Boutique London Lets - Next 12 months events: All
- family friendly
Regent Street Christmas Lights
8 November to 25 December 2011
Area: Central London, Oxford Street
Price: Free
You shouldn't miss the Christmas lights around Regent Street and lining Oxford Street, all the way up to Marble Arch. Insider tip: take a stroll down Carnaby Street for some alternative festive decorations.
- family friendly
January Sales
26 December 2011 to 31 January 2012
Area: Knightsbridge, Oxford Street
Price: £10 - £50
If you're spending the holidays in London, be prepared to get up at the crack of dawn on Boxing Day to beat the hordes at the high street sales. Department stores like Harrods thankfully wait a few more days
- festival
New Year's Day Parade
1st January 2012
Area: Westminster, West End
Price: Free
Description: Bring 2012 in with style - and hopefully not too much of a headache - with this parade which starts off at The Ritz and ends up in Parliament Square, outside Big Ben.
- festival
Chinese New Year in London
c. 6 February
Area: Leicester Square, Soho
Price: £10 - £50
Head down to Trafalgar Square or Chinatown in Soho for lanterns, traditional Chinese food, fireworks, dancing puppets and martial arts displays. The whole area really comes alive for one night.
- romance
Valentine's Day
14 February 2012
Area: Central London, Camden, Southwark
Price: £50 - £100
A champagne flight on the London Eye, watching the sun go down on Primrose Hill or floating past the architecture of old London on a river cruise, London can be just as romantic as Valentine's destinations like Paris and Venice.
- festival
London Fashion Week
18 to 24 February 2012
Area: Central London, East London
Price: £50 - £100
Fashion buyers, editors and bloggers descend on Somerset House twice a year and in February they'll sit down to see autumn and winter clothes.. in Spring. Don't ask us how it works, we'll never understand.
- festival
- eating & dining
Pancake Day/ Shrove Tuesday/ Mardi Gras
22 February 2012
Area: Central London, Bloomsbury
Price: Free-£10, £10-£50
Try My Old Dutch Pancake House in Holborn or recreate Shrove Tuesday in the comfort of a Boutique London Lets apartment with a few supermarket ingredients. We love the classic lemon and sugar combination.
- festival
- eating & dining
St Patrick's Day
17-18 March 2012
Area: Central London, Soho, Islington
Price: £10-£50
So you might not get a chance to visit Ireland while you're here but London goes St Patrick's Day crazy for the weekend with a parade of marching bands and floats through Piccadilly and parties in pubs across the capital.
- family friendly
Easter Weekend
6 April to 9 April 2012
Area: South London, Central London
Price: £10-£50
A great time to visit with kids, lots of Easter Egg hunts and chocolate-related activities take place around the city - there's even an Easter head hunt at the London Bridge experience.
- sport & fitness
The Boat Race
7 April 2012
Area: Putney, South West London
Price: Free
Every year Oxford and Cambridge universities take on each other in this famous boat race from Putney to Mortlake. Up to 250,000 people go to watch the race to cheer on the university rowing crews.
- sport & fitness
London Marathon
22 April 2012
Area: South London, Greenwich, Canary Wharf, Central London
Price: Free to watch, £100+ to register
We don't know how they do it but thousands of people run the 26.2 mile circuit from the outskirts of the city inwards. A good spot to cheer the runners on is on Tower Bridge but be warned, it can get crowded.
- cultural
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
18 May to 8 September
Area: Camden
Price: £10-£50
Regent's Park is beautiful in its own right - grass, sunshine and lazing around with London Zoo next door. But it gets even better when musicals and plays are staged there on balmy summer nights. Don't miss it.
- sport & fitness
2012 Summer Olympic Games
27 July to 12 August 2012
Area: East London, Stratford, Central London
Price: From free, tickets from £20.12 to £2012
The Olympics being held in the UK doesn't come round very often so make the most of it by seeing the marathon run past historic monuments and taking in the brand new Olympic Park in Stratford and East London.
- festival
- cultural
Notting Hill Carnival
27 to 28 August 2012
Area: Notting Hill, West London
Price: Free to £50
This carnival takes place on the August Bank Holiday weekend and marks the last chance to party in the summer. Londoners loosen up - Caribbean food stalls, floats and impromptu dance floors everywhere.
- festival
- cultural
Thames Festival
8 to 9 September 2012
Area: the Thames, South London, Central London
Price: Free
Live music, fireworks, food - everything you'd expect from a festival. And it's all free! And the two day event, run by the Mayor of London centers around London's famous river, the Thames.
- festival
- cultural
BFI London Film Festival
October 2012
Area: Central London, Leicester Square, Southbank
Price: £10-£50
One for film buffs, you can see documentaries, indie festival films and blockbusters-to-be in amongst the press and you can brag to all your friends about director QandAs and special, exclusive screenings.
- festival
Bonfire Night Fireworks
5 November 2012
Area: The Thames, Southbank
Price: Free
Gunpowder, treason and plot. Look out for fireworks on the River Thames, Alexandra Palace and lots of back gardens plus bonfires and fairgrounds on Clapham Common.