Activities to do in London this Summer! 
Are you looking for something interesting to do with the kids or an evening excursion for you and your friends this Summer? Then, we have you covered for Summer 2022!
As we eagerly await the summer holidays and the Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the thought of how to utilize the holiday time to the fullest might be front of mind. With the school holidays approaching, here are some exciting family-friendly activities and even a few date night options to share with friends. So, get your note pads out as you’ll want to pencil these into your diaries!
FAMILY FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES
1: Dopamine Land: A Multi-sensory Immersive Experience
Location: 79-85 Old Brompton Road, London, SW7 3LD
Date: From May 2022
opening hours: Weekdays: 3 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Weekends: 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Age requirement: all ages are welcome! Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult
Dopamine Land offers guests the opportunity to escape reality and enter an immersive and interactional exhibition space that combines conventional mediums with innovative technology to indulge all the senses. Dive into a world of utter sensory indulgence.
Dopamine Land is a space created to delight your senses and stimulates the happiness hormone we're all after. This interactive museum of dopamine inducing sensory experiences will take you through different immersive settings designed to promote touch, sight, smell and even memory.
You can experience popping bubbles and being flooded with the smell of fresh popcorn to exploring a room where you can channel your inner action hero by having to navigate a labyrinth of lights and moving projections to find your way out. Dopamine Land is a fun and immersive outing guaranteed to leave the whole family on a dopamine rush.
2: Just Five More Minutes: Gaming Experience
Location: 47 Tanner Street, London Bridge
Date: 23 July – 1 September Opening hours: 9:30 a.m. – 9 p.m. (evening sessions from 7 p.m.)
Duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Age requirement: all ages are welcome for daytime sessions! 18+ for evening sessions.
Gaming fans, grab your controllers and head down memory lane at London's retro gaming celebration, "Just five more minutes". Replay that first game you ever played all over again and discover ones you've never tried before. From Space Invaders to Pokémon, no matter if you're a 'boomer', 'millennial' or 'Gen X'er', there is something for everyone at this awesome gaming experiential!
Uncover the most entertaining retro games (over 66,000) of every era using the best that today's technology can offer. The daytime sessions are suitable for families and include a character meet and greet at 10 a.m. every day. So, get the teenagers out of the house and into an exciting and fun experience that will have them shouting, "Just Five More Minutes!"
Gaming enthusiast yourself? Adult only (18+) gaming nights with bottomless drinks available, where you can battle it out on the big stage in intense gaming competitions with your friends. You don't want to miss this.
3: Wonderlab - The Equinor Gallery
Location: Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, SW7 2DD
We are calling all science enthusiasts! Does a science-filled outing sound like something you'd fancy? Then the Wonderlab experience is just for you. Educational and exciting, you can enjoy live science shows and demonstrations, meet fantastic science explainers, and reveal the beauty of the science and maths that shape our everyday lives.
Wonderlab is spread across seven different zones, and there is a plethora of opportunities to interact with natural scientific phenomena. See lightning strike before your very eyes, play with forces on giant slides or travel through space under a canopy of stars.
Wonderlab is a chance for you and the kids to channel your inner scientists in this interactional experience that will awaken your curiosity, ignite your imagination, and inspire you to see the world around you in new and exciting ways.
4: Outbreak London – An outdoor escape room through Victorian London
Location: the game starts and ends at 37-39 Oxford Street
Inspect the streets of London and search the surrounding history and architecture for clues to the hidden puzzles. Then, it's a race against the clock to solve the mystery in time. You can challenge your friends, family, or even a team to the coolest outdoor activity in London. Groups of 6 or more will be split into competing sections to battle it out to solve the mystery first.
To set the scene, an epidemic of Cholera has hit Soho. Hundreds of Londoners have been killed in just a few days. Explore the city to unlock a series of mysterious boxes and follow in the investigators' footsteps to track down the cause of the illness and bring this outbreak to an end. It's an excellent activity for all ages, visitors, and locals alike.
During this exciting and educational experience, you willvisit must-see attractions, interesting monuments, and historical details in this interactive self-guided walking tour through Central London. Use the city's architecture to solve puzzles while exploring and competing with your friends or family.
Great for groups of friends, families with children, teams of colleagues, or a unique, romantic date! Learn true stories from the city's history in the most fun thing to do in London!
Players: 2-40+
Time: 2 Hours
Price: £25 per person, £15 per child
Suitable for children aged 6
5: KidZania - London
Location: Westfield London Shopping centre, Ariel Way, London W12 7GA
KidZania London is a child-size city located in Westfield London. A fun, inspiring and educational experience for children aged 4 to 14. In this indoor city run by kids, your little ones will have the chance to try out more than 60 real-life role-play activities – from being a pilot and acting to fighting crime as a police officer. All KidZania London's immersive experiences are crafted to teach kids essential life and career-based skills, such as financial literacy and independence – meaning there's plenty to learn as they enjoy this attraction.
Upon arrival, all visitors will receive security bracelets. Children aged eight and above can explore KidZania without parental supervision, meaning you can relax, watch your kids complete the activities or even shop in Westfield. In contrast, your little ones are left to their own devices to run this city!
6: Sea Life Aquarium London
Location: Riverside Building , County Hall, Westminister Bridge Rd, London SE1 7PB
London’s Sea Life Aquarium is home to over 500 species of various sea creatures, housed in 14 excitingly themed zones. There is so much to see at London Aquarium that you’ll need to book out the whole day for an excursion with all family members in wonderment. First, meet the stars of Polar Adventure – the Gentoo Penguin Colony at the aquariums Polar Adventure Zone, then step into the UK’s most extensive jellyfish experience, an interactive experience through 3 of the 14 zones.
Next, the Coral Kingdom is a fixation for the eyes and showcases a spectacular underwater oasis, the UK’s largest living coral reef! Finally, you can see some incredible wildlife at London Aquarium in the Rockpool Zone, which allows you to have a chance to touch and stroke starfish and sea anemones. This exciting and educational outing is a great day out for the entire family this summer, whatever the weather.
Ages: all ages welcome, children under 16 to be accompanied by an adult.
Price: tickets starting at £28
ADULT ONLY ACTIVITIES
1: Mercato Mayfair, London
Mercato Mayfair is housed in the St Mark’s Cathedral on North Audley Street and is one of their cultural hubs of sustainability. After spending 30 years on England’s Historic Heritage risk register, St marks Grade 1 listed building is part of a 2-year £5 million restoration by Grosvenor estates, successfully repairing and reviving the critical heritage features of the building.
The space offers a dramatic backdrop for a unique dining and entertaining experience. They offer authentic food, two floors of worldwide cuisine, a rooftop terrace, a wine cellar, and a community space. You can expect fresh ingredients and artisanal elements where sustainably sourced produce is essential.
2: Festibowls – London
Festibowls combines a 21st-century twist on the quintessentially British sport of Lawn Bowls with delicious summer cocktails, exquisite street food, live entertainment and much more. The Bowls Club will roll into Finsbury Square throughout this summer on selected dates, and we want you to be part of it! Finsbury Square plays host to one of London's most iconic green spaces, idyllically situated amongst the hustle and bustle of the city.
The English country garden themed event will provide you with the ultimate all-inclusive experience, something truly different and unique. The perfect answer to this year's summer party or a day out with friends! The Bowls Club was founded by a team of industry experts who have been running immersive pop-up events for many years. Prices start from £15pp, and you can experience DJs and street magicians scheduled across the select dates.
Fancy adding some snacks to your game? Street food from Mama's Jerk, Fire yard BBQ, and Secret Nicky's are available during the afternoon and evening sessions. Sip on summer cocktails, cold beers, gin and tonics and bottles of rosé in the hot summer sun while enjoying the fun ambience of Festibowls. Situated next to Liverpool Street & Moorgate, it is easy to find the venue and makes for a great day out.
3: Back Yard Cinema
Location: Capital Studios, Ram Quarter, 13 wandsworth plain, Wandsworth, London, SW18 1ET
Backyard Cinema is now known as one of London's leading alternative cinema experiences after starting many years ago in the founders' backyard. The UK's only themed cinema transports its audience by curating various settings to capture the true essence of the screened movies.
From 80s sunshine at Miami Beach to a prehistoric jungle in The Lost World, this is a backyard cinematic experience of note. Some of the extensive settings include a five-year sell-out screening of Romeo & Juliet in a candlelit church with a live choir. Back yard cinema also showed twinkly festive screenings at London's alternative Christmas festival, Winterville, and metamorphosed plenty more pop-ups across the capital.
You can expect to be taken to another world with exciting interactive backdrops and nostalgic sets alongside your favourite movies and a seasonal rotation of brand-new events that cater to everyone's taste. You can sip on a signature Palm Tree Cocktail, a boozy Slush Puppy, or a cold craft beer while you can tuck into a pre-film feast.
Share artisanal pizzas and loaded nachos from the Studio Bar, or head outside to The Yard to enjoy smashed patty burgers from Honest Burgers' Test Kitchen. Back Yard cinema is a great date night option with your significant other or friends.
4: Neverland London
It’s time to escape the city and be transported to Palm Beach with Neverland London this summer. Nestled away on the River Thames, Neverland offers its guests a stylish and unique venue that consists of its signature beach, a large indoor rooftop styled pergola, two bars, two pop-up restaurants, live DJs, weekly events, and fun-filled games for everyone to enjoy.
You can book an intimate area with your friends in one of their Igloos or reserve a cabin or beach hut if you’re a larger group of up to 30. A date night with your partner? No problem, as you can also reserve a table or sofa under the pergola for an intimate night out.
DJ Harry, the resident DJ, will be on the decks most nights with his array of house tunes to keep the party going, along with a line-up of attractive new live performers. Neverland is a cool and trendy spot to check out this summer and will make for unforgettable memories.
5: Bubba Oasis Bar London
Bubba oasis Bar is a ‘home away from home’ concept that blends elements of casual dining, hot desking, music, entertainment, and art into one destination. Made up of different attractive spaces, one of which is their Roof Terrace, it makes bubba oasis a hidden jewel in London’s Angel Islington.
The venue is fully weatherproof and is perfect for a relaxed Monday lunch break, a Friday night out with friends or even a private birthday party of up to 60 guests. So, whether it is a Spanish guitarist on a relaxed Monday night, a puppy cuddling session as a break between your Tuesday afternoon meetings, or our house DJ accompanying percussionists every weekend, Bubba oasis makes you feel at home. Bubba Oasis provides a laid-back vibe with an informal house party atmosphere, and everyone is welcome.
6: Coppa Club Tower Bridge, London
Escape the hubbub of city life to a secret Mediterranean hangout at Coppa by the Tower. Meander through a passageway of pink flowers onto a sun-kissed terrace where you can relax riverside and enjoy a bird's-eye view of London.
It's the perfect spot for after-work drinks, brunch dates with mates and celebrations of all kinds. Find yourself a place under the palm trees, sip on chilled rosé and nibble on tasty charcuterie plates or tuck yourself away in your private pod cloaked in pink bougainvillaea.
Coppa will transport you back to those sunny Riviera days in no time. Coppa by Tower Bridge is a summertime experience you won't forget.
7 : Night Tales , London
Night Tales London offers the perfect environment to enjoy a summer evening. The space offer's a warm, open terrace filled with tailored private booths and 'B-day' bed areas ideal for a group of friends. There is also an array of tables that can be booked in advance if you feel like a dinner date with your significant other or family.
There is no need to leave your seats, as all tables, day bed areas, and private booths come with friendly and hospitable table service, which means you don't need to leave your seat if you don't have to. You can even pre-order your drinks if you fancy!
The Night Tales team has created a new cocktail menu, so there's an impressive fresh new cocktail list. In addition, a whole pizza menu is available from the in-house pizza restaurant, Sons of Slice. Music is played on the terrace throughout the day and ramps up into the evening, so you'll be able to enjoy the whole Night Tales experience.
The nightclub opens from 10 pm so that you can enjoy dinner or snacks and predrinks before you party the night awa
8: The Leather Bottle – Earlsfield, London
One of the favorite spots to go to in Earlsfield, The Leather Bottle, has been situated in the middle of Garret Lane for over three centuries. There have been many changes made over the centuries, including the addition of an attractive restaurant, exciting menu upgrades, a wide variety of beers and a warm and friendly atmosphere upon arrival.
The Leather Bottle is an excellent option for a few after-work pints or an outdoor lunch in the warm summer sunshine. Hidden away in Garratt Lane, The Leather Bottle is arguably one of Southwest London's leading beer gardens that house fantastic Beach Huts available to reserve.
The venue can now host and organize summer parties that include delicious BBQ food and a constant flow of drinks, fantastic entertainment, and fun garden party activities. They have large TV screens in their garden, and they will be showing all the key events.
So, make sure to make a reservation to avoid disappointment this summer.
9: Limin Beach Club, London
This summer don't miss out on the Southbank's best-kept secret - Limin' Beach Club. The Limin' Beach venue is a small relaxation spot just off the South Bank strip.
At Limin', they celebrate the Caribbean's cultures which emerge into an explosion of flavour and fiesta. Before you know it, you'll find yourself with a rum punch in one hand and coconut bread in the other, soaking up that English summer as you sink your toes into their sandy floors.
Limin' Beach Club is independently owned with a critical focus on community and inclusion. They have a passion for good times and good food, with owner Sham often cooking for his guests in the kitchen. Heart and soul are central to everything they do at Limin', and this can be felt in the warm and inviting atmosphere at the club.
Limin' is one vibey hangout for the summertime that will give you all those beach feels.
10: Vauxhall Food and Beer Garden
A modern oasis positioned in the centre of Vauxhall, providing an area of fun and relaxation, The Vauxhall Food and Beer Garden is the perfect setting for some afternoon lunch or post-work drinks. The food and beer garden has AstroTurf throughout and sports a modern geometric graphic design that adorns the venue's walls, making for a very "Instagram-able' feature.
The garden now boasts double the original floor space allowing for a more spread out and relaxing atmosphere for guests. A wide variety of international street food stalls includes French, Mexican, Greek, Chinese, burgers and more, alongside two brand new & extended bars serving everything from your favourite draft beer, refreshing cocktails and wine.
In addition, the garden boasts its app, which allows customers to order and receive food and drink from the comfort of their table.Entertainment comes in the form of the Vauxhall Sports Garden and Vauxhall Comedy Club. Three giant LED screens have been erected up and down the garden showing all major live sports, including Premier League & European Football, World Championship Boxing & UFC.
In addition, the Vauxhall Comedy Club provides world-class comedy tucked inside the intimate surroundings of the Vauxhall train arches.
Private booking is available for those wanting their own space. The food and beer garden caters to all occasions - Birthdays, work socials, and large-scale corporate events, making this an excellent venue for any summertime shin dig.
So, if you’re planning on taking the kids on a family outing or want some peace when catching up with friends, these are a few options for a bit of Summertime fun.
We hope you enjoy them and have an exciting summer!
