Ed Cunningham

Key West is one of those places that is so idyllic it can be hard to believe it’s actually real. Picture the scene: palm trees swaying gently in the breeze, surrounded by crystalline turquoise waters, basking in year-round sunshine - absolute bliss. If that ain’t the good life, we don’t know what is. And there are few better ways to properly indulge in Key West than by renting an Airbnb. The city’s finest Airbnbs range from abodes that are mere steps away from the area’s biggest attractions to those that are perfect for lounging by the beach. We’ve sifted through all of Key West’s Airbnb rental options to find the ones that are totally unmissable: read on to find out more. Updated May 2025: The best hidden gems are often right under our noses, which is why we're leaving no stone unturned. How else would we know about the lighthouse suite or the hibiscus cottage? RECOMMENDED: 🏝Why not stay at one of the best hotels in Key West?Or the best family-friendly hotels in Key West? This guide was recently updated by Travel Writers Shayne Benowitz and Alex Floyd-Douglass. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. While we might not stay in every hotel featured below, we've based our list on top reviews and amenities to find you the best stays. This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our 

Every week, a frankly silly amount of brilliant new restaurants, cafés and street food joints arrive in London. Which makes whittling down a shortlist of the best newbies a serious challenge. But here it is. The 20 very best new restaurants in the capital, ranked in order of greatness and deliciousness. All of them have opened in the past year and been visited by our hungry critics. So go forth and take inspo from this list, which features everything from modern Korean cookery at Miga in Hackney, bawdy British fare at Rake in Highbury, Brit/Thai mashups at AngloThai in Marylebone, vegan Michelin star goodness at Shoreditch’s Plates, hip fish bar Tollington’s in Finsbury Park, Iberian inventiveness at Tasca in Bethnal Green and The Most Controversial Restaurant in London™, The Yellow Bittern in King’s Cross. This list is updated regularly, so check in often to find out what we really rate on the London restaurant scene.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. RECOMMENDED: The 50 best restaurants in London. The hottest new openings, the tastiest tips, the spiciest reviews: we’re serving it all on our London restaurants WhatsApp channel. Follow us now to tuck in.

Once upon a time, the only reason to grab a bite at King’s Cross was if you were waiting for your train. But this once-grimy post-industrial area has undergone an enormous regeneration, and these days it’s packed with fine restaurants. Be it the lofty, warehouse-sized joints around Granary Square, the trendy cafés in Coal Drops Yard or the hip little spots around lower Pentonville, and a selection of Cantonese cult classics, there’s something for all tastes (and budgets, high or low). Check out our list of the best. RECOMMENDED: These are the best pubs in King’s Cross. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. 

We'll always be NYC's biggest cheerleaders, why wouldn't we be? The city has it all! But everyone needs a breather from the bustle of city life every once in a while. Luckily, you don't need to travel very far for some well-deserved R&R. The Catskills are the place to be. Not too far from the city, but far enough to escape the center. So, pack your best knitwear, dig out those hiking boots, and book a weekend away. Okay so, you've got the destination down, but where to stay? That’s where we come in. We’ve scoured Airbnb to find some of the Catskills’ most unique, stylish, and memorable getaways, from group adventures near the mountains to romantic hideaways, we've ticked every box. Scroll on to discover your dream rental ...  RECOMMENDED: 🪵Check out the best Airbnbs in Hudson Valley🏊‍♀️See our list of best New York upstate resorts⛰Discover the best of upstate New York Who makes the cut? While we might not stay in and review every Airbnb featured, we've based our list on our expert knowledge of the destination covered, editorial reviews, user reviews, hotel amenities and in-depth research to find you the best stays. This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines.

Want a drink? You've come to the right place. This is Time Out’s list of best bars in London, our curated guide to London’s drinking scene, featuring the buzziest booze dens in the capital right now. If it’s on this list, it’s excellent. These are the 50 places we'd recommend to a friend, because we love drinking in them and have done many times over. From classy cocktail joints to delightful dives, hotel bars, speakeasys, bottle shops, rooftops and wine bars, London's got them all. But what makes a truly good bar? Well, our critieria for inclusion on this list is simple; a menu of genius drinks is important, but so is overall vibe – there’s no point having the perfect paloma if you have to drink it in a bar that smells of bins. To make the Top 50, a bar has to be fun, inclusive, and full of lovely folk as well as looking the part.  April 2025: A rash of great new bars have opened in London over the past year or so and many of them have made the immediate jump to our hallowed Top 50. The latest additions to our list include rowdy sports bar meets 80s horror movie set Bloodsports in Covent Garden, whisky wonderland Dram Bar on Denmark Street, the hypnotic Bar Lotus in Dalston, Below Stone Nest in Chinatown, Rasputin’s by London Fields, and Bar Lina, an Italian aperitivo spot underneath a famous Soho deli. Now go forth and drink. RECOMMENDED: Like bars? Then you'll love London's best pubs.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor, and she'll have a gibson marti

This year of music has started with a bang. We’ve seen Chappell Roan go country, Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco smothering audiences with gushy love songs and Playboi Carti’s rapturous return from the underground. Alongside these pop heavyweights, we’re witnessing rap superstar Doechii continue her chart domination and the breakthrough of Gen Z artists like 2hollis and Tate McRae. What songs are defining 2025? Well, we’ve searched through our playlists and extracted the best songs of the year so far, below. But it doesn’t stop there. Keep your eyes peeled for updates to this list throughout the year as we’re still awaiting albums from Turnstile, Lorde, Addison Rae, Miley Cyrus, Pulp, A$AP Rocky and many more.  Georgia curates Time Out’s music section. If she's not blabbering about music on the website, she's doing it in-person (much to the office’s dismay). For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. RECOMMENDED: 🎧 The best albums of 2025 (so far)🎥 The best movies of 2025 (so far)📺 The best TV of 2025 (so far)

London is full of perfect pizza. The finest of fast foods, this delicious staple has been elevated far beyond its humble roots by great Italian restaurants in London, pop-ups, street food vendors and pub residencies, and we know just where to find these world-class wonders, because we’ve been eating our way across London in order to discover the best. Whether it’s delivered in a cardboard box or served in a swish restaurant, excellent pizza is hard to beat. Browse our list of the best pizza places in town and try not to drool on your screen. Recent additions to the Top 20 include some nifty kitchen residencies; Dough Hands at the Spurstowe Arms and Old Nun’s Head, Bing Bong Pizza at You Call The Shots in Hackney, Little Earthquakes at the Railway Tavern in Dalston and Lenny's Apizza at The Bedford Tavern in Finsbury Park.  RECOMMENDED: The finest fish and chips in London.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Thinking of heading to the UK? Great choice. England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are packed with jaw-dropping sights, fun-filled nights out and endless cultural offerings for you to fill your calendar to the brim. The Time Out team has spent a hell of a lot of time travelling up and down the country, really getting to know the big sights and local legends – and by now, we like to think we know a thing or two about what is actually worth your precious time. And trust us: you won’t be disappointed. From Cornwall’s crashing surf to Scotland’s rugged peaks, to the buzz of Notting Hill Carnival and secret spots locals whisper about, there’s something for everyone here. These are the best things to do in the UK in 2025.  What are the best events in the UK throughout the year? Where do we begin? In April, join in infectious crowds at the Manchester or London marathons. Head to Somerset for Glastonbury in June (if you’re lucky enough to get tickets, that is), and go up north for all sorts of cultural happenings at the Manchester International Festival come July. In August, we’d recommend Brighton for Pride, London for Notting Hill Carnival and Edinburgh for the month-long Fringe arts festival. The Scottish capital is also a great place to celebrate New Year’s Eve with their Hogmanay street party to see out the year.  Where are the most scenic places to visit in the UK? If it’s dramatic landscapes you’re after, no trip to the UK is complete without spending time in the Scott

Looking to make a splash with your next family day out? How about some wobbly water obstacle courses, chaotically fun wave machines and slides so long you’re not sure where they end? Waterparks come in all shapes and sizes in the UK, and luckily for us, most are open all year round – offering a great day trip to keep kids entertained for hours on end while you brush up your butterfly stroke. From epic outdoor inflatables to weather-proof indoor pools with flumes galore, you’ll find excellent waterparks dotted all over the country – and many of them feature standard swimming facilities and spas, too, as well as other child-friendly activities such as adventure parks. Time to blow up the armbands and grab your towel: these are the 14 best waterparks in the UK, updated with new additions for 2025. RECOMMENDED:☀️The best outdoor swimming pools in the UK🚴The most beautiful bike trails in the UK🌴The most stunning hidden beaches in the UK🏊The best waterparks in London

If you’re dreaming of finding sand in your shoes after a long day out and queuing too long for ice cream, then you could do a lot worse than venturing out of the city and planning a trip to one of the UK’s seemingly endless coastal towns. This is an island nation, after all, which means it’s packed with rugged cliffs and windswept headlands as well as quaint fishing villages and shoreline surf spots. We might not have the sunkissed weather of our European neighbours, but when it comes to costal charm, the UK ticks a hell of a lot of boxes. Planning a trip to the seaside? Check out our list of the best coastal towns in the country, from Scotland to Cornwall.   Which UK seaside towns get the best weather?  If you’re chasing sunshine, you’re probably going to want to go south. Brighton, Margate, St Ives, Salcombe and Falmouth can clock some serious sun hours in the right season – but we can’t make any promises, so be sure to pack a raincoat to be on the safe side.  Where are the best beaches in the UK? If beach walks and swimming in the sea is what you’re after, look no further than our list of the best beaches in the UK. From the list below, we’d recommend Brighton if you’re more of a pebble person. Head to Nefyn for natural beauty and extreme quiet. Try North Berwick if you want sand between your toes and can stomach chillier waters. And for higher temperatures, head to East Portlemouth beach and stay in Salcombe.  RECOMMENDED:🌊The best outdoor swimmming pools in the UK🏖️T

The humble brunch is perhaps one of the greatest inventions of the modern age. Breakfast is too early to really get stuck into, while eating eggs and downing buckets of coffee at lunchtime seems odd. Brunch, then, is the one true morning-ish meal, especially if it incorporates pancakes, bacon and those aforementioned eggs. Or you can enjoy a totally vegan take on proceedings at LD's at The Black Heart. London is particularly well stocked with places to indulge in the famous breakfast/lunch hybrid – one of the latest additions to this list is FKA Black Axe Mangal in Highbury, (don’t forgot to order a pig cheek and prune donut). Let us guide you to the best restaurants for a fabulous brunch, from a traditional full English to innovative twists on the majestic meal, such as a bacon bao brunch.  RECOMMENDED: Like unlimited fizz with your fry-up? Here are the best bottomless brunches in London.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. April 2025: We've had fresh fiddle of this list, removing some of the staler options and giving you only the finest brunches in London for spring and into summer. We've included a few places that prove brunch isn't just a weekend treat, with some of these spots serving brunch every single day. Make the most of the warmer weather by bagging a terrace table somewhere like The Laundry in Brixton. Hate the heat and would rather sulk in the dark? Then it's off to LD's at The Bla

Television has been around for 70 years, but only in the last two decades has it earned true respect as an artistic medium. Up to that point, elitists referred to TV as ‘the idiot box’ or ‘the boob tube,’ and if you worked in it, you were either a hack or an upstart hoping to make the leap into the more dignified world of movies. Was its poor reputation deserved? Sure, there were blips of brilliance between The Ed Sullivan Show and The Sopranos, but by and large, the garbage outweighed the gold. Maybe it’s unfair, but the fact that it was all being beamed directly into our living rooms made the dreck more noticeable.  That’s all changed. Television has nudged film out from the center of popular culture, to the point that some of cinema’s truest believers – Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Steven Soderbergh – are making movies specifically for the small screen. The shift may have started with HBO and The Sopranos, but the advent of streaming has made it so that hundreds of new shows are now continually flipping the script every few years, if not months. But that doesn’t mean everything before 1999 is pure dross. While this list is dominated by 21st century programs, there are hundreds of shows that deserve credit for pushing TV forward into its current golden age, and chiseling them down to a neat top 100 is difficult. So we elected to leave off talk shows, variety shows and sketch comedy, focusing on scripted, episodic dramas, comedies and miniseries. Even then, it proved to b

Prince Durairaj and Glen Leeson are good at this by now. Excellent, in fact. The pair have put together a small chain of top Indian eateries; Islington’s Tamil Prince and Tamil Crown, and the first Tamila in Clapham. Fourth time around with Tamila King’s Cross, the experience is more refined than ever. London’s second Tamila is at the other end of Caledonian Road from the Tamil Prince, and, like the Clapham edition, isn’t a ‘desi pub’ but a curry house for fast, casual dining and with an all-day menu. Without the loveable musk of an ex-pub, the space is much airier and restaurant-y, while the service is sharper and more attentive. Food-over-booze indicators don’t get much more obvious than Tamila’s massive interior window directly into the kitchen.  The dhal flashed all sorts of vegetables across your tongue, while paneer butter masala was creamy and mightily generous Our drinks flew out at an impressive pace. A bold harbinger of the strong, spiced flavours to come, the gunpowder margarita, boasting masala dust for salt and earthy smokiness, was sumptuous. The paloma had grapefruity sweetness but a proper, heaped dash of ginger that lingered powerfully.  Tamila’s dishes verge on the more generous side of ‘small plates’. On platters so spotless and shiny they’re genuinely mirrors, come miraculously un-greasy onion bhajis, each one just more than a mouthful of prickly, salty crackle. Retaining integral crispiness beneath dollops of mint chutney, one gets the impression that th

If you’re a history buff (particularly a pottery history buff), the surroundings of this DoubleTree alone will be enough to have you in awe. The hotel is attached to Etruria Hall, a neo-classical Grade II-listed structure once home to Josiah Wedgwood – renowned industrialist and the founder of Wedgwood, one of the world’s most famous pottery companies.  Etruria Hall is no longer a stately home but an events venue, and since the 1980s it’s been attached to a hotel. In 2020 that hotel opened as a Hilton, specifically of the DoubleTree brand – yet despite being part of an all-conquering global chain, it’s maintained plenty of character. Beyond the obvious (the in-house restaurant is called Josiah), the corridors and rooms come lined with nods to local heritage; bottle oven skylines, Stoke dialect phrases, that sort of stuff.  Stoke-on-Trent’s DoubleTree, therefore, not only occupies a special historical site but makes sure you fully aware just how special it is. But it’s also a comfortable, well-kitted-out place to stay. I stayed in a king guest room that was extraordinarily spacious and flawlessly clean, with a sprawling, comfortable bed, fast wi-fi, effective blackout curtains and a practical bathroom.  The staff couldn’t have been friendlier or more helpful, the common areas were bright and welcoming, and there was a very sleek indoor pool and leisure centre. There’s on-site parking, too.  Given the building’s age, some of Stoke’s DoubleTree is understandably rough around the

When Stoke’s Hilton Garden Inn opened in 2020 it was the city’s first and only Hilton. Admittedly it didn’t hold that title for long (the DoubleTree in Etruria was rebranded a month or so later) but you get the sense that this was a statement opening. A terracotta titan towering over Hanley, this Hilton Garden Inn cost £20 million and is part of the wider redevelopment of Smithfield – a mixed-use quarter named after the area’s old bottle works. Given it’s getting on for half a decade old, Stoke’s Hilton Garden Inn still looks and feels shimmeringly new. Sure, stepping into the lobby feels very much like stepping into any new-ish Hilton, anywhere, but this one is exceptionally well-kempt, making it very much a slick, shiny beacon of modern comfort.  I stayed in a ‘king room’ up on the sixth floor, a tidy and well-proportioned space with plenty of light and a bunch of amenities tidily packed in. The décor was pared back, minimalist(ish) and very much of-this-decade, and the room’s simplicity made it feel bigger. Stoke touches on the walls (images of pottery ovens and so on) reminded you where you were – as did my view, stretching out westwards towards Etruria, Burslem and Shelton. The rest was very much as one might expect of a somewhat new Hilton. The mattress was supple, the pillows and duvet ideally sink-in-able; the shower worked as required, accompanied by fragrant Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries and the flashy touch of an anti-steam mirror. The room was well insulated for so

Down the cavernous halls of Whitehall’s Old War Offices, surrounded by opulent Michelin-starred restaurants and the supremely swish Raffles hotel, lies Kioku Sake Bar – less blindingly flashy, sure, but just as high-calibre. The street-level accompaniment to Kioku’s top-floor, five-star sushi restaurant has the effortless style and homely hideaway calm of a Japanese listening bar, prim décor and lines of hundreds of sake bottles sitting beneath immaculately balanced light. And Kioku’s substance more than matches its style. There are over 140 sakes on offer, each affectionately described, plus a trim list of sake cocktails and a refined menu of innovative, Japanese-infused small plates. The drinks and food are entirely different to those of the upstairs restaurant Kioku By Endo, making the bar very much worth a separate visit.  Order this The Daikon Gibson suspends itself entirely on the front of your tongue, with silky and potent Ginjo sake ‘vermouth’ and tangy pickled daikon combining with clean Roku gin and yuzu tang. Kioku’s cocktails all exude a sense of craft – and this does even more so. Time Out tip Make the most of Kioku’s formidable sake collection and the bar’s in-house sake sommelier to explore the tipple. Discover how the vessel material affects each sake, get a taste of the many, many different styles and regional varieties – and find a new favourite.

Stepping into the atrium of The Conservatorium, it’s immediately obvious that this is a very special hotel indeed. Rich red brickwork meets sharp glass angles, heritage details fit snugly among silky modern luxury; from the fittings and furniture to the architecture, wherever you look something catches your eye. The Conservatorium’s sense of occasion is tied to the building’s history. Many of its cavernous halls date back to 1897, when it was built as a bank. In the 1980s it became a conservatoire, then it was reconfigured into a hotel by starchitect Piero Lissoni in the 2000s. It opened as a founding member of the luxurious Set Collection in 2011. The Conservatorium’s rooms, appropriately for a hotel inhabiting a building of many previous lives, vary massively – yet they share plenty of common ground. Whether one is in the basic ‘deluxe room’ or the three-floor, roof terrace-boasting ‘I Love Amsterdam’ suite, well-proportioned rooms boast plush beds, spacious bathrooms, bountiful storage and thoughtful, refined décor. My room was a ‘royal duplex suite’, with elegant double-height windows looking out onto the humming trams and cafés of Van Baerlestraat. The essentials – bed, space, storage, bathroom, toiletries – were all faultless. Little touches of Dutch-ness (decorative clogs, a Van Gogh coffee table book, Delftware ceramic plates) were unsubtle but still tasteful, restrained. Beyond the room, breakfast (served in the Lounge) was high-calibre and the staff were as helpful

What comes to mind when you think of a treehouse? Woodlice, splinters, cold – yes, probably all those things. But treehouses are also secluded and peaceful, dwellings a few feet up in the air that feel that bit away from the rabble below and closer to nature. And a treehouse, crucially, is all yours.  The treehouses of TreeDwellers in Cornbury, northeast Cotswolds, are treehouses in a spiritual sense. No, they aren’t up trees (nor do they even touch them), but they’re surrounded by them, sitting an impressive height above the forest floor. TreeDwellers takes the idea of a treehouse – as something special, private, embedded in nature – and turns it into a luxurious experience genuinely unlike anything, anywhere else. Pulling up to a TreeDwellers dwelling (a TreeDwelling?) has a supreme sense of occasion. This is the sort of architectural magnificence you thumb through in glossy mags, lustfully dreaming of one day giving it all up for. Handsomely curved tubes are perched atop stilts; inside is all sleek, clean wood and floor-to-ceiling windows, each and every convenience slotted in with impossible neatness. It’s all so stunning that you could easily be satisfied with the design and that alone, left gawping at it for days on end. But these treehouses aren’t just flashy façades: they’re comfortable and practical, too. You check-in with slick door-code entry, the heating is underfloor and toasty on your toes, everything you could possibly need is on a tablet (or on hand from delig

On the face of it, Portobello’s neat, proper Holy Carrot and Dalston’s fire-worshipping feast ACME Fire Cult share little common ground. ACME is roaring and showy, as much a swaggering religion as a restaurant; Carrot is prim as a perfume shop, soft clay surroundings fronting a menu that is plant-forward, ‘root to peel’ and sustainable.  But there’s a clear link between the two – namely Daniel Watkins. The ex-ACME founder is now executive chef at the first permanent home of Holy Carrot (previously known for its supper clubs and Knightsbridge residency), and brings his ‘fire and ferment’ ethos across the capital from one neighbourhood of cool to another.  More than just Holy Carrot’s first proper restaurant, it’s also a Watkins-helmed reboot – and it has plenty of his signature punch. From the off, the pre-starter ‘snacks’ offer a studied but unshowy sort of tastiness. Pillowy insides dramatically burst out of crisp ‘honey’ drenched Jerusalem artichokes; one couldn’t help but mop up the warming chilli ragu with ultralight koji bread. Two cold ‘smalls’ followed suit, both intricately flavoured: each mouthful of the smoked beetroot breathing freshness, each spoonful of the stracciatella with persimmon and bitter leaves with deftly measured amount of creamy tang and gentle crunch. This is innovation of a dependable, not reckless, sort Imprinted upon my memory the most, however, was one of Holy Carrot’s ‘larges’: the crispy celeriac with pickle butter. I know what you’re thinking

The Nobu brand, in a word? Dependable. Nobu Matsuhisa’s Japan-via-USA restaurant empire both draws celebrities and is a celebrity itself, but it’s best regarded for its high-quality dining: nearly 30 years after it opened, Nobu’s Park Lane spot remains one of London’s best places for sushi. These days Nobu isn’t just a restaurant chain but a hotel brand too, with two outposts in London. The Shoreditch one, which opened in 2017, was the first of these – not just London’s first Nobu hotel (since followed by Nobu Portman Square in Marylebone) but the first in all of Europe. The greatest compliment one can pay to this place is that the dependability of the Nobu name transfers seamlessly from restaurant to hotel. This is a sleek and comfortable choice, a beacon of minimalist taste in the midst of Shoreditch’s gaudy pick-me bars and tech-bro co-working spaces. Nobu as a chain is Nippon-by-’Murica, and its hotels are too – Japanese style meets American comfort and convenience. From the front Nobu Shoreditch resembles a Pacific battleship, from the side it’s a hillside Kyoto villa. And inside the hotel offers plenty of that same cultural middle ground: polished black wood, sleek furniture and a tea set in every room, but also huge plasma TVs, delightful staff and an in-house spa.  All aided, of course, by housing a Nobu restaurant, the chain’s third in London. You know exactly the deal here: a spoiled-rich clientele, sure, but also generous portions, attentive service (I did exceptio

If you plonked a point on a map denoting Stuttgart’s absolute centre, I’m fairly certain it’d be directly right on top of the EmiLu. Or it may as well be. Dead opposite the city’s Rathaus (town hall) and a few steps from Königstrasse (Stuttgart’s main shopping street), EmiLu is within easy walking distance of most city-centre sights. Just a couple of years old (it opened in 2022), EmiLu occupies an old mid-century city government building and gets its name by combining the names of its co-owner (Petra Luise Bräutigam) and her daughter (Emilia). A self-professed ‘design hotel’, it boasts 90 ‘unique and special’ rooms that range reasonably in price per night from €85 to €200 (£72 to £170). So, the good: EmiLu, with its focus on individual, tasteful design, is a handsome and neat establishment. The chic reception is kitted out with dark wooden furnishings, while the rooms are airy and uncluttered. Cuboid furniture and crisply-shaped décor work well with bare-material walls; an open shower-room (with a curtain) and a mini-bar cut into the corner wall fit the minimal, trendy vibe. In another positive, my room looked out over the atmospheric street below (with floor-to-ceiling windows and a balcony) but also boasted exceptional sound insulation – an entire crowd of football fans in the space outside were reduced to noiseless silhouettes. Elsewhere, EmiLu’s staff are delightful, the rooftop space is great for taking in Stuttgart’s skyline and the ‘fitness area’ is remarkably well-eq

Over the years, London has done a fabulous job of finding new uses for its many, many historically fascinating buildings. The Bankside Power Station is now the Tate Modern. Churchill’s Old War Office is a hotel and apartments. County Hall houses restaurants, an aquarium and That Shrek Thing. Another of those retrofits is the Great Scotland Yard Hotel, a Grade II-listed building which dates back to the 1820s and was once the Ministry of Defence’s old library. Sitting at an address best known for also housing the original headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the building has been a hotel for a while – though was spruced up a few years ago with a £75 million revamp.  Admittedly, the words ‘Scotland Yard’ do not exactly scream ‘mega-luxe five-star hotel stay’, but… maybe they could? This 151-room Hyatt is as deeply, thoroughly refined as hotels in this city get.  Each step of a stay at Great Scotland Yard is virtually faultless. The neat rooms are full of light, with floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies looking out over the turrets, towers and courtyards of the Palace of Whitehall. Full of modestly luxurious conveniences (like Chromecast TVs and fancy Japanese Toto loos), the rooms are also of a satisfyingly comfortable size: neither small and cluttered nor massive and awkwardly empty.  Beyond the rooms, Great Scotland Yard is far from a copy-paste Hyatt. Playing into the history of the building and address, the doors are slathered in a deep and polished police blue. The fo

If you’ve ever spent time in Leeds, you’ll know the Queens Hotel. Quite literally on top of (part of) the Yorkshire city’s train station, it’s an art deco concrete titan and inarguably the city’s most famous hotel. Dating back to the 1930s, the Queens was the first British hotel to have air con and ensuite bathrooms in every room, and over the years it’s welcomed the likes of Cary Grant and Nelson Mandela. While the Queens could easily rest on its historical prestige, in recent years it’s attempted to keep with the times and undergone a vast refurb. A whopping £16 million has been pumped into bringing the place back up to snuff, glamming it up with communal areas, a huge new dining venue and more rooms. How does all that sprucing up actually feel? In short, pretty damn good. The moment you step into the Queens’ lobby, with its endearingly gauche décor and genially raucous ambiance, you get a proper sense of occasion that feels appropriate for somewhere so stacked with history. The Queens might have been hauled into the 21st century, but it embraces its historical glamour – and the refurb certainly hasn’t sucked out any of its soul. The Queens is entirely decked out in stuff that harks back to the art deco 1930s – and what isn’t from the Queens’ original period (or directly linked to it, like the hallways’ historic photographs) is tastefully matched. The Queens balances modern polish and historical character in a caring, detailed sort of way, ensuring all additions – everythin

Few London hotels so boldly take inspiration from their surroundings as the Ampersand. Steps from Kensington’s Museums Quarter, this boutique riffs off the studies and research of nearby world-leading institutions like the Science Museum and Natural History Museum, combining it all with many of the bells and whistles of a luxury hotel. From ornithological wallpapers and artworks to complimentary galactically-themed macarons, everything at the Ampersand plays heavily into the hotel’s neighbours. Its ‘science’ afternoon tea spectacularly involves making your own lemonade (with wacky test tubes and all) plus dry-ice and space-themed treats. Sure, this sort of stuff will no doubt be naff to anyone wanting a frilly, snooty sort of posh hotel; but it also makes everything a bit more fun, much less stuffy, and a lot more memorable. Beyond that, lots of the rest is solid, occasionally a bit more. Rooms are decked out with nice stuff: vast, comfy beds, sizeable TVs, Malin + Goetz toiletries, a standalone bath (with full view of the telly), nifty, sleek desk and huge, glitzy headboard. You’d be hard-pressed to criticise the style or function of any individual pieces within the Ampersand’s rooms, while the first three floors of Victorian ceilings are spacious and fresh.  The staff are as helpful as you’d want them to be, everything is delightfully clean, there’s a gym and two restos (one, Apero, is Mediterranean-themed). There’s also a general sense of calm. Compared to the shoulder-to-

A city’s green spaces can have many functions. They’re a metropolis’s lungs, an escape from the noise and stress of urban life, a garden for those not lucky enough to have one – in other words, they’re something to be treasured. The UK is blessed with several very green cities indeed, and that’s been confirmed once again by Time Out’s latest ranking of the world’s best cities for green spaces and access to nature. The 20-strong list, which was the result of surveys of thousands of city-dwellers around the world, featured two especially leafy UK cities. One of those two cities was London, which is so green it’s technically a forest. The capital placed best in Britain in the top 20, coming joint-third. A remarkable 87 percent of Londoners rated their city’s greenery and access to nature as either ‘good’ or ‘amazing’. The other UK city to make the list was Edinburgh – and the Scottish capital wasn’t far behind London in the ranking. Auld Reekie placed joint fifth (with Austin and Melbourne), with 86 percent of Dunediner survey respondents having positive things to say about Edinburgh’s green spaces. And there’s no denying that Edinburgh is a leafy place. The gloriously green likes of Holyrood Park, Arthur’s Seat, Carlton Hill, Princes Street Gardens, The Meadows, The Royal Botanic Garden and much more are all within the city limits, while beaches like Portobello and Silverknowes are within easy reach. Photograph: Shutterstock Beyond the city itself, more expansive green spaces

Last week Gorillaz announced plans for a huge exhibition at the Copper Box Arena in east London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Titled ‘House of Kong’, the exhibition will celebrate 25 years of Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s virtual band, running from August 8 to September 3.  All of which was exciting enough news for many Gorillaz fans – but this week Albarn and Hewlett have announced an exciting update. The closing days of the ‘House of Kong’ exhibition will see the band play a series of four one-off gigs, with each show dedicated to playing one of Gorillaz’ classic early records in full. Set to be played are 2001’s Gorillaz, 2005’s Demon Days and 2010’s Plastic Beach, while the fourth gig is tantalisingly billed as a ‘Mystery Show’. This’ll mark the first time that Gorillaz has ever been played in full, while it’ll be the first time that Demon Days and Plastic Beach have been fully played live since their release. Each gig will also recreate the album tours’ original visuals. Keen to catch a one-off show from 2-D, Murdoc, Noodle and Russel Hobbs in London this summer? Here’s everything you need to know about the band’s Copper Box residency, from the dates and when general sale goes live to pricing. When are Gorillaz playing London in 2025? While the ‘House of Kong’ exhibition stretches for nearly an entire month, the gigs all take place between August 29 and September 3. Full list of Gorillaz tour dates at London’s Copper Box Arena  Here are the dates Gorillaz will be in

Percy Pig stans and Colin the Caterpillar devotees, time to get excited. The British icons could be coming to a town near you very soon, as M&S is opening a dozen new stores across the country.  Way back at the start of 2023, Marks and Sparks announced that it would be investing £480 million into a string of ‘bigger and better’ shops over 2023 and 2024. Last year M&S opened 13 new stores across the UK, and this week the retailer has revealed that it plans to open more outposts on former Homebase sites.  Marks and Sparks’ most recent announcement included two 18,000 square foot food halls in Abingdon and Cannock for 2025, and more huge outposts in 2026 – including its biggest-ever standalone food hall in Godalming.  Could your local area be getting a brand-new M&S? Here’s everything we know so far. Where is M&S opening new stores? Here are the latest confirmed locations for M&S food halls, all of which are taking over buildings which were previously Homebase shops – along with the size and estimated opening date of each.  Abingdon, 18,000 sq foot, late 2025 Cannock, 18,000 sq foot, late 2025 Farnham, 18,000 sq foot food hall expected to open in spring 2026 Godalming, 22,000 sq foot food hall expected to open in summer 2026 – the largest standalone Food store to date Northampton, 16,000 sq foot food hall expected to open in summer 2026 All the above stores are subject to planning permission. Previously M&S announced new food hall locations for London. Here are those.  Clapha

London is a book-lover’s paradise. Any one city would be blessed with such bookish treasures as Daunt Books Marylebone, the South Bank Book Market and Europe’s biggest bookstore – but London has all those and much, much more. There’s a reason Time Out’s list of the capital’s top bookshops stretches all the way to 45 (and could go even further). If you’re looking for even more places to hunker down with a hardback, here’s just the thing. Posh travel magazine Condé Nast Traveller has just published its list of London’s top bookshops ‘to get lost in’, selecting 15 stores specialising in everything from travel and cookery to amplifying LGBTQ+ voices. Of those 15 bookshops, 10 can be found in our Time Out list (Daunt Marylebone, Libreria, Kirkdale Bookshop, Books for Cooks, Stanfords, Gay’s the World, Newham Bookshop, Brick Lane Books, The Broadway Bookshop and Word on the Water). So, what of the other five?  Photograph: James Manning for Time Out Burley Fisher in Haggerston got a nod for being the ‘ultimate community bookshop’, Soho’s The Second Shelf was deemed ‘a shrine to women writers and the rare-book trade’ and diversity-focused children’s bookshop Round Table Books in Brixton made the cut, too. Rounding out the five was Pages of Hackney – ‘a firm favourite among authors’ – and West End Lane Books, ‘a place with as much heart as history’. Here is Condé Nast Traveller’s full list of the top 15 bookshops in London right now  The 15 best bookshops in London Daunt Books Mary

Last week the Guardian published a list of the happiest places to live in the UK right now. Taking into account factors like access to green spaces and culture, a sense of community and the availability of public services, the newspaper’s ranking intended to reveal Britain’s most joyous roads, villages, towns and cities in 2025. In the overall list – which you can find out more about here – a total of five places in London made the cut. The Ridgeway (Enfield), Surbiton North, Clapham Junction, Bounds Green and Bromley were the only areas of the capital to feature. But that wasn’t all. Several places near – but not in – London featured in the Guardian’s wider list. These are places within easy reach of the city, where you get to enjoy the best of London life without some of the less-good bits. So what are these two cheery places within easy distance of the capital? Let’s dive into it.  Lewes  Lewes is just an hour by train from London Victoria, and the Guardian praised the East Sussex town for its food options (like its Friday Food Market), cultural attractions (such as Glyndebourne opera house and the legendary annual Bonfire Night traditions) and access to nature. Often named among the nation’s prettiest towns, Lewes is inside South Downs National Park and just a short drive from the seaside. Gastronomy, culture and nature aside, the Guardian also picked out Lewes’ range of vintage, boutique and outdoors shops as making the place more joyful.  RECOMMENDED: The best things to

After weeks of legal uncertainty, this year’s day festivals in Brockwell Park are officially going ahead. Following Wide Awake on Friday (May 23) and Field Day on Saturday (May 24), next up in the south London park is Cross the Tracks. On Sunday (May 25) Cross the Tracks is set to deliver its usual resplendent, groove-tastic display of soul, funk and jazz. This year’s lineup is headed up by Londoners Michael Kiwanuka and Ezra Collective.   Heading to Cross the Tracks this weekend? Here’s your ultimate guide to the 2025 event, from the full set times and remaining ticket availability to the weather forecast. RECOMMENDED: The best music festivals in London. When and where is Cross the Tracks 2025?  Cross the Tracks is taking place at south London’s Brockwell Park (SE24 9BJ) on Sunday May 25 2025. Timings Doors open at midday, and last entry is 8pm. Music curfew is 10.30pm.  What’s the full Cross the Tracks 2025 lineup and set times? Here’s exactly who’s playing at Cross the Tracks 2025 on what stage, and when. Mainline 30pm-1pm – LULU. 30pm-2pm – JGRREY 20pm-3.15pm – Lynda Dawn 45pm-4.45pm – Cymande 15pm-6.15pm – Jordan Rakei 05pm-8.15pm – Ezra Collective 9pm-10.30pm – Michael Kiwanuka  Terminal 30pm-1pm – Ellie Harris 30pm-3pm – Thee Sinseers & The Altons 30pm-4.20pm – Skinshape 50pm-5.40pm – Nala Sinephro 10pm-7pm – Bashy 40pm-8.30pm – Baby Rose 9pm-10pm – Free Nationals D-Railed 30pm-1pm – Summer Banton 20pm-1.50pm – Jessy Blakemore 15pm-2.45pm – Nia Smith 10pm-3.40pm

London’s open air summer festival season is set to make its big return today. Yep, today! Over the late May bank holiday weekend Brockwell Park is set to host four day festivals, with Wide Awake up first. Wide Awake bills itself as London’s leading festival for alternative music, and its 2025 lineup is as broad and enticing as ever. Headed up by Belfast rap trio Kneecap, also on the bill at Brockwell are the likes of Time Out cover star CMAT, Mercury Prize-winning indie band English Teacher and riotous dance-punks Fat Dog.  Over the bank holiday weekend, Wide Awake is set to be followed by Field Day (on May 24), Cross The Tracks (May 25) and City Splash (May 26). Other Brockwell Live events take place next week, like Brockwell Bounce (May 28) and Mighty Hoopla (May 31 and June 1), while the Lambeth Country Show will be on June 7-8.  Excited for this year’s indie extravaganza in south London? Here’s what you need to know about Wide Awake 2025, from the full lineup and set times to the weather forecast and afterparties. RECOMMENDED: The best music festivals in London. When and where is Wide Awake? This year’s Wide Awake will be at Brockwell Park (SE24 9BJ) in south London on Friday May 23 2025. Timings Doors open at midday, though your entry slot may be dictated by the ticket you’ve bought. If you have an early entry ticket and arrive late, you’ll be charged the difference of a full price ticket.  Last entry is 8pm, and the music curfew is 10.30pm. What’s the full Wide Awake 20

The second bank holiday of May is upon us, and you know what that means – it’s the start of proper festival season in London. The long weekend is set to see a bunch of festivals take place across the capital, and one of them is Gala in Peckham Rye. The 2025 edition of Gala will be as much of a feast of dance music as the fest always is. The likes of Floating Points, Avalon Emerson and Caribou will play Gala’s star-DJ-studded lineup between Friday and Sunday. This year marks 10 years of Gala, and it will mark the occasion with, among other things, a brand-new stage by the name of Floating Points’ Sunflower Sound System. Heading down to Peckham for a dance and a party over the coming days? Here’s everything you need to know about Gala 2025, from timings and the full lineup to the weather.  RECOMMENDED: The best music festivals in London. When and where is Gala? Gala is in Peckham Rye Park across three days: Friday May 23, Saturday May 24 and Sunday May 25. Timings  Here’s when Gala will open and close on each day. Friday 2pm-10.30pm Saturday 11.30am-10.30pm Sunday 11.30am-10.30pm Last entry for general entry tickets on Friday is 6pm, and 5pm on Saturday and Sunday. After work ticketholders on Friday need to arrive between 5.30pm and 7.30pm. What’s the full Gala 2025 lineup and set times? Friday May 23  JOY 2pm-3.30pm – Haseeb Iqbal 30pm-5pm – Errol 5pm-6.30pm – Tama Sumo & Lakuti 30pm-8.30pm – Moodymann 30pm-10.30pm – Floating Points Patio 2pm-3.30pm – Tash LC 30pm-5pm – K

The UK is full of beautiful old buildings, but we don’t take good care of all of them. For every pristinely restored, carefully and lovingly maintained structure is another facing serious threats ranging from property developers to neglect. It’s that latter kind of place that is highlighted by the Victorian Society in its annual ‘top 10 endangered buildings’ list. The Victorian Society is a charity dedicated to preserving and promoting interest in Victorian and Edwardian buildings in England and Wales, and every year it publishes a list of structures facing neglect, disuse, disrepair and threats from developers.  Today (May 22) the Victorian Society has unveiled the 2025 edition of its endangered buildings list. It was launched by the charity’s president Griff Rhys Jones, who said that the structures ‘demonstrate the range of imagination and commitment that Victorian and Edwardian architects, builders and designers brought to their work’.  He added: ‘Some are the fantasies of rich men, some the pious hopes of spiritual people, some monuments to the demotic gaiety of newly prosperous times for ordinary working people.  ‘All are monuments to their makers. All have glorious qualities, character and important past stories to tell and all are in a sad state of neglect.’  The aim of the Victorian Society’s endangered list is to put these buildings in the spotlight, thereby aiding efforts to preserve and restore them. So, what’s on the list this year? Here’s the lowdown.  Bosworth P

Borough Market is one of London’s most popular food markets, attracting tens of millions of visitors every year. It’s the sort of place you’d assume is wholly pedestrianised, but it actually isn’t. Bedale Street runs through the market between Borough High Street and Cathedral Street, and up to now it’s been open to traffic – and apparently responsible for 800 ‘near miss’ incidents between pedestrians and drivers every week.  In an attempt to make Borough Market safer for pedestrians and cut down on those near misses, Southwark Council has revealed plans to reduce vehicle access to Bedale Street in peak hours. The council is installing a barrier at the junction of Bedale Street and Borough High Street, with the aim of slashing traffic when the market is busiest.  The barrier will close off Bedale Street to through traffic between 10am and 5pm on weekdays and 9am and 5pm at weekends, with only designated vehicles like residents’ private vehicles, traders’ delivery vans and emergency services allowed. It’ll be installed next month and managed by staff. Councillor James McAsh, cabinet member for clean air, streets and waste, said of the scheme: ‘Borough Market is one of Southwark’s most visited destinations and we’re working hard with partners to ensure it remains a safe place for residents, visitors, and traders. ‘Bedale Street sees huge numbers of pedestrians, and too often they’re competing for space with vehicles. This temporary barrier will protect people walking, reduce tr

Jason Derulo toured the UK as recently as last year, when his Nu King world tour saw the US singer stop by British cities like London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow. And soon he’ll be back for more. Derulo has just announced that his The Last Dance tour will return to British shores next year. The singer best known for songs like ‘Whatcha Say’, ‘In My Head’ and ‘Ridin’ Solo’ will be back at the start of 2026, and once again he’ll be playing some of the UK’s biggest indoor arenas. So far Derulo has confirmed eight UK dates on The Last Dance tour.  Keen to catch Jason Derulo live in the UK next year? Here’s what you need to know, from ticket sale dates to how much they could cost.  When is Jason Derulo playing the UK in 2026? Derulo’s UK tour is at the start of 2026, kicking off on January 29 and ending on February 7. Full list of UK tour dates Jason has lined up eight shows at arenas up and down Britain. Here’s the full list of dates.  Thu January 29 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro Fri January 30 – Birmingham, Utilita Arena Sat January 31 – London, The O2 Arena Mon February 2 – Cardiff, Utilita Arena Tue February 3 – Brighton, Brighton Centre Thu February 5 – Bournemouth, IC Fri February 6, Leeds, First Direct Arena Sat February 7, Manchester, Co-op Live When do Jason Derulo tickets go on sale?  General sale will go live at 9am on Friday May 23. You’ll be able to buy on Ticketmaster here. Is there a presale? There are various presales taking place Wednesday May 21 at 9am – presal

Thanks to the city’s ever-growing network of purpose-built cycle lanes, London has become a much safer, friendlier place for cyclists in recent years. And soon one of the capital’s most famous roads will get easier to use for two-wheeled Londoners, as Shaftesbury Avenue will get new segregated cycle lanes. Plans to make the famously theatre-lined street safer for cyclists were revealed last October, with Camden Council proposing 550 metres of bike lanes between St Giles High Street and Cambridge Circus. As of last week, the plans have been officially approved. Aside from the cycle lanes, which will be on both sides of Shaftesbury Avenue, the scheme also includes plans to make the area greener and more pedestrian-friendly. Nineteen parking spaces will be removed and both Phoenix Street and the top of St Giles Passage will be closed off to motor vehicles. Pavements will be widened and pedestrian crossings will be upgraded, while three cycle hangars will be installed. ‘Rain gardens’ will also be put in on the south side of the avenue, with the purpose of soaking up rainfall and increasing local biodiversity. The council is yet to confirm when construction will begin on the cycle lane, so watch this space for updates. Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel. Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.