So is summer the best time to visit London? Ask the weatherman, and he is sure to disagree. But a cursory glance at the dizzying assortment of events planned in the last week of June and you can be sure of one thing - just like the mercury, the verve and enthusiasm at the city's outdoor festival season will soar in just one direction - north. The slew of programmes developed by the Greenwich and Docklands International Festival and the London 2012 Festival will leave you craving for more.

It is a virtual slugfest

Your tour of London events begins on a melodious note with the London 2012 Festival, the cultural component of the 2012 Olympic Games scheduled to start on July 27. There are scores of musicians, cultural organisations and even landmarks that have joined hands to exhibit the city's cultural creativity. In addition to the free shows on a series of stages, each representing a different stage, along the Thames River, you can watch Wallace and Gromit take centre stage during a Proms programme and Shakespeare - Staging the World taking the world by storm at the British museum.

If a sumptuous meal sounds like music to your ears, then Taste of London at Regents' Park will seem like a complete orchestra. The event, which celebrates and salutes the stupendous culinary ability of London, will feature a series of cooking sessions, classes and tastings at the city's most prolific restaurants. If you have attended previous editions of this festival, you will realise that the 2012 version is an attempt to showcase the recent developments in the city's culinary journey. Don't miss the highlight of this event - a special four course menu created by San Pellegrino VIP dining experience with Theo Randall.

London's vibrant art scene gets a shot in the arm with the annual Free Range Art and Design show. This two-month long exhibition, which incidentally is regularly updated, showcases works of talented British artists from fields as diverse as art, photography, textiles, illustration, interiors and product design. If you are a student or even connoisseur of art and design, this show is a must-see, considering it is the biggest of its kind in the whole of Europe.

You have heard of the London Underground; but have you seen the London Wonderground? A celebration of the queer and eccentric, the festival, which will enthrall audiences through the summer at the South Bank centre, combines magic, circus, music and cabaret all on one stage.

Summer months in London are all about sellout crowds.