The best things to do in London this October

Autumn has officially arrived in London. With that, an exciting roster of new openings and immersive events are happening across the city to keep us entertained while the southern hemisphere laps up the sunshine. There’s a stellar line-up of exhibitions including Tim Burton’s takeover at the Design Museum, a collection of Van Gogh’s greatest works on display at The National Gallery, plus Frieze London’s return to Regent’s Park with its biggest edition to date. Food and drink highlights include Michelin-starred chef Santiago Lastra’s new opening on Heddon Street in Mayfair, the launch of a cult French smashburger restaurant in Soho, and London Cocktail Week. Here’s our pick of everything that’s hot in London this October.

Seasonal things to do in London

Black History Month

When: 1 – 31 October

A host of events are happening in London this month to celebrate Black History Month. In Lambeth, an open mic poetry and spoken word event is taking place at Upper Norwood Library, while a Black Culture Market in neighbouring Brixton will showcase jewellery, art, food and fashion from African and Caribbean retailers. There’s a couple of walking tours worth checking out including a deep-dive of the slave trade through the City of London’s storied streets and a Black history walk through South London’s Tooting. Don’t miss Southbank Centre’s London Literature Festival featuring performances from Rizzle Kicks’ Jordan Stephens, US-based poet Danez Smith and British rapper Ghetts.

Cultural happenings in London

Frieze London

Location: The Regent’s Park, London, NW1 4NR
When: 9-13 October
Price: From 46 GBP 

Global art fair Frieze London lands in Regent’s Park this month with a five-day spectacle displaying contemporary art from the world’s finest galleries, including trailblazers Hauser & Wirth and Sprüth Magers, as well as London’s White Cube, Lisson Gallery and Stephen Friedman Gallery. The Frieze sculpture garden, open to the public in the English Gardens, has been curated by Fatoş Üstek for the second year in a row and can be viewed until the end of the month. Stepping inside the massive Frieze tent, visitors will find ‘artist-to-artist’ curation, where a selection of artwork from emerging artists has been handpicked by established artists, as well as pieces exploring this year’s theme of ‘smoke’. There’s an abundance of talks and events happening at top hotels and restaurants across the city such as Broadwick Soho, Sessions Arts Club and The Standard – discover full details at the website.

BFI London Film Festival

Location: Various London-based locations
When: 9-20 October 
Price: Various

Steve McQueen’s highly anticipated Blitz, starring Stephen Graham and Paul Weller, is kicking off 2024’s BFI London FIlm Festival on 9 October. The prestigious festival sees London’s most iconic cinemas screening exciting premieres including Angelina Jolie-starring in Maria at Royal Festival Hall and John Crowley’s rom-com We Live in Time with Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield at Curzon Mayfair. While tickets for big-name debuts, gripping shorts and screen talks are selling out fast, there are plenty of free immersive experiences worth bookmarking. Bargehouse at Oxo Tower Wharf is displaying a captivating installation on the perception of time and space, and BFI IMAX is presenting a multi-screen video and soundscape exploring the planet’s ecosystems.

Food and drink happenings in London

Marceline, Canary Wharf

Location: 5 Water Street, London, E14 5GX
Price: Small plates from 10 GBP; large plates from 12 GBP 

New all-day brasserie Marceline is flipping Canary Wharf’s all-work-no-play reputation on its head. Set on a floating pontoon in the new Wood Wharf neighbourhood, Marceline combines the convivial vibe of a traditional Parisian brasserie with the playful interiors of New York’s ritzy cafes; inside, brass mirrors and leather banquettes meet striking light fixtures, which are complemented by natural light spilling in from the floor-to-ceiling windows. Robert Aikens (formerly of NYC staple Pastis) steers the menu, showcasing traditional French fare with a contemporary edge. The beetroot with goats cheese and hazelnut on a bed of lambs lettuce is the place to start, while a flavoursome onion soup is best enjoyed with a basket of warm bread. It goes without saying that the streak frites is essential for the main course, and the crème caramel perfectly rounds off the meal.

Fonda, Mayfair 

Location: 12 Heddon Street, London, W1B 4BZ
Price: Small plates from 9 GBP; large plates from 23 GBP 

Mexican chef Santiago Lastra (behind Michelin-starred KOL) is launching a new restaurant on Heddon Street in Mayfair this month. At Fonda, Lastra celebrates his favourite street food, market staples and homemade dishes from his hometown in Cuernavaca. On the menu, slow-cooked short rib, confit pork shoulder and charred monkfish are all served with fresh corn tortillas and smoked or spicy dressings, while a selection of dishes cooked on a griddle includes aged ribeye and beer-battered Cornish cod. There’s a strong dessert offering such as chocolate sorbet and a blackcurrant and meco chilli cheesecake. As for the interiors, custom tableware, hand-dyed textiles and a rotation of artwork championing Mexican craftsmanship bring the space to life.

London Cocktail Week

When: 3 – 13 October
Price: From 20 GBP 

Hundreds of bars and restaurants across the capital are getting involved in London Cocktail Week this month, serving their signature cocktails at just 8 GBP to all customers with the London Cocktail Week wristband, and unveiling the odd special edition for the occasion. For a lively crowd, head to Nightjar in Shoreditch or independent cocktail bar Doña in Stoke Newington. If it’s a slick setting you’re after, Seed Library at One Hundred Shoreditch delivers, as does Stereo in Covent Garden. When it comes to taste testing cocktails with brilliant food, Michelin-starred Luca in Clerkenwell sets the bar for its modern Italian food – think parmesan fries, chilli-topped burrata and an excellent sausage ragu. Elsewhere, Alba Bar in Soho is known for its playful cocktails including the imigrante blend – a concoction of five different types of vermouth in tonic water – and sharing plates like crispy squid and roasted cauliflower.

Sesta, Dalston

Location: 52 Wilton Way, London, E8 1BS
Price: Small plates from 10 GBP; large plates from 18 GBP 

New neighbourhood wine bar and restaurant Sesta has opened on the same site of as Dalston institution Pidgin, which shut its doors in August. Led by former Pidgin team members Drew Snaith and Hannah Kowalski, Sesta’s menu champions British ingredients and European classics alongside flame-cooked dishes inspired by Snaith’s travels with his father in Southeast Asia. Seasonally changing plates might include beer bread with parsley pesto butter, miso and pumpkin seed crackers, slow-grilled stuffed duck and a blackberry ripple with lime leaf ice cream. As for the bottle list, Kowalski has curated a selection of dynamic wines that spotlight small producers with a keen focus on French flavours. The snug 26-cover space is finished with dark wood furnishings and walls are decorated with work by local artists.

Wildflowers, Belgravia

Location: 57 Pimlico Road, London, SW1W 8NE
Price: TBC

Wildflowers is a new Mediterranean restaurant in Belgravia’s forward-thinking design hub Newson’s Yard from chef Aaron Potter and interior stylist Laura Hart. The intimate 54-cover restaurant is laid out with vintage furnishings and muted pastel colours, while an in-house deli supplies produce for the seasonal menus and serves daily pastries, breads and sandwiches to go. You might find fresh sheep’s ricotta with grilled courgettes, burnt honey and fig leaf olive oil, or a grilled red mullet with puttanesca butter on the menu during your visit – here’s hoping that the lemon crema catalana makes a permanent fixture on the dessert list. Upstairs, a stylish wine bar delivers cocktails inspired by the Med such as a melon negroni and Amalfi spritz, alongside European wines including Wildflowers’ own on tap. There’s a spacious outdoor terrace for dining alfresco in sunny weather, too.

Junk, Soho

Location: 49 Old Compton Street, London, W1D 6HL
Price: Burgers from 10.90 GBP; sides from 3.90 GBP 

Cult French smashburger restaurant Junk has crossed the Channel to open its first UK outpost in the heart of Soho. In contrast to its bustling Compton Street location, everything here is calm and simple – from the pared-back interiors courtesy of interior designer Will McGarth to the concise menu that counts just seven burgers and a couple of sides. Classic burgers appear alongside a crispy veggie burger and a double truffle cheeseburger, and are all sized from small to extra extra large. We recommend opting for somewhere in the middle with a large burger: – three smash burgers layered with American cheese and covered in a secret signature Junk sauce in a steamed brioche bun. Get stuck in and order the panko chicken bites and fries on the side, and be sure to round it all off with a caramel pecan cookie. Still hungry? Check out our guide to Soho’s best restaurants.

The best exhibitions in London

The World of Tim Burton at the Design Museum

Location: 224-238 Kensington High Street, London, W8 6AG
When: Until 21 April 2025
Price: From 19.69 GBP 

The Design Museum is presenting a six-month exhibition highlighting the work of boundary-breaking director Tim Burton this winter. The exhibit will chart Burton’s magnificent 50-year career with objects, sketches, props, costumes and set designs from his early childhood to his most recent film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024). Marking the finale of the exhibition’s decade-long world tour – which has visited 14 major cities including Paris, Barcelona and Tokyo – the show’s narrative has been reimagined specially for London. Visitors will find iconic costumes such as Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman suit from Batman Returns (1992) and the striped dress worn by Christina Ricci in Sleepy Hollow (1990), as well as a detailed insight into Burton’s creative process for some of the biggest films of the past five decades, including Edward Scissorhands (1990) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005).

Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers at The National Gallery

Location: Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 5DN
When: 14 September 2024 – 19 January 2025
Price: From 24 GBP 

The National Gallery is marking its bicentenary by staging a major exhibition dedicated to the work of Vincent Van Gogh, featuring more than 50 works and loans from museums and private collections around the world. Standout pieces include Van Gogh’s The Starry Night (1889), borrowed from Musée d’Orsay in Paris, and The Yellow House (1888), on loan from Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, as well as paintings from the famous Sunflowers series, from The National Gallery’s collection. The four-month exhibition explores Van Gogh’s time in Arles and Saint-Rémy in the south of France, and traces his creative process and sources of inspiration.

Michael Craig-Martin at Royal Academy of Arts

Location: Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BD
When: 21 September – 10 December
Price: From 22 GBP 

The Royal Academy has been transformed into a riot of colour as Irish conceptual artist Michael Craig-Martin showcases 120 of his works in a retrospective of his entire 60-year career. Known for combining elements of pop, minimalism and contemporary art, his work is celebrated for its bold use of colour. The exhibition is presented chronologically and includes sculpture, installation, painting and drawing. Don’t miss Craig-Martin’s famous An Oak Tree installation from 1973 and his Eye of the Storm mural from 2003, which are noted as trailblazing conceptual art. The exhibition concludes with previously unseen works, including an immersive digital experience and a series of sculptures spilling onto the outdoor courtyard.

Turner Prize 2024 at Tate Britain 

Location: Millbank, London, SW1P 4RG
When: 25 September 2024 – 16 February 2025
Price: From 14 GBP 

Following its 2023 takeover of Eastbourne’s Towner Gallery, the Turner Prize has returned to Tate Britain for its 40th edition. This year’s shortlisted artists are Filipino artist Pio Abad, British artist Claudette Johnson, Scottish sculptor Jasleen Kaur, and Romani-British embroiderer and painter Delaine Le Bas. Their works collectively cover themes of identity, community and memory, explored across the mediums of sculpture, portraiture and screen printing. The Turner Prize was founded in the 1980s by art collective Patrons of New Art and is recognised worldwide, having spotlighted the likes of Grayson Perry, Steve McQueen, Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin. The winning artist will receive 25,000 GBP and will be announced in early December by an independent panel of judges made up of curators, critics and writers.

Fragile Beauty: Photography from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection at V&A

Location: Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL
When: Until 5 January 2025
Price: From 22 GBP 

Sir Elton John and David Furnish have taken over the V&A with an eight-month exhibition displaying more than 300 rare prints from their remarkable photography collection. The show is organised by theme, covering fashion, celebrity and the male body, and includes works from over 140 leading photographers including Zanele Muholi, Cindy Sherman and William Eggleston. The exhibition marks 30 years of collecting for the duo and showcases images from the 1950s to the present day, covering key moments in history such as the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s to AIDS activism in the 1980s. Highlights include portraits of Marilyn Monroe, and US jazz artists Miles Davis and Chet Baker, plus striking self-portraits from Gillian Wearing and Robert Mapplethorpe.

Continue your cultural tour of London with our insider guide to the city’s greatest galleries and museums.