9 Unique Airbnb Experiences to Book for Your Next Trip to London
Earlier this year, I found myself icing cakes in celeb-approved Los Angeles bakery Sweet Lady Jane to mark the launch of Airbnb’s newly revamped Experiences section. Not content to serve solely as a platform for your base on vacation, the brand now offers a variety of activities bookable via the platform designed to help visitors gain a deeper understanding of place. To do this, the homestay booking site worked to identity interesting locals in over 100 cities who'd like to share a peek into their world, and the subsequent offerings run the gamut from poetry workshops and cooking classes to landscape drawing courses and historical walking tours.
A collaboration with Netflix series Chef’s Table has expanded the offering even further in the lovely city of London, where you can now find a host of private menus, cooking classes, and boozy tastings among the 600-strong roster, including a quickly sold-out pasta masterclass with Jamie Oliver, and the chance to learn butchery at one of Traveler’s favorite French restaurants.
As it turns out, I’m not very good at cake decoration. But, fortunately, not all the experiences are so hands-on. Below, nine of the best Airbnb Experiences in London to explore for foodies, artists, and literary buffs, designed to wow locals and tourists alike.
- f12 Photography / Efe Onikinci
Family-run Fitzrovia restaurant Kitchen Table has held onto two Michelin stars since 2018, thanks to its innovative modern British menus and theatrical dining experience. Wines are curated by award-winning sommelier (and James’s wife) Sandia Chang. With a wealth of knowledge in Champagne, you might have spotted her as a bubbly expert on BBC’s Saturday Kitchen, or talking through the wine lists in the restaurant. In this 90-minute session, you’ll get an introduction to Champagne’s geography and prominent tasting notes, then sample the goods from three grower-producers over small plates.
Jamie himself won’t be present here, so you can’t harangue him for banning Turkey Twizzlers (if you know, you know). But what you can do is enjoy drinks in his development kitchen before making your own pasta dough from his signature recipe, then learning how to shape and cook pasta and an accompanying pesto sauce. Finish off by tucking into your handiwork and taking a behind-the-scenes tour of the studio.
Writer and editor Elida will take you through a potted history of Keats’s Hampstead, which starts at his home and ends with a couple of pints at local 1663 boozer The Flask. You’ll sit right where Keats wrote his poetry to create your own, with Elida on hand for questions. She’s a hit with guests, who say she’s attentive, knowledgeable, sensitive, and engaging—one going so far as to describe the tour as “good for the soul.”
Our editors love Camille for its “slyly creative” approach to French cooking, and this masterclass with head chef Elliot Hashtroudi shows you how it comes together in a hands-on butchery and cooking lesson. Begin with a 101 on farming practices and butchery before a demo on how to identify cuts and break down a pig correctly. You’ll then tackle an ox heart before cooking together and enjoying a sit-down meal where offal is the star. This is one to book if you enjoy learning new and unusual skills.
Chef-owner Mandy Yin’s cult Malaysian restaurant in Highbury started as a street food stand in 2013, but is now is a cozy 36-cover restaurant best-known for its signature chicken and prawn laksa. This five-course tasting menu takes you through a string of Mandy’s favorite dishes, including a salad with a peanut sauce that launched her career, and house staple nasi lemak. Previous reviewers have loved this experience, recommending it for Londoners as well as those from further afield—it’s child-friendly, delicious, and the staff are great.
18th-century historian Lizzie is a curator at a historic house and currently writing her first book on Jane Austen, so she’s a good person for fans to know. This tour takes you through various places the writer spent time at in London, including the home of the Prince Regent, an early proponent of her work, and key Mayfair spots that helped her along her publishing journey. This tour is a hit with guests—it’s retained a sparkly five-star score to date.
Artist Melina’s work is inspired by a love for history, archaeology, and her Mediterranean roots, so she’s a natural fit for this guided landscape drawing session at The National Gallery. Begin with a few warm-up exercises, then she’ll talk you through some of the most beloved landscapes on display, by the likes of Turner, Poussin, and Constable. Creative juices now in flow, you can start your own masterpiece, ending the session with a sketchbook full of new techniques and scribblings inspired by the greats.
You might recognize Guirong Wei from Netflix’s Chef’s Table series—she was featured in the show’s 2024 noodles season for her much-talked-about biang biang noodles. She has three Chinese restaurants throughout London, but you’ll head east to Dream Xi’an for this tasting menu, where Guirong will talk through some of the classics from her hometown in China’s Shaanxi Province over starters, before preparing the famous noodles that have starred on Netflix. Before you leave, you'll get dessert and a gift to take away.
Head over to Chelsea for a grounding in two cornerstones of Japanese cuisine at fashionable haunt Dinings. You’ll learn a bit about the history of udon before going in—literally kneading the dough with your feet—and forming and boiling the noodles. Then you’ll switch to sushi, while chef-owner Masaki Sugisaki and his team of izakaya chefs help out and share a bit more about the restaurant’s ethos. The masterclass is fittingly finished up with a sushi and udon diiner with sake, plus a traditional dessert.
A version of this gallery was originally published on Conde Nast Traveller UK.
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