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Independent, London 465 guides to London Nobody pays to appear Every price checked at the source We take no bookings Est. 2026

Journal

Every guide we publish, newest first. London restaurants, bars, pubs, hotels, afternoon tea, spas and nightlife, each one checked against the venue's own published information rather than against other guides.

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We take no bookings, sell nothing, and accept no payment for inclusion. Where a price or a rule appears here, it came from the venue.

The Harrods building in Knightsbridge lit at dusk, its terracotta facade outlined in lights above Brompton Road
Things to Do

Harrods: Opening Times, Who Owns It, and the Sunday Rule

On Sunday it opens half an hour before it is allowed to sell you anything, which is the quietest hour of the week. The opening times, the Qatari ownership, and the dress code that no longer exists.

7 min read
A bread stall at Borough Market in London, loaves and baguettes priced in pounds under the market's green ironwork
Things to Do

Borough Market: Opening Times and When to Actually Go

It is closed on Mondays, which is how most visits go wrong. The full opening times, why Saturday at nine is the best hour of the week, and what to buy once you are in.

8 min read
Black cabs and umbrellas on a wet London street seen from above, with LOOK LEFT painted on the road
Things to Do

Things to Do in London When It Rains: Stay Dry Properly

A pedestrian subway runs from inside South Kensington station to three world class free museums, so a wet day need not start with a soaking. Which places are dry from the train, and which still leave you queueing outside.

15 min read
A herd of fallow deer grazing under a tree in Richmond Park, with walkers keeping their distance in the background
Things to Do

Richmond Park: Opening Times, Parking and Where the Deer Are

The pedestrian gates never close but the vehicle gates shut at dusk, not at a set time. Richmond Park's opening hours, seven free car parks, 630 deer and the 50 metre rule that matters from September.

10 min read
A red deer stag standing in autumn bracken at Richmond Park in London, where the Royal Parks ask visitors to keep 50 metres away
Things to Do

The Best Parks in London: Which One for Which Afternoon

Eight Royal Parks and a heath that beats most of them. Which is countryside and which is forty minutes, when the gates actually lock, and the 50 metre rule that matters from September to November.

12 min read
A double cheeseburger with melted cheese and pickles on a dark surface, the beef forward style London's best burger restaurants compete on
Restaurants

The Best Burger in London: Which Kind You Actually Want

The best burger in the world and the second best are both in London, and both say so themselves. The two contenders are twenty three doors apart on Old Compton Street, and only one of them takes a booking.

11 min read
Giant gold bells and red baubles hanging under the glass roof of the Apple Market at Covent Garden in London at Christmas
Things to Do

London Christmas Markets 2026: Most of Them Are Not Markets

Most of what London sells as a Christmas market is a funfair, a light trail or a row of bars in wooden huts. Which ones are real markets, which are free, and what Winter Wonderland actually costs.

17 min read
The blue whale skeleton hanging in Hintze Hall at the Natural History Museum in London, which is free to enter
Things to Do

The Best Museums in London Are Free. That Is Not an Accident.

Every great London museum is free and every one of them has a paid exhibition placed where you will walk into it. Which collections cost nothing, which need a booked ticket anyway, and which open late.

11 min read
The Great Court at the British Museum in London, whose permanent collection has been free to enter since 1753
Things to Do

Free Things to Do in London: What the City Gives Away

The best of London charges nothing, and that is deliberate policy rather than a discount. The free collections worth crossing town for, and the 27 pound ticket you never needed to buy.

21 min read
A bamboo steamer of dim sum being opened in a dark dining room, the lunch discipline at London's best Chinese restaurants
Restaurants

The Best Chinese Restaurants in London Are Not in Chinatown

The most interesting Chinese cooking in London is in Victoria, Mayfair and Soho. Where to go, and the cheaper lunch pricing none of them advertise loudly.

8 min read

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Questions we get asked

How often is the guide updated?

Continuously, and each page records the month it was last checked rather than only the date it was first written. Opening hours and prices in London change often enough that an unchecked guide is worse than none.

How do you decide what goes in?

Every entry is verified against the venue's own published information, not against other guides. Nothing is included in exchange for payment, and nothing is excluded for refusing it.