We can’t help but smile when it’s springtime in London (if the sun is on our side anyway). There’s also nothing wrong with a few refreshing April showers – and we’re sure to get plenty of those. Whatever the weather, there are brilliant things to do in London in April.
1. First and foremost, we finally have an excuse to eat ice cream (as if we needed one before). This month, Four Winters are launching their range of ice cream freshly frozen using liquid nitrogen technology.
2. For another way to cool off, dive into King’s Cross Pond club – the ‘art installation’ you can swim in.
3. The first ever London Games Festival (1st – 9th April) brings us more childish fun, which includes the installation of a giant playable Monopoly board in Trafalgar Square!
4. Have a fair, fluffy fight when National Pillow Fight Day comes to Green Park on 2nd April.
5. For the caffeine addicts amongst us, London Coffee Festival comes to The Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane between the 7th – 10th.
6. CircusFest soars into The Roundhouse at Chalk Farm for the month. For more info and other wonderful shows, check this out.
7. On the 9th April thousands of Sikhs will take to the streets to celebrate Vaisakhi, their New Year.
8. The giant purple cow, courtesy of E4, brings side-splitting laughs back to the South Bank from 9th April with the annual Udderbelly Festival.
9. Adorned with mirrors, Covent Garden will look like this.
10. April’s a month crammed with patriotic celebrations, including the Queen’s actual birthday on the 21st. (Although her official birthday is when the real partying takes place.)
11. The Feast of St George’s Day is celebrated in Trafalgar Square on the 23rd… but we all can safely admit it has nothing on St Paddy’s.
12. And, for the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s Death on the 23rd, the National Theatre are putting on numerous talks, exhibitions and events. This includes a free outdoor film screening of Henry V starring Laurence Olivier on the 21st April.
13. But if you’re less iambic pentameter and more Grease Lightening, the Drive In Film Club at Alexandra Palace is probably the outdoor cinema for you. For more of London’s film houses, check out these babies.
14. Or if you’re after a more terrifying experience, Secret Cinema are running an immersive screening of 28 Days Later this month. You can get tickets here.
15. The V&A Museum is making us a bit hot under the collar this month (we never thought we’d say that!) as the exhibition Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear opens on 16th April.
16. Of course, Virgin Money’s London Marathon returns on 24th April.
17. An alternative water-based race, the London Kayakathon, takes place on the Thames on the 23rd April.
18. The new month brings new wonderful pop ups. Origins Of is debuting its Middle Eastern menu in Spitalfields Blessings from April 7th.
19. We’re now getting long enough periods of sunshine to enjoy a rooftop bar session!
Featured Image credit: BBC