LONDON LIFE HACKS: CULTURE

Hi there, my name is Amy Norris and I work as a Study Abroad Peer Advisor and Student Ambassador at King’s College London. I have created this handy guide on culture in London. Check it out for cool recommendations for art, museums, nightlife, music and theatre in London!

ART

The most well-known galleries in London are possibly the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. These are located on Trafalgar Square, so just a 10-minute walk from Strand campus if you’ve got an hour to kill in between lectures!

If you’re into contemporary art, check out the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea. If you’re more traditional, try the Wallace Collection; situated in a beautiful manor house in Westminster, this is one of the best collections of European art. The arms & armour exhibitions are amazing!

I’d recommend trying out both the Tate Britain and the Tate Modern. These are two of my favourite places in the city. It’s a lovely walk down the Thames between the two galleries, or you can hop on the Tate boat! The Late at Tate events are well-worth checking out – you can explore the galleries after-hours, and there’s always music and extra exhibits going on. The Royal Academy of Arts is a fantastic independent gallery – their Summer Exhibition is always one to look out for. Whitechapel Gallery, however, is one of the best public galleries. Recent exhibitions have covered everything from the Guerrilla Girls to Paolozzi.

We also have the Courtauld Gallery right next door to Strand Campus in Somerset House – the permanent exhibition includes a Manet, and a van Gogh, and you get free admission with your King’s ID!

MUSEUMS

It’s no lie that London has some of the best museums in the world, and most of them are free to visit. I could easily spend every day in the British Museum and still not see all there is in there. It’s just a short walk from the Strand Campus, and has an incredible amount of antiquities including the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures, and the Easter Island statue.

The Natural History Museum is possibly the most beautiful building in London. There’s a real blue whale skeleton on show in the atrium, and there’s a butterfly house outside in the summer months! Next door is the V&A, one of my favourite places in London. It’s a beautiful museum of art and design with exhibitions on everything from Classical sculpture to Pink Floyd. Make a day of it on a Friday when the galleries are open until 10pm.

It’s well worth visiting the Imperial War Museum. It’s not exactly a light-hearted day out, but there are some amazing exhibitions on World conflict, spanning from World War 1 to contemporary crises.

The Wellcome Collection is an interesting one, filled with medical antiquities as well as some new high tech exhibitions. It’s open until 10pm on a Thursday, and the permanent exhibits are free to visit.

Sir John Soane was a neo-Classical architect in the nineteenth century, who requested that his house, full of Classical art, be turned into a museum after his death. Sir John Soane’s Museum is free to visit, and it’s especially worth going to the evening openings held on the first Tuesday of every month. The house is just a five minute walk away from the Maughan, so it’s the perfect study break!

The Museum of London is also a little bit of a hidden gem, giving a complete history of our city – entry is completely free, and there are artefacts from the prehistoric to the contemporary.

If you’re interested in domestic history, try the Geffrye Museum in Shoreditch to see how home life has changed since the 1600s.

NIGHTLIFE

Recommending places for a night out in London is a minefield. As a King’s student, you’re required to go to at least one Wednesday ‘Sports night’ out at both Walkabout Temple and Guys Bar.

If you’re looking for a real Londoner’s night out, head to Bussey’s CLF Art Café in Peckham, and add their Soul Train night to your calendar. Their little sister venue, Corsica, is also a great night out in Elephant & Castle but usually attracts the younger audience. XOYO is also a staple, with some of the best up-and-coming DJs in the world.

Ministry of Sound and Fabric are two of the biggest names in London clubs, and it’s probably worth going once just to tick them off the bucket list. Egg is the club with the bathrooms everyone has posted on Instagram, followed by Cargo in Shoreditch. Heaven and G-A-Y are also the world-famous gay venues for a night out in the city.

If you’re more into a low-key bar night, try Frank’s Café in the summer. Situated on top of an old parking lot in Peckham, you’ve got views all over London and the newly-painted pink staircase leading up there features as backdrop to many a profile picture. I also love Troy 22 - a tiny bar space in Soho about the size of a living room that always has amazing throw-back songs playing.

MUSIC

One of the best things about living in London is that it’ll be a stop on any band’s world tour. Some of our big venues include Scala and Koko, but you’ll probably want to be able to tell people you’ve been to the Roundhouse and Ally Pally when you get home. The Lexington and the Camden Assembly are two venues almost everyone plays just before they hit the big time, so it’s definitely worth checking out their listings!

If you’re into jazz, Ronnie Scott’s is an institution but Vortex Dalston is one of my favourites. For something a little more eclectic, check out both Village Underground and CLF Art Café.

If you’re sticking around for the summer, music moves outdoors. We have open-air concerts like BTS Hyde Park. If you’re ready for a weekend of back-to-back music, try the city’s festivals; I go to Field Day every year without fail and Lovebox also usually has a really fun line-up. London festivals are great because you get to go home at the end of the day but, if you’re looking for the proper camping experience, we’re really well located for some of the world’s biggest festivals.

When it comes to record shopping in London, Rough Trade East is the big name. They’ll often hold gigs that are free to go to if you buy the band’s album, and they’ve got an in-house coffee shop if you want to make a day of it. Sister Ray and Flashback Records are two of my favourite stores as they’re a little more under-the-radar, and Rye Wax is a hidden gem under the Bussey Building, which often hosts live music and DJ sets. Whilst you’re around the area, head over to Rat Records.

THEATRE

London may be famous for its West End, but there’s more to the theatre scene than musicals. Some of the best off West End theatres include the Almeida, Arcola and Gate Theatre.

Seeing a Shakespeare play at Shakespeare’s Globe theatre is definitely an item for the bucket list, and it’s easy to tick off with £5 ‘groundling’ standing tickets. Whilst you’re there, it’s also worth checking out the listings for The Rose around the corner.

Most of the best theatre companies in London do heavily reduced tickets for students or just young adults. Definitely keep an eye on the Donmar’s Young + Free program – there are a number of free tickets available for under 25s for almost all their shows, but these go quickly! If you sign up for Young Barbican, you’ll get £5 tickets to their theatre, as well as any art, music or film listings. The Old Vic offer £10 tickets for their preview shows, and the National Theatre do £7.50 tickets for under 25s.