Where to go on a rainy day in London

London is a city that does rain better than most. The galleries are warm, the pubs let you sit forever if you order a second drink at the right pace, and the markets at Borough and Old Spitalfields are mostly under cover. Here is the proper list, the kind I send my mate when she texts me at 11am asking what to do because the weather has gone to bits.

If you want a calendar of indoor events, the London this-week page has filters for "indoor" already, which saves the bother.

The free galleries that are warm and have a decent cafe

The big four — National Gallery, Tate Modern, Tate Britain, V&A — are obvious. The two I would actually push for a rainy weekday are:

The Wallace Collection in Marylebone. Free, a covered glass courtyard with a cafe in the middle, and you can spend three hours moving between the rooms without seeing the same person twice. The cafe is the proper move — book a table, order a long lunch, look at paintings between courses. Genuinly the most civilised thing you can do for £30.

The Soane Museum off Lincoln's Inn Fields. Also free, also small, and the candle-lit Saturday opening is a different experience from the daytime one. Rainy Saturday afternoon, get there for 2pm, you will not regret it.

Sky Garden and the indoor viewpoints

Sky Garden has a free 10am booking slot that opens 21 days out. On a clear day the view is alright. On a wet day, watching the rain roll up the Thames from the 35th floor is the entire point of going. Bring a coffee, sit by the south windows.

The Tate Modern viewing level is the cheap alternative — free, lift, the view of the rain over St Paul's is the same as paying £8 elsewhere.

Cinemas that open early

Prince Charles in Leicester Square does noon screenings most weekdays — £8 a ticket, the room is small enough to not feel like a chain, and they do a £4 popcorn that has not gone up in two years.

Picturehouse Central opens at 11am on weekends and the cafe in the lobby does a proper coffee. A double-bill of two indie films plus lunch is the easiest £30 wet-Saturday plan there is.

The Garden Cinema in Holborn is the dark horse — independent, comfortable seats, the bar in the foyer is open before screenings.

Indoor markets

Borough Market is the obvious one. Mostly under cover, a wine bar in the middle, and the Bedales upstairs is a proper place to lose two hours over a bottle of natural wine. Avoid Saturday lunchtime if you do not like being shouldered.

Old Spitalfields is alot quieter on a wet day. The food stalls are under cover, the vintage section is the best in London, and the bench seating means you can sit for an hour without being moved on.

Mercato Mayfair is the rainy-day pick if you are central. A converted church, decent pizza, a wine list that does not pretend to be cheap, and a weekday afternoon crowd that is two-thirds people working off laptops.

The pubs that let you stay

The trick to a long rainy pub is finding one with proper food. The French House in Soho is the classic — small upstairs room, a £14 plate of charcuterie, no phones rule that they actually enforce. The Princess Louise in Holborn has the screened booths, which on a wet day are the most calming things in central London. The Holly Bush in Hampstead if you have made the trip — open fires, decent food, the kind of room that absorbs three hours without effort.

A quick mention for the comedy shows in London tonight page if you want to turn a wet evening into a proper one. Soho Theatre is dry inside and the late shows are reliably the best £14 you can spend on a Tuesday.

When you have the money for a long lunch

Dishoom Covent Garden does the rainy-day breakfast at 8am. Ottolenghi Marylebone is alot easier to get into mid-week if it is wet. St. John in Smithfield is the proper long lunch — three hours, two bottles, you walk out at 4pm and the rain feels like someone else's problem. £80 a head if you are not silly about it.

For something cheaper, the back room at Dishoom Shoreditch is the spot for a long Sunday breakfast that turns into lunch.

Rainy London is honestly the best London. The tourists thin out, the galleries are quieter, and the pubs welcome anyone who is willing to order a second pint at the right pace. The trick is to plan loosely — pick one thing for the morning, one thing for the afternoon, leave the evening open. Most of my best London days have started with the weather being mental.

If you want to see what is on this week, the London comedy filter is the most useful single page. Save what you like and you will recieve a reminder the day before.