Ooh it's the brilliant annual Totally Thames festival all month - all things river (Sep 1-30)

Time to unplug for the London Podcast Festival at King's Place (Sep 4-14)

30,000 of the original 888,000+ poppies in Paul Cummins' famous 2014 artwork, marking the start of the Great War, are back at the Tower of London moat for the 80th anniversary(until November 11)

The National Maritime Museum stages the spectacular Astronomy Photographer of the Year (from Sep 12)

The Serpentine Pavilion 2025, an elongated tent form by Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum, in homage South Asian vernacular architecture, is open in Kensington Gardens to October 26

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SOMERSET HOUSE! Loads of free (and family) events going on for Step Inside 25 weekend (Sep 13/14)

The charming Charles Dickens Museum on just as charming Doughty Street celebrates its 100th birthday with an exhibition on his life and work (throughout 2025)

Another much-loved annual favourite, Open House, opens the doors on usually private buildings - move fast though, lots of stuff booked up already (Sep 13-21)

The National Gallery's new exhibition 'Helene Kröller-Müller's Neo-Impressionists' examines the period between Impressionism and Post-Impressionism (from Sep 13)

The London Design Festival takes over venues across the city for its annual celebration of the capital's creativity (Sep 13-21)

'Dress Codes' at Kensington Palace explores royal fashion codes over the centuries - with a brilliant fashion catwalk display by young designers (until Nov 13)

Last chance: Regent's Park Open Air Theatre's summer season Rodgers & Hammerstein, Mallory Blackman, Roald Dahl and Brigadoon ends Sep 20

The arterati descend on London for the Frieze Sculpture fair in Regent's Park, always worth a stroll around even if you're unlikely to buy (from Sep 17)

The Great River Race - a 21-mile marathon along the River Thames from Millwall west to Ham - takes place on Sep 20

Also on Sep 20 is the opening of 'Marie Antoinette Style' at the V&A, exploring the French queen's inimitable taste and its effect on modern fashion

Entries to much-loved Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition are on show at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington until next June (2026)

'The Edwardians: Age of Elegance', another excellent exhibition from the Royal Collections Trust, is at the King's Gallery at Buckingham Palace (to November 23)

Life beyond Earth? Find out at the Science Museum's ticketed show, with tons to see including a 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite. Suitable for 8+ (to Feb 2026)

British artists Edward Burra and Ithell Colquhoun- surrealists and documenters of the UK's underworld in the 1930s/40s - share a show at Tate Britain (to Oct 19)

'Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur' features 40 new works in the august, oddly cool, surroundings of the Wallace Collection (to October 26)

The annual 'How The Light Gets In' festival attracts brains to Kenwood for a weekend of talks, discussions and jollity (Sep 20/21)

For three flamboyant years, Blitz drew the demi-monde of the early 80s to WC2. Now the Design Museum picks over the fashion, the fun and the funk (Sep 20-Mar 29)

Cornish opera company opens its playful, vibrant London season at the Cockpit Theatre (Sep 22-Oct 8)

The Chelsea History Festival takes over various historic venues in south west London (Sep 24-28)

The Barbican's exhibition 'Dirty Looks: Desire and Decay in Fashion' looks at the unromantic side of fashion and its radical protagonists (Sep 25-Jan 2026)

Put in it your diaries: on Sep 27 at 2pm, Elstree Studios and Guinness World Records are celebrating 100 years of movies by attempting to break the world record for the largest number of assembled screen characters. Check the rules before rolling up!

The Woolmen Sheep Drive and Livery Fair (Sep 28) crosses Southwark Bridge with much bleating. Official seats are long gone, but find a view by the river.

Check out one of the world's oldest cultures and a booming 21st century economy in 'Ancient India, Living Traditions' at the British Museum (to October 19)