If you’re anything like us at Secret London, 2022 saw you armed with a London bucket list for the year. You were ready to hit the town with a schedule of activities you were going to do, events you were going to attend, and restaurants and bars that you were going to try out. But then, how many did you end up doing? So many new restaurants opened, gallery exhibitions enticed us, and events got announced, that the original list got away from us. But, still, it’s a good place to start the year – looking ahead to what you’re most excited for.

So, we put the question to you, the Secret London reader, to find out what you were most looking forward to in London in 2023.

And you had plenty to tell us! Some of you had full days planned out, while others had more general ideas of things to do and places to see. We then rounded up the best answers to make this: the authoritative Secret London Bucket List for 2023. What will you add to your own list?

You’ve got your eyes on London’s food scene

1. Meal at 34 Mayfair

Kicking things off with a strong start. It’s a truly gorgeous restaurant.

2. “Eat as much as possible [that] I can’t get in Germany”

Well, good thing London is full of such amazing restaurants, and plenty of cheap eats too so you can fill your belly!

3. A full English breakfast, after an early morning arrival!

Oh there are some great breakfasts available to you in London.

4. Borough Market

Yeah, we can’t resist the food markets either!

5. Hawksmoor

Nothing beats a great steak, am I right?

6. Heliot Steak House

7. Street food

8. Dim Sum at Royal China Club

Yes, please, to ALL of the dim sum.

9. Afternoon tea at the Sanderson

There’s truly nothing better than a great afternoon tea.

You fancy a drink or two

10. “Camden pub tour booked”

And while you’re there, why not check out everything else Camden has to offer?

11. “Just a good Gin bar… and the feeling of London!”

We might have a few recommendations for gin bars.

12. “A drink in the Anchor Tap near Tower Bridge.”

You’ve got to love London’s incredible pub scene.

13. “Gresham martini at the Fortnum and Mason bar at the Royal Exchange”

Suddenly, we’re rather parched…

You’ve got whole days already planned out

14. “Taking part in the St Patrick’s Day Parade in March with the volunteer Pandemonium Drummers and then drumming for the London Marathon runners in April. Great atmosphere at both events”

We’re tired just thinking about all that!

15. “Afternoon tea on a Routemaster, and Afternoon tea at Kensington Palace”

What, two afternoon teas in one day? Actually… That’s kind of genius.

16. “I’m going to see Dermot Kennedy at the O2 on 14th April. We already our have reservation booked for a hotel suite… with a terrace balcony as an early birthday present”

An early happy birthday to you! And what a great choice to participate in some of London’s incredible live music scene.

17. “Paddington Bear afternoon tea and Cirque du Soleil”

18. “The Tower, Dr. Johnson’s house and the Globe – in that order!”

19. “Back to The Albert Primrose Hill and along the Regent’s canal on the waterbus – Little Venice to Camden Town”

20. “Shopping trip and sightseeing”

You can’t beat the shopping in London!

21. “Rosetta Stone tour at British Museum and couple of pints in my favourite pub, Founders Arms Pub on the Southbank”

22. “Afternoon tea at Marco Pierre White’s at Leicester square followed by watching The Unfriend at the Criterion theatre”

Ooh, can we come too?

There’s plenty of of live performances on your London bucket list

From theatre shows:

23. The Gun Powder Plot

Who doesn’t love a good ol’ immersive experience after all?

24. “Visiting with my son so he can finally see Hamilton, he’s so excited! … Also we’re going to see the Back to the future musical for the 2nd time, it’s brilliant”

25. Lemons Lemons Lemons

26. The Newsies

27. The Jersey Boys

28. Cirque du Soleil Kurios

29. “Ian McKellan in Mother Goose”

30. ABBA Voyage

31. War of the Worlds

32. Watcher on the Rhine

33. Moulin Rouge

34. “see & Juliet before the final show”

To London gigs:

35. Killing Joke

36. Mötley Crüe

37. Snoop Dogg

38. Def Leppard

39. Shapeshifters

40. Florence + The Machine

You’re keen to see the sights in London

41. The postal train

42. St Paul’s

43. Sky Garden/ Sky Bar

Who doesn’t love being high up in the air with a drink and an unmatched view?

44. The garden at 120

45. “Kensington. My family lived and died in Lorne Gardens back in the day and then the cemetery to pay my respects.”

What a beautiful, touching day that sounds like.

46. Battersea

2022’s hype-est opening, Battersea Power Station is sure to be on everyone bucket list for 2023, especially with everything that’s still to come this year.

47. Queen’s House

48. Kenwood House

49. London Canal Museum

50. Museum of Brands

51. The Tower of London

52. “Get a photo next to the blue plaque at Danger Mouse’s Post Box”

53. “To see spring blooms in London Royal Parks and at Kew Gardens”

London definitely is home to some gorgeous green spaces that will look amazing come Spring!

54. Canary Wharf Light Festival

55. London Transport Museum

Sounds like you might be interested in their late-night sessions too!

56. The reopened National Portrait Gallery

57. The V&A

58. Highgate Cemetery

59. Lift 109 Battersea

It sure provides a whole new view of London!

60. Coal Drop Yard

You fancy a bit of travel this year

61. “My friend just bought tickets to Majorca for less than a travel card costs me so I think the first place I’ll be visiting is Heathrow”

Well, fine, okay, we’re not jealous or anything… We’ll just head to one of the many picturesque villages and day-trip destinations around London!

62. “To get outside London and UK as much as possible during year”

Rude! But if you’re heading to Berlin, you might want to check out the sleeper train route. If you just want to escape London, however, might we suggest the Peak district?

And there are plenty more experiences you can’t wait to check out:

63. Six Nations at Twickenham

Well for those of us who didn’t get tickets, we’ll be heading to one of these viewing experiences.

64. The Coronation celebrations

65. Wildlife photographer of the year at the Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum sure is a stunning one. We’d also put the titanosaur exhibition on our bucket list!

66. Japanese film festival at ICA

67. Back to the Future exhibition

Great Scott! Now there’s an idea!

68. “Axe throwing! Yes really. A gift experience from my daughter!”

We really can’t recommend axe throwing highly enough for anyone who hasn’t tried it out yet!

69. “Seeing the 2023 Christmas decorations and hopefully some snow”

Look, we love the Christmas decorations as much as anyone else – but that’s the first thing you’re going to do in London in 2023? What are you going to do until December? (Or October, when some Christmas decorations are already going up…)

70. “Abseiling the cheese grater building. So excited!”

You’re braver than us, that’s for sure!

And some of you are just downright silly…

71. “Buy a bucket!”

Yeah, yeah, that’s not what we mean by a London bucket list, though. Although, come to think of it, I haven’t got one for my flat yet. So maybe that should be on my to-do list after all…

But there was one common theme uniting it all

72. “Just to get there!”

Sometimes we forget how lucky we are to live in London.

Although we completely understand this being a bucket list item too:

73. “Affording London rent”

And if we’re being honest – that’s a constant struggle for us too! But we love this city, and now we’re raring to go. Let’s make 2023 the year we do all most at least some of our London bucket list items!