All weekend
PALACE GARDENS: Hampton Court Palace holds one of its semi-regular Open Garden Weekends, when you can visit parts of the gardens and grounds without having to pay the usual admission fee. The Great Fountain Garden, the Pond Garden and the Kitchen Garden are among the places you can visit for free, though note you'll still have to pay to visit the palace itself, the maze and the Magic Garden Playground. FREE, 10-11 May
HOT SAUCE FESTIVAL: How hot is too hot for you? Find out at the Hot Sauce Festival in Peckham, where hundreds of small-batch sauces from 40+ traders are available to try and buy, along with live music, games, street food — and a bar for those all-important, palate-cleansing drinks. 10-11 May
HACKNEY HISTORY: Taking place over two busy weekends in May, Hackney History Festival features a talk by Stoke Newington's Amir Dotan on taking note of the historical clues all around us, another on the Dalston peace mural (from people who are featured in it), and a walk through Hackney’s Stone Age landscape. 10-11 May and 17-18 May
MUSEUM OF TRANSOLOGY: The Lethaby Gallery at Central Saint Martins hosts the final weekend of TRANSCESTRY: 10 years of the Museum of Transology, marking a decade of collecting by the Museum of Transology, which is home to the world's biggest collection of objects and stories celebrating trans, non-binary and intersex lives. Over 1,000 objects are included, spanning items that commemorate private gender milestones and medical ephemera alongside hundreds of protest placards from mass public rallies. Until 11 May
DECORATIVE FAIR: Interested in interior design? Make for the Decorative Fair at Evolution London in Battersea Park and browse antiques, fine and decorative art and 20th century design from 130 dealers, dating from the 1700s to the 1970s. 6-11 May
OPEN CITY DOCUMENTARIES: Cinemas across London host screenings as part of the Open City Documentary Festival, celebrating creative documentary and non-fiction filmmakers. Forest fires, and the career of actor Henry Fonda are among the topics featured in various films this weekend. 6-11 May
COMEDY FILM FESTIVAL: The London Comedy Film Festival is at Ritzy Brixton all weekend, screening funnies including Two Big Feet, about a conspiracy theorist, and short films about romance, the supernatural and the dark side. 8-11 May
WIMBLEDON ART FAIR: More than 180 artists exhibit at Wimbledon Art Fair, giving you a chance to purchase artworks directly from their creators. There's also a rare opportunity to go inside artists' studios, and live music and a bar on launch night. FREE ENTRY, 8-11 May
TOWER POPPIES: Remember the ceramic poppies displayed in the Tower of London moat in 2014? Almost 30,000 of them return from this week, marking 80 years since the end of the Second World War. They're arranged to resemble a 'wound' at the heart of the Tower, from which the poppies form a crater, with ripples flowing outwards. 6 May-11 November
AFFORDABLE ART FAIR: The Affordable Art Fair pitches up in Hampstead, selling thousands of contemporary artworks with prices starting at £100, and 100 galleries from all over the world taking part. Painting classes, late-night openings, and a pop-up rooftop bar with views across the Heath are on this year's schedule. 7-11 May
CERAMIC ART LONDON: Organised by the Craft Potters Association of Great Britain, Ceramic Art London brings together 120+ exhibitors from around the world to showcase and sell their ceramic artworks at Olympia London. 9-11 May
TATE BIRTHDAY WEEKENDER: This year marks 25 years since Tate Modern opened in a former power station on Bankside, one of many millennium additions to the capital. Celebrate the milestone at the gallery's Birthday Weekender, which includes various activities including talks and tours, and late night openings. FREE, 9-12 May
DULWICH FESTIVAL: A celebration of art and culture in the local area, Dulwich Festival puts forward an impressive programme as always, spanning live music, supper clubs, author talks, guided walks, family events and the Goose Green fair. Highlights this weekend include maypole dancing in Dulwich Square, a walk in search of the lost river Effra, and an afternoon of choral music. 9-18 May
Saturday 10 May
SMARTPHONE PHOTOGRAPHY: Learn how to take top-notch photos with your phone, on a smartphone photography workshop at London Wetlands Centre in Barnes. Pick up tips on aspects including light and composition, and find out which apps are best for editing your photos after you've taken them. 10.15am-1.15pm
INDEPENDENT LABEL MARKET: Vinyl is the order of the day at the Independent Label Market in Coal Drops Yard, where indie record labels pitch up to sell their latest vinyls. A few local visual artists and printmakers sell their works too, with live musicians and DJs on stage all afternoon. 11am-6.30pm
JONATHAN BAILEY: One of our picks of noteworthy Shakespeare shows to see in London this summer is the Bridge Theatre's production of Richard II. It stars Bridgerton actor Jonathan Bailey taking on the titular role of the disastrously incompetent king, with Royce Pierreson as his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, who went on to take his throne. Today's show is the final performance. 2.30pm
GHOSTS: The Lyric Hammersmith offers a contemporary reimagining of Henrik Ibsen's classic Ghosts, about a woman honouring her late husband's memory by opening a children's hospital in his name, and the secrets their son Oz brings with him when he returns to the family home. Again, it closes today. 2.30pm/7.30pm
WE ARE HERE: As part of the continuing Queer East festival, Dalston's Rio Cinema screens We Are Here, LGBT activists Zhao Jing and Shi Tou's 2015 documentary which revisits the 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, hosted in Beijing and attended by 300 lesbian women who showed up to have their voices heard. 3.30pm
PLANTS + BIKES: VeloNotte Botanica is an historical-botanical promenade by bike about the secret life of plants that bring Londoners pleasure. From grapes and apples introduced by the Romans to planes and weed, this grand tour will feature comments by prominent historians, landscape designers and botanists. It's accompanied by a special soundtrack. 5pm
SUMMER KICK-OFF: Big Summer Kick-Off 2025 at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham combines rugby with live music and family-friendly festival entertainment. See Harlequins Men take on Gloucester Rugby in their penultimate regular season fixture, with free fairground rides, live music from rock band Feeder and a post-match Massaoke live singalong. K/O 5.30pm
THE CANDLELIGHT CLUB: Speakeasy night The Candlelight Club hosts a May Ball at a secret South London ballroom. Dress and dance like it's the 1920s with live music from Jack Calloway & The Midnight Creepers, along with burlesque, tarot readings and other entertainment, presided over by host Champagne Charlie. 7pm-1am
LONDON GAY MEN'S CHORUS: London Legends is the theme of the London Gay Men's Chorus concert at Alexandra Palace. Hear covers of songs by four greats with London roots: David Bowie, Elton John, Freddie Mercury and George Michael. Age 16+. 7.30pm
Sunday 11 May
HOT AIR BALLOONS: We've got everything crossed that the London Hot Air Balloon Regatta can take place this year, as between Covid and bad weather, it hasn't happened since 2019. If all goes well, expect to see dozens of hot air balloons floating serenely over the London sky early one Sunday morning, launching from Battersea Park and heading wherever the wind takes them. Three possible dates have been chosen for this year, the first one being today. We should know by Friday whether it's going ahead. FREE, from 5.30am
FESTIVAL OF PERCUSSION: If you hear lots of banging and clanging in South Kensington today, it may well be the Royal College of Music's annual Festival of Percussion. The day long bangarang features family friendly workshops, talks, concerts — and an appearance from jazz/hip hop/funk/R&B/neo-soul percussionist extraordinaire Gregory Hutchinson. From 11am
THE GREEN MEET: Fulham Palace celebrates gardening, biodiversity and community at The Green Meet, a family-friendly festival dedicated to all things gardening. Gardeners and expert guests lead walks and talks on topics including beekeeping and vegetable growing, and you can take part in a minibeast hunt, a meditation session, a tombola and garden games. 11am-3pm
WANDSWORTH SPRING FAYRE: Wandsworth Bridge Road goes pedestrianised for its annual Spring Fayre, with market stalls, two stages of live entertainment, family games and a chance to view plans for the future of the thoroughfare. FREE ENTRY, 11am-5pm
PUPPET FESTIVAL: One of those unique London events we love, the Covent Garden May Fayre & Puppet Festival celebrates the first recorded production of a Mr Punch show, as seen/recorded by Samuel Pepys in Covent Garden in 1662, and draws puppeteers from all over the country for a procession, church service, shows, stalls and workshops. This year's event is a special one, as it coincides with the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of street performers in the area, with free shows throughout the late morning/afternoon. FREE, 11am-5.30pm
VINTAGE FAIR: Head to Chelsea Old Town Hall for the regular Frock Me Vintage Fair, and shop for clothes and accessories from 60+ vintage fashion dealers. Jewellery and textiles feature too, with pieces dating from the Victorian era onwards. 11am-5.30pm
GRAND FLANEUR WALK: 'A celebration of the pure, the immutable and the pointless, taken by the bold, the adventurous and the inebriated' is how organisers describe the Grand Flaneur Walk, a stroll without purpose, participants wearing their finest dandy, flaneur or fop outfits — think top hats, handlebar moustaches, pocket squares, pocket watches, the works! FREE, 12pm
FAMILY BARN DANCE: Take the whole family along to Cecil Sharp House in Camden for a ceilidh and maypole dancing session. No experience is necessary as expert caller Sheena Masson will tell you the steps as you go, accompanied by a live band. 1.30pm-4.30pm
MAUREEN LIPMAN: Actor Dame Maureen Lipman leads an evening of entertainment at Park Theatre in Finsbury Park. British poets Jeremy Robson and Pauline Prior-Pitt, vocalist Jacqui Dankworth, American jazz pianist Charlie Wood and British jazz stalwart Art Themen are all on the line-up, with centenarian actress Thelma Ruby making a special appearance. 7pm
BREWERY COMEDY: Round off your week with a chuckle at Brockley Brewery's comedy night. Collywobblers Comedy take over the venue, bringing Mark Thomas, Tevin Everett, Estefania Baha, Celine Kuklowsky, Gabrielle MacPherson and a special guest TBC to the stage. 7pm-10pm
