January has arrived, bringing with it a fresh chapter in 2026. While many of us set ambitious goals and resolutions for the year ahead, there’s no denying that January often earns its reputation as one of the tougher months. The sun sets early, temperatures drop, and our wallets feel noticeably lighter after holiday spending sprees.
However, there’s a silver lining to these chilly, quiet weeks. January presents a perfect opportunity to explore London without the usual tourist crowds and at wallet-friendly prices. Many of the capital’s top-rated shows, dining spots, and entertainment venues – carefully vetted by Time Out’s local experts – roll out special promotions, discount tickets, and budget-friendly menus designed to draw people out during the year’s darkest days.
January isn’t just about weathering the gloom, though. The month brings its own festive occasions worth celebrating. Across London, you’ll find Burns Night festivities honoring Scotland’s beloved bard Robert Burns, complete with traditional ceilidhs, haggis feasts, and poetry recitals. Additionally, the Lunar New Year arrives conveniently early this year on January 29, promising vibrant parades and celebratory dinners throughout the city.
For those embracing Dry January or launching into new fitness routines, London provides endless possibilities. The city boasts exceptional sports facilities, diverse fitness classes, beautiful parks, and impressive walking trails. It’s also become increasingly accommodating for those reducing or eliminating alcohol from their lives.
Then again, if your January plan involves cozying up beside a crackling fireplace in one of London’s warmest, most inviting pubs, that’s perfectly valid too! Whatever your approach to this opening month, we wish you a wonderful start to 2026.
1. Don’t miss your last chance to see some of 2025’s best exhibitions
London galleries and museums churned out hundreds of excellent exhibitions and art shows in 2025. And our critics were on the ground to see a lot of them. Lucky for you, there’s the chance to catch the tail end of a few of these shows in January 2026. From Dirty Looks at the Barbican, to Cecil Beaton’s Fashionable World at the National Portrait Gallery, and Secret Maps at the British Library, see these exhibits in Jan before it’s too late.
2. Take part in Dry January at one of London’s alcohol-free bars
Low and no-alcohol is bigger than ever, and London has never had so many options for having a tipple, without actually having a tipple. So if you’re thinking of doing Dry Jan, that doesn’t mean you’re going to be stuck with a month of watching MAFS on the sofa every weekend. You still go out! And we recommend heading to one of London’s best alcohol-free bars, from Raven Records, to Club Soda, there’s loads to choose from.
3. Head out of the city on a winter day trip
London might always be bustling with fun things to do and, come winter, a jam-packed calendar of unmissable events, but sometimes you just need a break from it all. When the capital’s hustle and bustle leaves you feeling a little drained, you can find some escape from the crowds and hordes of tourists by getting up and getting out just for a day. In dire need of crisp country air, a relaxing spa day or a gorgeous, long walk? These day trips from London are all under two hours from Zone 1 and will give you the relief you need this winter.
4. Get stuck into Veganuary at a vegan restaurant
Trying a plant-based diet this January doesn’t have to be boring. Whether you’re after a lavish night of culinary theatre, a delicate Middle Eastern spread, a Michelin-star winning tasting menu, or brisket at a vegan smokehouse, creative chefs are showing off their prowess with plants across the city, creating pitch-perfect imitations of meaty comfort food classics, or dreaming up new vegetable-based delights.
5. Take a bracing winter walk in London
Yes, it’s cold out. It’s also quite wet. The leaves have fallen from the trees and turned the pavements into a slimy, slippery ice rink. But we’re lucky to have some amazing, huge, parks in London, and walking around in them on a crisp winter’s day is genuinely one of life’s great joys. Whether you’re a Royal Parks stan or a fiend for Hampstead Heath, there are loads of parks to choose from. So, get out there.
6. Go for one last skate at a pop-up winter ice rink
Is there anything more wonderfully wintry than wrapping up warm, pulling on some ice skates and gliding around a frosty slab of ice with your loved ones? Each winter, London fills up with pop-up rinks, from the legendary Somerset House to the newer Glide at Battersea Power Station. At all, you’ll find festive vibes ramped up to the max, especially come December – and a lot of fellow Londoners vying for a spot on the ice. Book in advance to guarantee you can show off your best ice moves (or your ability to stay upright, at the very least). Here are some of the best rinks to soar across this winter.
7. Hob nob with the art world at the London Art Fair
London’s established winter art fair features over 120 international galleries showing modern art, photography, sculpture and everything in between. The 2026 edition of the London Art Fair will feature large-scale installations and thematic group displays from some very influential 20th and 21st century artists, including Tracey Emin, Barbara Hepworth, Francis Bacon, William Kentridge and Louise Bourgeois, while a Platform section will be presenting work from artists ‘redefining the boundaries between craft, applied art, and fine art, and challenging artistic expectations around materials’. A new partnership with the National Trust will see the conservation charity present an exhibition of surrealist and post-war abstract works from the collections of The Homewood and Erno Goldfinger’s 2 Willow Road, never before exhibited outside these iconic modernist homes.
8. Witness acclaimed dance-theatre company Gecko’s surreal show ‘The Wedding’
Gecko’s fantastic dance-theatre production The Wedding is back on in London. Surreal, funny and full of heart, The Wedding takes a poke at the marriage contract, takind the audience on a wild trip through a dystopian world where we are all brides, wedded to society. Part of MimeLondon, this production will be a stripped back imagining of Gecko’s beloved production.