Best Things to do in London in January

Looking for the best things to do in London in January? We’ve got you covered

You’re in plenty of time to book tickets to the best events in London, from theatre shows to art exhibitions, and there are always pop-ups opening across the city, but our handy guide features the best of what’s on in London in January so you won’t miss a thing.

After all the excess of the festive season, January can feel like a slog but the cold temps and empty bank accounts don’t have to get you down, especially as you can still squeeze in some ice skating and light trails at the start of 2025. You’ve also got time to check out the Shakespearean-themed installations at Shoreditch’s newest cultural destination The Stage. If you’re embarking on a health kick by ditching the booze and the animal products, it doesn’t have to be boring with these 0% drinks and vegan restaurants. And with cheap eats and great value set menus, plus a ton of great free things to do in the city, you can still go out even if you’re on a budget. 


light installation in canary wharf

1. Brighten Up Your Evenings at Winter Lights Festival

The long January nights are being put to good use in Canary Wharf with the return of the Winter Lights Festival. For twelve nights, a host of luminous installations by internationally-renowned artists scattered across the neighbourhood will be making the darkness a bit easier to bear. The ninth edition of the festival will feature eleven temporary artworks, including a pulsing stack of bathtubs by Benedikt Tolar; Evanescent Droplets, a fountain transformed into a sparkling pool; a larger-than-life Portal; and an illuminated bird in flight created by Luminariste. These will be displayed alongside Canary Wharf’s permanent illuminated artworks, like Camille Walala’s tunnel, the red circular structure around the Cubitt Steps Bridge, and Julius Popp’s changing cascade of words.

From Tues 21st January 2025, 5pm – 10pm
Canary Wharf, London, E14
canarywharf.com


overhead shot of dishes on a table

2. Check out the New Resident at The Compton Arms

With rustic Italian kitchen Tiella leaving the pub in December, The Compton Arms’ kitchen will be welcoming a new resident in the new year. Rake, run by Jay Claus, Syrus Pickhaver and Peter Ward (who have worked at the likes of Quo Vadis, Brat and Acme Fire Cult), is making the move to Islington from The Gun in Hackney. Rake is all about classic British cookery with a focus on whole animal butchery and sustainable Cornish fish. The menu will change seasonally but you can expect dishes like oysters Kilpatrick with lardo, spiced tomato, horseradish and Worcestershire sauce; braised squid, ale and potato pie; steamed crab claw with laverbread and bacon bearnaise; salsify and Scotch broth; beef ribeye with onion rings; and treacle tart with clotted cream.

From Thurs 9th January 2025
4 Compton Avenue, London N1 2XD
@rakelondon


women shopping at a flea market

3. Go Bargain Hunting at the Giant London Flea

The Big London Flea is back in town this winter and this time it’s not just big, but giant. The supersized market, taking over a multi-storey car park in the Olympic Park this January, is the largest indoor flea market in the city. Over 150 vintage traders will be there, selling everything from furniture, records, homeware, and lighting to prints, maps, clothing, artworks and one-of-a-kind finds. It’s just £2 entry, with on-site cafes and a sound system to keep you going in between all that bargain hunting.

Sun 5th January 2025, 10am – 5pm
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Multi-Storey Car Park, London E15 2GZ.
@biglondonflea


curling scoreboard

4. Try Your Hand at Winter Sports at the Curling Emporium

Walthamstow’s Big Penny Social is debuting a curling experience this winter, so grab your mates, grab some stones and slide your way to winter sports glory. Stay warm in between games by hitting the bar for spiced mulled wine and boozy hot chocolates.

Until Fri 31st January 2025
1 Priestley Way,London, E17 6AL
bigpennysocial.co.uk


man and a woman smoking meat

5. Feast on Fire-Cooked Dishes at Exale Tap

Enjoy a winter of fire-cooked food and BBQ at Exale Tap as the Walthamstow taproom plays host to Whole Beast, known for its big, bold cooking. The menu will feature dishes like the award-winning aged cheeseburger, pig’s head al pastor sausage tacos with smoked pineapple hot sauce, hash browns with trotter & smoked eel parsley liquor, pickled eggs in fermented red chilli sauce, and snakebite ice cream.

January 2025
Uplands Business Park, Blackhorse Lane, London E17 5QJ
exale.uk


painting of Louis VXI

6. Learn About the Role of Science at Versailles at the Science Museum

The Science Museum is exploring how the Palace of Versailles, famous for its architecture and history, was also a major site of scientific thinking with the Versailles: Science and Splendour exhibition. A range of objects, including timepieces, microscopes, sculptures, maps and Louis XV’s rhinoceros (which will be on display in the UK for the first time), will showcase the role science played at the palace in the 17th and 18th centuries, the figures associated with the pursuit of knowledge, and how science was used as a tool of power.

January 2025
Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2DD
sciencemuseum.org.uk


Charity Super.Mkt

7. Shop Pre-Loved Fashion at the Charity Super.Mkt

After popping up at Fenwick’s earlier in 2024, pre-loved fashion concept store Charity Super.Mkt (which started life as a section at the Classic Car Boot Sale) is coming back to the capital for another pop-up inside Livat Hammersmith. The multi-charity store, which features charity fashion from the likes of British Heart Foundation, Havens Hospice, Shelter and Traid, will have plenty of gifting opportunities and there might even be some designer labels on the rails too. Since it started Charity Super.Mkt has raised over 2.9 million for charity and saved 102 tonnes of clothes from going to landfill, so swing by the pop-up and help them continue the good work.

Until Mon 6th January 2025
King Street, Hammersmith, London W6 9HW
charitysupermkt.com


actors in Kyoto

8. See the West End Transfer of Kyoto

After a world premiere in Stratford-upon-Avon, the RSC’s production of Kyoto is transferring to @sohoplace. The political thriller is set during the historic 1997 Kyoto climate summit amidst the tense negotiations that led to the world’s first legally bindings emissions targets. Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin are directing, with many of the original cast, including Tony award-nominated Stephen Kunken (playing American oil lobbyist Don Pearlman), returning for the London run.

From Thurs 9th January 2025
4 Soho Place, London, W1D 3BG
sohoplace.org


James Cochran outside a pub

9. Eat at James Cochran’s New Pub

James Cochran only closed his restaurant 12:51 a few months ago but he’s already got another project in the works, and it sees him return to Islington. The Brave is opening on Essex Road (taking over The Engle Field site) and it’s being billed as a “fresh take on the British pub“. Cochran will be showcasing his Scottish-Caribbean heritage and his love of produce from the British isles, with dishes like jerk spiced scotch egg with scotch bonnet jam; Guinness and cheese toastie with bread and butter pickles; buttermilk fried chicken with hot honey glaze; beef fat hash brown with aged beef tartar, confit egg yolk and crispy seaweed; roast spiced Orkney scallop with tikka masala sauce, roe and coconut; coal roasted Harrietsham leeks with confit onion and truffle hollandaise; and chocolate mousse with bay leaf ice cream and Armagnac prunes.

January 2025
340-342 Essex Road, London N1 3PB
@thebravelondon


man in a desert

10. Explore Pre-Internet Digital Art at Tate Modern

Remember the world pre-internet? That’s what Tate Modern is taking us back in time with its blockbuster exhibition Electric Dreams: Art and Technology Before the Internet. The show will showcase how artists used machines and algorithms to make art between the 1950s and the early 1990s, engaging with mathematical principles, early digital tech and new computing systems to produce optical, kinetic and sensory artworks. By displaying pieces made with vintage technology, the exhibition also provides a look back at how artists imagined the visual language of the future.

January 2025
Bankside, London SE1 9TG
tate.org.uk

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