Looking for immersive experiences in London? Well, good, because I’m the UK’s biggest independent immersive experience blogger. Whenever an immersive experience launches in London, I’m there no matter how weird it is. I have visited more than 100 so far!

Below London’s best immersive experiences that I have tried and tested, organised by type. This article gets updated regularly, check the last published date for the latest update time and you’ll find 30+ immersive experiences here at all times.

Something needs updating? Give me a shout in the comments, or on Instagram (@travelwithpau).

THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHT

The Magicians Table

The Magicians Table brings together some of the UK’s best magicians who will perform an array of incredible magic right at your table, inches from your nose. The evening has been curated so that you’ll see a mixture of close up magic unlike anywhere else. Drinks are served throughout the evening, live music is the soundtrack of your night and you’ll be told an original tale of love, loss and mystery. Book it here.

Enigma Quest Escape Room Arcade

Escape Arcade is a thrilling, competitive, and replayable new experience in the heart of London. Across 30 diverse rooms, your team will be transported to locations both ordinary and extraordinary, facing tests of your dexterity, deduction, and collaboration. Whether fighting monsters in a child’s bedroom, solving riddles in a library, or launching a rocket ship from mission control, you’ll never know what’s behind the next door! Supporting dozens of players simultaneously, teams of 2-4 will compete against friends, family, and colleagues, tracking their scores through RFID-enabled leaderboards and our mobile app. Each challenge takes around 5 minutes, allowing you to enjoy a huge range of games within an hour, or to aim for the highest score possible on your favourites! Book it here.

1984 Immersive

Be drawn into the world of Orwell’s iconic novel, brought to life in a site-specific performance in the magnificent Hackney Town Hall. After a sell-out run in 2023 this production returns under the new direction of Jack Reardon. Don’t miss this unique and powerful reimagining of 1984. Book it here.

LONDON’S IMMERSIVE THEATRICAL EXPERIENCES

Acid Bath Murder Experience

The Acid Bath Murderer Experience invites you to re-live the life of the notorious serial killer: John George Haigh. The journey will take you through a number of 360 degree immersive sets full of special effects. You won’t just be a bystander though. The Acid Bath Murderer Experience is fully interactive, featuring Escape Game style challenges and puzzles to deepen the narrative. Hounds who are behind it, are an award winning immersive-experience-meets-escape-game production company. Their previous experiences are amongst the Top 500 escape rooms in the world, and I can see why! Their venue in Crawley is super easy to get to them from London via a quick train, and I can guarantee you that you won’t regret it. Book it here.

Candlelight

Concerts illuminated by candlelight? I’m definitely in! Fever has recently launched Candlelight, affordable and intimate concerts performed by live musicians in some of the most iconic venues in London that transport you to a fairytale. I had the chance to attend a concert in the beautiful conservatory in Syon Park to listen to City String Ensemble play Movie Soundtrack Disney classics, and I might have shed a tear or two. Book it here.

DARKFIELD

DARKFIELD create immersive experiences at the forefront of technology and theatre. As their name implies, most of their experiences involve being completely in the dark with binaural sound headphones, as well as movement to help ignite your other senses (touch, smell) and in turn your imagination. Their shows are held in containers, and are on & off throughout the year in key cultural moments like the BFI London Film Festival. I strongly recommend COMA, EULOGY, FLIGHT & SEANCE. I encourage you to sign to the newsletter to be the first to know when they are on.

Gunpowder Plot

Gunpowder Plot will take you on a journey back in time and experience London as it was in 1605. You’re not just witnessing history, you are living it. Using a combination of live theatre and the latest digital technology you’ll be transported into the heart of a story in which you are the protagonist. You’re thrown into the world the plotters inhabited, immersed in an unforgettable, fully 360 environment. Book it here.

Junkyard Golf

Junkyard Golf Club offers a unique and immersive mini-golf experience that combines creativity and urban flair. Each course has its own captivating theme, creating a visually engaging environment. From salvaged materials and repurposed junk, they have crafted a one-of-a-kind course that surprises players at every hole. Neon lights, funky installations, and unexpected obstacles add to the vibrant atmosphere. With pumping music and a fully stocked bar, Junkyard Golf Club is a popular destination for friends, date nights, or corporate events. It’s a place where you can let loose, unleash your inner child, and enjoy a thrilling round of golf in a delightfully unconventional setting. Book it here.

Phantom Peak Summer Edition

This summer, visit Phantom Peak and experience the town’s very own alternative summer celebration! Dine, explore, and play games as you embark on an open-world adventure set in a crazy steampunk world. You’ll collect clues and solve the mysteries within, as you interact with a variety of eccentric townsfolk and custom technology. If you’re a fan of escape rooms, theme parks and video games, this is for you! Book now.

Secret Cinema

The mother of immersive experiences in London, Secret Cinema was founded in 2007 and specialises in immersive theatrical experiences based on film and television, combining film screenings with interactive performances in purpose-built bespoke sets. In simpler terms, imagine being able to step into your favourite film, to interact with the characters, dressed as one of them and hence becoming part of the story yourself. That’s Secret Cinema! It has been held on movies like Back to the Future, Star Wars, Casino Royale and currently, on Stranger Things. Book it here.

Sherlock: The Official Live Game

Located in the heart of West London, Sherlock: The Official Live Game is a cinematic adventure that combines the unique world of Sherlock with the very best escape rooms in London. Having tried both their escape games, I can say they are excellent! I suggest starting with Sherlock, and then moving on to Mind of Moriarty. Book here.

The School of Witchcraft & Wizardry

As a group of students looking to graduate from the prestigious School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, your final exam will test your knowledge on 6 magical subjects, including Potions, Charms, and Defence Against the Dark Arts. In order to achieve the top grade, you’ll need to pass all six before the time runs out, requiring communication, intelligence, and creativity on the part of each team member. In order to pass all subjects, you’ll need to cast spells, defeat fantastic beasts, and more! Book it here.

LONDON’S IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL REALITY

DNA VR

DNA VR is the UK’s Ultimate Virtual Reality Arcade. You can play a variety of VR games – including escape games – with your friends at the same time, in various locations around London. Their spaces feature VR zones with access to Virtual Reality Escape Rooms, Multiplayer Games, as well as the company’s signature Free-Roaming Experiences. From surviving a zombie apocalypse, to travelling to the pyramids in Egypt or fighting off dragons, DNA VR has a game for everyone. Book here.

Horizon of Khufu

Haven’t we all dreamt with visiting the Pyramids of Giza? You can now embark on an immersive journey to ancient Egypt with Horizon of Khufu, a virtual reality experience. You’ll get to explore the Great Pyramid of Giza, decipher hieroglyphics, and step into the Queen’s Chamber, offering a unique glimpse into life during the Fourth Dynasty, all from the comfort of London. Book it here.

Life Chronicles

Life Chronicles is an immersive expedition to the heart of the chronicles of life. Come to the Eclipso center and embark on an immersive expedition exploring the major evolutionary stages of the planet since its origins, and the living organisms that inhabit it. Equipped with a virtual reality headset, your adventure will begin billions of years back in time! Take a trip to the past to admire the landscapes and meet spectacular animals such as immense centipedes, marine reptiles and dinosaurs. Book now!

Otherworld

Otherworld is a virtual reality immersive experience where you step into a beautiful parallel world, an island. In this world you can choose any from sixteen very fun VR experiences. And it’s 4D which means you’ll be able to feel the heat from the sun was you emerge from a cave, or the wind as you gush down a tunnel. Once you are done adventuring, you can enjoy one of their exotic cocktails in a futuristic setting. Book it here.

LONDON’S IMMERSIVE GAMING & ESCAPE HUNTS

Clays Bar

Clays brings all the fun of clay target shooting out of the country into the heart of the City. Grab a bunch of friends, dress up (or not) in your best shooting attire and get ready to hold a realistic (heavy) rifle and smash those clay targets. There are many games to choose from and keep you entertained while you enjoy a few drinks and nibbles. There are now two locations: Moorgate & Canary Wharf. Book it here.

Fairgame

I saw Fairgame by chance when visiting Canary Wharf, and I had to go! I call it ‘a childhood immersive experience’ because you’ll get to play all the games you did as a kid but as a grownup, with alcohol and no kids around you. It’s epic, to say the least, and the fee is affordable for what you get: 75 minutes to play all the games twice. It makes a great first date and an even better team event. Book it here.

HiddenCity Shadow of Spectre

Hidden City are marvellous treasure hunt type games where you solve a trail of clues, sent to your phone, as you journey across the city. A 007 experience has just launched in London and it’s the best and most fun way to enjoy the city. You will be tasked with saving Bond and will have to speak to MI6 agents across different establishments to gather clues and solve puzzles while gallivanting across London. We’ve found so many cool places I didn’t have a clue existed despite living in London for over 10 years. If you like Shadow of Spectre, there are 3 more games to complete! Book it here.

Immersive Gamebox

Immersive Gamebox is an immersive, digital adventure you can try with friends. The experience consists in stepping into the Gamebox: a fully-private, interactive digital room featuring projection mapping, touch screens, motion tracking and surround sound to enjoy a hyper-immersive 60 minute adventure. It is unlike any other immersive gaming experiences I’ve tried! This week they have launched a new game where you can try your luck at playing Squid Game without *actually* dying and see if you survive…! It’s super fun even if I died almost immediately at red light, green light. The available games change all the time, and new are launched pretty frequently which is great because you’ll want to come back for sure. Book it here.

StreetHunt London City Hunts

StreetHunt have two super fun escape hunts to do in London, Will Breaker & The Case of Colombia’s Finest. Both are just a super fun way to explore London, requiring you to get to different locations and answer questions looking at different special places around the City while learning about them. On top of that, Will Breaker involves brain teasers to solve at each point while The Case of Colombia’s Finest requires you to speak to virtual characters to find clues and solve a criminal case in the end. I found so many interest spots I pass by every day and had no idea were so special. Book it here.

The Crystal Maze

The Crystal Maze LIVE Experience is 75 minutes of frantic, frenetic, silly team fun that’s open to everybody aged 9 and over. Your goal is to get as much time in The Crystal Dome and score as many points as you can. You and your friends run around four different zones – Industrial, Futuristic, Medieval and Aztec. In each zone, test your skills, solve mysteries and face mental and physical challenges. I could tell you more, but why not find out by yourself? Book it here.

WeJam Studio

Known as the ‘immersive rockstar experience’ WeJam invites you to get a couple of friends over to this studio in Camden to form a band. You’ll pick your instrument and, believe it or not, will play songs together as a band while competing with each other. The easiest way to describe it is: a Guitar Hero but with real instruments. No musical experience needed. Book it here.

LONDON’S IMMERSIVE EXHIBITIONS

Bubble Planet

London’s Bubble Immersive Experience is an interactive exhibition which is all about bubbles! There’s are ballpits of all kinds including one with gigantic bubbles and the biggest one I’ve ever seen, lots of fun projections and much more! Everything is interactive and so much fun, and it’s suitable for kids of all ages even 30 yo old ones like me. Book it here.

Friends The Experience

Complete with nostalgia-packed, interactive set re-creations, The FRIENDS™ Experience: The One in London invites guests to delve into the show’s history and re-create some of their favourite scenes, such as posing behind Rachel and Monica’s famous purple door, kicking back in Chandler and Joey’s recliners and, of course, relaxing on the legendary orange couch. There are also fun behind-the-scenes aspects for guests to explore, including insight from the show’s creators and storytelling from the costume designer.

But wait, there’s more! Londoners will be able to experience a slice of the Big Apple as they explore with the all-new FRIENDS Station, inspired by the show’s New York City setting and subway stations. Here, guests can enjoy themed food and beverages and immerse themselves in even more classic FRIENDS moments and memorable photo opportunities. The flagship also features exclusive activations inspired by the beloved London episodes, “The One with Ross’ Wedding Parts 1 & 2,” from the series’ fourth season, which allows visitors to step inside a recreated wedding scene at the semi-demolished church and engage with a 3D interpretation of Joey’s London map. Book it here.

PULSE: Beyond Delight

PULSE: Beyond Delight takes you on a trip to a vibrant cityscape in the heart of Seoul. Explore 25 media art installations with cutting-edge technology and discover the legends, dreams, and realities of a bustling city like never before. You’ll have lots of fun, don’t forget to collect the AR items for a suprise. Book it here.

Frameless

Frameless is a brand new culturally rich, immersive, multi-dimensional art experience, and the biggest of its kind in the UK! Inside Frameless, art seeps into every inch of space: in front of you, behind you, above and below you. You will journey through four distinctive galleries, experiencing a different type of immersive technology in each one. You’ll see timeless art pieces you’ll recognise presented in ways you have never seen or felt before. Tip to enjoy: sit down, lie down, let the art really reach you. Book it here.

Illusionaries

Illusionaries is a captivating experiential art hub nestled in London’s vibrant core, where contemporary digital art breaks new ground. You’ll yourself in a realm where the lines between reality and illusion fade as light, sound, and motion unite to create an awe-inspiring spectacle. Book it here.

Twist Museum

Developed in collaboration with artists, neuroscientists and philosophers, Twist Museum is an immersive experience that explores – and puts to the test – the power of your mind in experiencing the world around you. Explore the joy and wonder of illusion. Step into mind-altering immersive rooms, get up close and personal with unexpected interactive illusions, and discover how your brain interprets reality. Book it here.

Van Gogh The Immersive Experience

Step into the works of Vincent Van Gogh at this truly breathtaking art experience, which uses 360-degree video projection to bring the artist’s works to life. You’ll be able to look up at a Starry Night, or see the birds fly through Wheatfield with Crows. Don’t miss out on the very good VR experience, which invites you to wander through Arles and see the inspiration for Van Gogh’s paintings unfold before you. It’s an entirely new way to experience art, and one of London’s finest immersive experiences. Book it here.

LONDON’S IMMERSIVE COCKTAIL EXPERIENCES

Alcotraz

This cocktail immersive experience has been around for a long while, and it’s now open in two London locations: Shoreditch & Covent Garden. Drink cocktails from a prison cell with your in-mates (pun intended). You need to sneak in your own booze thought, past the warden. Book Alcotraz here.

Avora

Avora is a first of its kind cocktail adventure where guests can discover a brand-new world engulfed in mystery and wonder, brought to life through awe-inspiring theatrical sets, unique cocktails and a cast of talented actors. Step through the newly discovered gateway into the magical world of Avora where you’ll get to meet the locals and explore the world to discover the ingredients to three extraordinary cocktails you will enjoy. Book it here.

Cahoots

Cahoots it’s a 1946 tube-themed cocktail bar, so get ready for some underground fun! It’s also been around for a while but has only more recently expanded its usual venue to include a Tickets Hall & Control Room, for more fun. Learn more about Cahoots here.

Moonshine Saloon

To all the cowboys out there, Moonshine Saloon is where you get to drink delicious cocktails in a Wild West Saloon. You’ll have a cowboy hat and jacket, obvs, and you need to bring your own liquor. Just make sure the sheriff doesn’t find out. Learn more here.

Mr Foggs

Mr Fogg’s have various Insta-worthy adventurous bars, each with different themes, inspired by Phileas Fogg’s incredible journey around the world. The concept behind Mr Fogg’s bars is Jules Verne’s famous novel, Around the World in 80 Days. The bars are stuffed with things Mr Fogg might collect during his journey. Maps and charts, flags and stuffed animals, old bicycles, bird cages, antique clocks and telescopes. It’s not just the decoration that reflects Mr Fogg’s Victorian world. Each Mr Fogg’s venue offers different cocktail menu tailored to the bar’s specific theme helping you stepping into the novel’s pages and completely immerse into the fantasy novel. Check it out here.

The Cauldron

In The Cauldron you become a wizard in an immersive & interactive potions class where you make “magic” cocktails using a cauldron and a magic wand with special properties (and cough cough, science). Harry Potter fan or not, you’ll love it! Learn more here.

LONDON’S IMMERSIVE DINING EXPERIENCES

London’s immersive experiences where multi-course dining is part of the experience to spark all the senses!

Dans Le Noir

In Dans Le Noir you enjoy a multi-course dinner in the dark. Yes, pitch black, probably the darkest dark you have ever been in. It’s something I believe everyone should do at least once, it’s an unforgettable experience, which simply can’t be explained. You need to experience it yourself! There are various menu choices available, with or without wine pairing. Book it here.

Gourmaze

Gourmaze is a food treasure hunt experience in London. Challengers will be immersed into a fictional story, where characters will send you riddles and clues to your phone. Solving these, will lead you to food vendors & restaurants, where you will pick up a delicious food item or dish. It’s the baby between an escape room and a food walking tour. Book it here.

Faulty Towers Dining Experience

Faulty Towers The Dining Experience, is a critically acclaimed international immersive phenomenon that celebrated its tenth birthday in London’s West End! It is a highly interactive experience, where audiences enjoy a 3-course meal and 5-star comedy. A loving tribute to the BBC’s classic TV series, the show has been seen by over a million people worldwide since it was born in Australia in 1997 and is London’s longest running immersive show. It is loads of fun! Book it here.

Supperclub.tube

Come and join Bea and the Supperclub team in a food journey from Mexico to Patagonia. Three nights a week, a tube carriage is transformed into a dining space where a carefully curated playlist and dimmed lights set the atmosphere for an amazing dinner. The menu changes frequently, but always has one thing in common, it’s delicious! Book it here.

The Murdér Express Part Deux – Jewel of The Empire

The famous immersive dining ‘whodunnit’ experience ‘The Murder Express’ is back with a sequel with a refreshed story and new bespoke menu. Travel to Pedley Street Station and hop into The Murdér Express for a train journey and delicious 4-course meal while you also work on solving a murder that happens on board. This London immersive dining experience is funny, exquisite and loads of fun. Book it here.

LONDON’S IMMERSIVE AFTERNOON TEA

Wizard Afternoon Tea at The Georgian Hotel

Every Saturday-Sunday from 13:30-17:00pm The Georgian House Hotel offers wizards a spellbindingly delicious afternoon tea. It includes a selection of savoury treats (not just your regular sandwiches!) sweet and savoury scones, a tasty trio of new desserts. There’s obviously a smoky cauldron and a magical takeaway treat as well. Book it here.

OVERNIGHT IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES

The Locksmith Dream

The Locksmith’s Dream is a one of a kind and critically acclaimed series of luxury immersive overnight experiences. You will step into a 17th Century manor house seemingly trapped in the 1920, and unravel its narrative mysteries, solve puzzles and enjoy the unique atmosphere of the house and its grounds. You’ll join fellow guests in sifting through the history of the house and its previous inhabitants, supported by the curious staff who seem deeply connected to the house. You’ll dine by candlelight in opulent oak-clad halls and as night falls, you’ll don your unique mask to wander in the strangeness of ‘The House of the Moon’. An experience so good Neil Patrick Harris has personally visited it! There are tickets available for September 26th to 27th and 29th to 30th. If those dates don’t work you can pay a deposit for a later date. Book now.

Key of Dreams

Following the success of The Locksmith Dream, Key of Dreams was born. The Key of Dreams is a new luxury, overnight experience combining immersive theatre, narrative puzzles, and fine dining in an interactive macabre world which you help shape. It is an event spread over twenty four hours in a historic manor house where fact and fiction rub shoulders over sumptuous meals in the oak clad banqueting hall. You will take it in your own time – racing to uncover all the answers, luxuriating in one story at depth or anything in between. And for the brave or curious, you can opt in to stay overnight in the house itself to see what dreams may come. This new experience is already available to book in various dates in 2024. Read my review here and book now.

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