Make sure to discover London hidden gems before others do!
If you are planning to spend more than a handful of days there, you should make the effort to discover some of the most unusual places to visit in London. Well known to locals, they are really pleasant to visit, but don’t often make it on travel guides or itineraries.
It took me years of living in London to discover many of these places – most by chance, actually. So, if you want to see London off the beaten path, you are in the right place. Just continue reading!
24 Incredible London Hidden Gems
Sky Garden
The Sky Garden is so central that you really should not miss it! It’s a short walk from Tower of London and Tower Bridge – so you have no excuse not to go. The bonus? It is 100% free to get in – though you do need reservations if you intend to go before 6:00 pm. It’s also a great place to catch sunset!
The Sky Garden is open on Mondays from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm; Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10:00 am to 11:00 pm; Thursdays from 10:00 am to 12:00 am; Fridays from 10:00 am to 2:00 am; Saturdays from 8:30 am to 2:00 am and Sundays from 8:30 am to 11:00 pm. Make sure to book a time slot for your visit here. You can also book a table at the bar or restaurant, but mind you – they are expensive.
Leadenhall Market
Forget about the tourist markets of London: one of the most unusual places to visit in London is Leadenhall Market. It’s tucked away between Monument and Liverpool Street metro stations, in Gracechurch street – to give you an idea of the rough location in town.
This covered market has a gorgeous roof and glass windows. The shop windows are nice and colorful – so it’s a great place for photos. Although a market existed in the area already in the 14th century, the covered market was built in the 19th century.
This market became more popular as it was a filming location of Harry Potter. You can visit it during this tour – a best seller tour in London. You can book it here.
Postman’s Park
Not far from St. Paul’s Cathedral you will find Postman’s Park, which owes its name to the fact that it is a favorite of workers in the central post office nearby. Its main feature is a memorial wall – George Frederic Watt’s Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice – which houses tables with the names and brief stories of people who lost their lives when trying to save the lives of others.
The park is unknown to tourists, an oasis of peace despite the chaos of the city surrounding it, and a truly nice place to spend a few moments.
St. Katherine Dock Marina
One of the nicest hidden gems in London, St. Katherine Dock is the city’s only central marina, tucked away between the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and Tower Hill metro station. For some reason I only made it there after years or living in the city, when a friend of mine moved in the area.
What you will love about it is that it is right in the center of town, yet tourists never make it there: you are in for a real local experience, away from the crowds. At the dock you will find some bars, pubs and restaurant and a small square where you can hang out.
The Dickens Inn Pub
If you visit St. Katherine Dock, stop at Dickens Inn pub for a meal or a drink. It looks lovely – especially in the spring and summer months when the flower decorate the balconies and everything is in bloom.
The building dates back to the 18th century and used to be a warehouse probably stocking tea or owned by a brewery. The management says that Charles Dickens used to hang out there back in the day. It’s a known fact that he spent quite some time in East London and the Thameside, so chances are that he did visit this place.
Mews Streets
A mews is a narrow cobbled alley. You will find several in London, usually perpendicular to larger and busier streets. They are lined with very expensive buildings where very rich people live, but they are so quaint and pretty that it is worth popping by for photos.
You will find several mews in Kensington – among them Kynance Mews, the parallel Cornwall Mews, Osten Mews and McLeod’s Mews a bit further south.
Old Operating Theater Museum
You will find the Old Operating Theater Museum close to London Bridge metro station. This is one of the oldest operating theaters in the world – think of a time when anesthesia was not a thing yet.
During your visit, you will be able to get a good idea of how surgeries were carried out at a time when anesthesia, antiseptics and antibiotics were not used. There also is a small exhibit of herbs that were used in medicine.
The museum is currently close for renovations. The expected reopening is April 2023.
Saint Dunstan In The East
Between London Bridge and St. Katherine Docks Marina, Saint Dunstan in the East church was originally built between the 11th and 12th century.
It was partially destroyed during WWII and never restored, so all that is left are the walls and gates to the church which are set in a lovely garden. It’s a truly pleasant place to visit!
Holland Park
Compared to other parks like Hyde Park, St. James’s Park or Regent Park, Holland Park gets significantly less tourists and visitors. It’s the kind of place where you walk in through a narrow gate you don’t make much of, and find yourself in a park that is gorgeous and makes you feel a million miles away from the city.
The nearest metro station is High Street Kensington, on the District and Circle lines, so you can pop in if you are on a shopping spree in that part of town.
Neal’s Yard
This is the kind of place you stumble upon and then want to go back again and again as it is so pretty! It’s surprising not so many people know it as it is really close to Covent Garden – one of the city’s most popular attraction.
Neal’s Yard is a series of tall brick buildings adorned with flowers and plants pouring out of windows and where you will find many lovely, quaint small shops that sell organic goods and cafés and health food stores.
London’s Little Venice
London has its very own Little Venice and it is just minutes away from Paddington station! This series of canals lined with trees is the kind of place where you will see canal boats – some used as actual homes and others as cafés where you can stop by for tea.
The canals run all the way from Hyde Park to Warwick Avenue, so you can walk for quite some time and get all the way to Camden Market!
Sherlock Holmes Museum
Opened in 1990 near the very well known Regent’s Park, this museum recreates what is intended to be the home of Sherlock Holmes. Everything inside reproduces to maniacal detail the house described in the books – including the bookshelves and the 17 steps that take to the living room.
The museum is open daily from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm. You may actually find a line to get inside so make sure to get tickets in advance.
You may even want to join a guided Sherlock Holmes tour. These are the ones I recommend:
Sherlock Holmes 4-hour private walking tour – a private walking tour that lasts up to 4 hours and includes a visit to the museum.
Sherlock Holmes 2-hour walking tour – a great tour that even takes you to the movie sets inside BBC. Keep in mind it does not include a visit to the museum.
A 5 minutes walk from Sherlock Holmes Museum, Madame Tussauds is actually one of the most popular places to visit in London. You can get tickets to visit here.
Primrose Hill
Primrose Hill is right on the other side of Regent’s Park. It is a very well known place to people who live in London, yet very much a secret for tourists.
It really is a lovely neighborhood and the views of London from the actual hill are splendid (and free to enjoy, which really means a lot in a city that is so expensive!).
You can even see the Shard and London Eye on a clear day.
Spitalfields Market
If you want a market that is local, central and great to browse on any day of the week, head straight to Spitalfields (the nearest metro station is London Liverpool Street).
You will find anything from street food and nice local pubs to vintage and antique shops (my friends and I once stumbled upon a fantastic vintage camera shops!), clothes of all sorts (but especially of emerging London designers) and even art galleries. In other words, this is one of the most interesting unusual places to visit in London.
The market is open from 8:00 am to 11:00 pm Monday to Friday, and from 9:00 am to 11:00 pm at weekends.
Whitechapel
Whitechapel definitely deserves a spot among the unusual places to visit in London. Albeit central, it has that eerie feel of a place you know hides a story. In fact, this is where Jack the Ripper killings took place.
Nowadays, you can join a Jack The Ripper walking tour. It’s the kind of thing that really takes you through the history of the area, and in a very interactive way. If this is something you are keen on doing, I recommend joining this Jack the Ripper interactive walking tour. You will be led by an expert local guide along a carefully curated itinerary – we are talking about places tourists don’t regularly get to see.
This specific tour goes to Brick Lane, Christ Church, Spitalfields Market, Mitre Square, Petticoat Lane and Ten Bells Pub, taking you back to 1888 Whitechapel by following the footsteps of the victims.
The guide will even have photographic evidence to show you and you can do your best to help solve the mystery!
If this is something you are keen on trying, you can book the tour here.
Shoreditch and Brick Lake
This up and coming neighborhood has a multitude of good pubs and restaurants, shops, art galleries and lots and lots of street art. It’s one of the lesser known places to visit in London, but something tells me it won’t be like that for a long time.
Not far from it, Brick Lane is another hidden gem that is actually well known to locals. It’s a super artsy area famous for the many Bengalese restaurants and the many new local designers shops.
A place you should make sure to stop by is Beigel Bake. Go there for a sandwich or a snack – at whatever time of day. It is a local institution!
If you want to explore this part of London a bit more in depth, opt for one of these tours:
Alternative London 2-hour street art walking tour – a cool tour that will highlight the most interesting sights in the area.
London street art walking tour – it starts in Liverpool Street Station and goes all the way to Shoreditch.
Discover Shoreditch – another excellent option for this part of town.
Hoxton Street Monster Supplies
North of Shoreditch, this is a store, really, but with a kick. Things on sale include human bone dust, salt made from tears of anger (which actually is just smoked salt) or cubed earwax (caramels).
The shop was first opened in 1818 and re-opened in 2010 after having being refurbished. It’s only open 3 days a week – Wednesday to Friday, from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm – and you can easily add it to any itinerary to visit the areas of Shoreditch and Brick Lane.
Borough Market
If visiting a market is a must in London, skip Camden Market – it has become nothing more than a tourist trap – and head straight to London Bridge where you will find Borough Market. It’s actually becoming more popular among tourists too.
You can find all sort of fresh produce, literally from all over the world (I used to go there to get Sardinian Pecorino!). There are some nice wine bars in case you need a drink and a place to sit!
The market is open from Monday to Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. The nearest metro station is London Bridge.
Chiswick
Never mentioned in guidebooks, Chiswick is one of my favorite parts of town – a place I discovered when one of my friends moved there.
What you will enjoy about Chiswick is the neighborhood feel – something that is often missing in London. It is a chilled place where you can sit in a café and enjoy a drink, looking at passersby; or just browse the many lovely shops.
Among the places of interest you should not skip Chiswick House, a fantastic example of Palladian architecture; St. Nicholas Church, whose tower that dates back to the 15th century. Christ Church is another nice sight.
You can also pop in at Duke’s Meadows, a truly nice park. Finally, for one of the most unusual things to do in London, go for a walk at Gunnersbury Triangle, a nice nature reserve that will make you feel a million miles away from London, even though you are still very much there.
For a drink, stop at Mawson Arms, one of the nicest pubs in the area.
Chiswick is not in central London. To get there, hop on a westbound District Line train (the Piccadilly Line also stops there, but only at certain times) and get off at Turnham Green. Once you walk out of the station, turn left and you will be heading to the lovely High Street.
Hampstead Pergola and Hill Garden
Coming from Sardinia, where there aren’t too many people in such a vast land, I am used to a lot of wide open spaces and spending time outdoors. One of my favorite London hidden gems is Hampstead Pergola – probably one of the best ‘secret gardens’ I’ve ever found, not to mention that visiting is one of the best things to do in London for couples – so go there if you are feeling romantic!
Essentially a raised, colonnaded walkway constructed by a wealthy philanthropist to join two gardens divided by a public walkway, it must have been beautiful in its prime time but it is even more so now that nature has reclaimed much of it.
The ornate stonework and latticed domes are almost overgrown by climbing vines and other creepers including rambling roses, jasmine and honeysuckle – making for quite a heady perfume on a warm summer day!
It overlooks the gorgeous Hill Garden below and both are eerily beautiful, elegant and a popular destination for artists of every kind.
The Hill Garden also has a formal pond and little benches with sweet inscriptions to enjoy. Make sure to go before everyone else does!
Hampstead Pergola and Hill Garden is located in The Pergola, Inverforth Cl, London. The easiest way to get there from central London is to get a northbound Northern Line train, getting off at Hampstead Station. From there, it is an easy 15 minutes walk.
Highgate Cemetery
I am not normally one to count a cemetery as a tourist destination, but this one is incredible, because there are so many famous people buried here and it has become a kind of nature reserve filled with mature trees, shrubbery and wildflowers that are a haven for birds and small animals.
In Victorian times, people also had quite a romantic attitude towards death so there are hundreds of elaborately carved headstones, Egyptian sepulchers and Gothic style tombs.
It is no longer free to tour either section, but exploring the heavily wooded 20 hectares and trying to read the inscriptions on overgrown, often crumbling headstones while marveling at the beauty and intricacy of others is something you will enjoy immensely.
You can also search for the graves of Highgate Cemetery’s more famous residents or check out the Queen’s Wood or Highgate Wood nearby for a less morbid day out.
Highgate Cemetery is located in Swain’s Ln, Highgate, London. Before visiting, make sure to check the website to double check it is open on the day you wish to go. The easiest way to get there is by metro. Get a northbound Northern Line train and get off at Archway Station. From there, it is about a 15 minutes walk.
Pickering Place
You may want to visit Pickering Place for a number of reasons, the first of which is the fact that it was home to the Texas legation (effectively a small embassy) from 1842 – 1845 as commemorated by a small brass plaque.
This is one of the most interesting London hidden gems, located almost directly opposite King Henry’s old barn at St. James Palace and accessed by a narrow passageway running next to the famous Berry Bros & Rudd wine merchant – their one day wine school being the main reason you may want to go all the way to Pickering Square to begin with!
Legend says that it was the venue for the last sword duel in London, although I couldn’t find anyone to tell me who the two duelers were or what they were dueling about! Yet, it is easy to believe it, because it is hidden away and quite close to the royal court of the time.
The seclusion of the square made it a notorious bear baiting venue – but now it houses nothing but some potted plants, a sundial and a snapshot of the 16th century frozen in time!
The closest metro station to Pickering Place is Green Park, served by the Piccadilly Line. From there, it is a 6 minute walk.
Britain’s Smallest Police Station
Any visit to London has to include a trip to Trafalgar Square and with all the other attractions it would be easy to miss the little building that is discreetly located in one corner of the square.
Calling it a building is a bit of a stretch really, especially since Britain’s Smallest Police Station was made out of a hollowed out ornamental lamp post! But apparently it was supposed to be able to hold up to two prisoners, or at least one policeman with a direct line to Scotland Yard.
There is a little conspiracy surrounding its construction as there was originally some objection to a police presence in the square, which being in the center of London has been host to many public demonstrations and protests over the year.
It would be nice if this little police station was dressed up and opened to the public in some way – basically used as more than a storage closet but for now it is fun to just peer through the windows and imagine a policeman inside!
Britain’s Smallest Police Station is located in Trafalgar Square.
Isabella Plantation
Isabella Plantation takes flowers on a whole new level with a 40 acre woodland garden that is home to 100 different varieties of azaleas, 50 species of rhododendrons and more than 125 hybrid rhododendrons varieties. This is one of the true London hidden gems!
The best time to visit is in spring and the beginning of summer, when the majority of the flowers are in bloom. But thanks to a few evergreen varieties of both flowers and trees, little ponds and mini lakes scattered throughout the plantation, it is beautiful year round and always worth a visit.
Last year I was lucky enough to see the plantation in what was probably the most vivid display in years, and the best part is that it is completely free!
Isabella Plantation is located inside Richmond Park. It is a bit of a way to get there but I promise you it is worth it. Take the Piccadilly Line westbound and get off at Earl’s Court. From there, hop on a District Line train to Putney Bridge Station. Then, take bus n. 85 heading to Warren Road Coombe, from where it is a 15 minutes walk.
Final Thoughts On London Hidden Gems
London is old, and dates back all the way to the Roman times – so there is a lot of history to discover. With many years to explore it I found some places that I will never forget, although I am pretty sure that there are many other treasures I walked right past!
Make sure to hit the places mentioned in this post before everyone else discovers them!
Further Readings
Planning a trip to London? Make sure to check out my other posts:
- How To Make The Most Of London In A Day
- How To See London In 2 Days
- A Perfect Itinerary To See London In 3 Days
- An Easy To Follow Itinerary For 4 Days London
- The Best 5 Days London Itinerary
- 15 Great Day Trips From London
- 5 Easy Ways Of Getting London Dungeon Tickets
- Where To Stay In London: The Best Areas And Hotels
- The 20 Best Museums In London
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