ListingsUpdated Sat 5 Sep
Shoreditch: what's on and things to do
Shoreditch is the part of London that runs latest and changes fastest. It is not pretty and it is not trying to be: the appeal is that on any given night there is a gallery opening, a club night, a supper club and a warehouse party within ten minutes of each other, and most of them did not exist two years ago.
The geography is simple once you have it. Old Street roundabout at the north, Liverpool Street at the south, Brick Lane running down the eastern edge and Curtain Road and Rivington Street holding most of the bars in between. Everything worth doing is inside that rectangle and walkable in twenty minutes.
Daytime
Sunday is the day. The Columbia Road flower market runs from eight until about three and is best either at the start for the choice or the last hour for the two-for-a-tenner shouting. Brick Lane's markets run all day Sunday, with the Old Truman Brewery yards holding vintage, records and more street food than anyone needs. Spitalfields is open all week and calmer.
Away from the markets, the galleries around Redchurch Street and Vyner Street open through the afternoon and cost nothing. The street art changes constantly, which is the honest reason the walking tours exist.
Evening and night
Shoreditch drinks early and late. The pubs around Hoxton Square fill from six; the bars on Curtain Road and Great Eastern Street run past midnight; and the clubs go on until the Overground starts again. Food runs later here than almost anywhere in London, and Brick Lane's curry houses and the bagel shops at the north end are open when nothing else is.
Getting home
This is the part that matters. The Windrush line on the Overground runs all night on Friday and Saturday through Shoreditch High Street and Whitechapel, which is why the night lasts here and not in most of London. Old Street is on the Northern line, which also runs overnight at weekends. Any other night, the last trains go around half past midnight and it is the night bus down Kingsland Road.
Saturday
5 September-
Food and drink From £5
Late night food: Brick Lane Beigel Bake
Until 30 Sep
Open every hour of every day. Salt beef with mustard and pickle at 03:00 is the correct order and the queue moves fast.
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Free
Street art on Brick Lane
Until 4 Sep
The walls change every few weeks, so the walk is different from the one anybody photographed last year. Start at the Truman Brewery and work north up the side streets.
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Food and drink From £12
Darts at Flight Club, Shoreditch
Until 4 Sep
Darts with the scoring done for you and a camera on the board, booked by the oche rather than the person. Cheaper before six and on a weekday, and it does run late.
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Food and drink From £10
Ping pong at Bounce, Old Street
Until 4 Sep
Tables by the hour in a basement that used to be a ping pong hall, which is a rare thing to be able to say. Loud after nine and quiet before seven.
Sunday
6 September-
Markets Free
Columbia Road Flower Market
Sunday only. Go at 08:00 for the choice or after 14:00 for the shouting and the two-for-a-tenner end of the day.
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Markets Free
Brick Lane Sunday Market
Several markets at once through the Truman Brewery and the yards around it, plus vintage halls and street food. Before eleven if you want to move.
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Food and drink From £11
Bowling at All Star Lanes, Brick Lane
Until 4 Sep
Four lanes in a basement done out as an American diner, which sounds worse than it is. Booked by the lane for up to eight, and the kitchen runs as late as the bowling.
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Food and drink From £30
Bottomless brunch in Shoreditch
Until 4 Sep
Cheaper than Soho and longer sittings, mostly around Redchurch Street and the Boundary. Sundays run into the evening here in a way they do not further west.
Saturday
12 September-
Exhibitions Free
London Design Festival: districts and installations
Until 20 Sep
Nine days across eleven design districts, with Soho joining this year. The Pangolin Shield on the Strand and the V&A programme are the free landmarks
Sunday
13 September-
Markets Free
Columbia Road Flower Market
Sunday only, and the whole street is flowers. Go at eight for the choice or after two for the two for a tenner shouting. There is no good reason to arrive at noon.
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Markets Free
Brick Lane Sunday Market
Several markets at once through the Truman Brewery and the yards around it, plus vintage halls and street food. Before eleven if you want to move.
Tuesday
15 September-
Exhibitions Free
Shoreditch Design Week
Until 20 Sep
The largest of the design districts: more than sixty showrooms and galleries open across six days, most of them free to walk into, with late openings and parties through the week.
Wednesday
16 September-
Exhibitions Free
Shoreditch Design Week
Until 20 Sep
The largest of the design districts: more than sixty showrooms and galleries open across six days, most of them free to walk into, with late openings and parties through the week.
Thursday
17 September-
Exhibitions Free
Shoreditch Design Week
Until 20 Sep
The largest of the design districts: more than sixty showrooms and galleries open across six days, most of them free to walk into, with late openings and parties through the week.
Friday
18 September-
Exhibitions Free
Shoreditch Design Week
Until 20 Sep
The largest of the design districts: more than sixty showrooms and galleries open across six days, most of them free to walk into, with late openings and parties through the week.
Saturday
19 September-
Exhibitions Free
Shoreditch Design Week
Until 20 Sep
The largest of the design districts: more than sixty showrooms and galleries open across six days, most of them free to walk into, with late openings and parties through the week.
Sunday
20 September-
Exhibitions Free
Shoreditch Design Week
The largest of the design districts: more than sixty showrooms and galleries open across six days, most of them free to walk into, with late openings and parties through the week.