New Things To Do In London

You know that feeling when you’ve done the London Eye so many times you could narrate the safety announcement in your sleep? Yeah, me too. The good news is that the city has been quietly cooking up some new tricks, and they’re less “queue for three hours” and more “actually fun.” Let’s talk about the fresh things that’ll make you feel like a local who just discovered a secret level in a video game.

Drink coffee on a hidden rooftop? Yes, please.

Remember that awkward moment when you’re holding a takeaway coffee and it’s raining sideways? The new rooftop gardens at places like Sushi Samba and the Sky Garden’s lesser-known cousin, Fenchurch Street’s 12th-floor terrace, have solved this. You can now sip an overpriced flat white while pretending you’re in a Wes Anderson movie. I tried it last week, and I spent a solid ten minutes watching a pigeon trying to steal a croissant—it was more dramatic than most Netflix shows.

Pedal-powered pub crawls are a thing now.

If you’ve ever thought, “I wish I could drink beer, exercise, and annoy tourists all at once,” you’re in luck. London’s new pedal-powered party boats are basically a bike-meets-barge nightmare for everyone else, but a hilarious time for you. I joined one near Camden Lock, and we had to pedal uphill—yes, uphill on a canal—while the guide yelled “PEDAL HARDER” like a pirate with a vendetta. My legs hurt for two days, but I also got to high-five a swan, so worth it.

If you prefer dry land, there’s a new underground walking tour of the city’s old sewers near King’s Cross. It’s weirdly educational. I now know that the Victorians built tunnels to avoid smelling themselves, and I can’t stop telling people this fact at parties. You’ll come out smelling like history—and maybe a little damp.

Eat ‘smashed’ things you’ve never heard of.

Gone are the days of just avocado toast. The new food trend in London is ‘smashing’ everything—think smashed cucumbers, smashed potatoes, and even smashed chocolate bars at dessert bars. I tried a “smashed rosti” at a pop-up in Borough Market, and it was like a hash brown had a midlife crisis and decided to be fancy. The owner told me to eat it with my hands, which I did, and I felt like a caveman who just discovered fire. For pud, hit up Miel Bakery for their new molten-lava cookie—it’s so gooey, it’ll make you forget about all the boring muffins you’ve ever eaten.

Watch ‘silent’ plays in a bubble.

Bored of the usual West End musicals that require you to sell a kidney for a ticket? Try ‘silent theatre’ in a transparent bubble at the Nowhere venue in Shoreditch. You wear headphones, and the actors perform around you in a giant, soundproof dome. I went last month, and the play was about a man who loses his cat. By the end, I was sobbing silently into my headphones while a guy next to me laughed at a pigeon—again, the pigeons are always around. It’s weirdly intimate, like eavesdropping on someone’s therapy session.

If live theatre isn’t your jam, there’s a new immersive art installation at the Old Truman Brewery where you paint with your feet. You dip your sneakers in non-toxic paint and walk on a giant canvas. I did it, and my footprints look like a drunk spider had a seizure. I hung it in my flat, and visitors politely say, “Oh… abstract?”

Get lost in a ‘digital forest’.

Remember the quiet panic when your phone dies in the middle of nowhere? London’s new “Digital Forest” at the Barbican is the opposite. It’s a room full of fake trees with glowing screens on the leaves. You sit on beanbags, and the forest “reacts” to your heartbeat. I sat there for an hour, and the forest turned into a neon disco whenever I got excited about the snacks in my bag. It’s the perfect place to pretend you’re in nature without getting muddy or stepping on dog poop.

And if that’s too tame, head to Peckham Rye’s new night market that happens every Tuesday. It’s like a board game meetup but with tacos and vinyl records. I bought a vintage lamp there that flickers ominously, but the guy swore it was “character,” so I’m keeping it. It’s the kind of place where you’ll bump into your friend’s cousin who’s now a DJ—London really is just a big village with better lighting.

Ride the new ‘floating’ cable car at night.

Okay, the IFS Cloud Cable Car isn’t new, but they’ve added nighttime ‘neon’ rides where the cabin glows like a lava lamp. I took it last Saturday, and the view of Canary Wharf at midnight looks like a Christmas tree that had a disco fever. My friend screamed because the cabin wobbled, but I calmly pointed out that a bird was riding the same cable next to us, so if it’s good enough for a bird… It’s a cheap thrill that makes you feel like a secret agent on a budget.

So there you go. London is still the same chaotic, expensive, pigeon-filled mess we love, but now it has rooftop coffee, pedal boats, and digital forests. Go try one, and please don’t be the person who takes a selfie with the pigeon. That’s my thing.