Taking back lunchtime - The best ways to spend your lunch hour in London

 And sure, that has its own schadenfreude-y value, but it's hardly making the best of lunchtime is it? So why not do something productive with your lunchtime, something inventive perhaps, like partaking in some colonic hydrotherapy, or learning how to be a drum and bass DJ.

The good thing about working in London is that you've got more options than most, and TNT being the thoughtful, caring types we are, we've only gone and collated some of the best ways to spend your lunchtime here for you.

Learn Magic | The Strand

Learn a trick or two in your lunch break from the experts at Davenports Magic. They do magic displays all day and are only too happy to show you how to bamboozle your mates at the next party.

Open 9.30am-5.30pm
Davenports Magic, WC2N 4HZ
Tube | Charing Cross
davenportsmagic.co.uk

Watch a short film | Across London

 Get cultured during your lunch break and watch one of 60-plus short films across 10 days and 22 venues at the London Short Film Festival. Each of the films is less than five minutes long and has a budget of under £500. It’s a great chance to dip your toes into another world for a few minutes – a much-needed, mid-day dose of escapism.

Jan 4-13
Times and venues TBA 
shortfilms.org.uk

Exercise your brain | Euston

Challenge your grey matter with one of the lunchtime lectures at University College London. UCL offers 40-minute lectures twice a week on topics ranging from sustainable energy to sex work.

Tue & Thur, 1.15-1.55pm
Gower Street, WC1E 6BT
Tube | Euston, Russell Square   
bhavan.net 

Relax with Meditation | Covent Garden

Go to a creative meditation session with Inner Space. Their expert tutors will guide you through a half-hour relaxation session, which is said to build confidence and make you feel rejuvenated for the afternoon.

Weds & Fri, 1-1.30pm
36 Shorts Gardens, WC2H 9AB
Tube | Covent Garden
innerspace.org.uk

Eat something weird | Across London

 Try something you usually wouldn’t this lunchtime. Restaurants around the city dish up all sorts of bizarre bites. At Bibendum you can chow down on deep-fried calves’ brain with Thai dipping sauce, or if your stomach dares you could try ducks’ tongues at Viajante or garlic locusts at Archipelago. Take some friends with you and see who’s brave enough to take the plunge – you never know, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Various times
Bibendum, Michelin House, SW3 6RD; 
Tube | South Kensington,  bibendum.co.uk
Viajante, Town Hall Hotel, E2 9NF; 
Tube | Bethnal Green, viajante.co.uk
Archipelago, 110 Whitfield Street, W1T 5ED, 
Tube | Warren Street, archipelago-restaurant.co.uk

Become a Drum and bass DJ | Croydon

Learn how to spin, mix and use all that complicated-looking equipment with Flash-BackZ. They’ll even throw in a few cheeky production techniques, and all within a 45-minute slot. 

By appointment 
Park Lane, CRO 1JA
tube | East Croydon
07747 520224

Lunchtime singing classes | Lambeth

 Are you a star in the shower but never gone mainstream? How about a three-month singing course in your lunch hour? You’ll learn how to do group harmonies, improve rhythm and pitch, and interpret songs in your own style.

Next course starts Jan 10, 1pm
Morley College, SE1 7HT
Tube | Lambeth North
morleycollege.ac.uk

Get Hypnotised | Marylebone

 Feeling homesick? Want to be more confident or want to give up smoking? Get cured by visiting a hypnotherapist. The Therapy Lounge has 11 hypnotherapy practices in the London area, where they could help with a whole host of issues and send you back to work feeling better.

By appointment
1-7 Harley Street, W1G 9QD 
Tube | Bond Street
thetherapylounge.com 

Box for an hour | London Bridge

Bad day at work? What better way to offload some anger than with a lunchtime boxing class? Tokei Gym offers conditioning and cardio workouts with trained professionals who teach real boxing techniques. If you’re feeling it, stay on and give a bag a piece of your mind. Classes are open to both men and women and all abilities from beginner to expert. You may like it so much you take it up as a sport.

Weds, 1pm
Lion Court, SE1 2EN
Tube | London Bridge
tokeicentre.org