All weekend
AI WEIWEI: Last chance to see Design Museum's exhibition, Ai Weiwei: Making Sense, which brings together several of the Chinese artist's works as a commentary on design. The show features recent art as well as specially-commissioned pieces, and received a five-star review from our art critic. Until 30 July
THE BIG CITY: Also closing this weekend is The Big City, a Guildhall Art Gallery exhibition showcasing some of the largest paintings in the gallery's collection, including several large-scale paintings of London itself, and many which aren't usually on show to the public. It's also a chance to see new painting, Pomp and Circumstance Adversus, by British contemporary artist Dan Llywelyn Hall, depicting King Charles III's coronation procession. FREE, until 30 July
JULIE THE MUSICAL: Julie D'Aubigny was a 17th-18th century French opera singer, and one of the first public figures to live as an openly bisexual woman. Now, her story is being told in new, short-run production Julie: The Musical, which is on until Sunday at The Other Palace. 25-30 July
FESTIVAL14: Music, theatre, dance, comedy and children’s activities are all part of Festival14, which returns to parks and open spaces around Canary Wharf. Head to Canada Square Park for the main stage, or explore the Crossrail Place Roof Garden, Westferry Circus and other areas for alternative entertainment. MOST EVENTS FREE, 26-30 July
FREUD'S ACROPOLIS: "When he reached the top of the Acropolis hill, gazing toward the sea, Freud experienced a feeling of astonishment and disbelief that puzzled him for decades..." Hampstead's Freud Museum opens its new show, Tracing Freud on the Acropolis — examining how a visit to Athens in 1904 changed Sigmund's Freud's outlook on life. 26 July-7 January 2024
POWER UP: This is the first weekend of Science Museum's brand new interactive gallery, Power Up. It's home to 160 consoles where you can play video games dating back over the last 50 years, including Pong, Pacman, Minecraft and MarioKart. Play single or multiplayer, depending how competitive you're feeling. One to bookmark for bad weather days over the summer holidays. Age 5+. From 27 July
LONDON ART BIENNALE: The London Art Biennale at Chelsea Town Hall presents work by 400+ artists from all around the world, emerging and established, in a celebration of contemporary art. It's free, and open to everyone. FREE, 27-30 July
BLACK EATS LDN: The Black-Owned Hackney Market is back for another outstanding weekend of food traders, drinks and DJs — a chance to shop, dance, eat a lot, and celebrate Black-owned businesses in the community. FREE, 28-30 July
GENESIS: New audiovisual immersive experience Aurorium: Genesis comes to the Swiss Church in Seven Dials, telling the story of the beginnings of the world as we know it through a 360º spectacle of sound, light and colour. It's a 30-minute experience that's previously taken place in mainland Europe. 28 July-22 October
FERIA DE LONDRES: Celebration of Spanish food and culture Feria de Londres pitches up at its new venue, Wembley Park, for two days of Spanish music and flamenco performances — plus workshops, food and drink stalls and other family fun. 29-30 July
LONDON E-PRIX: All-electric vehicles take over the area around Royal Docks and ExCeL for the London E-Prix this weekend. The track partially goes inside the ExCeL Centre itself, as well as using the local roads — and there's a fan village, live music and kids' area for spectators. 29-30 July
CAMP YA: A book festival celebrating the YA (young adult) genre comes to east London — as well as online — for two days. Camp YA includes author talks and signings, a book swap and a marketplace, with authors Cynthia So, Sara Barnard and Luke Palmer confirmed so far. 29-30 July
LAVENDER HARVEST: This weekend sees the 24th annual Carshalton Lavender Harvest. You can pick your own lavender, tuck into cakes, buy upcycled art — and loads more besides. Booking ahead is recommended. 29-30 July
Saturday 29 July
SECRET CITY: This two-hour walk from London on the Ground takes in some of the secret spaces to the west of the Square Mile, including "Roman walls, ruined churches, sculpture, glimpses of Shakespeare and beautiful trees and plants hidden among the City of London's office blocks and skyscrapers". 11am-1pm
FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY MASTERCLASS: Montcalm East's photographer in residence Riki Verma offers a series of fashion photography masterclasses — and today's session focuses on long exposure photography. It's aimed at intermediate level photographers, with a model present so you can focus on learning new techniques under expert guidance. 11am
OLD WAPPING: Tour guide Alison Turner leads a small group around the atmospheric Georgian riverside wharves and stairways of Old Wapping. Discover tales of London's maritime past, pirates, executions, and murder most foul. Meet noon for 12.15pm start
MILKY WAY VR EXPERIENCE: Physicist Brian Cox has lent his voice to a new VR experience at the Royal Institution. Beyond the Milky Way takes visitors on a tour of the Square Kilometre Array telescope being built in the Australian outback, and offers a look at what it will be able to see when it's complete. 12.15pm-8pm today (and Monday-Saturday until 19 August)
MUSIC QUIZ: Know your power ballads from your indie bangers, and your chart classics from your guilty pleasures? Over 100 songs spanning multiple genres feature in the Sounds Familiar music quiz brunch at Juju's in Shoreditch. Tickets include bottomless prosecco for two hours, with food available to buy on the day. Teams of up to 10 people. 12pm-4pm
REGENT'S ROOTS: This free family festival takes place on Drummond Street, and features an eclectic mash-up of dance, circus, workshops, interactive art, inflatables — plus food and drink — as part of Camden's South Asian Heritage Month programme. FREE, noon-6pm
GLITTERFEST: Don your sparkliest outfit and head to Between the Bridges on South Bank for Glitterfest, a night of RnB, hip hop and garage tunes played by DJs, as well as dancers, circus acts and other entertainment — with confetti cannons blasting all night. 5pm-11pm
SPICE FESTIVAL: Following on from Regent's Roots (above), a second festival takes place on Drummond Street. The short road near Euston is famed for its South Asian restaurants, but they've taken a huge hit in the wake of Covid and HS2 construction. Drummond Street Spice Sundowner this evening is a community-led celebration of the area, featuring dishes for £5 from 15 restaurants, DJs, Bollywood dancing, henna artists and creative workshops. 6pm-11pm
FREE MUSIC: Welsh soul artist Nia Wyn heads an evening of free live music at JuJu's Bar & Stage in Spitalfields. She's on the bill alongside alternative hip hop artist Kwoli Black; singer, rapper and songwriter R.A.E, and Duchess, who fuses R&B, soul and hip-hop. FREE, 6pm
AFRICA FESTIVAL: Head to Rich Mix for Focus Africa Festival, a celebration of music and fashion from all over the African continent. Musicians including Yaaba Funk, Grupo Lokito and Koroleko Moussa Dembele provide a soundtrack to the event, alongside a showcase of celebrated fashion creatives from Africa and the African Diaspora. 7pm
MYSTERY MOVIE MARATHON: The wonderful Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square runs one of its Mystery Movie Marathons, kicking off just before midnight and running for about 10 (!) hours. Watch five random and completely unconnected films back to back, with no clue in advance as to what they might be. 11.45pm
Sunday 30 July
CHICKENSHED THEATRE: Chickenshed Theatre's Festival of Fun kicks off with Tales Big Day Out — a family-friendly day of bitesized theatre performances taking place both inside and outside Chickenshed's venue in Southgate. Expect plenty of singing and dancing, along with workshops and more. 10am/1pm
WHITEWEBBS: It's the last Sunday of the month which means Whitewebbs Transport Museum in Enfield opens to the public, offering us a chance to see all manner of historic vehicles, from motorbikes to fire engines, via cars, bicycles, tractors, buses and more. Read about our visit so you know what to expect. 10am-4pm
KIDS' SINGALONG: Walthamstow's Big Penny Social hosts family-friendly show Mrs H and the Sing-Along Band. It's an hour of audience participation, theatrical engagement and communal singing, taking place on the venue's pop-up beach, with a seaside theme running throughout. 11am-12pm
CROYDON CARNIVAL: Croydon Carnival parades through town, closing London Road to traffic for a series of stages which will host — among others — garage legend Artful Dodger. The whole event is a celebration of the diversity of food, religion and culture in West Croydon. FREE, 11am-6pm
SWING MUSIC: Put some swing into your Sunday, with an afternoon of free music at Jamboree in King's Cross. Sure to have your toes tappin' and head swayin'. FREE, 3pm-5pm
CREATIVE CRAFTERNOON: Colour therapist and Londonist contributor Momtaz Begum-Hossain launches a new crafting event, offering Londoners somewhere to step away from distractions and immerse yourself in a creative project — all materials are provided, and no experience is necessary. Takes place at Well Bean Co Café in Royal Docks. Age 16+. 4pm-6pm
WIND IN THE WILLOWS: Quantum Theatre perform their brand new adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's classic novel, The Wind in the Willows, in the grounds of Ham House. Take your own chair/blanket and picnic to the Thameside spot in Richmond, and watch the story of Mole, Ratty, Badger and co. 6.30pm-8pm
CUTTY SARK COMEDY: Finish up your week having a laugh on board the Cutty Sark in Greenwich. Leroy Brito headlines this month's comedy show, which takes place in the vessel's lower hold, with support acts Sarah Roberts and Vlad Ilich. 6.30pm-8.30pm
NEWSREVUE: See out the week with a satirical look back on all the increasingly crazy things that've been going on in the world lately, courtesy of long-running song/sketch show Newsrevue — as ever at Little Venice's Canal Cafe Theatre. 7pm
LAWN SESSION: Enjoy an evening of music on the main lawn at Chelsea Physic Garden, part of the venue's ongoing Summer Festival. Tonight, there's an alternative, RnB and soul theme to the evening, with live performances from jazz musician Hohnen Ford, multi-genre band State of Play, and harpist and singer Tara Minton. Bring your own blanket. Food and drink is available from the cafe. 7pm-9pm
GRETA THUNBERG: Environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg is among a group of young climate leaders taking part in The Climate Conversation at Southbank Centre, part of the venue's Planet Summer series focusing on the climate. Tori Tsui, Vanessa Nakate, Dominique Palmer, Daphne Frias, Mya-Rose Craig and Ati Viviam Villafaña also take part — they all gathered at The New York Times Climate Hub during COP26 in November 2021, and now almost two years later, are reconvening to see what progress has been made. 8pm
