London does new to the max
- What's new in London this year? Lots is the answer to that question!
On 9th January, Shakespeare's Globe theatre opened its new indoor theatre named the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse comprising 350 seats. This year is also the playwrights 450th birthday, how perfectly fitting. The first month of the year has also seen the birth of Brooklyn Bowl, the uber trendy New York bowling alley. Bowl, eat fries, grab a root beer and boogie on down to top DJs at the fabulous O2 arena.
If you're a massive foodie then you can add another restaurant to your list, or take your loved one for a Valentine's Day dinner to Gordon Ramsay's new London House restaurant which opens in Battersea this month.
The 'Walkie-Talkie' top heavy building everyone is talking about is due to open in Fenchurch Street in March. Designed by world-renowned architect Rafael Vinoly, the brilliant building also includes a free-to-access sky garden, a restaurant and cafe. Perfect for a 'look see' at the weekends. March also celebrates the British Museum who are opening their £135 million World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre. It will be the museum's first purpose built temporary exhibition area. And for their first exhibition? The Vikings.
June sees our beloved Heston Blumenthal open his first airport restaurant at the newly built £2.5 billion Heathrow Terminal 2 (aka The Queen's Terminal). Let's hope he'll be adding a few wild and wacky dishes to his menu to impress tourists and Londoners alike.
Enjoy the summer time with a trip to the Imperial War Museum. Although it's closed from January to June this year it reopens this summer to mark the 100 year anniversary of the start of the First World War. Get involved with the all singing and all dancing First World War exhibition complete with new atrium, shops and park-side cafe.
Calling all geeks. A whopping £15.6 million is being spent on the new information Age at the Science Museum for launch this autumn making this gallery the world's biggest hub of information and communication technologies.
And towards the end of the year the National Theatre will be showcasing its new Dorfman theatre (once the old Cottesloe theatre). It will offer an extra 27,000 people a year the opportunity to view spectacular theatre at its very best.
