30 Quirky and Unusual Things to Do in London

After three successful years, proving this no fad, London’s most electrifying, immersive and multi-sensory bingo experience will launch its new show this summer. magine dusk ‘til dawn in dystopia, and that’s the vibe of Hijingo Generation 2.0. While retaining its trademark futuristic decor and neon lights, this version introduces a breathtaking array of stunning new visuals, mind-bending special effects, and original compositions of high energy music, all meticulously crafted to envelope the audience, and bring the game to life around them. Enter AVA (Artificial Virtual Architect), the incredible AI bot who now powers Hijingo while transcending the boundaries of conventional entertainment as she hosts the game. With enhanced prominence, AVA electrifies the crowd, speaking directly to the audience, guiding them through the game and enforcing the rules, fuelling excitement with each pulse-pounding round.

If you’re looking for festive fun, tasty street food and top-notch tipples, then Jack & Boule has you covered. Located in the heart of South Bank, celebrate Jack & Boule’s first-ever festive season in style and enjoy the classic French pastime of boules with friends, family and colleagues. Bring your mates for a festive get-together, try something new for your office party or even impress your date with your new-found boules skills. You can even bring your dog! Teams of up to six can play on one of the eight urban boules courts from 11am-11pm Tuesdays-Sundays. From just £25 per court, each session lasts 55 minutes. Whilst you try your hand at a game of urban boules under the toasty warm canopy, grab some refreshments from not just one, but TWO bars, and once you’ve had your boules fix, tuck into some delicious food from London’s hottest street food stalls, Rico Burrito and Jimmy’s Burgers.

Plunging straight into Jigsaw’s twisted world, contenders (willing or otherwise) will discover their worst nightmares and fears, as Jigsaw ensnares a new generation of players attempting to earn their redemption. Taking inspiration from the popular horror series, this experience is a light introduction to the world of escape rooms, and a full return to the world seen in the movies. SAW: Escape Experience London is located at 1 America Square, London, EC3N 2LS, just a few minutes’ walk from Tower Hill station. With two game routes to choose from, daring risk takers can return again for a different yet equally terrifying experience.

It’s Halloween all year round at the Hoxton Street Monster Supplies, run by the charity Ministry of Stories, which encourages children to write. The shop has everything you could want – salt made from tears of sorrow, cubed earwax (fudge) and jars of daylight (a solar-cell LED light) – for “the monster in your life or afterlife”. A great place to visit if you want to find unusual gifts and support a good cause at the same time.

London has a surprising number of outdoor pools and lidos that are perfect for both warm summer swims and brisk winter dips. Some of the best can be found on Hampstead Heath, where the bathing ponds and the lido are open for swimmers all year round. Taking in the wilderness in the middle of London with an early morning swim is a lovely, calm way to exercise and get back to nature. Opening and closing hours depend on the season, so make sure to check the website, but the ponds normally open at 7am.

The Old Operating Theatre Museum, close to the Shard in London Bridge, is exactly what it sounds like. The charity showcases how surgeries were made before we had anaesthetics and antiseptics, and the attic space also houses herbs that were used for medicines. It’s a fascinating place to visit, and makes you very grateful for modern medicine. If you want to get a real feel for how operations were done in the 1800s, there are surgical demonstrations every weekend.

London isn’t short of food options. Locals often find new restaurants opening up overnight and there are hundreds of recommendations everyone can share at the mere mention of dining out, so you do have to go the extra mile to stand out from the crowd here. Six by Nico not only offer up an affordable line-up of six courses (with fantastic drink pairings too), but they also opt for a fun twist on dishes and themes. Its never so experimental that it becomes a parody of itself, but it does fill you with excitement every time they announce a new menu. The most recent Neverland dishes were a balanced delight and you won’t have to wait for long for the next series to come along. The good news is that you don’t have to be in London to enjoy a trip to Six by Nico, as they also have branches around the country.

Inside the curious Sir John Soane’s Museum you’ll find a lavish collection of classical paintings, sculptures and relics, all bizarrely jam-packed into a large terrace house, once home to the neo-classical architect it was named after. Sir John accumulated such a stash of historical oddities that a Private Act of Parliament had his home transformed into a museum upon his death in 1837. The museum is so crammed with artefacts, including a huge 3,000-year-old stone sarcophagus, that you’ll have to tread carefully to avoid upsetting a valuable piece of history. You can visit during the day, but for an extra-special treat, visit during a late opening, when the space is lit up by candlelight, Victorian style.

Already familiar with uber-trendy Hackney? If you want to explore a lesser-known corner of East London, take a walk along The Line, a sculpture trail that stretches across the Thames, from the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford all the way down to The O2 Arena in Greenwich. There are 12 sculptures along the route by artists including Damien Hirst and Antony Gormley. Look out for the upside-down electricity pylon in Greenwich, and when you visit the 115m-tall ArcelorMittal Orbit tower in Stratford, be sure to ride the slide from top to bottom. The walk takes about three hours and roughly follows the Meridian Line. Both start points are easily accessed via the Tube network and it’s the perfect way to get some exercise and see the Thames, which you’ll cross via a dangling cable car.

The Attendant has a number of cafes in the city, but the Fitzrovia is the one to visit. In Victorian times, the space was a public toilet, but the old urinals are now a main focal point of the interior (but don’t worry, they’ve been cleaned). The beautiful wrought-iron entrance is another reason to visit the café, which looks so authentic that baristas say they regularly have to turn away people who think it’s still a functioning public toilet.

Blink and you’ll miss the water pump in Soho that helped to cure cholera. The water-borne disease caused mass fatalities in London, until local doctor John Snow traced an outbreak back to this pump in 1854. Before this, people believed cholera was transmitted through the air. Pop into the John Snow pub nearby to raise a pint to the good doctor.

A huge 3,000 sq ft terrace inspired by the beautiful Amalfi Coast has arrived at Swingers, Crazy Golf Club Oxford Circus in collaboration with Ciroc Limonata. The sun-trap terrace is adorned with lush greenery, lemon trees and deck chairs. Refreshing Ciroc Limonata cocktails are served and bottomless brunches can be booked every Saturday with food from Patty & Bun, Pizza Pilgrims and Breddos. With summer tunes from our resident DJs to set the mood, yellow and white striped deckchairs for the perfect photo op and a little competition on the crazy golf course – prepare for an unforgettable rooftop retreat where the sun is always shining.

No one loves tea more than the Brits, right? London used to practically run on the stuff and the Twinings Café on the Strand has seen some changes since it opened in 1706. Twining was one of the first merchants to bring tea to the UK and it’s been providing the royal households with brews since 1837.

Istanbul has its “basilica” Cistern; Paris has its sewer tours. To learn about the history of London’s plumbing, make sure you visit the Grade I-listed Crossness Pumping Station in south east London. After the Great Stink of 1858 – a summer when the smell of human excrement being dumped into the Thames became unbearable – the engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette proposed a radical solution: a London-wide sewage network powered by cutting-edge pumping technology. Aside from being a triumph of Victorian engineering, the site is an ornate marvel, with working pumps and wrought-iron decoration that has been carefully restored. To get there, catch the train from London Bridge to Abbey Wood, then walk 30 minutes north towards the Thames.

London dates back nearly 2,000 years and was already a town before the Romans descended on Britain. They made it a fortified city and brought their mystical beliefs with them. The temple of one of their gods, Mithras, was discovered in 1954, and today the London Mithraeum has its own museum below Bloomberg’s European headquarters. The temple has been restored to look the way it did when it was first excavated, and is showcased in a presentation that uses lighting design, audio recordings and haze. Entrance is free but booking is essential.

East London’s psychedelic God’s Own Junkyard is a treasure trove for anybody fascinated by neon signs. The gallery, which is located on an industrial estate, contains everything from old Soho sex-shop signs to props used in fashion shoots. Walking around the colourful space is a truly cool experience; it’s one of the more Instagrammable places in London, and has its own café, The Rolling Scones Café. God’s Own Junkyard is only open at weekends and entrance is free.

The Magnificent Seven isn’t just a 1960s Western; it’s also the collective name of the seven large Victorian cemeteries dotted around London: Kensal Green Cemetery, West Norwood Cemetery, Highgate Cemetery, Abney Park Cemetery, Nunhead Cemetery, Brompton Cemetery and Tower Hamlets Cemetery. Originally introduced to help relieve the city’s small, overflowing burial grounds in the 19th century, today the cemeteries are beautifully overgrown and havens for wildlife. Choose one of them to walk around, and make sure to find out if anyone famous is buried there before visiting – Highgate Cemetery is where you’ll find Karl Marx’s grave.

Founded in 1971, The Photographer’s Gallery was the first gallery in the world completely devoted to photography. Tucked away behind Oxford Street, this tall industrial building with its steel framed windows and clean modern lines is unlike the surrounding London architecture. It holds a range of intriguing and unusual exhibitions, including some which are free. The Gallery also hosts a selection of fascinating talks, workshops and courses. Finish your visit with a cup of coffee and cake at the lovely cafe on the ground floor. Recommended by Meredith Whitely.

Right next to Piccadilly Circus, Japan Centre is a must-visit for lovers of Japanese food. You’ll find everything from fresh sashimi to Japanese food cupboard essentials. There are over 30 different types of rice alone, along with soba, udon, yakisoba and ramen noodles. Japan Centre also stocks a selection of Japanese travel and cookery books, crafts and cooking implements. To help you get to know your sake from your matcha, Japan Centre runs a series of seminars sharing its expertise in Japanese cuisine. Recommended by Meredith Whitely.

Originally opened in the 1930s, the iconic Art Deco BBC Broadcasting House has undergone extensive redevelopment over the last few years. The building, which is the worldwide headquarters of the BBC, is now home to news, radio, television and online services. You can go behind the scenes of Broadcasting House on a 90 minute tour, during which you’ll visit a number of famous TV and radio studios. There’s even an opportunity to have a go at reading the news and to make a radio play, complete with music and sound effects. Recommended by Meredith Whitely.

Tucked away just off Regent Street, the church of St George’s Hanover Square is an unusual looking building with an imposing portico that overlooks Hanover Square. In contrast to the grey exterior, the inside of the church is light and open. St George’s is most well known for one of its famous parishioners, composer George Frideric Handel. Handel even provided advice on the impressive organ that is still housed in St George’s. The church regularly hosts music performances, including concerts for the London Handel Festival. Recommended by Meredith Whitely.
Additional reporting and updates by Cassam Looch