City of London Live
The Square Mile, every day.
What's on this week. What's changing. And the stories beneath your feet, in the oldest part of London. Independent, and checked line by line.
Everything, at a glance.
Ten reasons to leave the house.
Eight of them free. Every one checked with its organiser.
St James's Motoring Spectacle
Pall Mall, St James's
FreeSaturdayLondon's Day of the Dead
Columbia Road, Bethnal Green
FreeSaturdayHalloween slime workshop
Old Spitalfields Market, on the City's edge
FreeBoth daysBeyond Bayeux at Guildhall Art Gallery
Guildhall Yard, City of London
Pay what you canBoth daysA giant jewel beetle in Leadenhall Market
Gracechurch Street, City of London
FreeBoth daysHalloween at Kew
Kew Gardens, Richmond
From £14SundayLondon to Brighton Veteran Car Run
Hyde Park, by Wellington Arch
FreeSundayBarts Great Hall and the Hogarth Stair
St Bartholomew's Hospital, West Smithfield, City of London
FreeSundayFrieze Sculpture: last day
English Gardens, The Regent's Park
FreeSundayWartime London in Art: last day
IWM London, Lambeth Road
FreeNearly 2,000 years. One square mile.
Secrets, skylines and big days, told in a few slides.
London Stone, 111 Cannon Street: what it is and how to see it free
London Stone is a block of limestone in a wall on Cannon Street, free to see. What we know, what's myth, and why it has moved so often.
The Monument, London: why 202 feet matters, and what it costs to climb
The Monument is 202 feet tall and stands about 202 feet from where the Great Fire began. Prices and opening hours checked 25/10/2026.
Free views over the City of London: 5 viewpoints, all free
Sky Garden, Horizon 22, The Lookout, The Garden at 120 and One New Change: five free viewpoints in the Square Mile, with booking tips checked 25/10/2026.
The City of London with every building removed
Environment Agency LiDAR shows the land under the Square Mile: Ludgate Hill, Cornhill, the lost Walbrook and the Fleet valley, plus a walk to feel it.
Things to do in London this weekend (31/10 to 01/11): 10 Halloween weekend picks
10 Halloween weekend picks in London, eight of them free: veteran cars on Pall Mall, Day of the Dead on Columbia Road, Kew after dark and more.
Lord Mayor's Show 2026: times, route and where to watch
Saturday 14 November 2026, free: the river pageant from 8:30am, the procession from Mansion House at 11:00, the best spots and why the Show happens.
The City, this week.
Openings, closures and big decisions, in a minute's read.
- Culture
London Museum opens at Smithfield on 28/11/2026
Put 28/11/2026 in the diary. London Museum opens in the restored Victorian General Market at Smithfield, and its galleries are free. Inside: the Cheapside Hoard, the Lord Mayor's Coach and a six-metre window onto passing Thameslink trains. The £437 million project marks the museum's 50th anniversary, and the Poultry Market next door follows in 2028.
Source: londonmuseum.org.uk
- City life
Leadenhall's lights go on at 6pm on 19/11/2026
Thursday 19/11/2026: celebrations start at 5.15pm and the lights go on at 6pm. Expect a 26ft tree beneath the atrium, Beehive Passage turned into a tunnel of Victorian-style lights, live music and snow. The market says more of its Christmas programme is still to come.
Source: leadenhallmarket.co.uk
- Events
The new Lord Mayor arrives by river on 14/11/2026
For the first time since 2017, the Show begins on the water. At 8.30am on 14/11/2026, Bronek Masojada, who takes office at the Silent Ceremony the day before, sails from Westminster to HMS President aboard the Royal Shallop Jubilant with a flotilla of Livery boats. At 11am about 6,500 people set off from Mansion House for the Royal Courts of Justice and back. It's free, and many City roads close.
Source: news.cityoflondon.gov.uk
- 19daysFri 13/11/2026
Silent Ceremony at Guildhall
Guildhall, City of London. Alderman Bronek Masojada becomes the 698th Lord Mayor.
Details - 20daysSat 14/11/2026, 08:30
Lord Mayor's Show
Mansion House to the Royal Courts of Justice. Free. River pageant from 8.30am; procession leaves Mansion House at 11am.
Details - 25daysThu 19/11/2026, 17:15
Leadenhall Market lights switch-on
Leadenhall Market, City of London. Free. From 5.15pm; lights on at 6pm; 26ft tree and snow.
Details - 34daysSat 28/11/2026, 10:00
London Museum opens at Smithfield
General Market, West Smithfield. Free galleries, timed tickets.
Details - 34daysSat 28/11/2026, 17:00
Advent Carol Service at St Paul's
St Paul's Cathedral. Free and unticketed. Also on 29/11 at 5pm.
Details - 56daysSun 20/12/2026, 15:00
Blessing of the Crib and tree lighting
St Paul's Cathedral. Free.
Details
Small place. Big numbers.
Roughly 290 hectares, running from Temple in the west to the Tower of London in the east. Source
That is about one in every 48 workers in Great Britain. Source
The Romans founded it between 47 and 50 CE on the Thames's north bank, where the City stands. Source
Built around 200 to 220 CE from Blackfriars to the Tower; sections still stand today. Source
Bronek Masojada takes office at the Silent Ceremony in Guildhall on 13 November 2026. Source
The newest, the Worshipful Company of Human Resource Professionals, joined in February 2026. Source
All rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666, under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren. Source
Wren and Hooke's column remembers the Great Fire of 1666, with 311 steps to the top. Source
City secrets
One hidden thing at a time, and how to see it free.
SeriesSkyline
Towers, views and the rules that shape them.
SeriesLondon without buildings
The ground beneath the City, mapped from LiDAR.
SeriesThis weekend in London
Every Thursday: the weekend, sorted.
SeriesMoments
The City's big days: times, routes, best spots.
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