Make your lunch break count:  free learning and culture in the City

Setting a New Year’s resolution is one of those time-honoured traditions.

Indeed, it’s a ritual that can be traced some 4,000 years to the ancient Babylonian times, with citizens celebrating the New Year during a 12-day festival called Akitu. One common New Year’s resolution was the return of borrowed farm equipment.

While our goals may look different today, the desire to start afresh remains the same.

Across the Square Mile, many of us will embrace the promise of a new year with a resolution or intention to learn a new skill, be healthier, spend less time on social media, or engage in more quality reading (I think City AM is a great place to start!).

As with any resolution or new habit, the key to making it last is discipline and consistency. Whether you’re making the most of your lunch break or exploring what the Square Mile has to offer after work, here’s how to access the City’s extensive learning and development offer – including a range of cost-effective opportunities.

Step away from your desk and make the most of your lunch break in the City:

• The London Symphony Orchestra offers free Friday lunchtime performances (23rd January and 6th February), as well as a vibrant programme of live recitals.
• Catch a glimpse of the City’s ancient history and Roman life. Begin at the London Mithraeum at Bloomberg SPACE, where a 3^rd-century Roman temple is vividly reconstructed and showcased with artefacts (free admission, book online). Then visit the London Roman Amphitheatre to see the well-preserved ruins (free admission, book online).
• New London Architecture, an organisation for London’s built environment sector, offers free Friday lunchtime talks about London’s historical and physical development, as well as a range of tours and networking opportunities focused on sustainability and development.
• New year, new reads – make the most of the City of London’s Barbican and Community Libraries. They are free to join for anybody who lives, works, studies, or regularly visits the City (see website for details and locations).

Discover culture, workshops and new skills in the City:   

• For two nights only, the Vibrance festival of light and sound in the City transforms historic landmarks and hidden gardens with colour, light and storytelling (Thursday 29^th and Friday 30^th January, free admission).
• From artificial intelligence and neuroscience to art and sustainability, Gresham College offers a range of lectures and events to the public free of charge (see website for schedule).
• Visit the London in the Second World War exhibition at The London Archives before it closes on 19 February 2026 (free admission, book tickets online).
• Attend a Masterclass at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama for the unique opportunity to see exceptional Guildhall performers being coached by renowned visiting musicians, including Oscar-nominated soprano Sumi Jo, together with the outstanding Guildhall singers (13^th January).
• The Wren in the City walking tour celebrates polymath Sir Christopher Wren’s extraordinary architectural legacy in the City of London, concluding at Wren’s masterpiece, St Paul’s Cathedral (tickets from £9.50, email tours@open-city.org.uk to book).
• Ballroom dancing classes at the Bishopsgate Institute offer the opportunity to learn routines from the Waltz to the Tango and many more (tickets from £12).
• Visit the Barbican Centre to take part in their lecture series, visit the cinema or watch the Royal Shakespeare Company’s spellbinding production of Twelfth Night (ends 17^th January) .
• Hone your cooking skills with The Gordon Ramsay Academy – from the fluffiest bao buns, rolling the perfect pasta, or making Ramsay’s famous Beef Wellington. 

Destination City is the City of London Corporation’s growth strategy for the Square Mile. We want to make the City even more attractive – to investors, students, workers and visitors alike – by showcasing all that it has to offer.Click here to explore more.