13 Unmissable Ways To Spend The Weekend In London

Join a summer street party

If you’re not already a devotee of Don’t Tell Dad, Queen’s Park’s beloved all-day bakery and restaurant, this Friday’s Lonsdale Road Annual Summer Street Party is the perfect introduction.

The neighbourhood favourite is pulling out all the stops with a street food spread that includes Braised Beef Sesame Buns, Oysters, and Ice Cream Sandwiches. If you’d rather sit down for the full experience, a set menu is available inside the restaurant, running through Truffle and Cheddar Beignets, Crab Salad, Roast Sirloin with Bone Marrow Butter, and freshly baked Madeleines with Cherries and Clotted Cream to finish.

Where: 10-14 Lonsdale Rd, London NW6 6RD
Website: www.donttelldad.com

Book this one-of-a-kind overnight stay

The Bayeux Tapestry is coming to the British Museum this autumn, and One Aldwych has put together what might be the most civilised way to experience it. The hotel has partnered with the British Museum to offer an overnight package that includes two tickets to the exhibition, a themed cocktail each in the Lobby Bar, breakfast, spa access and a fully stocked complimentary minibar. The tapestry itself is the real draw: 70 metres of embroidered storytelling covering the Norman Conquest, displayed flat in one continuous length for the first time ever, and on English soil for the first time in nearly a thousand years. Available for stays from 10th September 2026, this is one to book well ahead of time.

Where: 1 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BZ
Book here

Watch elite climbers take on the docks at The North Face Climb Festival

One of the most visually spectacular free events of the summer is back, as The North Face Climb Festival returns to Royal Victoria Docks this weekend.

The headline act is a 14-metre Deep Water Solo wall suspended above the docks, where elite climbers from across Europe compete for a share of a £20,000 prize pot with nothing but the water below to break their fall. Beyond the competition, there are athlete workshops, climbing experiences and family activities, plus a seriously good live music lineup featuring Femi Koleoso of Ezra Collective, Jyoty, Girls Don’t Sync and Rinse FM.

Where: Royal Victoria Dock
Website: www.thenorthface.com

Take to the Thames on this river cruise

If you’ve lived in London for years and never actually done a river cruise, consider this your official sign. City Cruises runs everything from hop-on hop-off sightseeing passes to afternoon tea and evening dining cruises complete with live entertainment, all with the kind of views of the city that remind you why you live here.

The Family River Pass lets up to three kids ride for free, making it one of the better-value days out in the city this summer.

Where: Departing from multiple Thames piers
Website: www.citycruises.com

Experience Westminster Cathedral Like You’ve Never Seen it Before

If you are looking to escape the heat for an hour or two this weekend, this is the perfect billing. LUMINISCENCE has arrived at Westminster Cathedral, and it is unlike anything else on in London right now. The immersive experience combines 360° projections, live choral performances from the Lux Aeterna choir and narration by Hugh Bonneville to transform one of the capital’s most architecturally extraordinary buildings into a living, breathing spectacle of light and sound.

Running until 26th September, this is the kind of evening that stays with you – book ahead, as capacity is strictly limited.

Where: Westminster Cathedral
Book here

Dive into this pizza collab

Crust Bros has a track record of brilliant collaborations, and its latest might just be the best one yet. The beloved pizzeria has teamed up with Black Bear Burger, officially ranked the world’s second best burger, to create a limited-edition pizza that’s been years in the making.

Built on a San Marzano burger sauce base with fior di latte, smashed Black Bear beef patty pieces, guanciale, pink pickled onions and Red Leicester, it comes served with Black Bear’s signature miso mayo for crust dipping.

Where: venues across London
Website: www.crusbros.com

Pick up the sweetest summer collab at Copains

London womenswear brand Sister Jane has teamed up with Parisian gluten-free bakery Copains on a collaboration that’s as pretty as it sounds. The pair have reimagined Copains’ signature gluten-free madeleine as a white chocolate and matcha creation, finished with fine sugar pearls that nod to Sister Jane’s signature design details.

With locations in both Covent Garden and Islington, the excuse to pop in is an easy one. Consider it the most stylish summer treat in London right now.

Where: venues across London
Website: www.copains.com

Celebrate Bastille Day here

If you’re looking for a reason to raise a glass this week, Mayfair’s Michelin Guide-recommended French seafood restaurant Mazarine is marking Bastille Day in serious style.

Running all week long, the limited-edition menu from Executive Chef Thierry Laborde centres around Le Grand Aïoli, a traditional Provençal sharing feast of langoustine, salted cod, clams, eggs and a roster of seasonal vegetables. To drink, four riffs on the classic French 75 are on offer, all made with Moët & Chandon, ranging from the cucumber-forward Maxwell 75 to a rum-based Old Cuban 75.

Where: 22 Hanover Square, London W1S 1JA
Website: www.mazarine.com

Try the most exciting thing on a London menu right now

South London’s best sandwich and East London’s best pizza have finally joined forces, and the result is exactly as good as it sounds.

Long-time friends Mondo Sando and Dough Hands have created the A1 Beef Drip Pizza, a limited-edition special that takes Mondo Sando’s cult Beef Drip Sandwich and reworks it into pizza form. Loaded with aged and fresh mozzarella, master stock-braised beef shin, pickled mustard greens, mala chilli dust, mala chilli oil and fresh chillies, it’s the kind of pizza that demands to be ordered immediately.

Available exclusively at All My Friends in East London from 14th July through to 14th August, this one won’t hang around.

Where: Unit 1, Hamlet Estate, 96 White Post Ln, London E9 5EN
Website: www.allmyfriends.com

Celebrate KOKUM’s Third Birthday in East Dulwich

East Dulwich’s much-loved Indian restaurant KOKUM is turning three this Saturday, and it’s celebrating by throwing a terrace party that’s open to everyone.

From 12pm to 3pm, the team will be serving complimentary Indian street food from a terrace stall, with fresh pani puri, flavour-packed chaat and other street food favourites all on offer for free. There’s a live DJ keeping the energy up throughout the afternoon, before the World Cup final is screened at 8pm to round off what sounds like a very good Saturday indeed. Free food, good music and a neighbourhood restaurant that genuinely deserves the celebration — this one is hard to say no to.

Try the Most Instagrammable Soft Serve

Café Ciel has just launched a summer soft serve collaboration with cult dessert brand Happy Endings, and it sounds like exactly the kind of thing worth seeking out this weekend.

The Wimbledon-inspired terrace is serving a strawberry and milk soft serve alongside a soft serve sando, with a surprise limited-edition Happy Endings flavour landing from July 14th for the rest of the month.

Where: The OWO, 7 Horse Guards Ave, London SW1A 2EU
Website: www.cafeciel.com

Escape to The Swan Inn for a Lazy Weekend Brunch

If the idea of escaping the city to enjoy a countryside brunch sounds like exactly what your weekend needs, José Pizarro’s Swan Inn in Esher is the place to go. The relaxed atmosphere is perfectly suited to long, slow mornings, with a menu of seasonal Spanish dishes and sunshine-ready drinks that make it very easy to lose track of time entirely.

It’s close enough to the city to feel like a genuine escape without the commitment of a full day’s travel. Whether you’re heading out for a table in the garden or settling in for a leisurely brunch inside, this one is worth the trip out of town.

Where: 2 Hare Ln, Claygate, Esher KT10 9BS
Website: www.josepizarro.com

Escape to the British coast for the weekend

With the warm weather set to continue this weekend, now marks the perfect time to escape the heat of the city and head to the British coast to enjoy some sea breeze.

It is no secret that the UK is home to a collection of stunning beaches, so you are spoilt for choice, but if you are in need of inspiration, check out our definitive guide here.