1 WILD NIGHTS

Wake up to the sound of lions roaring and gibbons calling when you spend the night in a luxury safari tent at London Zoo (0844 225 1826/zsl.org/london-zoo).
Start the evening with drinks and canapes before a torchlit tour of the zoo. During dinner a wildlife expert will entertain you with animal stories before you retire to your tent with comfy beds, bedside tables and lamps.
In the morning after a full English breakfast, watch the animals being fed and spend the rest of the day exploring the zoo.

From May 23-27, 2012, £225pp (two sharing). Maximum 20 adults per night.

2 ROYAL FLOTILLA

More than 1,000 boats from tall ships to wooden steamers will be decked out in Union flags and streamers for a Diamond Jubilee Pageant (thamesdiamondjubileepageant.org) along the Thames on June 3 next year, led by the Queen. Book a place on one of the boats or watch the spectacle from the river's banks where up to 50 screens will televise the event.
A floating belfry will respond to chimes from riverside churches and there will be a pyrotechnic barge releasing daytime fireworks, a music barge and a gun salute.

3 MASTERFUL WORKS

Fans of Leonardo da Vinci can visit two exhibitions of the Renaissance artist's work being held in the capital.
The first is unveiled at the National Gallery (020 7747 2885/ nationalgallery.org.uk) on November 9 (until February 5) with the most complete display of his rare surviving paintings and drawings. Adults £16, children under 12 free with adult. The second will be in the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace (020 7766 7301/royalcollection.org.uk) from May 4 to October 7, 2012.
It will focus on Da Vinci's amazingly accurate anatomical drawings following his human and animal dissections at hospitals and medical schools. Adults £9, under 17s £4.50, under 5s free.

4 QUENCH YOUR HIRST

Love it or hate it, most people will be familiar with some of artist Damien Hirst's provocative work, notably the shark suspended in formaldehyde and a bisected cow and calf. Next spring, Tate Modern (020 7887 8888/tate.org.uk) will display more than 70 of his iconic works (April 4 to September 9). Ticket prices to be confirmed.

5 INTREPID EXPLOITS

A remarkable photographic exhibition of George Herbert Ponting and Frank Hurley's work will mark the 100th anniversary of Captain Scott's ill-fated journey to the South Pole. It will be held at the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace (as before).
The Heart of the Great Alone: Scott, Shackleton and Antarctic Photography records Scott's Terra Nova expedition of 1910-13 by Ponting as well as Ernest Shackleton's polar expedition on Endurance from 1914 to 1917.
Some of Hurley's most fascinating pictures document Endurance being crushed by the ice and Shackleton and his crew's heroic sea journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia. From October 21 to April 15, 2012. Pre-booking for these exhibitions is recommended.

6 DICKENSIAN LIFE

The Museum of London (020 7001 9844/museumoflondon.org.uk) is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens with a major exhibition on the author's life and work from December 8 to June 10, 2012.
Discover what life was like in 19th-century London and learn about the writer's tough childhood and how his experiences were woven into his work. See Dickens's writing desk and chair as well as original manuscripts.
Adults from £7, children from £5 (advanced purchase).

7 SPARKLING MONARCHY

A dazzling array of precious gems worn by Queen Victoria, the Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth will be on display at Buckingham Palace (as before) next summer as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
See the Coronation necklace and earrings and a small crown encrusted with 1,187 diamonds at the Diamonds exhibition in August and September 2012. Adults £18, under-17s, £10.25.

8 GLOBAL BARD

Imagine watching Macbeth in Urdu or A Midsummer Night's Dream in Gujarati? Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (020 7401 9919/shakespearesglobe.com) on the South Bank will stage all 37 of the Bard's plays in 37 languages as part of its London 2012 Olympic celebrations and the World Shakespeare Festival.
Bookings go live before the end of the year for the performances which begin on Shakespeare's birthday (on April 23) and run for six weeks. Details and ticket prices to be confirmed.

9 STAYING POWER

Walk along London's South Bank next year and you may spot a bizarre sight on top of the Queen Elizabeth Hall; a one-bedroom "boat" perched on its roof. A Room For London (living-architecture.co.uk), the result of a competition to create a temporary installation on a city landmark, will offer unrivalled views of Big Ben and St Paul's. Places for January to June sold out within minutes this month but you can still bag a room for the rest of 2012 when they go live on January 19. From £120 per night (two sharing), self-catering.

10 A CUT ABOVE

The last and most famous tea clipper, the Cutty Sark (020 8858 2698/cuttysark.org.uk) reopens next spring after a five-year renovation project following the devastating 2007 fire. The three-masted, 19th-century ship, which has been in dry dock in Greenwich since the Fifties, is being raised 10ft to help preserve her shape and allow visitors to walk underneath.

For information on London Limited Edition: visitlondon.com/limited-edition-london