London’s creative festival season
“>The summer is almost over but that doesn’t mean that London will go into Autumnal hibernation. While June, July and August are all about rooftop drinks, outdoor dining and sightseeing, September and October bring a different kind of energy to the city. This is when London’s creative scene comes out to play, celebrating everything from architecture and design to fashion and film.
Whether you love a bit of culture, you’re a curious explorer or you want to go behind previously closed doors and discover some hidden gems, autumn is the best time to visit.
London Design Festival
12th – 20th September 2026
Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL
From nearby Victoria station, take the District or Circle line two stops to South Kensington. The museum is a short walk from the station and mostly in a subway tunnel so covered from the autumn showers.
Every September, the London Design Festival takes over the city for 9 days in a show of global creativity. The 2026 theme is ‘dialogue’, East and West, past and future, human and non-human, in a schedule spread over eleven design districts with Soho debuting in the line up.
The main hub is at the V&A, where the exhibits have been built around Awakening. With multiple districts and plenty of exhibitors showing off everything from interiors, architecture, furniture and technology so there will be something exciting to see everywhere you look.
Our advice: pick one or two districts to look at rather than trying to see everything. The Chelsea and Brompton districts are closest to the Belgrave, with Chelsea a 20-minute walk away.
Open House Festival
Dates 12th – 20th September 2026
Locations throughout London
There are lots of participating buildings within the boroughs of Westminster and Pimlico, several of them within walking distance or you can jump on the tube from Victoria.
There are also some curated neighbourhood trails in Bankside, Fitzrovia and Piccadilly and Jermyn Street where there are groups of Open Houses for you to visit.
Open House is the one week where you get to peek behind the closed doors of some of the most incredible buildings in London. From private homes to government offices and archives to skyscrapers, they’re open to the public for a limited time only. Many venues also offer guided tours and behind-the-scenes access.
Open House is totally free, organised by the charity Open City and this year is the biggest yet, with hundreds of listings available. For its 35th year, the star of the festival is Richard Rogers’ Lloyd’s Building, showing off its plumbing and lifts worn on the outside.
The best thing about Open House is that it’s a celebration of the buildings that many people walk past but don’t see. The Belgrave is one of those. Our four Grade II listed townhouses were built in 1840 by Thomas Cubitt, who developed Belgravia and turned it from waterlogged fields into the stucco-fronted grid of streets and garden squares that make up Pimlico. Take a look around as you stay here, knowing that you’re staying in one of the original buildings from that development.
Some buildings will be under ballot, such as No.10 Downing Street, but many others won’t require any booking. All you need to do is check the opening hours and turn up.
London Fashion Week
17th – 21st September 2026
Central Hub: 180 Strand, London, WC2R 1EA
From Victoria, take the District or Circle line to Temple, the station sits almost opposite 180 Strand. Alternatively, hop off at Embankment and take a stroll down past the river.
For the Knightsbridge section, you can walk through Belgravia or its only two stops on the tube from Victoria.
Twice a year, London Fashion Week attracts designers, buyers, journalists, influencers and fashion lovers from all over to see the latest trends and newest collections from some of the biggest names in the industry. Marks & Spencer also joins the official schedule for the first time marking its centenary. Other notable names include McQueen, Mulberry and Burberry as well Barbour and Simone Rocha.
A lot of the actual shows are invitation-only, but fear not, there is so much more than the catwalk shows. The City Wide Celebration is for everyone, with pop ups, store events, exhibitions and talks that will take over for the week in Knightsbridge, Soho and Shoreditch to name a few.
The official schedule shows all the public listings so keep an eye on that.
BFI London Film Festival
7th – 18th October 2026
Main venue: BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XT
A 30-minute bus or tube journey or A 40-minute walk along the Thames
This is in October, but to get ahead of the game, you’ll need to pay attention in September. The 70th edition of the BFI London film festival brings more than 250 films to London, with the full line up announced in September.
Screenings take place across BFI Southbank, BFI IMAX and the Royal Festival Hall. It opens with Elsinore, Simon Stone’s drama and closes with Jesse Eisenberg’s The Debut.
Not only could you get to watch some films months before their general release, often the director and some cast may be in the room for a Q&A afterwards. Tickets start at £10, and go on sale once the schedule has been announced on the 2nd September.
Also worth a look: Frieze Sculpture
Regents’s Park, London NW1 4HG
To get there, take the Victoria line to Oxford Circus, then one stop on the Bakerloo line to Regent’s Park.
Frieze London and Frieze Masters take over Regent’s Park from 14th to 18th October, and although this is a ticketed event, there is a section that is free with no ticket required. Frieze Sculpture is an outdoor trail by eleven international artists in the park’s English Gardens which is open from 16th September all the way through to the 1st November.