Sometimes it seems that all social events and things to do in London at night relate around alcohol. Quite often in fact. In the last few months, I’ve been left thinking, what if I want to catch up with friends on a weekday evening, or god forbid, a weekend evening, what are the things to do in London without alcohol??
In all honestly, I couldn’t think of that many options which led me to really looking into it, asking people around me and then coming up with this list of things to do in London without alcohol that are still fun things to do in London in the evening.
This list is very realistic and things that I would genuinely do. So if you’re like me and these days a night out drinking isn’t always how you want to spend your evening and weekends in London, or maybe you’re trying to do Dry January, Dry July or Sober October, I hope these ideas for things to do in London with no alcohol help you out!
Things To Do in London With No Alcohol
Visit a Late’s Night at London’s Museums
Did you know that most of London’s big museums offer a Late’s Night roughly once a month? A Late’s Night is a night where the museum stays open until about 22:00 and are aimed at adults.
Although the museums do have bars inside them so some people will have a drink I think its safe to say that this isn’t an alcohol-induced event and its a great way to spend the evening by yourself or with friends with no alcohol and not feel bored or feel like you should be drinking. Best of all, it’s a free thing to do in London!
Visit London detail in this post all of the museums with Late Nights.
Go to the Theatre
We all know that London is full of shows so why not take advantage of London’s Theatres and see a show. If you’re anything like me you may think that initially some of these shows can seem quite expensive or you think that going to Leicester Square is too touristy.
Firstly you can find some really great smaller theatres outside of Piccadilly/Leicester Square area with some lesser-known shows.
Secondly, if a ticket to Aladdin is £60.00-£70.00 and if you’re not drinking, this really isn’t that much and in a lot of cases is the equivalent of a night out in a few bars.
Go to a 100% alcohol-free bar like Redemption Bar
Looking for things to do in London this evening? Redemption Bar in Shoreditch is a Vegan restaurant with a bar open until 10:30 pm, but the bar is alcohol-free.
This is a really nice place to go with friends where none of you will be tempted to drink or feel the need to drink. Plus the food is all really healthy and yummy so it’s also a good place to go if want to eat out but not feel like you’re being too indulgent or unhealthy.
You’re bound to wake up fresh after a night spent at Redemption.
(Photo from Redemption Bar’s website)
Go Rock Climbing
Stay with me on this one. Rock climbing in London can be really cool now! You don’t have to go to basic, boring leisure centre to do it, there are so many well-designed places in London to rock climb these days!
Plus these places are open until late in the evening and all weekend making them good things to do in London at night without alcohol!
Clip n Climb in Chelsea looks really fun, so does The Climbing Hangar in Fulham, and both of them offer more than just rock climbing!
Here are some more ideas of where to go rock climbing in London.
(Photo from TripAdvisor review)
Play Table Tennis, Golf or go Bowling.
I know these are 3 different things but they kind-of fall under the same umbrella!
Bounce (ping pong), Junk Yard Golf and All-Star Lanes (bowling) are all really fun places to visit in London where you don’t have to drink and you’ll have an activity to do!
There is definitely a drinking culture in and around these venues but that doesn’t mean you need to drink. And if you want to avoid too many drunk people, book an earlier slot on a Friday or Saturday night or go mid-week when it’s likely that fewer people will be drinking.
These are also great things to do in the winter in London to avoid being outside on those cold evenings.
(Photo from All Star Lane’s website)
Watch a Film at an Alternative Cinema
London is now full of alternative and different cinema’s that revolve around watching a film in a cool place, and they’re a great thing to do in the evening or weekend in London if you don’t want to drink any alcohol!
Backyard Cinema is really popular and they change their events depending on the season, think Christmas films in Christmas settings and Summer films outside in the Sun.
Movie’s on the River is a really cool concept where you watch a film on a boat on the River Thames.
Or you could go to an Everyman Cinema who have a few different locations in London including Hampstead, Baker Street and Kings Cross, they show newly released films as well as older films and have sofas instead of normal cinema seats and table service for food.
(Photo from Backyard Cinema’s website)
Be a Tourist in London
London has so many cool and unique things to do including lots of Cultural Landmarks and whether you live in London or you’re a visitor, remember that some of the best things to do in London can be the more touristy attractions as they give you the chance to see more of the city and learn more about it too.
Spend an evening on the hop on hop off bus exploring parts of London you haven’t yet seen, enjoy the city from a boat on the River Thames after work.
Spend your weekend learning about the history of London at the Tower of London, visit Westminster Abbey or Kensington Palace.
Search for tours and tickets of fun London activities here!
I hope these ideas are helpful and give you some great ideas of things to do in London that do not involve alcohol and show that you can have a great time in London without drinking!
If you’re not in London already and need to book train tickets to London, be sure to check out The Train Line. I use them all the time to compare the best train times, journey lengths and prices!
- For More of my London Posts see:
- All London Posts
Eola
Tuesday 12th of April 2022
It's a lovely article. I love London, lived there for a few years at some point and have very fond memories of it, despite being a piss-head for most of the time! I quit booze for good in 2018 and don't regret it a bit, and ever since I've been discovering new and exciting things to do with my time, things that provide wellbeing instead of leaving me like a wreck the day after. There's many things really one can do in that exciting place as a tourist, like drawing, photography or taking a map of interesting places and know the hidden history of them.