Real London, for real life
The mission: to celebrate the best of London by bringing you practical advice, field notes, event listings, the occasional love letter to the city… all the stuff we’ve found useful, fun, joyful, strange or surprisingly moving in this city.
That might be walks, snacks, or weird cultural corners.
It might be a deep dive on the art of loitering all around the city, or test-driving the apps that promise to save you £infinity and seeing if they actually work
It might be practical magic like how to face down your landlord when they’re villainous. It might be how to find an affordable therapist or a sub-£20 haircut in the city, or how to throw an astoundingly good hen do in London for less than £35 per head.
And if you tell us what you’re hoping for from this newsletter (email hello@londonist.com or slide into our Substack DMs), chances are fair we’ll also add some of that into the mix.
Anything and everything, basically, that we think might make the city feel more glorious, more welcoming, more communal, and less like your wallet’s going to spontaneously burst into flames every time you leave the house.
What you’ll find here
Guides and tips that help you navigate the city efficiently
Seasonal round-ups and hidden gems that aren’t on the tourist map, or if they are they’re also local-friendly and worth the hype
Cheap-to-lower-mid-price eats, cafes, and restaurants recommendations that actually deliver portion value
Mental health and wellbeing resources for the city-dweller
Transport hacks, route guides, and ways to make commuting suck less
Neighbourhood recommendations for loitering, exploring, or celebrating
Endless and unwavering encouragement for you to check out your local community centre
Weekly roundups of cheap and free things to do all over the city
Who’s at the wheel?
It’s a Londonist family thing: led by professional London appreciator Lydia, but you’ll probably hear from all of the editorial team here and there, like usual.
Between us we have MANY combined decades of finding the city magic, exasperating, beautiful and infinitely compelling. Anything great we unlock, we’re pathologically excited to share with you.
And finally a word from Londonist: Keys to the City’s lead writer/Keeper of the Keys Ishani:
i’ve lived in this city more often than not since 2013. i don’t know everything there is to know about london, but i’ve tried a lot of things and i’m the opposite of gatekeepy, so if something’s good, i want you to know about it too. i’ve spent years figuring out what’s actually worth doing here (especially on a one to two pound sign budget), and how to keep my head. if you’re curious about what makes this city tick, or just need a little nudge to try something new, stick around - let’s find out together.
