From thrilling musical performances and immersive art exhibitions to spooky Halloween treats and historical walking tours, the month is packed with activities.
Music lovers can enjoy free lunchtime concerts or book tickets for exclusive evening performances, featuring artists like Julian Joseph and the Eklectric Duo. For history buffs, guided tours explore the rich heritage of the City, while creative workshops and festivals add a modern twist.
Whether you're looking for family-friendly events, art exhibitions, or unique cultural experiences, the City of London promises an exciting lineup to explore this month.
Keep on reading to discover some of the best things to do in the City of London this October.
From Daft Punk to Paganini an exciting festival of music is coming to the City of London this month. Attend one of their free lunchtime concerts or spend a magical evening immersed in music with tickets starting at £20.
A few of the highlights of the festival include:
Opening Concert in Mansion House, the home and office of the Lord Mayor, 10 October
If you've been waiting for the perfect occasion to visit the stunning Mansion House, we have just the concert for you! Julian Joseph Tenebrae will be presenting a unique performance which will feature specially composed music alongside improvisations of Bach and Paganini. Enhanced by immersive technology, the performance will blend acoustic instruments with the precision of cutting-edge digital processing, powered by the innovative 'd&b Soundscape' system.
Tickets: £30/40 incl. glass of wine
Eklectric Duo: Electric Paganini, 16 October
Eklectric Duo is the synergy of two great personalities from the classical music world in an electric key that fits where the dividing walls of music genres collapse. Expect music ranging from hot Paganini to Coldplay at this unique concert.
Tickets: £20
Book tickets for Eklectric Duo: Electric Paganini.
Mazzini & Paganini: the Guitar and the Opera, 17 October
Genoa’s living maestro, José Scanu, presents Paganini’s virtuoso sonatas and arrangements of contemporaries, Rossini and Verdi in St James Garlickhythe, a stunning Chrisopeher Wren chuch with a rich and diverse history and tradition dating back to before the Norman conquest.
Tickets: £20
Book tickets for Mazzini & Paganini: the Guitar and the Opera.
Tenebrae Promotional Photo. Credit Sim Canetty-Clarke
New London Architecture (NLA) host free lunchtime talks every Friday at The London Centre, where everyone is invited to learn about London’s historical and physical development, brought to life through NLA’s giant model of central London and The City of London model and accompanying exhibition.
If you are a fan of the Mission Impossible movies we have the perfect self-guided walking trail for you!
Follow in the footsteps of agents Ethan Hunt and August Walker during Mission: Impossible - Fallout as the former follows the latter between Paternoster Square and Blackfriars.
Part moviemaking critique, part local history tour, it’ll take you about 45 minutes to complete your mission, should you choose to accept it.
Fleet Street Quarter have an exciting three-day programme coming up to help new starters and graduates get to know the area they are working in.
From creative workshops, wellness sessions, social events and captivating walking tours that reveal the stories behind this historic patch of the western City of London, there is so much happening to get involved in.
The perfect walking tour to take during the month of Halloween, visitors will learn about London’s grim and gruesome. Your City of London Guide will bring you to Greyfriars Church, a ruinous church haunted by a wicked queen, the Old Bailey, which is the site of the former Newgate Gaol and a place for public executions - and a daring escapee as well as so many more mysterious locations.
Photo Credit: Niki Gorick Photography
London Mural Festival was back last month with over 100 murals to explore across London, from some of the world's best street artists - including Aches, D*Face, Rosie Woods and Sebas Velasco.
You can still see some of the stunning murals in the City of London: Itaewon, Anna Ovni, Nick Tez at the Leadenhall Building. Sr. X at Paternoster Square.
Anna Ovni at the Leadenhall Building. London Mural Festival 2024.
Enjoy Luft Balloon Bier, games of Tug of War and Pretzel Tossing, and workshops from Axe Throwing to Gingerbread Decoration, all with live entertainment on the Bandstand Stage.
The Bavarian-themed Citypoint Street Food Market will be open daily from 12 noon – 8pm, with late hours on Thursday.
Experience a Martian Invasion in London in Jeff Wayne War of the Worlds interactive adventure. Walk, crawl and travel into the heart of the story from the moment you step inside. Live actors, virtual reality and iconic music recreating 24 interactive scenes in a breathtaking 1 Hour 50 Min immersive experience.
Capturing 2,000 years of love and lust, and the power of human relationships, Loveplay charts the changing fortunes of place, time and people at 29 Trick Street.
Satire and romance thread through darkness and tragedy in a series of interconnecting scenes exploring ever-evolving social conventions from the Romans to the present day. Moira Buffini brings her usual lightness of touch to this incisive, funny and sharply observed play, directed for Guildhall by Ola Ince.
Tickets: £15 (£8 concessions, £5 Young Barbican).
City of London Guides offer daily, weekly and monthly walking tours around the City of London. Choose from City Highlights, or for something different try one of the themed tours including: Wren's architecture, The Great Fire of London, Literary themed tours, and more.
There are also brilliant tours taking places this month where you can explore Roman London, including guided tours of Billingsgate Roman House and Baths as well as the archaeology of north-west Londinium.
Billingsgate Roman House and Bath.
The Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers has announced its new exhibition, ‘Illusion - the Inquisitive Eye’, which will be held at the magnificent Painters’ Hall in the City of London.
The exhibition is a unique opportunity to see an eclectic mix of painters, sculptors, designers, decorators and craftspeople, whose works range across a wide variety of contemporary practice and traditional discipline.
There will also be a programme of related talks, workshops and demonstrations to run in parallel with the exhibition.
Maureen Uzoh’s solo exhibition is coming to Broadworks by Hive Curates this month and invites viewers into a whimsical and introspective journey. The exhibition features a series of captivating paintings in which the characters are depicted with balloon heads, replacing the normal human visage with a character that is both playful and deeply symbolic.
Start your day with a rejuvenating rooftop yoga session at The Skyline London, set against the breath-taking backdrop of Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. Soak in the panoramic views as you flow through your practice in a serene and peaceful environment. Afterward, indulge in a delicious brunch while enjoying the stunning views of Tower of London.
Tickets: £38.62.
Make your Halloween frightfully good with a trip to the Fortnum & Mason boutique at The Royal Exchange: the store is stocked with all manner of wicked treats to create the perfect All Hallow's Eve. The Royal Exchange’s favourite? The limited-edition Halloween Hamper which includes: delicious Toffee Apple Shortbread, Pumpkin Face Iced Biscuits and ever-so-chocolatey Chocolossus. Toffee Apple Tea, Halloween Tea Cakes and Cauldron Crunch, Fortnum's Magnum Claret, Franciacorta Brut Champagne and Kah Tequila Blanco.
A new free display celebrating the City's rich history of scientific innovation and invention has arrived at the Heritage Gallery, located within Guildhall Art Gallery.
At the display you will be able to discover Robert Hooke's diary and papers on display and learn more about this polymath who worked with Wren to rebuild the City after the Great Fire. Explore prints and photographs of the current Blackfriars Bridge during its construction in the 1860s and learn about the work of Charles Pearson, the City Solicitor who came up with a plan for an underground railway at Farringdon station in 1852 – arguably the first plan for an underground railway in the world.
Theatre Deli's final SHIFT+SPACE for 2024 continues this month with a number of brand spanking new pieces of work in progress performances to see.
From a ‘research-based performance challenging romantic and hegemonic notions of home’, to a ‘fierce, no-rules fusion of drag, clowning, and digital chaos that dives deep into queer and biracial identities with sharp humour and raw truth’ there is something for everyone to enjoy.
Image by Tavan Maneetapho (instagram: @panyo_mind)
Just outside the City of London, London’s defining landmark, Tower Bridge offers a memorable day out in London for the entire family – pets included! Find out what they have on during the 12 and 29 October.
From 26 October to 3 November, get in the Halloween spirit at the Tower of London, just outside the City of London, and take part in their family-friendly adventure designed to spook, but not to terrify.
Head on over to Guildhall Art Gallery on 30 October for a free family activity day where families are invited to explore and create their own Kaleidoscope’s with workshop activities led by artist Lorraine McCourt. Award-winning poet and storyteller Shamim Azad will also be there, conducting engaging storytelling sessions and encouraging everyone to use their imaginations to create their own stories.
While not happening in October, the London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE has a fun half-term activity taking place on 1 November where families are invited to step back in time and embark on a journey through music, drama and interactive storytelling beneath the streets of London.
Don't miss this wonderful installation in Guildhall Art Gallery made by local school children, showcasing a community of dolls' houses in shoeboxes, linked with ropes, ramps, and ladders, created as part of the Gallery's Second Saturday Family Programme in collaboration with the Giant Dolls' House Project.
Led by artist and architect Catja de Haas, the project invited schools and community groups to create miniature rooms in shoeboxes to show their perspective on the City of London's buildings, homes, streets, and environment.
On Thursday 10 October, from 5.30 to 7pm head on over to Dr Johnson's House for one of their brilliant museum lates.
Enjoy an evening in Dr Samuel Johnson's atmospheric 17th-century house and explore his wonderful world of words with a glass of bubbly!
Tickets are £15, including sparkling drinks.
Discover this visionary restaging of one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies into a spellbinding traditional opera from some of South Korea's leading creatives, performers and musicians.
National Changgeuk Company of Korea’s presentation of Lear. Image courtesy of Barbican.
The Poetry Takeaway at Millenium Bridge: Happening just outside the City of London, The Poetry Takeaway is a takeaway van with a difference. Instead of fast food, it serves up free poems, courtesy of a team of professional poets. It is coming to Millennium Bridge on Thursday, October 3, to mark National Poetry Day. Come along between 10am and 2pm, or between 3pm to 7pm, have a chat with the poets, tell them your story and they will write a poem for you or for someone you love.
