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Hattie Lloyd 18/10/22


56 Autumn Date Ideas

Chestnuts patiently awaiting a roasting on an open fire.

Jack Frost still maintaining a respectful distance from your toes.

Yes, it’s not quite that time of year yet, but it is this time of year; when the leaves turn brown, and everyone suddenly sees the benefit of sharing bodily warmth.

What we’re trying to say is: autumn is romantic.

And here you’ll find more than 50 autumn date ideas to help you seize the season in London, from live soul in an underground crypt to pubs with roaring fires; pop-up cinemas with hot toddies; pumpkin picking; fondue nights; and the occasional rutting stag…

Watch Adventure Films with Hot Toddies in a Church

adventure films church screening

Then toast marshmallows outside in the breaks.

Details: 12th November | St Anne’s Church, St Anne’s Passage, London, E14 7HP £20 (25% off for Nudge Members)

Test Your Weekend Compatibility At Sunday Papers Live

sunday papers live autumn

Comfy sofas, roasts, Bloody Maries and fascinating talks. It’s not the worst place to start a tradition… 

Details: 27th November | Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent’s Park Rd, London NW1 7AY | £20-39.50

Share Half a Kilo of Baked Cheese Aboard The Cheese Barge

cheese barge opening

THIS is what floats your boat (and if it’s not, fondue is on the menu every Thursday from November – March).

Details: Open Tuesday – Sunday (lunch only on Sun) | Sheldon Square, Paddington Central, London, W2 6HY

Spend an Evening in Conversation with Graham Norton

Graham Norton, author and talkshow host, standing in a white room wearing dark blue clothing

Of course, you won’t be having the conversation, and he won’t be able to see you over there in the audience… but he’s just one of the many great speakers taking to the stage for this year’s London Literature Festival.

Details: 21st – 31st October Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX

Plug Into The New Cocktail Bar In Battersea Power Station

56 Autumn Date Ideas: Control Room B

Sparks are guaranteed to fly…

Details: Open daily | Control Room B, Battersea Power Station Circus Road E, Nine Elms, London SW8 5BN

Book Tickets to Moulin Rouge!

Just don’t mention the set. It’s kind of the elephant in the room.

Details: Piccadilly Theatre, 16 Denman Street, London W1D 7DYFrom £25

Admire Japan’s Famous Autumnal Foliage… in Kew Gardens

kew gardens autumn

Then escape the chill in their Victorian hot houses.

Details: Open daily | Kew Gardens, TW9 3AE £12+

Pick Out A Book For Each Other At Daunt Books

Then read the first chapters to each other over strudel at Fischer’s.

Go Pumpkin Picking

It’s worth carving out time for. See the best pick-your-own farms near London

Or Tuck Into Pumpkin Buns at Bun House

Because they’re pretty gourd too.

Details: Available 28th-30th October Bun House Chinatown, 26 – 27 Lisle Street, London, WC2H 7BA £6

Do The Crossword In A Pub With An Open Fire

pelican w11

These are our favourites.

Listen To Live Jazz in A Candlelit Cathedral

Oh, while taking in a 7m-wide illuminated replica of the Earth.

Details: Until 30th October Southwark Cathedral, London SE1 9DA Free entry, some events ticketed

Drink Cider in the Dalston Curve Garden After Dark

56 Autumn Date Ideas: Dalston Eastern Curve Garden

In a ‘cosy, festoon-lit café’ kind of way, not the ‘tinnies in the park’ kind of way.

Details: Open until 10pm Wed-Sat Dalston Eastern Curve Garden, 13 Dalston Lane, London, E8 3DFFree entry

Go Deer-Spotting in Richmond Park

Richmond park autumn date

Sophie Keen

Or go one better, and enjoy a blanketed horse carriage ride with sloe gin.

Details: Richmond Park, TW10 5HS | Free Entry | Carriage rides 26th November – 1st January, £450 per carriage

Take The Craig David Approach To London Cocktail Week

London Cocktail Week

Take your date for a drink on Tuesday… and on Thursday, Friday and Saturday…

Details: 13th – 23rd October | Across London Wristbands £15

Go to A Museum Late

Learn about dinosaurs with cocktails instead of coach tour groups.

Play Pétanque, Drink Pastis at Baranis

After all, the French do it best.

Details: Open Tuesday-Saturday evenings 115 Chancery Lane, London, WC2A 1PP

Toast Marshmallows at the Midnight Apothecary

midnight apothecary autumn date idea

It’s a rooftop cocktail bar in a garden. With hot rum toddies and s’more kits. What’s not to love?

Details: Fridays and Saturdays until 22nd October Brunel Museum, Railway Avenue, SE16 4LF | Entry from £8

Embrace The Chill on a Crisp Walk Through London

london autumn date ideas

iStock/SHansche

Take in some of these scenic lakes or London’s best parks en route.

Then Warm Up Over A Steaming Bowl of Ramen

Supa Ya Ramen

Here’s our pick of the best ramen spots in London.

Go Browsing in a Second-Hand Bookshop

Best secondhand bookshops: Skoob Books

Then read the first chapters to each other at one of London’s best cafés.

Go for the Perfect Sunday Roast

autumn date ideas sunday roast

Maybe try all of them, just to be sure.

Watch Shakespeare in a Candlelit Theatre

Wanamaker Playhouse autumn date ideas

It’s the Globe’s closed-roof – and sliightly more autumn-friendly – cousin.

Details: Henry V opens 10th November, Hakawatis opens 1st December 21 New Globe Walk, SE1 9DTFrom £5

Wander Round An Eccentric Townhouse Stuck in Time

unusual date ideas

Candlelight, wine, and an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus. 

Details: Open Wed-Sun; lates on 28th October & 25th November 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, WC2A 3BP | Free entry, lates £25

Go On A Day Trip

Incredibly, this doesn’t require a plane ticket. See 20 excellent day trips from London

Get Steamy in a Sauna

Banya No 1 autumn date ideas

Or enjoy the unusual experience of ‘parenie’ at Banya No. 1.

Details: Open daily | 17 Micawber Street, Hoxton, N1 7TB From £30

Go For Sri Lankan Breakfast at Pavilion

Alena Stepanova/Unsplash

Then hit the lake on a rowing boat.

Details: Open daily | Victoria Park, E9 7DE

Build Your Ideal Hot Chocolate at Knoops

autumn date ideas john sandoe books

Then take it round the corner to John Sandoe Books.

Details: Open daily 10 Blacklands Terrace, London SW3 2SR

Perfect Your Hot Toddy at a Cocktail Masterclass

TT Liquor

Then drink your homework.

Go For Dinner at London’s Most Intimate Restaurants

Sessions Arts autumn date ideas

And have a nightcap at one of these equally cosy cocktail bars.

Step Into The Kit Kat Club

Kit Kat Club autumn date ideas

Rebecca Frecknall’s gloriously stylish production of Cabaret has won rave reviews.

Details: Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London, WC2N 5DE From £25

Take A Vintage Steam Train Into A Cinema…

autumn date ideas: backyard cinema

It might not move you, but the films definitely will…

Details: Until 3rd January Backyard Cinema, 2-4 Armoury Way, Wandsworth Town, SW18 1SHFrom £10

Wander Through Leadenhall Market

Nicolas Lysandrou/Unsplash

Before sitting down to chops & Autumn Negronis at Blacklock City.

Details: Open daily Gracechurch St, London EC3V 1LT

Indulge In Omakase at The Aubrey Bar

The Aubrey

It’s basically a theatre, where cocktails are the stars.

Details: Wed-Fri | The Aubrey, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, 66 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7LA£198

Spend A Rainy Day Exploring Bloomsbury

All Star Lanes holborn bars autumn date ideas

Featuring Victorian artists’ shops, hearty stews, and a very unusual museum…

Hold A Board Game Tournament At Draughts

Loser gets the drinks in.

Details: Open daily | 41 Kingsland High Street, Dalston, E8 2JS | Arch 16 Leake St, London SE1 7NN | £6-7pp cover charge

Listen To Musicals by Candlelight

Musicals by candlelight

Resist the urge to stand up and serenade your date.

Details: Until 23rd December The Actor’s Church, Bedford Street, WC2E 9ED£15+

Go Star-Gazing

autumn date ideas stargazing

Not the Leicester Square kind, the Greenwich Observatory kind… 

Details: Daily, 10am-5pm Royal Observatory, Blackheath Avenue, Greenwich SE10 8XJ | £10

Go Watch The Fireworks At Alexandra Palace

autumn date ideas alexandra palace

Because if your date doesn’t like the sound of a laser show; a German bier festival; a massive bonfire; a fire show; a ton of street food; a cinema; a funfair; an ice rink; and an Elvis impersonator… there’s going to be fireworks.

Details: 5th November Alexandra Palace, Alexandra Palace Way, N22 7AY £12.50-15.50

Go To A Chef’s Table In A Railway Arch

autumn date ideas chef's table

If you love seafood but hate decisions, this is for you.

Details: Wednesday to Saturday The Sea, The Sea, Hackney, 337 Acton Mews, E8 4EA £150pp

Go For A Crisp Sunday Stroll On Hampstead Heath

autumn date ideas hampstead heath

Julian Simpson

We’ve prepared the perfect day out for you, featuring hot chocolates, yakitori and live jazz… See our Hampstead Heath itinerary

…Then Listen To Live Music and Sip Cider at The Southampton Arms

Southampton Arms

When the weather turns really cold, they serve it mulled. 

Details: Open daily 139 Highgate Road, London NW5 1LE

Don’t Go Hunting

And instead practise a little humane virtual clay pigeon shooting at Clays. With humane cocktails and snacks.

Details: Open daily55 Moorgate, EC2R 6LL £10+

Go Vintage Shopping Down Camden Passage

Ungry Young Man

Buy each other antique spoons and vintage prints, before settling in for a Viennese pastry… See your chilled Islington Sunday itinerary

Details: Camden Passage, Angel Islington, N1 8EA

Show You Don’t Have A One Track Mind…

One Track Minds

by getting tickets to One Track Minds.

Details: 16th November Wilton’s Music Hall, Graces Alley, London E1 8JB £9-17

Have Your Own Ghost Moment In A Pottery Class

autumn date ideas pottery

Then sip smugly from your slightly off-centre mugs by the fireside (four to six weeks) later. 

Listen to Jazz In A 300 Year-Old Crypt

And find out if you’re soul mates.

Details: Various dates St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 4JJ£8-25

Take A Leisurely Dinner Cruise Along London’s Canals

Candlelight, oysters and wine. You literally cannot go wrong. 

Details: Cruises Wednesday-Saturday | London Shell Co, The Prince Regent, Sheldon Square, W2 6DS | £65

Go For A Dip In A Heated Lido

Brat X Climpson Arches autumn date ideas

Then refuel over Michelin star level fare at Brat x Climpson’s Arch.

Details: Open dailyLondon Fields Lido, Hackney E8 3EU £5.40

Listen To Celebrities Read Incredible Letters

And get inspired to write love letters of your own.

Details: 27th October Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, SW7 2AP £20+

Hibernate In One Of London’s Hidden Bars

autumn date ideas The Green Room

Any of these should do quite nicely.

Bathe In Red Wine

autumn date ideas Aire Ancient Baths

We are NOT speaking figuratively. 

Details: Open daily | AIRE Ancient Baths, 2-3 Robert Street, WC2N 6RL From £150

Go To A Listening Party In The Dark

autumn date ideas pitch black playback date ideas

A spine-tinglingly atmospheric way to listen to music. 

Details: 25th & 26th October Across London From £11

Run Around London On A Cryptic Treasure Hunt

Solve clues sent to your phone (with pub stops built in)…

Details: Run daily Across London £25pp

Watch Some Comedy Together

autumn date ideas comedy

Even if the acts are terrible, at least you’ll seem hilarious by comparison.

Hole Up In A Wine Bar For The Night

Leave with a bottle to take with you on your next date, at Hawksmoor on BYOB Mondays.

Go For Dinner With A View

autumn date ideas dinner with view

One of these ought to fit the bill.


Want more inspiration? Check out our bumper, year-round line-up of 101 London Date Ideas

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Carpe Diem!




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