Photo London 2026 transport and chauffeur guide

Photo London 2026 runs 14 to 17 May at Olympia London, W14 8UX, with Preview Day on Wednesday 13 May. This is the fair's 11th edition and its first away from Somerset House, where it was held from 2015 to 2025. The move was announced in July 2025. Olympia sits in West London, outside the Congestion Charge zone and 20 to 25 minutes from Heathrow by car. Somerset House on the Strand continues to host the Sony World Photography Awards, the London Original Print Fair and London Craft Week events throughout May 2026. This guide covers transport, parking and chauffeur access to both venues.

Photo London 2026 at Olympia: dates, tickets and the Steven Meisel exhibition

Preview Day is Wednesday 13 May. Invited VIPs enter from 11:00. Preview Day ticket-holders enter from 13:00. Both groups stay until 21:00. The public fair opens Thursday 14 May and runs through Sunday 17 May. Thursday and Friday hours are 12:00 to 20:00. Saturday opens at 11:00. Sunday closes early at 17:00. No re-entry on day tickets.

Tickets: Preview Day £200 (admits one). Day ticket £32. Off-peak entry during the last three hours costs £20. Concession (student, over-65, disability) is £24. Weekend pass covering Saturday and Sunday is £50. Children aged 5 to 15 pay £20. A £1 booking fee applies per order. Tickets are sold through photolondon.seetickets.com.

The 2026 edition features 130+ galleries from over 30 countries. Steven Meisel is the Master of Photography 2026, showing portraits from his first professional London assignment. Subjects include Bella Freud, Plum Sykes, Stella Tennant and Isabella Blow. New for Olympia: the Source solo presentations curated by Tristan Lund, an Art Film screening room (Sarah Moon, Alys Tomlinson), the Discovery section for emerging galleries curated by Charlotte Jansen, and the inaugural Martin Parr First Book Award. Photo London is organised by Candlestar Ltd (founders Michael Benson and Fariba Farshad) and is the UK's largest photography fair. Works range from £500 to £500,000.

Getting to Photo London at Olympia

Driving from Heathrow. Route: M4 east, then A4, then Hammersmith Road. Distance: approximately 12 to 13 miles. Time: 20 to 25 minutes off-peak, 35 to 55 minutes peak. This route avoids the Congestion Charge zone entirely. Premium Transfers' Hayes base is 4 miles from Heathrow, making collection from any terminal a 10 to 15 minute operation. By comparison, the equivalent journey to Somerset House on the Strand covers 17 miles, takes 45 to 55 minutes off-peak, and passes through the £18 CCZ.

From central London hotels. Mayfair and Park Lane to Olympia: 15 to 20 minutes off-peak (3.5 miles via Kensington Road). Kensington hotels (The Berkeley, The Lanesborough, Bulgari) are 8 to 15 minutes. These are collector-relevant routes because many international visitors stay in Mayfair while attending events across Kensington and the West End. Olympia sits outside the CCZ but inside ULEZ (£12.50 per day for non-compliant vehicles). All current Mercedes S-Class, V-Class, Range Rover and Rolls-Royce models are ULEZ compliant.

Drop-off at Olympia. Hammersmith Road is a TfL Red Route with short set-downs only, no waiting. The practical pick-up and collection point is Blythe Road or Maclise Road behind the National Hall. Olympia Way is pedestrianised. The Hyatt Regency London Olympia is opening on the Olympia campus in 2026 with a glass corridor directly into the exhibition halls. For collectors staying at the Hyatt, this will be the most direct arrival route to any art fair in London.

Parking at Olympia. There is no general visitor car park at Olympia London. Only Blue Badge parking is available on site. The nearest public parking is on Kensington High Street (council meters, heavily restricted) and side streets in the W14 residential zone (permit-holder only). For collectors who would normally drive, a chauffeur or taxi is the only practical private vehicle option.

Public transport to Olympia. Kensington Olympia station (Overground Mildmay line and District line event-day shuttle from Earl's Court) is 100 metres from the entrance. TfL boosted Mildmay line peak capacity by 20 to 33% in 2025 under an agreement with the venue. Earl's Court is a 15-minute walk. High Street Kensington (Circle and District lines) is a 12-minute walk. National Rail services run from Kensington Olympia to Clapham Junction, Watford Junction and Gatwick via East Croydon. For solo visitors without acquisitions to carry, the Overground from Clapham Junction or the District line from Earl's Court are practical options. For collectors leaving with purchased prints or framed works, a vehicle is the more realistic choice.

Somerset House in May 2026: what is still there

Photo London has left, but Somerset House's May calendar continues. The Sony World Photography Awards 2026 exhibition runs 17 April to 4 May in the East and West Wings (tickets £18, concession £14). This ends nine days before Photo London opens at Olympia. The London Original Print Fair (41st edition) returns to Somerset House in May with 40+ exhibitors showing prints from under £100 to £100,000. London Craft Week (11 to 17 May) includes a confirmed event at the Courtauld Gallery inside Somerset House. For collectors visiting Photo London at Olympia from 14 to 17 May, Somerset House remains a 20 to 25 minute drive east along the A4.

Somerset House sits on the Strand, London WC2R 1LA. The building is a Grade I listed 18th-century neoclassical complex operated by Somerset House Trust. The Courtauld Gallery occupies the North Wing and houses one of the finest Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collections in Europe. Other annual events include the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair (October, confirmed for its 14th year in 2026), the Skate ice rink (winter), Summer Series concerts and Film4 Summer Screen. For photography collectors who attended Photo London at Somerset House for the past decade, the building remains a working part of London's art calendar. The fair has moved. The venue has not closed.

Somerset House parking and drop-off

Somerset House has no on-site car park. The venue's own website states there is no car parking at Somerset House and very little on-street parking nearby. The closest car park is NCP London Covent Garden on Parker Street, WC2B 5NT, approximately 600 metres and 8 to 10 minutes' walk. It has roughly 330 spaces with a 1.8m height limit. Daily rates range from approximately £26 pre-booked to £40+ on the day.

Other options include Q-Park Covent Garden on Bedfordbury (36 spaces, pre-book required, closes 11pm), Q-Park Chinatown on Newport Place (254 spaces, 24/7, 16 EV chargers) and Q-Park Leicester Square on Whitcomb Street. All are 12 to 15 minutes' walk from Somerset House. There is no car park on Aldwych, the Strand or Kingsway. Somerset House sits inside the Congestion Charge zone (£18 per day since January 2026) and inside ULEZ (£12.50 per day for non-compliant vehicles).

The Strand outside Somerset House has been closed to vehicles since August 2021. The section from Lancaster Place to Melbourne Place is permanently pedestrianised as part of Westminster Council's Strand Aldwych project. Chauffeurs cannot pull up at the Strand entrance. The recommended drop-off is Lancaster Place, which runs from Waterloo Bridge south to the Strand and serves the New Wing entrance. Lancaster Place carries two-way traffic and allows brief stops. The Victoria Embankment entrance (for the Embankment Galleries) is an alternative accessed from the river side. Blue Badge bays are on Wellington Street, WC2E 7BB (approximately 160 metres from the entrance) and Temple Place, WC2R 2PH (approximately 266 metres). The nearest tube stations are Temple (5 minutes' walk), Covent Garden (8 minutes) and Embankment (10 minutes).

The London May art season: 11 to 23 May 2026

Three major events create a 13-day collector season across London. London Craft Week runs 11 to 17 May with 200+ events across 150+ venues. Photo London overlaps from 13 to 17 May at Olympia. Chelsea Flower Show opens to RHS members on 19 May and to the public from 21 to 23 May at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. For international collectors arriving for Photo London's Preview Day on 13 May, this is a week-and-a-half window covering photography, craft, design and horticulture without leaving the city.

An hourly hire with a single driver across this period covers Olympia (Photo London, W14), Mayfair and Soho (Craft Week galleries), Somerset House (LOPF and Courtauld), and Chelsea (RHS). The routing spans West London to central London to South West London. No single public transport route connects these areas efficiently with art purchases in hand. The S-Class or V-Class carries the collector, the catalogue and the acquisitions from venue to venue across the week.

A practical day during Photo London week might run like this. Morning: Olympia for the main fair (drop-off Blythe Road, W14). Early afternoon: Somerset House for the London Original Print Fair (drop-off Lancaster Place, WC2R). Late afternoon: Bond Street and St James's for Craft Week gallery openings. Evening: dinner in Mayfair. The total driving distance across these four stops is under 15 miles, but the journey involves three boroughs, the CCZ boundary, and no direct tube connection between Olympia and the Strand. A chauffeur handles the routing. The collector handles the art.

Hotels for Photo London and the May art season

Near Olympia (under 10 minutes). The Hyatt Regency London Olympia opens on the campus in 2026 with a glass corridor into the exhibition halls. Hilton London Olympia on Kensington High Street is a 3-minute walk with on-site car parking. Holiday Inn Kensington Forum and Copthorne Tara are within 10 minutes. Hotel Indigo K West on Richmond Way reopened in early 2026 after refurbishment.

Near Somerset House (under 10 minutes on foot). The Savoy is adjacent on the Strand, a 2 to 3 minute walk. One Aldwych (3 to 4 minutes) holds a 400-piece contemporary art collection suited to photography collectors. ME London on the Strand is 2 minutes. The Waldorf Hilton on Aldwych is 3 to 4 minutes. NoMad London on Bow Street (8 to 10 minutes) houses 1,600 original artworks. Covent Garden Hotel by Firmdale (8 to 10 minutes) is a long-standing arts industry choice.

Central London (10 to 20 minutes by car to either venue). Corinthia London on Whitehall Place is 10 to 12 minutes from Somerset House and 20 minutes from Olympia. Claridge's, The Connaught and Brown's Hotel sit in Mayfair. For collectors splitting their week between Photo London and Craft Week, a Mayfair hotel offers the best balance between the two event geographies: 15 to 20 minutes west to Olympia, 10 to 15 minutes east to the Strand. The Savoy is the natural choice for collectors focused on Somerset House programming (Sony Awards, LOPF), while the Hyatt Regency at Olympia is the logical base for those prioritising Photo London itself.

Frequently asked questions

Has Photo London moved from Somerset House?

Yes. Photo London 2026 is at Olympia London (W14 8UX), not Somerset House. The 2025 edition was the last at Somerset House after 10 years. The move was announced in July 2025. Somerset House continues to host other photography and art events throughout the year.

When is Photo London 2026?

Preview Day: Wednesday 13 May. Public fair: Thursday 14 to Sunday 17 May 2026. Preview Day opens at 13:00 for ticket-holders and 11:00 for invited VIPs. Sunday closes at 17:00. All other days close at 20:00.

How much are Photo London 2026 tickets?

Preview Day: £200. Day ticket: £32. Off-peak (last 3 hours): £20. Concession: £24. Weekend pass (Saturday and Sunday): £50. Child 5 to 15: £20. Plus £1 booking fee per order. Book at photolondon.seetickets.com.

Is there parking at Olympia London?

No general visitor parking. Only Blue Badge bays are available on site. The nearest public parking is on Kensington High Street (council meters) and side streets in W14 (mostly permit-holder only). A chauffeur or taxi is the practical private vehicle option for Photo London.

Is there parking at Somerset House?

No. Somerset House has no on-site car park. The closest is NCP Covent Garden on Parker Street (WC2B 5NT), approximately 600 metres and 8 to 10 minutes' walk. Q-Park Covent Garden (36 spaces) and Q-Park Chinatown (254 spaces) are 12 to 15 minutes' walk.

Is Olympia London in the Congestion Charge zone?

No. Olympia is in W14, outside the CCZ. A chauffeur from Heathrow to Olympia avoids the £18 daily charge entirely. Somerset House (WC2R) is inside the CCZ. The Congestion Charge increased from £15 to £18 on 2 January 2026.

Can I be dropped off outside Somerset House?

Not on the Strand. The Strand outside Somerset House has been pedestrianised since August 2021. The recommended chauffeur drop-off is Lancaster Place, which serves the New Wing entrance and carries two-way traffic. The Victoria Embankment entrance is an alternative for the Embankment Galleries.

Who is the Photo London 2026 Master of Photography?

Steven Meisel. The American fashion photographer is showing portraits from his first professional London assignment at the fair's new Olympia venue. Previous Masters of Photography include Sebastião Salgado (2015), Don McCullin (2016) and Graciela Iturbide (2022).

What is on at Somerset House during Photo London week?

The London Original Print Fair runs in May with 40+ exhibitors. London Craft Week (11 to 17 May) includes a confirmed event at the Courtauld Gallery inside Somerset House. The Sony World Photography Awards 2026 exhibition runs 17 April to 4 May, ending nine days before Photo London opens at Olympia.

How do I get from Heathrow to Photo London 2026?

By chauffeur: M4 then A4 then Hammersmith Road, 20 to 25 minutes off-peak, no Congestion Charge. By public transport: Piccadilly line to Earl's Court, then District line shuttle to Kensington Olympia, approximately 50 to 60 minutes. Premium Transfers collects from any Heathrow terminal in 10 to 15 minutes from its Hayes base, 4 miles away.

Book a Photo London chauffeur

Premium Transfers operates from Hayes, 4 miles from Heathrow. For Photo London visitors, we provide Heathrow collection, hotel-to-Olympia transfers, and multi-venue itineraries covering the London May art season from Craft Week through Chelsea Flower Show. Fixed pricing with no surge. The same driver across the week on request. Our S-Class and V-Class fleet carries photography acquisitions safely between venues without the constraints of public transport or the parking restrictions at Olympia.