James Manning

We know the idea of “best restaurants” is relative, and controversial. It’s nearly impossible to settle on the best restaurants in a single city, let alone the best restaurants in an entire country! But we’re up for a challenge, and after eating our way through Italy, we have some favorites that we promise you are very, very good. Located up and down the boot, these eateries serve exceptionally well-executed regional cuisine in beautiful, unique settings. From mountain lodges and seaside bistros to fine-dining and casual trattorias, here are the 20 best restaurants in Italy.

Time was, ‘pop’ meant manufactured acts whose music erred towards the disposable. Sure, there were a few certified geniuses like Michael Jackson or Madonna. But for all the units shifted, in the twentieth-century pop never seemed to be the zeitgeist artform of the day: the Beatles weren’t pop; Pink Floyd weren’t pop; Dolly Parton wasn’t pop; NWA weren’t pop. At the dawn of the new millennium, all the rules for pop went out the window. A complicated series of cultural shifts that can largely be attributed to the internet kicked in: suddenly the bottom fell out of the market for guitar-based music, and suddenly it was sophisticated pop production that was getting the audiophiles drooling. It’s an age we’re absolutely still living through, with little sign of letting up. And so, for this list, we’ve taken a long listen to some of the biggest bangers of the last 20-plus years and did what feels nearly impossible: we’ve ranked them. As a genre, pop has always been nebulously defined, so while we’ve broadly speaking excluded rock, country and hip-hop (though elements of all those things appear), you’ll find R&B jams, dance-floor fillers and insanely catchy earworms not even the snootiest of snobs can deny. These are the best pop songs of the twenty-first century.  RECOMMENDED: 🎉 The best party songs ever made🎸 The best classic rock songs🎤 The best karaoke songs🎶 The best ’80s songs🎵 The best ’90s songs

Truthfully, you’re going to fall in love with Florence. It is less a matter of ‘if’ and entirely one of ‘when’. Will it be when you first clamp eyes on the famous Duomo? Will it be the Uffizi galleries that do the trick? If that iconic one-two doesn’t get you, the shopping destinations that double as historical sites will surely get the job done. The best things to do in Florence are a celebration of this famous city, a study in history where the finest hotels are former villas, and the museums are packed with era-defining works. It is easy to forget that Florence isn’t a Renaissance theme park but an actual living city, albeit one that will make you see the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in a different light.  Recommended: the best hotels in Florence

Romantic relationships get all the love in movies, but it’s high time we give it up for the friendship flicks. After all, not everyone has been in love, but most of us have bro’d down and/or girl-crushed at some point in our lives – or at least, felt a fleeting connection with Colin from accounting while waiting for the microwave in the breakroom. Whatever the case, good friends are just as important as great lovers, in the real world and onscreen. So let’s high-five and celebrate our staff picks for cinema’s best BFFs.   Recommended: 🤣 The 100 best comedy movies💓 The 100 best romantic movies of all-time✍ The 100 best animated movies of all-time

Cada año encuestamos a miles de ciudadanos de todo el mundo para saber de primera mano cómo es la vida en sus ciudades en este momento. Queremos conocer el panorama gastronómico y el circuito de bares. El teatro y las galerías de arte. La vida nocturna y las aplicaciones de citas. Cómo son los vecinos y qué barrios son realmente fantásticos. La idea es crear una instantánea global de la vida en la ciudad y dirigir a la gente a los lugares que entusiasman a sus vecinos. Y ahora... ¡Los resultados del Time Out Index 2022! Como siempre, hemos analizado todos estos datos para elaborar nuestro ranking anual de las mejores ciudades del mundo. Durante los últimos dos años, la lista se centró en cómo las ciudades se unieron durante la pandemia e hicieron la vida (casi) tolerable durante los confinamientos. Pero ahora, después de dos años de restricciones a la hora de viajar, el mundo se abre de nuevo y nosotros, al igual que tú, tenemos ganas de volver a viajar. Aunque aspectos como el espíritu comunitario y la resiliencia fueron dos de los factores más importantes el pasado año, en el 2022 hemos añadido un peso adicional a las cosas que hacen de las ciudades lugares fantásticos para visitar y para vivir en ellos. Nuestras ciudades favoritas de este año son las que ofrecen una vida nocturna próspera, comida y bebidas increíbles, y arte, cultura y museos en abundancia. Hemos destacado lugares que no son aburridos, ni demasiado caros ni sobrevalorados, y nos hemos asegurado que nuestra

No decade is a musical monolith, but seeing the best songs of the ‘90s listed all in one place, the era seems especially scattered. History has boiled it down to grunge and gangsta rap on one end, boy bands and Britney Spears at the other, but it’s the stuff in the middle and on the fringes that makes the period difficult to sum up.  In England, Oasis and the rest of the Britpop lot left nearly as big a mark as Nirvana and the other Seattleites. Hip-hop took over the world, and seemed to change shape every few months. Remember when electronica looked like the future? Where do mischief makers like Pavement, Beastie Boys and A Tribe Called Quest fit in? And that’s to say nothing of the totally random ska and swing revivals…although that’s all you’ll hear about it here.  Given the crowded field, we’ve been ultra-selective in compiling this all-bangers, no-clangers playlist and limited it to one song per artist. Whether the ‘90s was the greatest decade for music is mostly a generational debate, but as you’ll hear, one thing’s for sure: it was never boring. RECOMMENDED:📸 The best album covers of the ’90s🎶 The best ’80s songs🎵 The best songs of the 2000s💃 The best Beyoncé songs🎤 The best Kanye West songs🎞 The best music videos of all time🌱 The best jungle tracks

Whenever life down here on Planet Earth gets a bit too much, there’s something reassuring about being able to escape to the cosmos. Not literally, obviously (unless you’re Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk), but there’s still a certain escapist bliss in studying the night sky. From eclipses and shooting stars to meteor showers, planetary alignments and moon phases, space is the greatest show off Earth.  Although pros will want to splash out on a fancy telescope, for most of us stargazing is free, infinitely rewarding and a great way to fill up all that free time we seem to have on our hands these days. If you can, it helps to find a spot far away from the light pollution of the city (here are the best stargazing spots in the UK and USA), but the brightest astronomical phenomena are easily visible from your local park or even your window – as long as it isn’t cloudy, of course. This year you’ll be able to spot the regular meteor showers and full moons (each with its own name) as well as a total lunar eclipse and two spectacular solar eclipses. To help you spot shooting stars, see a ‘pink moon’ or tell your penumbral from your annular eclipses, we’ve pulled together a list of the upcoming astronomical events we’re excited about. Read on for the most jaw-dropping cosmic events of 2022. 

When it comes to taking a dip, swimming in the open sea is as good as it gets. With no chlorine, no sweaty changing rooms, and a natural conveyor belt of incredible views, the world’s most spectacular ocean pools represent the very pinnacle when it comes to swimming, and these are the best of the best. From the Pacific coast of Mexico to the Atlantic islands of Madeira and Tenerife, these ocean pools offer safe water and gorgeous vistas ready for a good time. Water a little cold? Don’t worry, actual scientists have proven that chilly swims are good for your health. Without further ado, let's get dipping.

What does 2022 have in store for us? It might be wise to avoid making overly hopeful predictions, lest disappointment creeps back into everyday life, but remaining optimistic is vital. We remain resolutely cheery here at Time Out, but preparation is half the battle, so we’re making contingency plans should everything go to the dogs again. To cut a long story short, you can never have enough things lined up to keep you entertained if stuck indoors. After all, cabin fever is no fun at all. But it only takes a change of approach and a carefully curated expert list to change that. Stick with us, and you’ll find plenty to keep you occupied, from books and games to movies and TV shows. You might even find it preferable, although don’t give up on the wonders of the outside world just yet. It is pretty darn beautiful out there, you know. RECOMMENDED: The 100 best movies of all time

The mere thought of Christmas can get your senses abuzz, and we’re not just talking about the Christmas songs in this list. It’s the taste of gingerbread. The sight of your favourite holiday film. The cold winter wind. The grating sound of a choir of tone-dead toddlers slogging through an off-key version of ‘Jingle Bells’ for the 74th time. When most of us think of Christmas songs, we think of the worst ones. But in actuality, pop music has gifted the world with its fair share of perennial bangers. You usually have to skip past The Beach Boys and Biebers to get there, but holiday cheer has found its way into pop, hip-hop, R&B, metal, punk, indie… you name it. And as a gift for you, we’ve assembled 60 Christmas songs so incredibly catchy, you just might want to listen all year round. Good luck finding the nog in August though. RECOMMENDED:🎉  The best party songs🎤  The best karaoke songs🕺  The best pop songs of all time🎸  The best classic rock songs😊  The best happy songs

These stuck-at-home times have us all pining for the freedoms of the big city: to hang out, see the sights, or just sip a pint and watch the world go by. We can’t do it – at least, for the moment – so why not experience the big city vicariously and take a trip to its most glamorous nooks and seediest crannies as captured by some great filmmakers? From the silent era right up to the present day, Time Out’s list of the best London movies covers comedy, horror, sci-fi, romance, disaster movies, political dramas and psychedelic thrillers. But they’re all united by one thing – they’re set and shot in the greatest city in the known universe… RECOMMENDED: The 100 best British films of all time

The Beatles parted ways way back in 1969, but the band never for a second left the pop-culture conversation, their legacy cemented by a catalogue of timeless hits and a neverending debate about which are the best Beatles songs. The Fab Four altered the very DNA of pop music. They introduced the mainstream to cheeky Britishisms, shaggy hair and psychedelia. They went from boy band to experimental musicians, fads to film stars. Now – 60 years past the British Invasion – Beatlemania is once again percolating thanks to Peter Jackson’s buzzy six-part Disney+ documentary, Get Back.  John, Paul, George and Ringo penned some of the greatest songs in modern music during their eight years together, but let’s be honest – not all Beatles tunes are equal. There are genuine masterpieces in their discography. There are also many, many songs about dessert foods, sea creatures and whatever popped into Paul’s brain during his afternoon doobie. Still, even the most basic Beatles number is worth a listen. Which makes ranking the 50 best Beatles songs particularly difficult. In polling the biggest Beatlemaniacs on our roster, we discovered, unsurprisingly, love for every era of Beatledom, from the gruffer Hamburg days to the Ravi Shankar era. As such, you’ll definitely find some favourites missing here (no songs about the sun made the cut, and poor Ringo got left out entirely). But you’ll also find the best of the world’s most influential band. Your preferences may vary, but these are undeniably

Lovers of good eating and good times, here’s yet another good reason to go south of the river. A new hangout has popped up around the back of London Bridge station. Sitting exactly halfway between Borough Market and Maltby Street Market, this former car park is due to be totally redeveloped over the coming years. But for now it has been taken over by Benj Scrimgeour, founder of nearby Flat Iron Square and long-lost nightclub The Arches. Vinegar Yard is an urban garden open seven days a week, with food stalls (including Indian-inspired burgers from Baba G’s), vintage clothing and antiques traders, and a bar pulling local beers. There’s even a bonkers installation by artist-in-residence Joe Rush, famous for his scrap-metal sculptures at Glasto. Ignore the name: this place won’t leave a sour taste.

Horror’s coming home, it’s coming home, it’s coming – back to the very library where Bram Stoker researched ‘Dracula’ between 1890 and 1897. Oxford company Creation Theatre has pulled off two impressive feats here: firstly by persuading the members-only London Library to host a production in its historic Reading Room (where Stoker almost certainly boned up on Eastern Europe and the occult) and secondly by devising a version of the vampire story in which no one plays the title role. In fact, Creation’s site-specific ‘Dracula’ features just two actors, Sophie Greenham and Bart Lambert, playing Mina and Jonathan Harker in a sexually repressed post-war setting. Solicitor Jonathan hasn’t been the same since his business trip to Romania, and a stay in Whitby to sort through the possessions of Mina’s late friend Lucy Westenra isn’t helping – especially when the weather turns, claustrophobia sets in and Jonathan’s Transylvanian flashbacks start to get very real. Projected visuals help collapse huge chunks of backstory into effective, supernatural fever dreams, and there are even a few laughs in some original scenes by writer/adapter Kate Kerrow, as the recently hitched Harkers fail to seal the deal on the chaise longue in Lucy’s library. The weaker bits of Creation’s production are when the plot strays from the Jonathan-and-Mina psychodrama, with Greenham and Lambert donning some iffy accessories and voices to play other characters from the novel. (As dodgy ‘Dracula’ accents go, Lam

The India Club is one of the city’s most fascinating post-colonial relics: a bar, lounge and Indian restaurant (one of the UK’s oldest) that’s hardly changed in 65 years. Last summer it was saved from redevelopment, and this week the National Trust opens an on-site exhibition which explores its history and celebrates the survival of a London institution. Opened on this site in 1964 by the India League, which had campaigned for the former British colony’s independence, the India Club became a first port of call for new arrivals from the subcontinent and a hub for the capital’s burgeoning Asian community. ‘A Home Away from Home: The India Club’ is an immersive oral history consisting of interviews with club regulars over the decades plus archive photos and documents. You can book in for a series of themed supperclubs and cooking classes too – because history is always better with snacks.

Here’s a sobering fact for you: young people from a BAME background are less likely to have a job than any other Briton. Being unemployed between 18 and 25 can have a major impact on later life chances, and the biggest barrier to work is lack of experience. So a big hand for Circle Collective: a social enterprise that helps young Londoners get jobs – and runs a very cool streetwear shop in Dalston (there’s another branch in Lewisham). Since 2012, the charity has helped more than 350 disadvantaged young people into work by providing them with CV advice, mentoring, training and, crucially, experience working in retail. For nearly half of Circle Collective participants, it’s their first time in the workplace. Want to help? Just pop along to one of Circle Collective’s outlets next time you need to buy someone a present (there’s an online shop too). They stock independent designers alongside the big labels, all profits are reinvested in the charity, and you’ll be helping young locals perfect their sales technique.

There’s plenty of history on Blackheath – former hotspot for highway men and an urban oasis – but it wasn’t until 2014 that this expanse of common ground in south-east London hosted its first proper music festival. OnBlackheath returns this September for a fifth year, once again bringing together the worlds of music and food for some end-of-the-season festival action. On the music front, there'll be the likes of Squeeze, Paloma Faith, Billy Bragg, Corinne Bailey Rae, De La Soul, Lightening Seeds and London Afrobeat Orchestra (performing Talking Heads) on the line up.  Beyond the live acts, they'll be a food village where you can see pro cooks in action, and there'll be family fun of all varieties to get involved in. Find out more here.

Thought you knew every nook and cranny of Hackney? Here’s a bit you’ve probably never even heard of. Tucked between a railway line and a bus depot opposite Hackney Central Overground, Bohemia Place was once a tram shed. Until last year, you would only have gone down there to get your car fixed. But now, like other arch-lined streets across the city, Bohemia Place is getting a makeover. Pressure Drop (based here since 2012) has shacked up with Verdant Brewing Company to turn its former brewery into a joint taproom. Another brewery tap, St John at Hackney, has just opened its doors, as has a new cocktails-and-food spot from party stalwarts Night Tales. Zero-waste grocery shop Bulk Market and madcap cocktail crew ABQ are moving in this summer too, and in the long term, there are grand plans for a ‘creative maker yard’. Hackneyed? Not yet it isn’t.

Ever got drunk in the Tardis? From the Kingsland Road pavement, this bar on the Shoreditch/Hoxton border doesn’t look like much more than a cute little bottle shop. But wander on in and you’ll discover there’s a whole world of bevvying to be had inside this converted police station. Past the front-room ‘liquor store’, stacked high with beers, wines, spirits and mixological gear, you’ll find a wood-panelled drinking parlour. And in a further space upstairs, TT also hosts supper clubs and pairs cocktails with cult movie screenings: think ‘The Big Lebowski’ with white russians. And then there’s the main event: a speakeasy-style bar tucked away in the cellar, its brick walls lined with caged bottles and the obligatory old-school filament bulbs. This is the former cop-shop lock-up, now a drunk tank of a much more upscale variety. The cocktail menu references different eras of barmanship with a lean towards gin, though the staff are more than happy to go off-road. Adding jasmine tea and soda, the Groglet spun out the classic gimlet into something longer and more laid back, while the Rosetta came over like a short and floral margarita. Service is affable and unshowy, drinks are gimmick-free and the crowd is refreshingly short on the kind of wankers you might expect to find in a basement bar on the Kingsland Road. If you’re acquainted with the two bars that TT’s founders also helped set up, Discount Suit Company or the Sun Tavern, you’ll recognise the stripped-back vibe – but this se

Austrian wine: it’s a thing. Although it’s no titan of viniculture, Austria still produces plenty of the stuff – 470 times more than the UK each year, in fact. The 1985 ‘antifreeze scandal’ didn’t do the country’s vinous reputation any favours, but Austrian winemakers have staged a comeback by concentrating on quality over quantity, and an aptly named new arrival on Dalston Lane aims to showcase their very best. By day a bottle shop, by night a fairly chichi wine bar, Newcomer claims (and we’ve no reason to doubt it) to stock the biggest selection of Austrian wine and beer in London. The bar at the front pours a daily selection (£6.50 for a small glass), and the walls are lined with an absolutely enormous selection of bottles, all available to drink on or off the premises. Bottles tend to hover between £40 and £50, with only a couple below the £20 mark. With prices like that, it’s clear that Newcomer isn’t exactly pitching itself at the wider population of Hackney. But Dalston hasn’t (yet) turned into Islington: it’s a long way from wine bar saturation point, and Newcomer definitely has a niche as a cute love letter to its co-founders’ homeland. I’ll confess that I’m not big on the dry white wines that are Austria’s speciality, but my Jurtschitsch pinot noir was a minor revelation, with a light mineral come-on that segued into unexpected depths. If you don’t care what accent your wine speaks with, it’s a little hard to be bothered about Newcomer’s alleinstellungsmerkmal (that

'No red liquids inside the house,' says the sign on the bar at this site-specific promenade play – which you'd think would be a bit of a problem for any company looking to stage the vampire story, but makes sense when you remember the venue is a wood-panelled Tudor manor house meticulously looked after by the National Trust. Despite sitting on the traffic-choked A102, Sutton House is pretty much the most atmospheric venue in Hackney, and it turns Tea Break Theatre's 'Dracula' from an entertaining evening to something that's often genuinely chilling. Whether via Bram Stoker or Francis Ford Coppola, you're probably familiar with the basics of the 'Dracula' story, but Tea Break's time-travelling, site-specific twist (complete with what might be a reference to season five of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer') should ensure that even dedicated gothic-lit fans won't see the ending coming. Showers of insects, sudden blackouts and things going bump in the night notwithstanding, there isn't much to trouble the seriously immersive theatre-phobic: most of the audience gets to stay behind the fourth wall, although my SO did get a one-on-one psychiatric appointment with Dr Seward. The racier undercurrents of Stoker's original manifest themselves as gender switches and a bit of supernatural homoerotic hanky-panky, and lapses into blank verse, local history and Latin suggest that writer-director Katharine Armitage has done quite a bit of homework. The conclusion is a tad confusing, and an unnecess

It’s all go in Aldgate, where new towers are springing up like expensive mushrooms and boring old office blocks are transmogrifying into co-working spaces and photography galleries. This place is at the sharp end of London’s contradictions: swanky flats versus strip clubs, chicken shops versus shiny wine bars, builders’ caffs versus aspirational/casual restaurant/bar/cafés like Treves & Hyde. It’s a bit of a fine-dining blackspot round here, and in that respect this modern European kitchen is a welcome arrival. But like the neighbourhood itself, T&H is suffering a bit of an identity crisis. Downstairs it’s a coffee shop; upstairs a restaurant and cocktail bar. And it’s full of weird dichotomies. The flashy presentation (stacks and streaks everywhere) belies the solid, reliable flavours: a small-but-mighty wodge of pork belly, a salty, buttery, fresh prawn pasta. The house red was from super-classy vintners Berry Bros & Rudd, but the coconut panna cotta came pre-refrigerated in a jar. Confused? I was. The restaurant is too relaxed and reasonably priced for a fancy treat, but too upmarket to become a bargainous neighbourhood stalwart. Though there’s plenty that’s impressive here (even delicious), the lasting feeling is confusion: not so much Treves & Hyde as Jekyll & Hyde.

Please note, The Whitechapel Refectory is now closed. It has been replaced by a new restaurant, called Townsend, on the same site. Time Out Food editors, March 2020. As part of the changing of the culinary guard at the Whitechapel Gallery, the old café has been taken over by Luke Wilson and Cameron Emirali, founders of 8 Hoxton Square and 10 Greek Street. Not only that, but they’ve gone for the double and split the existing business in two: in the evenings, the wood-panelled café space is a pretty great wine and charcuterie joint called After Hours. During the day it’s a gallery café called The Whitechapel Refectory. Though the civilised gallery café atmosphere hasn’t changed much under the new regime, the daytime rebrand isn’t cosmetic. There’s a new approach to the food, too, with a varied menu that changes daily. The kitchen was closed when I dropped in at around 4pm, meaning no hot food for late lunchers. But the cold selection was lovely: a big wholemeal salt beef sandwich (nodding to nearby Brick Lane); a strong aubergine salad with sweet potato, roasted garlic and unexpected cumin and fennel; and, to finish, a delicious prune and almond frangipane. Granola bars, breakfast pastries and other good-looking baked bits are also available, and the coffee’s lovely. There’s nothing really cutting-edge about the Refectory – it’s more William Morris than Eduardo Paolozzi. But for hungry art lovers it’s a nifty new pit-stop.

The old café at the Whitechapel Gallery was a good place for a coffee, but it didn’t have the buzz to match the world-class art. At the end of last year it was taken over by the people who run 10 Greek Street and 8 Hoxton Square and reincarnated as two separate enterprises sharing the same space: a new café called The Whitechapel Refectory and a wine bar named After Hours. Both of the new spots are winners, but it’s After Hours that makes this place worth dropping by even if there’s no art on the agenda. Open till 11pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings only, it takes up the same wood-panelled space as the old café did, sprawled across the foyer. The wine list, arranged from light to heavy, is wide-ranging and decently-priced – our bottle of red was a delightfully sweet Italian primitivo at £24. There’s a rotating cheese and charcuterie selection for sophisticated stomach-lining: fiery ’nduja, a nicely savoury yarg and a heavenly serrano were the real masterpieces on display. As for the vibe, it’s chic but relaxed with pleasantly unstarchy, clued-up service. There are special events – DJ sets, wine tastings and so forth – on two Saturdays each month. There are also lots of dates to eavesdrop on and the location draws a predictably arty crowd. But you’ll find a warm welcome here even if you thought the Turner Prize was named after Anthea.

Open-water swimming is a) great and b) increasingly popular these days. And yet London is still a bit crap when it comes to splashing around under wide-open skies. Sure, there are a few decent outdoor swimming places, but they’re heavily oversubscribed – especially during the heatwaves that roll around increasingly frequently these days. Dip demand is definitely higher than supply. So we’re thrilled to bits at a new campaign to turn an east London industrial site into a park for wild swimming and nature. The site in question is a waterworks depot on Lea Bridge Road, between Clapton and Leyton. You’ve probably been past it on the 56 bus. Seen from above, it’s a big grey blob on the otherwise blue-and-green lower Lea Valley. It was once a Victorian water-filtering facility, then a Thames Water lorry park. Now an opportunity has come up for the local community to buy the site, rewild it and let the public back ion for the first time in centuries. The East London Waterworks Park campaign wants to buy the site and create two Olympic-sized, naturally-filtered swimming areas. Its plans also include restoring natural habitats, reconnecting walking routes between the Hackney and Walthamstow Marshes (alongside part of the Capital Ring), and turning depot buildings into places for learning and community-building, including a café. 47 days left on @crowdfunderuk! Help us transform underused fenced-in concrete into a new park and wild swimming ponds. Donate to make it happen: https:/

Word on the street is that London is about to experience an eight-day long ‘mini heatwave’ with temperatures above average for the next week. While that means balmy evenings in beer gardens and sunny visits to the lido, it also means that the tube is about to become the kind of stiflingly hot hellhole even Dante couldn’t have envisioned.  Yep, we’re all familiar with the way the tube becomes a deep-level sauna in the warmer months. But which line holds the grim title of being the hottest of all? Thanks to a canny FOI request put out by the Gizmodo website a few years ago, TfL finally gave us an official answer. Top of the hot list, with an average temperature of 27C in 2016, is the baking hot Bakerloo line. In fact, in August of that year, it reached a sizzling 31C. Whew.  Coming in second was the Central line (no surprises there) with an average temperature of 26.1C, while the Northern line came in third with a toasty average temp of 25.2C.  Photograph: Time Out So, what lines should you take if you don’t want to arrive at work looking like you’ve cycled up Mont Ventoux? Well, according to TfL’s 2016 figures, the District, Circle, Hammersmith & City, and Metropolitan lines were the coolest, each with an average temperature of 18.5C. Since these figures were released, though, all four of these lines have gained air-conditioning, a welcome feature that’s also on the brand new Elizabeth line. So better make a beeline for those cool carriages when you’re planning your commut

Japón abrirá las fronteras al turismo a partir del 10 de junio. Y ahora nos llegan más noticias emocionantes que deberían impacientaros más que nunca para planificar una visita al país asiático. Time Out Market, nuestro mercado cultural y gastronómico curado por expertos, llega a Asia por primera vez. Y la ubicación escogida es la segunda ciudad de Japón y la capital indiscutible de la comida: ¡Osaka! Time Out Market Osaka abrirá sus puertas en 2025, justo al lado de la estación central de la ciudad. Además, Osaka también acogerá la Exposición Mundial ese año, así que ya podéis empezar a planificar el viaje. Los editores de Time Out Japón seleccionarán a los mejores chefs y restaurantes de esta ciudad obsesionada por la gastronomía. Estos campeones culinarios escogidos a mano ofrecerán los sabores de quince cocinas bajo un mismo techo, junto a cócteles y cultura. Y aunque los nombres participantes todavía son secretos, el mejor 'takoyaki' de Osaka seguramente aparecerá en algún sitio. La fórmula Time Out Market, basada en buenos momentos, platos deliciosos y apoyo a las empresas locales, ha sido ya un gran éxito en Lisboa, Miami, Nueva York, Boston, Montreal, Chicago y Dubái. También se abrirán locales en Oporto, Abu Dabi, Praga y Londres. Ahora estamos muy emocionados de llevar la idea a Japón. Al fin y al cabo, este es el hogar del 'kuidaore': literalmente, comer hasta que te quedas sin dinero. Solo os tenéis que asegurar de dejar lo suficiente en la cartera para el taxi ha

El Japó ja ha anunciat que obrirà les fronteres al turisme a partir de l'u de juny. I ara ens arriben més notícies emocionants que haurien d'impacientar-vos més que mai per planificar una visita al país asiàtic. Time Out Market, el nostre mercat cultural i gastronòmic organitzat per experts, arriba a Àsia per primera vegada. I la ubicació escollida és la segona ciutat del Japó i la capital indiscutible del menjar: Osaka! Time Out Market Osaka obrirà les portes el 2025, just al costat de l'estació central de la ciutat. A més, Osaka també acollirà l'Exposició Mundial aquell any, així que ja podeu començar a planificar el viatge. Els editors de Time Out Japó seleccionaran els millors xefs i restaurants d'aquesta ciutat obsessionada per la gastronomia. Aquests campions culinaris escollits a mà oferiran els sabors de quinze cuines sota un mateix sostre, juntament amb còctels i cultura. I tot i que els noms participants encara són secrets, el millor 'takoyaki' d'Osaka segurament apareixerà en algun lloc. La fórmula Time Out Market, basada en bons moments, plats deliciosos i suport a les empreses locals, ja ha estat un gran èxit a Lisboa, Miami, Nova York, Boston, Mont-real, Chicago i Dubai. També s'obriran locals a Porto, Abu Dhabi, Praga i Londres. Ara estem molt emocionats de portar la idea al Japó. Al cap i a la fi, aquesta és la llar del 'kuidaore': literalment, menjar fins que et quedes sense diners. Només assegureu-vos de deixar prou a la cartera pel taxi cap a l'aeroport. N

As Japan announces its reopening to the world, we’ve got some exciting news that should make you more desperate than ever to plan a return visit. Time Out Market – our very own expert-curated food and cultural market – is coming to Asia for the very first time. And the chosen location is Japan’s second city and undisputed dining capital: Osaka! Time Out Market Osaka will be opening its doors in 2025, as part of the Umekita Second Zone development right by the city’s central station. (The timing is fortuitous: Osaka will also host World Expo that year, so start planning your trip now.) Local Time Out editors will select simply the greatest chefs and restaurants in this food-obsessed city. These hand-picked culinary champions will dish up their diverse flavours from 15 kitchens under one very large roof, alongside cocktails and culture. And while the line-up is still very much under wraps, Osaka’s very finest takoyaki will surely feature somewhere. The Time Out Market formula – grounded in good times, delicious dishes and support for local businesses – has already been a big success in Lisbon, Miami, New York, Boston, Montreal, Chicago and Dubai. Openings in Porto, Abu Dhabi, Prague and London are also in the pipeline. Now we’re beyond excited to be bringing the idea to Japan. This, after all, is the home of ‘kuidaore’: literally, eating till you run out of money. Just make sure you leave enough in your wallet for the taxi to the airport. Here’s everything you need to know abou

European rail travel is booming – what with new sleeper trains to Prague and Stockholm, fresh Eurostar links from the UK to the continent and a swishy new rail start-up promising ‘hotels on wheels’. So now’s the time to hop on a train or two and explore the parks, hotels and palaces (plus bistros, dive bars and massive nightclubs) of Europe’s great cities. And if you’re quick, you can currently buy a pass that’ll let you spend a month or more roaming around, at the price of a couple of coffees per day. Interrail, Europe’s integrated rail pass, is 50 years old – and to mark the big occasion, it’s knocking 50 percent off its prices for the next few days. You can snap up a half-price Continuous Pass for one month for €252, two months for €274 or three months for €339, letting you travel on any day throughout 33 countries. And you don’t have to set out right away: you’ve got 11 months from purchase to activate your pass so that's plenty of time to plan your adventures. (Oh, and if ‘Interrailing’ is something that brings up hazy memories of bar crawls in Budapest and hostels in Hamburg, know that you can opt for a first-class ticket at half price too, for a somewhat less declassé Grand Tour.) The Interrail 50 percent sale is only on until Tuesday May 10, so if you’d like to take to the rails for a whole lot less, full steam ahead. Update, May 10: the British website My Interrail has now extended the sale until 11.59pm BST on Wednesday May 11. Go, go, go! ICYMI: Here’s why train tr

There are fewer more comforting, blissful things to do than stare up at the cosmos, watching stars glimmer and meteors whizz by. And over the next couple of weeks, stargazers are in for a treat. From April 14 to April 30, the Lyrid meteor show will light up skies worldwide. Meteors or shooting stars are celestial debris which burn up as they hit the Earth’s atmosphere, turning into beautiful, sparkling flashes of light. Traditionally, the Lyrid meteor shower is one of the most spectacular cosmic displays in the astronomy calendar. The Lyrids appear for ten or so nights every April, and are visible all around the world. In 2022 the after-dark show kicks off tonight (April 14), and will peak on the night of April 22 to 23, when you might be able to see a shooting star stream across the sky every four minutes – given clear skies, of course. Luckily, this year’s Lyrids will combine with a last quarter moon, meaning that conditions are ideal for spotting some meteors. Assuming cloud-free weather, they should be visible worldwide and without need for any special equipment. So if you’re awake after dark, it’s worth looking up and trying to spot the odd magical streak of fire across the sky. Now mark your calendar for the rest of 2022’s shooting stars, eclipses, meteor showers and planetary alignments.

We asked you about the weirdest things that have happened to you while sharing a place in London. Here’s what you said… 'I lived with a guy who stored steak under his bed' 'I was introduced to my flatmate's boyfriend. He was my ex' 'My landlord died so I got to live there rent-free for a bit while his family figured out what to do.' 'My housemates had a full on fist fight about who should take the bin out' 'Someone carved threatening messages into my chopping board and peed in my pots and pans' 'I said no to a date with a guy in my house, so he keyed my car' ‘My flatmate crashed into the garage door after drunk-driving home from Spearmint Rhino.’ ‘A girl who collected her boyfriend’s semen in a plastic cup, which she kept under her bed.’ ‘Three vegan Aussie lads told me not to go in the “LSD fridge”.’ ‘My gay flatmate giving a blow job to his “straight” friend at the kitchen table one night.’ ‘A crazy French girl put drawing pins inside the oven gloves as a farewell gift.’ ‘My live-in landlady presented me with the ashes of her dead cat in a miniature coffin.’ ‘My male housemate couldn’t explain why my lost bra turned up in the back of one of his drawers – complete with makeshift plastic-bag padding.’ ‘My housemate brought home a few pheasants he claimed to have shot. They still had shop tags on their feet.’ ‘The man who greeted each morning in a waistcoat and Y-fronts, with a large G&T and the words: “It’s always six o’clock somewhere in the Empire!” No, he wasn’t called Bor

We’ve all been feeling new emotions recently, and now at last there are new ways to express them via the international language of emoji. Unicode’s latest emojis are being rolled out to Apple devices on the iOS 14.5, released today, and we’ve got a sneak peek at the new emojis you’ll be able to use once you’ve updated. A bandaged heart, a dizzy face with spiral eyes, a face exhaling with exhaustion and a ‘brain fog’ emoji are among the latest emojis coming to Apple devices as part of Emoji 13.1. Which, incidentally, is a handy summary of how we’ve been feeling lately. There’s also a whole new range of emojis that increase the gender and racial diversity of the emoji alphabet, including more interracial couple options, as well as a ‘heart on fire’ emoji. One other timely change: Apple has updated the design of the syringe emoji. Previously shown with the needle dripping blood, it’s now empty or clear – a nifty change as vaccination efforts step up worldwide. The new emojis are available on iOS 14.5, which is available for Apple devices now. Go express yourself!

Things are looking up. Well, they are if you temporarily forget what’s going on at ground level and let yourself be distracted by what’s going on overhead.  The skies are set to be all a-glow tonight with the biggest, brightest moon of the year. A super full moon is coming – and to make things even lovelier, it’s known as a ‘pink moon’. It’s called that because of the pink blossom and flowers that bloom in the month of April (in the northern hemisphere, that is). Unfortunately, it won’t actually have a pink tint to it. But its arrival in our skies might at least make the current world situation seem a little rosier. Photograph: Shutterstock Why’s this moon so super? The full moon is taking place when the moon is closest to the earth, which basically means that the moon will look really bright and big in the sky. Supermoons appear at their biggest when they’re rising and setting, as that’s when they are closest to the horizon. The evening of April 26 is when it’ll be lighting up skies across the world. If you can safely get to a nearby dark-sky area, it’ll look even better – here are the best stargazing spots in the UK and the USA.  Photograph: Shutterstock This supermoon is the first of 2021, so it’s worth getting a look at it. And what else have you got on that evening? Now mark your calendar for the rest of 2021’s shooting stars, eclipses, meteor showers and planetary alignments!

Trains are great – greener, more spacious and generally a load less hassly than flying. Once viewed as belonging to travel’s past, rail is now starting to look a lot like the future. In the USA, a huge expansion of the Amtrak network is beckoning under the leadership of Joe Biden. And in Europe, some very cool plans have just been revealed for a whole new generation of sleeper trains. Sleeper services, which operate overnight between major destinations, eliminate the main downside of train travel: the lengthy journey times. Like a red-eye flight on rails, you can board the train in the centre of one city and wake up in another, ready to grab an espresso and explore.RECOMMENDED: 31 things to do in Europe at least once in your life Once numerous, Europe’s night trains have gradually been cut back over recent decades. But that trend is reversing, and we’re super excited about the announcement of at least six new European night train routes, launching over the next four years. Five of these new routes are run by Nightjet, an international consortium of railway companies led by Austria’s ÖBB. The first, launching this December, will link Vienna, Munich and Paris. At the same time, Amsterdam and Zurich will get a new overnight ‘A-to-Z’ link, with a stop at Cologne. The new routes will link up to the Eurostar in Paris and Amsterdam, as well as existing night trains to Venice and Graz. From December 2022, you’ll be able to catch another new Nightjet train from Zurich to Rome, via Mil

In early January, England entered a strict national lockdown, with leaving the house pretty much banned. At first, although you could go out for exercise (as well as buying essentials), it was been illegal to travel for non-essential reasons. The official rules stated ‘outdoor exercise should be done locally wherever possible’ – which means ‘avoiding travelling outside of your village, town or the part of a city where you live’. Needless to say, this put a serious stymie on day trips. But with the government’s ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown having stepped up another phase on March 29, we’re starting to plan escapes and excursions once again. Here’s what you need to know. Can I take a day trip in England from March 29? Although travel and overnight stays were forbidden for months, the UK’s blanket ‘stay at home’ order has now been lifted as part of ‘Step 1’, along with the previous ‘stay local’ rules. Non-essential travel is still discouraged, but different households are now allowed to meet outdoors, including on private land. Many parks, gardens and stately-home grounds are already open, and others will open from March 29. So are day trips allowed now? The answer is yes… but with some qualifications. Official guidance says ‘no holidays’ from March 29, and government advice is still to stay local and minimise travel. However, travelling out of your local area is no longer actively illegal – and government sources have confirmed that day trips are now permitted, though you should