Seasonal
The 6 Best Things to Do in London in May
May is the month London stops apologising for its weather. The light stretches past nine, the parks turn properly green, and the calendar fills with the things the city does best when it warms up: flowers, rooftops, theatre under the sky. Here are six worth your evening.
In short: our top picks are RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and London Craft Week. 6 places in total, chosen on merit, with the full reasoning below.
There is a particular fortnight in May when London seems to remember what it is for. The plane trees come into full leaf almost overnight, the evenings hold their light until well past nine, and the whole city tilts outdoors with the quiet relief of people who have waited a long time for it. The weather is not to be trusted, of course. You will still want a jacket, and at least one of your plans will be ambushed by a sudden shower off the river. But May in London is the city at its most generous: warm enough for a terrace, cool enough for a fire still laid in a good pub, and lit by that soft northern evening light that flatters everything from a rose bed to a glass of something cold. It is also the month the calendar comes alive. The grand set pieces arrive now and return every year, so you can plan around them without checking whether they still exist. Chelsea takes over a corner of SW3 for a week. The Open Air Theatre throws open its season in Regent’s Park. Craftspeople fill the West End. And the more reliable pleasures, the seasonal ones that need no ticket, quietly come good: rooftops reopen, asparagus appears on the better menus, and the heath fills with walkers headed for a pint in a garden. What follows is six of them, a mix of the annual and the evergreen, chosen because they reward the month rather than merely fill it.
| Place | Area | Price |
|---|---|---|
| RHS Chelsea Flower Show | Chelsea | ££ |
| Regent's Park Open Air Theatre | Regent's Park | ££ |
| London Craft Week | Across London | |
| Frank's Cafe at Bold Tendencies | Peckham | ££ |
| The Spaniards Inn | Hampstead | ££ |
| The Game Bird at The Stafford | £££ |
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Editor’s choice
RHS Chelsea Flower Show
Why we pick itFor one week in late May the grounds of the Royal Hospital become the most scrutinised acre of horticulture in the world, and even if you have no garden of your own it is worth seeing once. Go on a public day, take the late-afternoon slot when the daytrippers thin out, and treat the show gardens less as inspiration and more as theatre.
Annual flower show and garden festival
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Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
Why we pick itThe season opens at the start of May every year, and there is nothing quite like a play that begins in daylight and ends under a darkening sky with the swifts wheeling overhead. Bring a blanket and something to drink, arrive early enough to wander Queen Mary's Gardens before curtain, and accept that the occasional aeroplane is part of the bargain.
Outdoor theatre under the trees
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London Craft Week
Why we pick itFor a week in mid-May, makers and galleries open their doors across the city, and much of it is free if you know where to look. The pleasure is in the wandering: a hand-embroidery demonstration in a Mayfair showroom, a workshop in a Bermondsey arch, a quiet conversation with someone who has spent thirty years perfecting one small thing. Pick a neighbourhood and let the programme guide an afternoon.
Citywide craft and design festival
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Frank's Cafe at Bold Tendencies
Why we pick itThe original London rooftop, and still the one to beat. It opens in the middle of May and runs all summer, perched on the top deck of a car park with the whole skyline laid out beyond the parapet. Come for a Campari as the sun drops behind the Shard, stay for the art downstairs, and forgive the climb. It is card only and takes no bookings, so go early on a clear evening.
Rooftop bar on a Peckham car park
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The Spaniards Inn
Why we pick itA sixteenth-century inn on the edge of the heath, with a garden that earns its reputation the moment the weather turns. Keats is said to have written here, Dickens put it in Pickwick, and on a warm May evening it fills with walkers coming off Hampstead Heath in exactly the way it has for centuries. Combine it with a long loop across the heath and you have the whole month in an afternoon.
Historic pub with a walled garden
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The Game Bird at The Stafford
Why we pick itMay is English asparagus at its short, glorious peak, and this is the moment to eat it somewhere that takes it seriously. The kitchen here keeps it simple, grilled green and white spears with brown butter and Gruyère, and a tucked-away St James's address that feels a world away from the bustle. Order it as a starter, with a glass of English white, and let the season do the work.
British dining room with a seasonal menu
Before you book
A few of these run to a schedule. Chelsea sells out early and the public days fill fast, so book the moment tickets open rather than the week of. The Open Air Theatre and Frank’s both open in the first half of May and run through summer, so an early-May visit catches them fresh and uncrowded. The rooftops and pub gardens are weather-dependent by nature; check the forecast, but do not over-trust it, and keep a backup indoors. Most of the free pleasures, the rose garden and the heath especially, are best in the soft hour before the light goes, when the crowds thin and the city looks its part.
Common questions
What are the top picks in this guide?
RHS Chelsea Flower Show is our editor's choice: For one week in late May the grounds of the Royal Hospital become the most scrutinised acre of horticulture in the world, and even if you have no garden of your own it is worth seeing once. Go on a public day, take the late-afternoon slot when the daytrippers thin out, and treat the show gardens less as inspiration and more as theatre. RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and London Craft Week lead the guide, with 6 places in total, all chosen on merit.
How does Lamplit London choose its recommendations?
Every place is chosen on merit, after first-hand visits where possible, with no pay-for-placement. Read our full method at https://www.lamplitlondon.com/how-we-choose/.
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