From flea markets to international festivals, here’s what to do in London this autumn
Summer may be receding in the rear-view mirror, giving way to unfamiliar rainy weather and evenings where the streetlights come on before you’ve left the office. But don’t worry – we have some fun things to do this month to take you into autumn with a smile.
3-6 September
For more than a decade, fans of flamed, grilled and charred meats have flocked to Tobacco Dock to get their fix of some of the finest steaks, rumps, bellies and shoulders in London. With a line-up including top chefs including Nathan Chapman from Quality Chop House, Dave Marrow from Embers and Melanie Brown from The Laundry, the 2026 festival promises to be another hit. General admission costs from £31.80 for a day ticket, with bundles available that include “meatbucks” you can redeem against food.
3-13 September
Another long-standing event in the festival calendar, now in its 11th year, the London Podcast Festival returns for another fortnight of live podcasts featuring some of your favourite podcasters, with guests including Jameela Jamil and the hosts of Life After Prison. Book your tickets in advance and head to King’s Place to have your ears filled with the sounds of content being created.
5 September
If you’re into classic kung-fu movies – and you really should be – Genesis Cinema in Whitechapel is the place to be this Saturday. There will be screenings of his movies and documentaries about the star throughout the day and organisers promise an “immersive program celebrating Bruce Lee’s enduring legacy, cinematic impact, and martial arts philosophy” to really get you in the mood.
6 September
Big Penny Social has become a hub for the good people of Walthamstow, offering everything from rare shoe markets to sports screenings. On Sunday the Flea Market returns, with 60 vendors offering furniture, second hand clothes collectibles and assorted ephemera. It’s a great place to spend an afternoon, and after you’ve lightened your wallet at the market you can play a few games of table football while you drink locally-brewed craft beer.
12-20 September
One of the biggest design festivals in the world, the London Design Festival spans the capital, from Earle’s Court to Bethnal Green and Finsbury Park to Peckham. Expect an eclectic mix of workshops, seminars, displays and lectures on everything from how to make a bowl to designing for those with neurodivergence. There’s something for everyone, and it’s all delivered with a typical sense of art-school cool.
7-18 October
Rupert Murdorch’s early career on Fleet Street is explored in Ink, new from Danny Boyle and one of hundreds of films premiering at this year’s London Film Festival. Elsewhere, capitalist takedown and absurdist crime comedy I Love Boosters follows a group of shoplifters. Opening gala Elsinore is the biopic of actor Ian Charleson, the actor who played Hamlet in the months before he passed aged 39. Book tickets to dozens more films, go to Q+As with A-List actors, or take in immersive experiences around the capital. Tickets on sale from 17 September; galas cost £40.
THE HAPPY MINDS CLINIC
16-18 September
Beryl Flynn’s new play The Happy Minds Clinic comes to Greenwich Theatre for three performances later this month. Billed as a dark comedy set behind the doors of an exclusive private psychotherapy clinic, it blends dark comedy, psychological drama and workplace satire, taking aim at toxic workplace culture, professional power and obsession.
Excitement is at fever pitch for this incredibly old piece of wool yarn to arrive in the capital. For the last 949 years the seventy-metre-long medieval artwork has been based at the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Normandy, France, but it resides at the British Museum until July 2027. The piece retells the story of the events leading to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
12-20 September
Poke around some of the capital’s most impressive buildings as part of Open House London, which provides temporary access to places that are typically closed to the public. Unusual buildings available for tours this year include the top floor of the revolving BT Tower, the iconic ‘inside-out’ Lloyd’s Building in the Square Mile with its exposed metalwork, and the Kilmorey Mausoleum in Twickenham, an Egyptian-style tomb decorated with eccentric design styles. programme.
Underbelly Boulevard Soho’s ‘Fringe Fix’
If you failed to make it up to Scotland this month, fear not: some of the best shows from the Edinburgh Fringe make their way to London this September. Underbelly Boulevard Soho’s ‘Fringe Fix’ offers a dedicated selection of shows from the Scottish capital. Highlights to catch include Never Let Go: An Unauthorised Retelling of James Cameron’s Titanic; CSI: Crime Scene Improvisation and Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story.
All month
Running in one way or another since 1997, this celebration of the capital’s great waterway takes place “on, beneath and along” the water. Events stretch the length of the river, from Hampton Court to Dartford Crossing. Organised by the Thames Festival Trust, this year’s events include the Turning the Tide riverside photography exhibition at Peter’s Hill near St Paul’s Cathedral; the Sing for Water event uniting over 40 choirs in the Oxo Tower Courtyard and an orchestral performance of Handel’s Water Music at Bexley near Abbey Wood.
20 September
This celebration of the food, culture and communities of Brick Lane will see live music, dance and puppetry take to the famous cobbles. Pairing with the entertainment, which runs from noon until 7PM, participating curry houses will offer speciality regional dishes. Also during the day, the experience to try saree draping, dance workshops and hear Bollywood brass bands and dhol drummers.
Elektra/Persona play
You’ve seen those viral clips of her cycling out of the National Theatre stage door on her fancy Brompton bike, so now you can see her on the actual stage: Hollywood legend Cate Blanchett returns to London theatre this month in Elektra/Persona, a modern piece of writing conjoining ancient Greek myth Elektra with Ingmar Bergman’s 1966 psychological thriller Persona. The Elekra first act follows a woman’s grief after the death of her father, while the second act, Persona, is inspired by Bergman’s film, in which an actor goes mute mid-performance.