What to do in London on 12–14 September: Open House, the Design Festival and ten more free things
Two large festivals open on Saturday: Open House unlocks buildings that are normally shut, and the London Design Festival runs for the twenty-fourth time. Plus a rowing race up the Thames, a flotilla by Tower Bridge, the Hampton Court gardens for nothing, and Korean barbecue in the Olympic Park. The full weekend listing, with the free things marked.
Two large festivals open in London on Saturday, and both are free or nearly so. Add a race up the Thames, a flotilla of old boats beside Tower Bridge, and the Hampton Court gardens thrown open at no charge. Here is what to do on 12 and 13 September, with the free things marked.
The big one: Open House — inside buildings normally shut
12–20 September, across London, free.
Your ad could be hereAdvertise hereOnce a year the Open House architecture festival opens doors that stay closed the other 355 days: private houses, banking halls, engineering structures, roofs, shelters, workshops. All 33 London boroughs take part.
How it works. Some sites are open access — turn up during the stated hours and walk in. The rest need a free booking, and those went on 19 August when booking opened. Do not be put off: there are still hundreds of open-access sites, and booked ones often release returns — check the site on the morning of your visit.
Advice from people who do this every year: do not build a ten-stop route across the whole city. Take one borough and walk four or five buildings in it. Queues for the popular sites on Saturday morning run to an hour and more; weekdays inside the festival week are far quieter.
London Design Festival — the 24th
12–20 September, venues across the city.
The design festival is not an exhibition in one hall but installations, open studios and district trails scattered across London. Most of the street pieces and district programmes are free; individual fairs and talks are ticketed.
The easiest way in is Oxo Tower Wharf on the South Bank (12–20 September), where ceramicists, weavers and milliners work in open studios and you can simply wander in and talk to them.
Heritage Open Days
11–20 September, free. The national programme runs alongside Open House and also opens what is usually shut — but leaning on history rather than architecture. Tours, rare interiors, local stories.
Saturday 12 September
The Great River Race — from 12:45pm, Thames from Millwall to Richmond, free. A 21.6-mile race for traditional rowed craft: dragon boats, gigs, cutters, Viking longboats. Watch from any embankment along the route; bridges are the best spots. A rare sight and not at all obvious to a newcomer.
Classic Boat Festival — St Katharine Docks beside Tower Bridge, 12–13 September, free. Old wooden yachts and launches, including Dunkirk Little Ships — the ones that lifted soldiers off the beaches in 1940.
Hampton Court gardens — 12–13 September, free. Over 800 acres of grounds, including the Great Fountain Garden. The palace still charges; the gardens do not.
Wildlife Art Exhibition — Mall Galleries, 10am–5pm, free, final day. The David Shepherd foundation's painting and sculpture.
Orchard Open Day — Queen's Orchard, Greenwich Park, 11am–3pm, free. For families: pollination activities, scarecrow dressing, a seed library.
Trans+ Contributions — Wellcome Collection, 11:30am–5:30pm, free. A voguing workshop, an archive showcase and a film screening.
The Big Woof — King's Cross, 12–13 September. A dog festival: competitions, an agility course, a pet market.
The Big Brine — Hackney Bridge, 12–13 September. A fermentation festival: kimchi, kombucha, starters, chef demos and music.
Macbeth by bicycle — Dulwich Picture Gallery sculpture garden, 3pm. The HandleBards perform Shakespeare with the set carried in on bikes.
Cara Dillon — Irish Cultural Centre, Hammersmith, 8pm. The Irish folk singer with her husband accompanying.
Doc'n Roll — Rio Cinema, Dalston, 6pm. Two documentaries on music and activism, with a director Q&A.
Sunday 13 September
Wellness Festival — Wembley Park, 9am–6pm, free. Yoga, fitness, mindfulness and music in the open air.
Korean BBQ Festival — Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Riverside East, 2pm–10pm. The first of its kind here: meat, sauces, live programme.
Chilli Fest — Fulham Palace, 11am–3pm. Chillies, local produce, an eating contest and salsa.
Independent Ceramics Market — Copeland Park and the Bussey Building, Peckham, 11am–5pm. Tableware and decorative pieces straight from the makers — a good place for a present.
David Bowie afternoon — The Phoenix, Cavendish Square, 1pm–4:30pm. Deep cuts through to the hits, with visuals and singing along.
Flamenco — Jamboree, King's Cross, 8pm. Guitar, percussion, oud.
London Metropolitan Orchestra — Cadogan Hall, 6:30pm. Christoph Schnell's programme, including the world premiere of a concerto.
The Hideout — Artsdepot, 11:30am. A 45-minute family show between circus and parkour.
Already running
Flower Festival at Strawberry Hill House until 13 September — an eighteenth-century Gothic villa filled with floral installations.
CelebrASIa at Battersea Power Station, 11–13 September — Southeast Asian culture: market, crafts, conversations.
Chiswick Book Festival, 9–14 September — authors include Jacqueline Wilson and Mary Portas.
London Podcast Festival at Kings Place — final weekend.
Paint! Pattern! Print! at the Fashion and Textile Museum — until 13 September, the textile designs of Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell.
Getting the most out of it
Check the forecast on Friday evening: half of this list is outdoors, and a London September changes plans without warning.
Many free events still ask you to register — not a ticket, just a head count. Do it in advance; it takes two minutes.
And the practical one: engineering works land at weekends. Check the line status before you leave — ours is on the tube page and updates itself.
