You need to be patient when making new friends. Friendships don’t just spring up overnight but develop over time as you get to spend more time with people and get to know them better. Sometimes, however, you need to give friendship a helping hand. Opportunities to socialize will not necessarily crop up easily, unless you get up and organize something yourself. Thankfully, if you live in London, you have countless opportunities to organize social activities for making new friends out of people you so far know only a little.

Whatever your interests, London offers you many places where you can go with a group of people you have brought together to have some fun. Perhaps you could put up a notice on your staff or college noticeboard, advertising some social gatherings you have organized. Getting people together in this way is a fabulous way of making new friends.

However, you may need some inspiration for things going on in and around London that you could suggest as social activities. Here is just a small selection of things you could do over the next couple of months in London so you can see the myriad of opportunities that London offers you for making new friends:

1. An organized walk

London has so much history, architecture and natural beauty that we just don’t get to see in the usual course of our busy lives when we usually travel by car or public transport. Organizing a walk between landmarks or certain points of interest around London and opening it up to others to come along is another good way of making new friends. You could even make it a sponsored walk if you want to, and benefit charity in the process, but that is not necessary just for making new friends. What matters is taking some time out in London to take in the scenery and the amenities. There are so many walks you could take in and around London that it is difficult to know where to start but here are just a few suggestions for you: if you have an interest in crime or history and have an interest in making new friends with like-minded people, you could go on a Jack the Ripper walking tour. If you want something more patriotic, especially as we have just celebrated a Royal Wedding, how about a walk around Royal residences? Alternatively, you can stroll the Thames from Hammersmith Bridge to Putney Bridge, to enjoy the waterside scenery. If street markets are more your thing, why not suggest a walk between Little Venice and Camden Market, or for culture vultures, you could suggest a troll around Covent Garden, taking in a nice café or coffee shop as you go.

2. Follow your hobby

Our hobbies offer a lot of opportunities of making new friends among people we meet in work or in our neighborhood. Photography is just one example of something that you can develop into social activities in London. Organize a photography trip around the markets of brick Lane or in the Victorian cemeteries around London, such as at High gate and Tower Hamlets.

3. Social drinks

There are so many pubs and clubs around London that you will have no doubt of thought of these as good places for making new friends. But maybe you haven’t seen them as opportunities for more exciting socializing on which you can invite your workmates, so here are some ways you can do that: combine a Sunday afternoon drink in the Avalon pub garden with a walk on Clap ham Common, or organize a pub quiz. If you prefer an easier life, check out London pub listings and find the places that already have a pub quiz. For something a little unusual, suggest a night out at the Tiki Cocktail Bar and Club: a real tropical experience that you can find in various London bars if you look for it. You can also visit a salsa club or Cuban bar to incorporate a little fun dance lesson.

4. Theatre trips

If you think of London, you probably think of the West End theatre. If you can’t find anything to organize a works trip to at one of these theatres, then you aren’t trying hard enough! Start with asking your friends and when you settle upon something to see, open it up to your office or class. Going together to a West End show, laughing and chatting over interval drinks too, is a gift of an opportunity for making new friends in London.

These are all things you could do in London in the next month to get you started on making new friends. There is no time like the present to get started on organizing some of these events.