After yelling with joy when you read this reminder that we’ll be getting a four-day weekend soon, you might realsie that you’ve got some planning to do. Thankfully, the Easter Weekend in London reeks of opportunity in the form of chocolate eggs, special menus, and immersive experiences. The fun begins on March 29 and spills over into the first day of April (and no, we’re not fooling you there). Here are some of the very best things to do in London over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.
1. Take part in a London Easter Egg Hunt
When you play word association there is only one thing that goes next to Easter, and that is QUITE OBVIOUSLY an egg. Preferably chocolate. There are plenty of hunts for them around London, too so put on your chocolate-detecting sensors and get out there this Easter to put all the eggs into your one basket. A time where that definitely is advised.
🥚 Immersive Easter Egg Hunt at Covent Garden (March 27 – April 24) with plenty of prizes available.
🍽️ Eggs placed strategically around The Table restaurant in Battersea for a hunt and other fun activities from 9am on Easter Monday (April 1).
🕺Easter Egg Climb Up at the O2 (March 29-31)
🐰 Lindt Gold Bunny hunt at Hampton Court Palace (March 27 – April 14)
🕵️ Run around St Katharine Docks each day between 12-4pm on March 29-31 to hunt for treats and even grab yourself a Fortnum and Mason Easter hamper.
2. Go to a Gunpowder Plot experience
If you want the energy turned up then the Gunpowder Plot Experience is the one for you. Have a run through history as you follow live actors through a reenactment of the infamous Guy Fawkes plot to blow up parliament. It takes place inside Tower Hill Vaults, mixes live actors with a VR cast (including Tom Felton), and even lets you have a pit stop for a drink at the Duck & Drake through the running time. Find out more and book your spot here.
3. Enjoy a Mad Hatters afternoon tea and ballet performance
A Mad Hatters Afternoon Tea feels pretty Easter-coded anyway, but for the long weekend, they’re putting on a special performance at the Sanderson Hotel. On March 30-31 only, attendees at the fancy Sanderson Hotel will be serenaded by a special Alice In Wonderland-inspired ballet as they sip a cup of tea and chomp down on a Queen Of Hearts (Madagascan vanilla cheesecake, Amalfi lemon, strawberry gel) or a Rabbit In The Hole (edible flowerpot, crumble soil, mousse, white rabbit). Book your spot here.
3. Try a Hot Cross Bun chip butty
Yes, you read that right. Poppies have drawn up another brilliant and bizarre concoction: putting chips inside a hot cross bun. The Fish and Chips favourites are known for deep frying festive treats at Christmas, but now they’ve taken their level of wit and flair to the next level to give us the bun we didn’t know we needed but now must get our hands on.
4. Take on an immersive Martian invasion
Easter is as good a time as any to kill time and take on an invasion. The Jeff Wayne’s The War of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience is a two-hour jolt to the system, in the best way possible. Live actors will accompany your trip back to 1868 to take on a Martian invasion and get all the energy out before ending the Bank Holiday Weekend in a food coma. Book your spot here.
5. Embark on an immersive journey to Ancient Egypt
If you’re slightly miffed about not going away for the Easter weekend, then this could be the next best thing. Travel to the Great Pyramid of Giza via Westfield Stratford. Get those VR headsets on and go forth into the journey to one of the great wonders of the world. Book your spot here.
6. Enjoy these family-friendly activities over Easter
What is the Easter weekend if not a time to spend with the whole family? There is plenty to do with kids in London, and this weekend is no different, so get lost in all there is to do around the city with the family.
🍣 Kids’n’sushi – Sticks’n’Sushi opening its doors to a new generation of chefs
✨ Take on the Avora Family Adventure to put on the jumpsuits and complete with the crew.
😀Smiley World art trail sculptures arrive at Battersea Power Station for its London debut.
7. Indulge in a special Sunday Roast
We’re still in Roast season here in London, and if there’s one thing you should be doing on Easter Sunday, it’s stuffing your face with the good stuff. Plenty of pubs will be putting on specials for the bank holiday weekend , so head to your local and order up a feast. May your potatoes be crispy and your Yorkshire puddings be a nice little pot for your gravy.
Check out our list of the best Sunday roasts in London.
8. Or indulge in another type of cuisine as an Easter special
Plenty of London’s favourite restaurants are putting on specials for the bank holiday weekend and beyond. Here are a few of our favourites:
🥧Lamb Hotpt at Nessa, Soho.
🌷Chef’s spring menu at the Michelin-starred LUCA, Clerkenwell between March 28 – April 12.
🍗 Cornish red chicken with sauce choron at Saison by Mauro Colagreco.
🤩 Hot Cross buns with feijoa, stem ginger and honeycomb butter at The Laundry in Brixton.
🤤 Easter feast, including Scottish Herdwick lamb with flatbread and chimichurri, at From The Ashes alongside beers from Five Points Brewery.
🥩 Signature Lamb Shank Kari as part of a feasting menu at Hoppers.
😋 Tuck into a bottomless Easter buffet at InterContinental London Park Lane, with 90 minutes of prosecco or Bloody Mary alongside the roast counter and hot cross buns.
9. Soak up the beautiful spring flowers at Kew Gardens
In between filling up on a delicious roast and a variety of delectable sweet treats you might fancy stretching your legs, breathing in the fragrance of fresh flowers and admiring the vibrant colours of flora and fauna. This bank holiday weekend, you can (literally) smell the roses – plus a variety of gorgeous spring flowers such as cherry blossom, tulips and daffodils – at Kew Gardens. They are also running plenty of activities over the Easter weekend, so book your spot and get over there for some springtime fun.
10. Tuck into a luxury Easter egg
Between March 19-31 you’ll have a chance to get your hands on some seriously sweet luxury thanks to the return of the pop-up cake shop at the Landmark London Hotel. After a successful stint in London at Christmas they’re back to give you their playful and delicious take on the Easter egg, using ingredients including strawberry & raspberry chocolate and even meringue to make their ‘sheep’-themed treat. Just pop in during the selected dates, as the products are available to guests and anyone passing by the Marylebone Hotel.
11. Step into the Wild Wild West for a tipple
This town ain’t is big enough for the both of us. In fact, it invites groups down for a rootin’ tootin’ immersive experience where guests smuggle their bottles of liquor into a prohibition-era saloon and have bartenders whip you up a cocktail where the secret ingredient is crime (kind of, not really). Witness this theatrical experience and see if you’re feeling lucky this Easter weekend. Find out more and book your place here.
12. Check out an Easter Art Fair
Head over to Barnes and go to the Easter Art Fair, which is back for its second year in a row, showing off art by more than 30 different artists. It runs for three days over the Easter weekend between 10am- 4pm, and is completely free to attend. Find out more here.
12. Go on the same date as Emma and Dexter from ‘One Day’
Most of you will likely have binged ‘One Day’, the tear-jerking adaptation from the beloved David Nicholls novel, by now; and you might recognise this London institution from the show. Quaglinos are inviting you down to try Emma’s fish and chips… but we’ll hope your date goes better on Good Friday than it did for the two protagonists in the show. Read more about it here.
13. Decorate some Easter Eggs
I guess if there was something else to do with Easter Eggs aside from eating enough of them to make you feel ill is to turn the entire thing into a wholesome activity. And decorating the eggs yourself certainly falls under that category. This one takes place a week before Easter at Madera, Treehouse Hotel on March 23, but it’ll get you in the spirit for the following weekend. Each guest will get to decorate three eggs as part of the workshop that lets you cover them in glitter, sprinkles and piping. Find out more and book a spot here.
14. Attend the lovely Accidentally Wes Anderson London exhibition
Look, Wes Anderson content is for the whole year, but surely when the spring colours are popping up around London you should be in the mood for an exhibition dedicated to seeing his work in everyday life. Check out over 200 photographs that compile the Accidentally Wes Anderson moments from around the globe before going home and binging all of his movies. Sounds like a fair deal to me… Get the details and book your spot here.
15. Witness the reenactment of the crucifixion on Trafalgar Square
‘The Passion Of Jesus’ is back on Trafalgar Square this year on Good Friday to reenact the whole reason why Easter is celebrated. A cast of more than 100 volunteers are taking the reins to carry out the roles of what went down (according to the Bible) over 2,000 years ago. Be sure to ride over to Trafalgar Square on a donkey to catch the action (do not actually do this). There are two performances—one at midday, one at 3:15pm—and anyone attending can expect 90 minutes of free fun, with a livestream also available on Facebook. Find out more here.
16. Take in the beautiful colours of the Delight Exhibition
After its success in Seoul, the Delight Exhibition has proved popular in London as it presents 12 immersive zones in the Borough Yards space using 25 forms of media content. It’s a multi-sensory affair and features plenty to sink your teeth into, including a giant moon sculpture, augmented reality pieces, and more. It’s suitable for all ages and you can plan your visit here!