Best immersive experiences to try in London: from ABBA to Squid Game
Want to try something out of the ordinary? Immersive experiences are taking over London this spring, and here are some of our favourites.
London is no stranger to a good time. Whether you’re a born and bred Londoner, have recently moved to the capital or are visiting London for a day or two, you’ll never run out of fun things to do. From West End shows and plays to a Drag Brunch, from sports to live music, there’s something for everyone in the big smoke.
Over the last couple of years, we've seen more hands-on entertainment emerge, too. Immersive experiences have become popular over the last decade with things like Secret Cinema – cinemas that invite movie-lovers to immerse themselves in the action of the film – and escape rooms, where you have to solve a series of puzzles to get out in time. Immersive experiences require you, the willing participant, to play games, solve mysteries, and interact with live actors.
The RadioTimes.com team have our ears to the ground when it comes to the best things to do in London. We've tried and tested some experiences first hand, like the Harry Potter inspired cocktail-making bar The Cauldron, BBC Earth Experience, candlelight concerts, and we even visited an immersive art exhibition to answer your questions in our what is Frameless? article.
We also understand the importance of budgeting, so here you'll find a variety of experiences to suit every wallet. There truly is something for everyone in our best immersive experience list. Let’s get started.
Fancy trying your hand at the best escape rooms in London? Our Going Out section is great for inspiration for the whole year.
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- Best immersive experiences for the family
- Best immersive experiences for friends
- Best immersive experiences for date night
- Best immersive experiences for foodies
Best immersive experiences in London at a glance
- The Gunpowder Plot, from £42.50
- Shrek's Adventure, from £27
- Monopoly Lifesized, from £54
- Dopamine Land: A Multisensory Experience, from £12.99
- The London Dungeon, from £30
- Alcotraz Prison Cocktail Bar theatrical experience for two, from £93
- Twist Museum, from £19
- Mamma Mia! The Party, from £108.90
- Squid Game immersive experience, from £34
- Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, from £16
- ABBA Voyage, from £55
- Avora: New World cocktail experience, from £42.50
- Frameless, from £17
- The Cauldron Immersive Magical Cocktail Experience for Two, £76
- Faulty Towers The Dining Experience, from £71.50
- Le Petit Chef, from £119
Best immersive experiences for the family
The Gunpowder Plot
Everyone knows this historic story, we celebrate it every year on Bonfire Night. The night when Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up Westminster Palace. Now, the story has been brought to life in The Gunpowder Plot. With Tom Felton (of Harry Potter fame) as Guy Fawkes, participants will wear VR headsets for 90-minutes as they take a boat down the Thames to the Houses of Parliament, then return to Tower Hill Vaults to witness Guy Fawkes’ brutal end.
Buy The Gunpowder Plot tickets from £42.50 at Daysout.com
For more like this, be sure to take a look at the best murder mystery experiences.
Shrek's Adventure
One of our RadioTimes.com writers recently visited Shrek's Adventure with her friends and she had a ball! She particularly loved the 4D flying car, how fun the professional photos turned out, and the fact that Shrek tried to follow her and her friends to the pub afterwards...
This family-friendly immersive experience features characters, rides and interactive games all from the Shrek universe. Shrek's Adventure is basically DreamWorks’ answer to Disneyland, except it's located on London's South Bank.
Buy Shrek's Adventure tickets from £27 at Ticketmaster
If you love getting out and about but loud noises make you anxious, then read our guide on how do Loop Earplugs work?
Monopoly Lifesized
We've all got fond memories of rainy afternoons spent playing Monopoly (and trying to restrain yourself from flipping the board), but what if you could take things one step further?
Monopoly Lifesized gives you the chance to enter the game in a life-sized 4D board, where you can take part in challenges and games to make millions.
So take this opportunity to jump inside the Monopoly board (hopefully there won't be any family fights this time...)
Buy Monopoly Lifesized tickets from £54 at Monopoly Lifesized
For more information about this fun day out, take a look at our what is Shrek's Adventure? explainer article.
Best immersive experiences for friends
Dopamine Land: A Multisensory Experience
Let's face it, being an adult is hard: it's all work and rent and bills and more work, and we long for the days when the most difficult decision in our lives was deciding who our best friend was that week at school. Dopamine Land is designed to unleash your inner child and give you a much-needed break from life's stresses; there's crafting, bubbles, and meditation in different sensory rooms.
Buy Dopamine Land: A Multisensory Experience tickets from £12.99 at Fever
If you're a fan of the unusual, why not try your hand at activities like the best UK zombie experiences or best UK dungeons.
The London Dungeon
Listen up, thrill seekers: it's time to step right over to The London Dungeon. Perfect for anyone who isn't afraid of things that go bump in the night, this immersive experience takes you through some of London's darkest tales like Sweeney Todd and the plague doctors.
Buy The London Dungeon tickets from £30 at The London Dungeon
Alcotraz Prison Cocktail Bar theatrical experience for two
Inspired by America’s most infamous prison, Alcatraz, this adults-only immersive experience will see you smuggle alcohol into a prison-themed cocktail bar for you to whip up your own drinks concoctions. Get ready for a night of thrills and your favourite flavours— just be sure to avoid the far-reaching eye of the Warden!
Buy Alcotraz Prison Cocktail Bar tickets for £93 at Fever
Twist Museum
The Twist Museum in Oxford Circus, London, puts your grasp on reality to the test — can you see colours that aren't there? Are you able to tell which way is up or down? Could you walk down a corridor forever? The illusions and immersive rooms have been developed with the help of artists, neuroscientists and philosophers to provide you with an immersive experience like no other.
This immersive experience is located in Oxford Circus, which is easy to get to via Bakerloo, Victoria and Central underground services — a great location as we're sure you'll be feeling a little sceptical of reality after the unusual museum!
Buy Twist Museum tickets from £19 at See Tickets
Mamma Mia! The Party
If you're dreaming of a sunny getaway this year, booking tickets for Mamma Mia! The Party could be the next best thing. Transport yourself to the Greek island of Skopelos and transform into the dancing queen we know you are with this immersive experience. Expect a freshly-made four-course Greek meal, plenty of drinks, performances of the hit songs from Mamma Mia, and even an ABBA disco after the party.
Buy Mamma Mia! The Party tickets from £108.90 at Ticketmaster
Mamma Mia! The Party would be a great hen party or stag do idea, and we have even more ideas in our article, too.
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Squid Game immersive experience
The Squid Game immersive experience is available to play right here in the UK, and don't worry! Unlike the Netflix show, your life isn't at risk. The immersive experience has adapted six exciting games from the show: Red Light, Green Light, the Honeycomb Challenge, Tug of War, Marbles, Glass Stepping Stones, then finish the experience with Squid (the children’s game).
Buy Squid Game immersive experience tickets from £34 at Immersive Gamebox
Immersive experiences would make a brilliant gift for a friend. For more present ideas, check out the best London experience gifts and the best tech gifts and gadgets.
Best immersive experiences for date night
Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience
One of our RadioTimes.com team experienced this exhibition in Manchester and absolutely loved it. Feel like you’re stepping into a piece of art with a 360-degree digital exhibition of the works of the late and great Vincent van Gogh. There’s also a VR experience where you travel through eight paintings and find out their inspirations, as well as projection mapping and sound effects throughout.
Buy Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience tickets from £16 at Fever
If you're an art lover, take a look at our guide to the best art exhibitions in London.
ABBA Voyage
Do you want to dance and jive having the time of your life? If so, then ABBA Voyage is the immersive experience for you. This live concert is performed entirely by CGI versions of the four ABBA members: Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The singers have recorded their voices and body movements to be transformed into 3D avatars (or ABBAtars, if you will), and you'll hear hits like Mamma Mia and Waterloo live.
Buy ABBA Voyage tickets from £55 at Ticketmaster
If you want to experience the music of ABBA in a different light, check out Waterloo: The Best of ABBA tickets and our guide to candlelight concerts.
Avora: New World cocktail experience
Are you ready to be transported to another world? Discover the new world of Avora with this cocktail experience, where you'll get to interact with Avorians. In the incredible setting of this new world, you'll don an Avora jumpsuit to try three specially designed cocktails. There'll be plenty of opportunities to take photos to make sure this is an experience you never forget.
Buy Avora: New World the cocktail experience from £42.50 at Fever
Frameless
One of the RadioTimes.com writers was lucky enough to visit Frameless, and they recorded some sneak peaks for the Going Out section's 'What is Frameless?' explainer.
Frameless is an immersive art exhibition which takes you on a journey between four themed galleries: Beyond Reality, Colour in Motion, The World Around Us and The Art of Abstraction, and you'll experience art work from world-renowned artists such as Vincent Van Gogh, Max Ernst, and Salvador Dalí. There's the opportunity to get involved in the artwork, too, as you can move pieces of art along the floor in one gallery.
Buy Frameless tickets from £17 at Ticketmaster
The Cauldron Immersive Magical Cocktail Experience for Two
It doesn't matter whether you're a Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor or Slytherin, you're bound to have a magical time at The Cauldron. You can join a real-life version of Hogwarts' famous potions class, brewing tasty elixirs.
Your molecular mixology skills will be put to good use here, and you'll even get a robe and magic wand to help you along.
The Cauldron Immersive Magical Cocktail Experience for Two for £76 at Virgin Experience Days
Best immersive experiences for foodies
Faulty Towers The Dining Experience
Fans of the BBC TV show Fawlty Towers are going to love this new immersive experience, which is perfect for foodies. Get transported back to the 1970s at the President Hotel in West London, where you'll enjoy a three-course lunch or dinner surrounded by actors improvising some of the most iconic and comic scenes from Fawlty Towers.
Buy Fawlty Towers The Dining Experience tickets from £71.50 at Viator
Le Petit Chef
Now this experience will really give you something to talk about. Le Petit Chef may be just six centimetres tall, but he's renowned for his exceptional French cuisine. Watch him prepare your food through an impressive display projected onto your table, before digging into your real life food brought to your table.
Guests can choose between a Le Grand Chef, Le Petit Chef Classic, a Kids and a Vegetarian menu featuring delicious dishes such as lobster risotto, vanilla crème brulee and Hereford beef fillet. Bon appetit!
Buy Le Petit Chef tickets from £119 from Le Petit Chef
Are you a fan of the theatre? Check out our best West End shows list and how to get cheap theatre tickets. Head to our Going Out section for more on ticket releases, including how to get live Joker concert tickets and Noah Kahan tickets.
