It’s no secret that London plays host to many of the best attractions and entertainment venues. The best parks, galleries, nightclubs, cinemas, dining, shopping, tourist attractions – in short, the best of everything. And it’s easy to think that when you’ve been living in the capital for a while you’ve seen it all.

But there’s a recent phenomenon that has been injecting a much-needed thrill of discovery into London life: pop-up events. From underground pop up restaurants to secret rooftop residencies, experimental events to unique foodie experiences, the London pop ups scene has completely exploded over the last few years. No longer are we confined to our everyday bars, pubs and clubs; instead, there are a whole host of pop up spaces, alfresco cinema treats and quirky London events to choose from.

So whether it’s boogieing to Balearic music, eating street food in an abandoned warehouse, getting lost in a Swedish forest or just raving on a pontoon, London has a pop-up experience to suit just about everyone.

Pop-up cocktail bars, clubs and fringe performances are usually to be found anywhere near a railway arch; a great many themed evenings take place around and beneath the stations of London Bridge and Vauxhall. Even a London taxi can be a mobile pop up experience, as some black cabs can be hired for tours.

There’ve been some notable pop up events over the years. A branch of Central Perk, the coffee shop from the TV series Friends, which opened in London’s Soho for a fortnight in 2008 was used to promote a limited-edition box set of the series. There have been pop-up projects that have opened for just an hour, like Mary Portas’s vintage clothes sale, and others so successful that they’ve eventually become a permanent fixture, such as Tom Dixon’s Dock Kitchen restaurant in Portobello Dock in West London.

So before you decide once and for all that London’s burnt out, pop out and see what’s popped up in your neck of the woods overnight.