Cue orchids: the watchful exotics - this year from Peru - take over the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew for the annual Orchid Festival (February 1 to March 2).

Reflections: last chance for the Winter Lights Festival dazzling on the water at Canary Wharf(5 pm to 10 pm, ends Feb 5)

The charming Charles Dickens Museum on just as charming Doughty Street celebrates its 100th birthday with an exhibition on his life and work (from Feb 5)

Dance satellite Sadler's Wells East opens on Feb 6 on the new East Bank, just south of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, at Stratford.

The Post Office Museum has opened ‘Sorting Office’, an exhibit of mail art curated by artist Gestures, with works by Gilbert & George, Lolly Batty and Joseph Beuys (to April 4)

'Flowers - Flora in Contemporary Art & Culture' opens at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea (Feb 12 to May 5)

Tate Modern's 'Ghost and Spirit' show of the work of American artist Mike Kelley (lock up your soft toys) runs to Mar 2025.

On your bookmarks: the London Bookshop Crawl takes place Feb 14-16 at various studious venues across London.

Families! Make your way to the annual Imagine Festival at the Southbank Centre (Feb 18 to 23) where children from 0 to 11 can enjoy performances, art and free fun.

Entries to much-loved Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition are on show at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington until next June.

Lights, bonkers clothes, runway: London Fashion Week explodes across the capital in all its joyous eccentricity. No invitation? Look out for the public access events... Feb 20-24.

'Picasso: Printmaker' is now open at the British Museum until Mar 30.

Merch alert - the London Anime and Gaming Con comes to west London (Feb 21-23) - yup, the Hammersmith Novotel...

The Science Museum's new show 'Versailles: Science and Spendour' focuses on the key role the great French palace played in scientific thinking (to April 21)

A century of gorgeousness (1560-1660) is on show at the V&A in 'Great Mughals: Art, Architecture and Opulence'.

St Paul's Cathedral takes the fundraising bull by the horns with 45-minute art, sound and architecture mash-up show 'Luminous' by Luxmuralis, aka sculptor Peter Walker and composer and David Harper (Feb 22-28)

Art and tech before the internet takes centre stage at Tate Modern, from Op Art to the Nineties (to Jun 1)

The London Winter Run dashes through the capital on Feb 23, raising funds for Cancer Research on the way.

The long-awaited Leigh Bowery show at Tate Modern celebrates the firework life of the Aussie fashion force, nightclub owner and joyous friend and performer, who blew London away during the 80s until his untimely death from HIV-AIDS.

Enter the beguiling, multi-faceted world of director and creative original Tim Burton at the Design Museum in Kensington - the show runs until Apr 21 2025