The warmer months are surely the best time to visit London. Expect clear, blue skies, apple blossom, congregations of merry public house patrons on the streets, picnics, balmy evening strolls.
Visiting the capital soon? Have your London holiday apartment booked, your summer wear packed, your Tube map at the ready. Here are some of the spring events that you can start looking forward to and enjoying right away:
1. The Chelsea Flower Show, 21st May to 26th May
If the English admire anything, it’s a well-kept garden, and the gardens of the world-famous Chelsea Flower Show are among the most very well-kept of them all. You might find the different Greenhouse Construction projects in the city that are part of flower exhibitions. Be ready for dazzlingly creative flower displays, exhibits from the world over, and an atmosphere that buzzes like a busy spring bee.
There’ll be live music, tasty vol-au-vents and sparkling wines aplenty. Well over a hundred years old, the Chelsea Flower Show is not just a fantastic collection of the finest feature gardens the world of horticulture has to offer, but a national institution – so go check it out!
2. Arcadia 10th Anniversary Festival, 5th May to 6th May
Taking place at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the two-day Arcadia extravaganza is set to be a veritable explosion of sights, sounds and sensations. Enormous robotic spiders, tremendous pyrotechnics, live concerts and even spectacular aerial displays will amaze the exuberant crowds that gather.
3. Museums at Night, 16th May to 19th May
The mummies and great dinosaur fossils may not be coming alive, but the doors will at least be open. Across the country the UK’s favourite museums will be opening late for special events, exhibitions and signings. This is a fantastic way to enjoy some of the most famous galleries, museums and collections going in the celebratory, bi-annual festival.
4. Days of Poland Festival, 6th May
This annual celebration of Polish folk culture returns once more this May, and is to be found in the iconic setting of London Bridge, just a stone’s throw from other sights to see, such as St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Palace of Westminster, Borough Market and Tate Britain. There’ll be lots going on, including live traditional music and dance, not to mention, we hope, an abundance of mouth-wateringly tasty sausages and dumplings.
5. London Craft Week, 9th May to 13th May
All across London for an entire week, you’ll be able to visit, investigate and enjoy the specialist works of jewellery makers, artists, fashion designers, carpenters and much, much more besides. Fan of ceramics? How about metal work? Fancy finding out how they gild furniture? Want to see the process of hand-making wall paper? How about glass blowing, leather working, textile working? From bookbinding to embroidery, from engraving to watchmaking, from sculpture to marquetry, London Craft Week is one of the single most exciting things happening in London this spring (and, yes, that includes both the royal wedding and the FA Cup final), so it’s surely well worth the visit to London for this fascinating celebration of craft work alone!
