ListingsUpdated Sat 5 Sep
What's on in London
Every event we have checked and put in, soonest first. Tonight and this weekend have their own editions.
Saturday
5 September-
Markets Free
Totally Thames: river festival, whole programme
Until 30 Sep
A month of walks, boat trips, art on the foreshore and one super-choir on the river. Most of it costs nothing and needs no booking.
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Comedy From £15
Comedy at the Soho Theatre
Until 20 Sep
Three rooms, most shows an hour, tickets from fifteen pounds. The downstairs bar runs late. Book the 21:30 slot if you want the room that has already had a drink.
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Sport From £4.50
Open air swimming at Hampstead Ponds
Until 30 Sep
September is the good month: the water is still warm from August and the summer crowds have gone. Cash or the app at the gate.
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Exhibitions Free
Free entry: Museum of London Docklands
Until 30 Sep
A Georgian warehouse on the quay with the best account of the docks and the slave trade in the city. Always free, rarely busy on a weekday.
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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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Theatre From £15 Selling fast
Old Vic evening performance
Until 27 Sep
Day seats go on sale at 10:00 online and there are usually returns at the box office an hour before curtain.
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Gigs Free
Southbank Centre: free foyer music
Until 27 Sep
Free live music in the Clore Ballroom most evenings, no ticket, and the bar overlooks the river. Turn up and sit on the steps.
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Film Late
Rooftop cinema season, last screenings
Until 13 Sep
The last two weekends of the outdoor season. Take a coat, the roof is colder than the walk there suggests.
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Gigs Free
Free lunchtime concert at St Martin-in-the-Fields
Until 25 Sep
Free classical recitals most weekday lunchtimes, no booking, retiring collection. Forty-five minutes and the best-value hour in central London.
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Sport From £12
Public skating at Queens Ice and Bowl
Until 4 Sep
A full size rink under Queensway, open sessions most of the day and into the evening. Skate hire is included in the session price. Book ahead at weekends, because it fills with birthday parties.
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Sport From £34
Turkish baths at Porchester Spa
Until 4 Sep
A 1929 Turkish and Russian bath house run by the council, so it costs a fraction of the spa hotels. Check which days are mixed and which are single sex before you go, because it changes through the week.
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Free
The Italian Gardens, Kensington Gardens
Until 4 Sep
Four basins and a pump house Albert built for Victoria, at the Lancaster Gate corner of the park. Best in the hour before the fountains go off for the night, when the light comes across the water.
