. Try Dabbers Social Bingo and Musical Bingo. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Gamble and gorge at the Hippodrome

Easily mistaken for a dreadful night out waiting to happen, the London Hippodrome’s Heliot streak house is a gem hiding in plain sight, and often does fantastic offers via Bookatable. Read my review here. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

A close shave

Gentlemen wishing to indulge in some olde-worlde grooming may want to check out Murdock’s London branches or Ted’s Grooming Room, a small chain of traditional men’s barbers by Ted Baker.



Wake up at the Docklands

There’s lots of watery fun to be had at WakeUp Docklands. Ride their wakeboarding cables from just £28pp including kit hire. Or, if you fancy something a little gentler, they do stand-up paddleboarding classes too from £30pp. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

FANCY THINGS (> £50)

Discover London through a lens

Put that fancy camera to good use and explore the rich landscape of East London, overflowing with ephemeral art and quirky characters. London Photography Tours offer scheduled and private tours to help you make the most of the incredible scenery on our doorsteps. Group places from £125pp.

Learn to shuck

Venerable seafood restaurant Bentley’s offers champagne-laden oyster-shucking classes on Saturday mornings, where you can learn to prepare oysters like a pro, followed by a tasting session with sommelier-matched wine. Places cost £65pp and include a goody bag to take home.

Explore London’s food scene

Eating through a neighbourhood is one of the best ways to explore it, in my opinion, and you can go on a food tour that promises a whirlwind experience through the city’s most vibrant pockets of gastronomic brilliance. Eating London (affiliate link) does various tours from Soho to East London from £50-70pp. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Learn to make cheese

London’s only urban cheese-makers, Wildes, runs a course promising to teach cheese buffs the art of cheese-making…and how to do it at home. The day-long course includes lunch and refreshments, a tour of the dairy and cheese caves, an introduction to cheese-making and, of course, lots of samples to try throughout the day. You’ll leave with a semi-hard blue cheese, a soft curd cheese and a small Camembert-style cheese to mature at home. Classes start from £125. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Have a whirl at weaving

The jolly gals at The London Loom run their chilled out weaving masterclasses from various London locations, and offer workshops in everything from Japanese-style weaving to tapestry. Apparently it’s very therapeutic, and classes cost around £50pp, depending on location.

Design your own perfume

The Experimental Perfume Club runs fragrance design masterclasses from all around London and in its lab in Dalston. In addition to expert guidance on creating your own scent, you’ll also receive your own little bottle to take home. Short taster sessions cost £125 and include a 50ml bottle to take away, whereas longer workshops cost £95 and include a 10ml bottle.

Blow some glass bubbles

Renowned glass artist Peter Layton runs his gallery, shop and glassblowing studio in London Bridge, and budding blowers can sign up to learn this ancient craft too. Glass bauble classes at London Glassblowing run around Christmas at £50pp (I tried it out – read all about it here), but full day classes, in which you make four pieces yourself, will set you back £450pp.



Knock yourself out

This one requires a bit of forward planning and a few adventurous mates, but if bouncing around on giant inflatables and wearing comedy costumes sounds like a Saturday afternoon well spent, check out It’s A Knockout London, featuring props from the original TV show and ready to rock summer weekend. Places from £45pp. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Take the Harry Potter studio tour

Explore the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in, er, Watford with the Warner Bros Studio Tour. Tickets cost around £35pp and must be booked in advance.

Pick up some life skills

If cooking isn’t your thing and you’d rather turn your hand to something more practical than flower-arranging, The Goodlife Centre can help you with some new skills in upholstery, furniture restoration, curtain making, carpentry, plumbing and much more. Workshops last anything from an evening to several weeks. Prices vary.

Write some letters

Explore the ancient art of pretty letter-writing with Quill London’s calligraphy masterclasses, which cater for beginners, intermediates, experts and those looking to digitalise their designs. You’ll also find origami, watercolour and paper flower-making workshops, though everything seems to get booked up a couple of months in advance. All £60+pp.

Scale The Wall

Literally the coolest possible thing, especially now we’ve all seen the Wildlings going over the top in Game of Thrones. It’s steep (haha) at £50/hour per person, but that includes tuition and all your kit. More information online at Vertical Chill.

Learn to appreciate chocolate…

Everyone loves chocolate, but think how much MORE you could love it if you learned how to taste it properly. Hotel Chocolat’s School of Chocolate on Monmouth Street offers tasting courses and ‘Bean to Bar’ chocolate-making courses from £50pp, and posh homegrown chocolatier Paul A. Young does premium classes for £175pp. He also does chocolate and champagne pairing evenings with French Bubbles, from £60pp. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Take afternoon tea

A bit standard, but always a nice experience. Afternoontea.co.uk is a great resource for comparing different packages, and sometimes runs great offers too. The Goring is supposedly the best (and it had better be for the eye-watering £42.50pp price tag), but if you want something more unusual try the Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea at the Sanderson (from £38pp), Moroccan-style afternoon tea at Momo (from £22pp), or the extravagantly wacky afternoon tea experience at Sketch London (from £39pp).

Go to the opera

The marketing people at the London Coliseum, home of the English National Opera, are painfully aware that its key demographic is, er, dying out a bit. In an attempt to recruit more young ‘uns, they run a scheme where under-thirties can buy heavily discounted tickets to all its productions. Top price seats are £30/person, but cheaper ones are available for £10 and £20. You need to apply to join Access All Arias three weeks in advance. (NB: You can buy two tickets for a time, using one for a more aged friend or relative.)

Mince like a pro

The perfect experience for the savage, blood-thirsty carnivore in your life, top meatery the Ginger Pig runs hands-on butchery classes from its fancy Marylebone shop. Choose from beef, lamb, pork or sausage-making and spend three and half hours slicing, dicing, cleaving and mincing, followed by the hearty two-course supper you just prepared. Places cost £165pp so it’s definitely a special one, but for meat-lovers it’s a (rib-)cracking way to spend the afternoon.

Hear movies like never before

Awhile ago I went to see the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s Film Gala, which was one of the best things I’ve heard in a long time (I wrote a full review here). Until you’ve seen one of these shows, you haven’t truly appreciated the genius of Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, John Williams and the other composers whose work has brought so many incredible movies to life. The Film Gala is only on once a year, but there are dozens of other concerts focusing on movie scores, as well as special screenings where you can watch whole movies to a live musical accompaniment (think Lord of the Rings, The Matrix and Titanic..!) The best resource to find out what’s on in London (and elsewhere) is the Movies in Concert website.

Immerse yourself in ‘4D’ theatre

Immersive theatre is all the rage, and always popping up in one guise or another. Find australian online casinos here. Punchdrunk Theatre often comes to London, and Secret Cinema is selling tickets by the thousand.

…Or take it outside at Regent’s Park.

For those who prefer their theatre with a jug of Pimms and a blanky, Regent’s park is home to London’s Open Air Theatre, which puts on four productions every summer. Find out what’s on online.

Discover Russian spa

Banya No. 1 is London’s first and only Russian spa, and therefore the only place to experience an authentic parenie treatment, where huge bundles of fragrant foliage are used to cleanse the body. Read all about my experience here.

Build your own bouquets

Budding florists (aha) can learn the delicate art of floral design and Judith Blacklock’s Flower School, which offers everything from day courses to professional qualifications.

Take a ride on the Ginger Line

The Ginger Line is a nomadic restaurant experience that pops up from time to time in secret locations along the London Overground. They’re immense fun and cost about £60pp…but they sell out quick, so sign up to their mailing list for first dibs.

Try some pie in the sky

London in the Sky hoists diners into the air for sky-high breakfasts, dinners and champagne receptions. It’s expensive – £50-250 – but, come on, you’ll never do anything else like it. Review here. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Abseil at Olympic Park

The ArcelorMittal Orbit at Olympic Park may well be London’s ugliest sculpture, but at 262 feet it’s a pretty badass abseiling venue. Tickets cost £85pp and can be booked online.

Go flyboarding

Three words: WATER JET PACK. It’s called flyboarding and you can do it in the Thames from just £95pp with Flyboarding Experiences. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Design some jewellery

Kat&Bee is one of my favourite indie jewellery bands, specialising in wire-wrapped pieces with skull and flower motifs. I recently discovered they do workshops out of their East London workshop, which includes a piece to take home for yourself. Workshops last two hours and cost £100pp, but there are discounts if you book more than one spot. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Become a wok star

Turns out Green Thai curry paste isn’t supposed to come from a jar. Who knew? Learn how to make that and more at School of Wok, Covent Garden’s Asian cookery school for professionals and enthusiastic amateurs alike. Three hour courses start from £95pp – choose from traditional Thai cookery, wok skills, dim sum and more. GOOD FOR GROUPS.

Spend a night at the Museum

Wannabe palaeontologists can stay the night at the Natural History Museum beneath the benevolent gaze of Dippy, the museum’s resident diplodocus skeleton. Included is three activities – which could include stand-up comedy or drinks-tasting, a three-course dinner and hot breakfast, overnight access to all galleries and temporary exhibitions, live music, edible insect-tasting, an all-night monster movie marathon and a cash bar. Tickets are £180pp (or £162 for members). Places sell out far in advance, so keep an eye out on the Events page – it’s called ‘Dino Snores for Grown-ups’.