What's happening in London this week?

Borough Market runs Wednesday through Saturday under a Victorian iron-and-glass canopy on Stoney Street, SE1. Saturday is the crowd peak. Get there by 9am to beat the queues at Monmouth Coffee Company. The smell of beans roasting since 1978 fills the narrow lane. Portobello Road in Notting Hill stretches its full antiques-to-vintage run on Saturdays only, roughly 9am to 5pm along a mile of terraced shopfronts. Sunday belongs to Columbia Road Flower Market in Bethnal Green, 8am to 3pm. Vendors shout prices down as closing approaches. Maltby Street Market under the Bermondsey railway arches trades Saturday and Sunday with half the tourist density of Borough, a 10-minute walk south.

London enforces Sunday trading laws that catch first-time visitors off guard. Large shops on Oxford Street, including Selfridges and John Lewis, open for only 6 hours on Sundays, typically noon to 6pm. Small independents set their own schedule. Most West End theatres go dark on Sundays, with Monday matinees filling the gap. The TKTS booth at the south end of Leicester Square sells same-day discounted tickets. Tuesday and Wednesday mornings see the shortest queues and widest selection. A decent seat runs £30-75 at the booth, sometimes half the box-office price. With $1 buying about 75p right now, that's roughly $40-100.

Friday evening belongs to the pubs. By 5:30pm, workers around Liverpool Street and Moorgate spill onto pavements with pints of cask ale in hand. The warm smell of yeast and bus exhaust hangs in the evening air. Temperatures this week sit around 24°C with humidity near 37%. That's about as comfortable as London gets in summer, and the dry evenings fill pub gardens along the South Bank and around Exmouth Market in Clerkenwell. Sunday is roast dinner day. Pubs serve beef or lamb with Yorkshire pudding, crisp potatoes, and thick gravy from noon until about 3pm. The Anchor & Hope near Waterloo and The Eagle in Farringdon both do this well. Budget £18-24 for a roast with a pint.

Summer mornings tend to be cool enough to run before the warmth builds. By 7am, the Outer Circle path in Regent's Park fills with joggers past Queen Mary's Garden, where over 12,000 roses hit peak bloom. The scent carries from the path. Hyde Park's Serpentine Lido offers outdoor swimming for around £6 a session. The British Museum, in Bloomsbury since 1753, and the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square charge no admission and open every day. The Tower of London, standing since 1066, costs around £34 for adults and shortens Sunday and Monday hours with last entry at 4pm instead of 5pm. Some smaller galleries close Mondays, which makes it a reasonable day for the free museums along Exhibition Road in South Kensington. The Natural History Museum, Science Museum, and V&A all stay open seven days.