Rob Eagle’s video highlights some of the brilliant free things to do in London, from the British Museum to the Hunterian Museum.

The film won the Raindance Film Festival award in UCL’s London for Free competition.

As well as being a fantastic year for sport, 2012 was a great year for art exhibitions in London. We’ve enjoyed blockbuster shows such as David Hockney at the Royal Academy of Arts, Damien Hirst at Tate Modern and Lucian Freud at the National Portrait Gallery.

Here are five exhibitions to look out – and book ahead – for in 2013.

Manet: Portraying Life, Royal Academy of Arts: The Royal Academy hosts the first-ever UK exhibition devoted to Edouard Manet’s portraiture. 26 Jan-14 Apr

Lichtenstein: A Retrospective, Tate Modern: See 125 of the best paintings and sculptures by Roy Lichtenstein, known for his bright, comic strip-style works. 21 Feb-27 May

Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum, British Museum: Major display of objects excavated from two Roman cities buried by a catastrophic eruption in AD 79. 28 Mar-29 Sep

Lowry and the Painting of Modern Life, Tate Britain: This exhibition of Lowry landscapes is the first big London show devoted to the artist since his death in 1976. 26 Jun-20 Oct

Paul Klee, Tate Modern: Tate Modern charts Paul Klee’s complex, colourful drawings and paintings alongside the events that happened during his lifetime. 15 Oct-9 Mar

Which London art exhibitions are you looking forward to in 2013? Let us know in the comments below.

The Southbank Centre Christmas Market

This popular German-style Christmas market returns to the Southbank for a fifth year. Between the London Eye and Waterloo Bridge you’ll find more than 60 traditional wooden chalets, selling everything from unusual Christmas gifts to warming Glühwein. Fairground rides, festive lights and seasonal music complete the magical atmosphere. 16 Nov-24 Dec

UK Chilli Stand Off 2012, Hackney

Fire up your tastebuds at this spicy festival, which sees eight top chefs competing to be crowned chilli champion. Participants include Gizzi Erskine, Tim Anderson and Tom Parker-Bowles, with Masterchef’s John Torode in the enviable position of judge. Visitors will be able to sample all eight chillis, alongside a range of drinks and even chocolate chilli ice cream. Tickets are £40, visit the event’s website to secure a place at one of two tasting sessions. 17 Nov

Light from the Middle East: New Photography, at the Victoria and Albert Museum

The Victoria and Albert Museum presents a rare opportunity to view the best of contemporary Middle Eastern photography at this new exhibition. Thirty artists are represented, and their photographs not only highlight fascinating variations in technique and perspective, but also provide a timely insight into recent events. Entry is free. 13 Nov-7 Apr 

A Bigger Splash: Painting After Performance, at the Tate Modern

Explore the relationship between painting and performance at this reverse-engineered exhibition at the Tate Modern. Featuring work by artists such as Jackson Pollock, David Hockney and Cindy Sherman, it contrasts painters who use theatrical techniques with those who use the human body itself as a canvas. Tickets are £10 for adults. 14 Nov-1 Apr

Skate at Somerset House Ice Rink

This seasonal ice rink, set against the exquisite backdrop of Somerset House, just keeps getting better and better. Not only can adults and children learn to skate in dedicated classes, but budding ice dancers can also show off their moves at late night sessions, accompanied by music from top DJs. Adding to the glamour is the new pop-up shopping arcade, which allows you to buy British artisan gifts for your loved ones after a spin on the ice. 16 Nov-6 Jan

The Bar of Aero

Enter The Bar of Aero, a pop-up world of chocolate, bubbly fun at the Dray Walk Gallery, Truman Brewery. The fun includes a peppermint-scented playground, orange and green bubble waterfall and a movement reactive Aero hot chocolate dispenser. Entrance is free with prizes and free chocolate up for grabs. 16-18 Nov, 12-7pm

More events in London

If you’ve been planning to visit this summer’s must-see exhibitions such as Damien Hirst at Tate Modern or Yoko Ono at the Serpentine Gallery, be quick! It’s changeover time at London museums and galleries and the following shows are all set to close this month:

Closing this weekend

• Damien Hirst at Tate Modern
• Yoko Ono at Serpentine Gallery
• Royal River at National Maritime Museum
• London 2012 Medals at the British Museum

Closing later in September

• Stadia at Sir John Soane’s Museum
• BP Portrait Award at National Portrait Gallery
• Metamorphosis: Titian 2012 at the National Gallery
• Road to 2012: Aiming High at the National Portrait Gallery
• London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Posters at Tate Britain
• Heatherwick Studio at the V&A

But don’t worry there are plenty of exciting new exhibitions coming up this autumn, including Pre-Raphaelites at Tate Britain and Hollywood Costume at the V&A. Keep an eye on our Arts page for all the latest information.

Make the most of the many exciting cultural events taking place this weekend by exploring one of the Mayor of London’s cultural trails.

This Saturday, it’s all about South London, with activities taking place from 10am to 9pm. And it’s all free!

Start your day at the Southbank Centre where you can watch a documentary about the Diverse City – Breathe project, a unique collaboration between disabled and non-disabled performers from Dorset and Brazil.

Next, pop into the Southbank Centre’s shop on Festival Terrace, which is being curated by not-for-profit organisation Design Nation all month. Here you can see new products and showcases from some of Britain’s best design talent.

Your next cultural stop is Tate Modern. Take a look at Tino Sehgal’s Turbine Hall Commission. This live show involves choreographed movements and sounds from participants in the space – you’ll never have the same experience twice! Then check out the brand new Tanks at Tate Modern, hosting an ongoing programme of live art, performance, film and installations during the London 2012 Festival.

There’s more performance at your final stop in either Burgess Park or Peckham. Mayor of London Presents Showtime (a festival visiting all London boroughs) is collaborating with Southwark’s annual Elephant and the Nun festival. Highlights include the electrifying Lords of Lightning at Peckham Multi Storey Car Park (free but booking advised).

Download the free London Official City Guide app to guide you on the trail, and to give you more ideas along the way, or download a PDF

And you’d definitely be getting into the cycling spirit. But what if you’d rather get more from your London trip? Perhaps you’d rather take a traffic-free route around London’s landmarks, but just aren’t sure where to go? The following guide-led cycling tours of London will not only get you freewheeling around the best the city has to offer, you’ll also learn as you turn those pedals. (Wearing a yellow jersey and inked-on sideburns is, of course, optional…)

1. Capital Sport – Gentle Cycling
Choose from a variety of London tours organised by Capital Sport: from a half-day tour of London’s Heart (taking in Buckingham Palace, Tate Modern, the Thames and more) to four-day trips from London to Richmond to Windsor and back! I particularly like the London to Greenwich and The Barrier and back tour: “a day tour with 8 or 15 miles of virtually traffic free flat cycling” – sounds like my kind of ride!

2. Fat Tire Bike Tours
Family-friendly and fun, the Fat Tire Bike Tours offer two unique cycling tours through London: Royal London and River Thames. With baby seats and super-comfy bikes for hire, Fat Tire Bikes are suitable for the whole family. If you’re a really inexperienced cyclist, try the Royal London Tour, which spends much less time on London’s roads, instead sharing with you the best of London’s Royal Parks.

3. London Bicycle Tour Company
The London Bicycle Tour Company has one of the largest selection of bikes for hire in London. They offer daily tours of central London and the West End, as well as weekend tours around East London and the London 2012 Olympic sites. Their new hire centre is just 3 miles from the Olympic Park at Camp in London, and is open daily from 8am to 8pm.

4. Mind The Gap Cycle Tours
With the Mind The Gap Cycle Tours, you really can travel in Bradley Wiggins’ footsteps. (Or should that be pedals?) Riding from Richmond to Hampton Court Palace, you pass Ham House and some great local pubs before visiting the very place where Wiggins started his historic time trial yesterday. Then you can leave the bikes to the guides while you enjoy a look around Hampton Court Palace before returning to London on public transport.

5. Association of Professional Tourist Guides
Finally, you can take a fully-guided cycling tour from the best tour guides in the business: London’s Blue Badge Tourist Guides. These guides are known throughout the world for the accuracy of their information and their incredible enthusiasm for sharing London’s most fascinating stories. They’ll even create a bespoke bike tour for you; find out more here.

Do you have any tips for exploring London by bike? Please share them with us in the comments below.

Bt ArtBoxes
There are around half a dozen of these funky replica phoneboxes dotted around the Southbank. The boxes have been imaginatively decorated by a variety of artists, and will later be auctioned off to raise money for ChildLine. See how many you can spot!

What’s your favourite thing about the Southbank? Let us know in the comments below.

Hannah’s view:

I felt a childlike excitement as I wandered through rooms filled with glow-in-the dark polka dots, colourful lights and big, bright pictures.

My favourite bit was the Infinity Mirrored Room, a new work created especially for the show, where colour-changing lights are reflected in infinity in the mirrored walls. Another highlight was I’m Here But Nothing, a darkened living room covered in fluorescent polka dots, which aims to recreate the hallucinatory episodes experienced by Kusama.

The show gives a good insight into the quirky artist’s life and career, from early illustrations made in Japan to cutting-edge films created during her time in New York. But most of all, it’s really good fun!

Jenny’s view:

I’d been looking forward to the Yayoi Kusama retrospective at Tate Modern, after seeing the wonderful Dots Obsession piece at the Hayward Gallery a couple of years ago.

The exhibition didn’t disappoint, particularly the two immersive installations – being surrounded by glowing UV dots or in an “infinite room” of mirrors did a good job of conveying the hallucinations Kusama has suffered from all her life.

There’s so much variety in this exhibition – from the dark paintings of her early career, to the calming Infinity Net paintings, to the psychedelic canvases she created in the 80s and 90s. I’m seeing spots (literally)!

Yayoi Kusama is at Tate Modern from 9 February to 5 June 2012

Yes, we’re all excited about the Olympics. And the Queen’s Diamond Jubliee. And the London 2012 Festival.

But that’s not all we have to look forward to in London next year! Just when you thought London was already chock-full of thousands of exciting attrations, we bring you news of a few more… (And a couple which, while not new, are being revamped and restored in time for next year.)

1.    Cutty Sark Reopening, Spring 2012
The world’s last tea clipper will reopen in Spring next year. If, like me, you’ve been following the amazing diaries of the conservation of this incredible vessel, you’ll be pleased to know there’s not long to wait! You can get a sneak peek of things to come on their website.

2.    Kensington Palace Reopening, 26 March 2012
Another reopening I’m really looking forward to in 2012 is Kensington Palace. Again, I’ve been following developments at the site on their fantastic blog, and I can’t wait to see the revamped palace in all its glory come March. The gardens will be improved, as will accessibility, and they’ve got an exciting calendar of exhibitions and events  for 2012 to celebrate all the changes.  

3.    Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour, from 31 March
Another piece of excitement for London next year is the new Warner Bros Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter. Book now, and you can go on a behind-the-scenes walking tour of the film studios where the Harry Potter series was made.

4.    Emirates Air Line, from Spring 2012
Whether it’s used as a genuine transport link, or more of a tourist attraction, the cable car across the Thames, (called the Emirates Air Line), will also be ready next year. Linking The O2 and ExCeL, with the promise of stunning views across London, this will be one of the coolest new ways to travel in London next year…

5.    Tate Modern’s Oil Tanks, from Summer 2012
If Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall isn’t enough for you, then this summer you can get even more art at the iconic riverside gallery as Tate opens its newest space. Part of the London 2012 Festival, the Oil Tanks are two 30-metre wide and seven-metre high concrete chambers. Inside, there’ll be space for installations, performance art, films, lectures and more.

What attractions are you looking forward to seeing in 2012? Let us know in the comments below.

Madelene Yeshin
All my theatre highlights took place at The National, from Danny Boyle’s mind-blowing production of Frankenstein, to the hilarious One Man, Two Guvnors and finally to the beautiful, romantic and funny play by Daniel Kitson -It’s Alright Now, until Later. On the food front, I had an incredible dining experience at Heston’s Dinner in Knightsbridge, and dicovered a new favourite Oxford Street eatery at Riding House Café - perfect for escaping the shopping crowds. Finally, my most bizarre experience of the year was rowing across the roof of Selfridges on an emerald lake courtesy of Bombas and Parr.

Lettice Kemp
My 2011 highlights included following the craft trail at the Thames Festival, seeing Milton Jones’ stand-up show, being utterly terrified by Daleks at the Doctor Who Experience, visiting the Tower Bridge Exhibition, watching Arthur “Rory” Darvill in Doctor Faustus at Shakespeare’s Globe and attending Knit Nation for the first time. Tapping into the trend for shocking Christmas jumpers, I took a one-day knitting class at Loop and mastered Fair Isle knitting. I also took a silver clay class at the London Jewellery School and a lampshade making class at The Make Lounge, both of which I heartily recommend. Best of all was South Pacific at the Barbican: just beautiful and dreamy.

Aly Garvey
There were some gorgeous exhibitions in London this year including the Glamour of the Gods at the National Portrait Gallery which I loved. Degas and the Ballet at the Royal Academy of Arts was fantastic too. I enjoyed dinner at two of London’s most well-known restaurants, the OXO Tower and the Rib Room which have both had refurbishments this year and reopened looking better than ever with food and drinks to match.

Hannah Collingbourne
After seeing Shrek The Musical, my friend declared, “That’s the best thing that’s happened to me all week!”. I have to agree; in fact it was one of my top events for the whole year. Audience members of all ages left the theatre with a smile on their face. If you need cheering up in the dark winter months after Christmas, I’d recommend a visit to Shrek.

Lisa Williams
Walking along the Southbank with all the beach huts, beach and drinking Pimms on the roof top garden bar during the Southbank Centre’s Festival of Britain was fantastic. I was also lucky enough to go to The O2 to watch the ATP Tennis semi-final matches, which was truly inspiring. Next would be my preview trip of the Harry Potter tour which is opening in March – I just couldn’t believe how much detail had gone into making the sets! Finally, my trip on the Orient Express: being treated like royalty, drinking champagne and eating divine food while pottering around in a beautiful train… what a year!

Jenny Owen
From the swashbuckling Pirates exhibition, to the beautiful and delicate paintings of Degas, it’s been a great year for soaking up some culture in London. I spent hours at the Mirá½¹ exhibiton at Tate Modern, and now we have the Dickens exhibition, which I think really deserves all the hype. Other stand-out moments included visiting The Ritz (every bit as decadent as I’d imagined); touring the Tower of London by night and visiting beautiful Lancaster House during a rare public opening.

Lianne Kolirin
Matilda was unquestionably the highlight of my year in London. The kids loved it too, but you don’t need a little one in tow to appreciate this musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic. I also enjoyed visiting World Travel Market over the autumn. Practically every country around the world occupies a tiny corner of the enormous ExCel exhibition centre. It’s so huge; you could spend a whole week taking in the atmosphere. Earlier in the year, I saw John Bishop compere a comedy benefit in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall. So many great acts, so many laughs. Best of the bunch was Seann Walsh, who is definitely a face to look out for in 2012.

Tom Butler
2011 has been a great year for discovering new spaces in London, from inside the former Commonwealth Institute as part of Open House London, to the Eden Project-designed Queen Elizabeth Hall Roof Garden & Bar for the 60th anniversary of the Festival of Britain. I’m glad this beautiful, grassy rooftop will be back in 2012. Other highlights included a Q&A with author Kazuo Ishiguro at a screening of Never Let Me Go in February (the venue, the Ritzy in Brixton, had an incredible year of events celebrating its 100th birthday), and Hackney Wicked in July. Finally, the best single moments were the decision to award the 2017 World Athletics Championships to London, and the discovery of (possibly) London’s best burritos at Picante Mexican Grillin Victoria – both are a fantastic result for the city.

Zoe Craig
There have been some great shows in London this year. Highlights for me included the brilliantly acted plays Clybourne Park, Frankenstein and The Westbridge; and classy musicals Crazy For You, Matilda and Betty Blue Eyes. Best of the lot was One Man, Two Guvnors – a wonderful script, a fantastic cast, and whole lot of fun. I also loved seeing the new Penguin Beach at London Zoo earlier in the summer.

What were your highlights of 2011? Let us know in the comments below…