London is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, which means that there are lots of spots in the city that get visited over and over again. If you’re looking for some off the beaten path, non-touristy things to do in London, we’ve got you covered! From peaceful hidden parks and beautiful historic architecture to secret speakeasies, food and art tours, there is another side of London that most tourists miss out on.
Ready to explore the secret side of London? Keep reading to uncover 19 of the most unique, quirky things to do in London!
Explore the splendor of the Queen’s House in Greenwich
Greenwich is one of my favourite parts of London – a small village that has been swallowed up by the big smoke, it’s played an important role in the history of the city, something that’s evidenced by the number of museums dotted about its streets.
The Queen’s House is a real gem – less well-known than some of Greenwich’s attractions, it’s a fascinating glimpse into the art and architecture of days past. Architecturally, the house is beautiful – designed by the renowned architect Inigo Jones, it was the first classical-style building in the UK.
The interior is similarly striking too, with checkered floors, opulent decor and the increasingly Instagrammed Tulip Staircase.
But what really makes the Queen’s House stand out is its art collection. A part of the Royal Museums of Greenwich, its art collection spans many of the great masters: Turner, Canaletto and Lowry to name a few. You can even see the iconic Armada portrait of Queen Elizabeth I.
I’m not sure why the Queen’s House is still one of London’s hidden gems – but it’s the perfect place to visit during your London trip. Don’t miss it.
Julianna | The Discoveries Of | Read more: Cool Things to do in Greenwich
Stroll through beautiful Holland Park
Hidden away from busy Kensington Palace and Portobello Market, one of the lesser-known gems of West London is Holland Park. Who knew that a Japanese garden, wild peacocks and 22 acres of land were hidden away in the suburbs?
Now almost 30 years old, the Kyoto Garden was donated to celebrate good relations between the UK and Japan. A visit is lovely any time of year with flowers blossoming in the spring, and Japanese Maple Trees dropping red leaves in autumn.
You can wander the grounds, meet peacocks and take stepping stones over the ponds of Koi Karp. If you’re looking for a place to relax and escape busy Central London, it doesn’t get any better than this!
Visit Holland Park from 7:30am until 30 minutes before dusk. That’s approximately 8:30pm in the summer and 3:30pm in the winter.
Rose Munday | Where Goes Rose?
Wander Through Columbia Road Flower Market
If you are visiting London over a weekend, then stop by the Columbia Road Flower Market. Held every Sunday from 8am until the early afternoon, this buzzing market is a favourite spot for Londoners wanting to brighten their homes with colourful blooms.
The flowers for sale depend on the season. In spring and summer there are buckets of tulips, daffodils and for a few sweet weeks – peonies! Winter is the time for Christmas wreaths, holly and ivy and bright coloured moss from Scotland. Vendors entertain the shoppers with typical East London banter and spruiking. You will know you’ve made it in London if one of them calls you their “old china plate” (mate).
After enjoying the market scene, there are several great cafes and coffee shops in the area to take a break in. You have to try the sausage rolls and pastries at Lily Vanilli. They a re legendary. If it is a sunny day, street performers set themselves up on the cobbled street corners and add to the festive atmosphere.
Columbia Road is also home to several fun and quirky boutiques where you might find the perfect souvenir. All in all, a visit to this part of London is a Sunday morning well spent.
The nearest tube station is Old Street on the Northern Line. From there it is a 20 minute walk to the market.
Katy Clarke | Untold Morsels
Stroll through beautiful Primrose Hill
A lot of tourists visit Regents Park and the London Zoo, however, I’ve rarely heard of tourists making the quick 10-minute detour to Primrose Hill. It is on the edge of Camden, and the area itself is home to many rich and famous.
But ignore the nearby big houses, get to the top of the hill and see the nice views of London. It is around 78 meters high, so you can see for miles across London. The walk up the hill isn’t too hard – and it is paved the entire way.
Sometimes you just need to get away from people and the commotion that is happening everywhere in London, and Primrose Hill is perfect for that.
If you’re visiting in the winter and there is some snow you might even be able to go sledging down the hill…
Make sure you think about checking it out if you’re visiting Camden, London Zoo or Regents Park and want to get away from the crowds. A good tip is to go for sunrise – not only will there be almost no one else there, the views are really nice.
The closest tube is Chalk Farm (Zone 2, Northern line) or St John’s Wood (Zone 2, Jubilee line), it will take around 10 minutes to walk there from either.
Patrick | Complete City Guides
Take a foodie adventure through Pho Mile in Shoreditch
The hipster neighborhood of Shoreditch in East London is well-known for its street art and vibrant weekend markets. When people get hungry, they tend to throng the Indian restaurants along Brick Lane and or queue up for salt beef bagels, but I have another favorite that is lesser-known and not besieged by tourists the way that Brick Lane is!
The Vietnamese restaurants along Kingsland Road, nicknamed Pho Mile, are some of my favorite places to eat in all of London. There are several excellent Vietnamese restaurants all up and down this road, which doesn’t quite take up an entire mile but sure feels like it with all the delicious food options you have laid out in front of you!
On my last trip to London, I ate at Viet Grill, which is a little more trendy and design-focused than the other restaurants on Pho Mile which are more bare bones in terms of décor. As beautiful as the inside was, though, the food was even better! I chose the Hawker Plate – a traditional Vietnamese salty-sweet grilled pork chop served with white rice, a fried egg, a carrot and daikon pickle salad, and a fried pork spring roll. It was absolutely delicious! However, they also have pho (Vietnamese soup), curries, and stir fries if a pork chop plate isn’t up your alley.
As an added bonus, the bill was a pleasant surprise – about £45 for a meal for two including a bottle of wine, a rare treat in pricey London!
Allison | Eternal Arrival
Kayak through London for a unique sightseeing experience
Kayaking in London is a great experience. It’s a good way of exploring the city, get some exercise and be out in fresh air.
London Kayak Company offers kayak tours on the river Thames. The trip starts at Battersea and finishes in Greenwich. You will pass most of London’s famous landmarks including the Parliament, London Eye, St Paul’s Cathedral, HMS Belfast, Tower of London and Tower Bridge. The trip covers 17 km in 3 hours in double kayaks.
It is suitable for beginners, and even though you will go with the tide a decent fitness level is required. There is quite a lot of boat traffic in the city centre and some waves can be expected, however, thanks to the 4 guides, you will feel completely safe during the trip!
If you are looking for something more relaxing, I suggest kayaking on the Regent’s Canal. London Kayak Tours offers trips starting from Primrose Hill Bridge. You will paddle to Camden Lock and then back. It is only a 3 km journey, which is covered in 90 minutes at a very slow pace. This part of the canal is very beautiful and peaceful and if you go in the spring you can even see lots of cute ducklings.
Sightseeing by kayak is such a fun experience that you will never want to do it any other way!
Krix Eniko | Travel Hacker Girl
Explore London’s underground history at Chislehurst Caves
Known affectionately as ‘The Town Under Ground’, Chislehurst Caves is actually a manmade facility that was created by the Druids for mining. They were unused for many years, until bombs started falling on London in World War Two.
Subsequently, Chislehurst Caves became London’s biggest air raid shelter. They housed 15,000 people who were hiding from the bombs, and offered services like a church, a hospital, a school and a citizen’s advice bureau. It was quite literally a community underground.
There was even a baby born in the caves, who was appropriately named ‘Cavena’. They also saw many weddings.
After the war, the caves became a concert venue, seeing the likes of David Bowie, Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd and The Who grace the stage. Despite the big names, this spell was short lived as there were many noise complaints. Since it has ceased to be a music venue, it has become a tourist attraction.
Tours go around the caves every hour, on the hour. They can only be accessed by a tour. The caves are open from 10am – 4pm daily. To reach them, take a train from London Bridge, Waterloo or Charing Cross to Chislehurst station and it’s just a 5 minute walk from there.
The caves are a great non-touristy thing to do in London and make for a perfect day out; whether you’re backpacking London or visiting the capital with family, you’ll find them fascinating.
Claire | Claire’s Footsteps
Take a tour through the amazing street art on Brick Lane
An iconic spot amongst Londoners and lesser known by the general public is Brick Lane. Easily accessible via London underground transport links and only a few minutes walk away from two major stations. Finding its home in the Aldgate area of east London, Brick Lane is a hub for a cultural explosion of food, art and entertainment.
One “off the beaten track” tour provided by Alternative LDN takes you into the heart of these vibrant East End areas and showcases London’s incredible graffiti and street art scene. Hear key insights and stories behind some of London biggest and most iconic murals, as well as the unspoken rivalry between ‘graffiti’ artists and ‘street’ artists.
The tours itself starts off at London’s famous Spitalfields Market, walking distance from three underground stations. Here you can explore the stalls of various vendors before your tour begins, eat Turkish Delight while viewing miniature modern art pieces and really immerse your senses in alternative London.
Consistently voted as one of the top things to do in London, this truly is an unmissable experience. Tickets are readily available on the Alternative LDN website, with time slots spread out throughout the day depending on your availability.
Neel | Flunking Monkey
Take in the art deco design at Eltham Palace
There are so many hidden gems in London that I’d be as bold as to say that it would be impossible to know them all – even for locals like myself. One of the gems I discovered recently was Eltham Palace, a stately art deco home that started its life as a palace in the 11th century and has gone through many transformations.
It’s a 20th century architectural masterpiece, and the piece de resistance is the Entrance Hall, with its bright domed roof. The walls are covered in a veneer of wood decorated with marquetry depicting a Roman and a Viking soldier, and scenes from Italy and Scandinavia. It’s such a fabulous room that it has been featured in numerous films and TV series, including The Crown.
The bedrooms are decorated in the Cunard style, so it does feel like you are in a cruise. Other rooms will take your breath away with their class and boldness of style – one of the bathrooms is designed in the classical style and has an extravagant gold mosaic, and the impossibly elegant dining room, by Italian designer Peter Malacrida, has maple veneer walls and black and silver door with animals and birds from the zoo of the time.
There is also a Great Hall, a remnant of its medieval past, and a recently discovered map room. The last occupants of the house were very keen travellers and you will find evidence of their travels across the house – maps, globes, journals.
It really is a fantastic day out in London!
Teresa | Brogan Abroad
See London from above at the SkyGarden
Some of London’s most beautiful views can be seen from the top of the “Walkie Talkie” building, which is also known as 20 Fenchurch Street. Located at the very top, on the 35th floor, is SkyGarden, the highest public garden in London.
This non-touristy spot is also popular amongst locals because the tickets are insanely difficult to get! Tickets are available a week in advance, for free online; be sure to reserve in advance because they do sell out! You can also walk-in at specific times though availability is not guaranteed. Even with all the trouble it takes to get a ticket, it’s still well worth the visit. The views are amazing!
One of the best things about SkyGarden is that it has its own restaurants and bars. If you’re unable to get a ticket, consider grabbing a drink at Fenchurch Terrace, City Garden Bar, and Sky Pod Bar or indulging in some eats at Darwin Brasserie, or the namesake Fenchurch Restaurant. Reservations can be booked through their website, and keep in mind that a dress code is enforced.
The best time to visit SkyGarden is when the weather is clear, however that may be a bit difficult to plan for since tickets are so difficult to come by. But either way you’ll be in for a treat, you’ll be able to see some of the most famous sites in London from a bird’s eye view, including The Shard, Tower Bridge, and the River Thames.
Constance | The Adventures of Panda Bear
Experience the magic of watching a film with full orchestra at Royal Albert Hall
I hate touristy crap…to a degree. Now, you would have seen me on a Venetian gondola, at the Eiffel Tower, and taking a selfie in front of Stonehenge. But even though these attractions are the main bread and butter for a city and its tourism chunk of the economy, I tend to gravitate to the gems that few learn about and rarely make it in the commercial guidebooks sold for a dime a dozen.
While in London, you can ride the London Eye, take a cruise on the Thames, and check your scare tolerance in the Dungeon. But there’s so much more to this European city than these expensive time-sucking experiences that you can seriously do anywhere. Instead, why not dabble into some unique experiences while in the Big Smoke like one of my favourites of all – a film viewing with a 50-piece orchestra.
Head to Royal Albert Hall in the heart of London. An acoustic dream for musicians, this venue is the perfect spot to catch that favourite flick in a way you would have never seen it before. We headed here in 2016 to see Raiders of the Lost Ark in this setting. And OH. MY. GOSH.
Hearing the soundtrack being played by an orchestra with those acoustics took our breath away. Watching a film in an historic building that brought the likes of Elton John and Pink Floyd to the stage would make anyone leave in amazement.
The tickets are NOT cheap for this experience (we paid 300 quid for 2!) but it is so worth it to see a favourite movie in such a memorable way. Sweeten the experience with a glass of Moet champagne complete with ice bucket at your seats and a souvenir program for the ultimate non-touristy London experience that will definitely have you leaving with everlasting memories.
To get tickets, you will need to order directly from the Royal Albert Hall website. Choose the film you wish to watch, and it will advise you of any seats available.
Janine Good | Fill My Passport
Slip into a speakeasy for a special nightcap
One of the best non-touristy things to do in London is check out a speakeasy. The term speakeasy is used very loosely these days to describe a hidden cocktail bar. Many times, you stand in a line for hours or have difficulty finding the entrance to these bars, to be finally led into a hidden area that looks just like every other bar and served a lackluster cocktail.
Luckily there is one speakeasy in London that is not this at all and it’s called Cahoots. If you do not make a reservation, yes you will need to wait in line. However, they will provide you with a roaring 1920’s menu with all of the drink cocktails listed, so while you wait, you can decide what you are going to drink.
Cahoots only has small tables and does not allow standing at the bar. However, they have been known to allow pretty ladies to stand at the bar if they are maxed out on capacity. The bartenders wear authentic 1920’s attire and put on a full show to make each cocktail, complete with fire and a biscuit dipped in chocolate to eat while you wait for your cocktail to be made.
The music is roaring 20’s with a house music beat and the décor makes you feel like you are partying in a tube station. Definitely a not to miss experience while in London!
Gina | Jet Set and Forget
Stroll along London’s Southbank
When people visit London for the first time they tend to hit the most popular attractions: Westminster Abbey, SoHo, The Tower of London, the theatres in the West End, and many other high notes. Once they get a feel for London, they will undoubtedly head for the less frequented, but equally impressive Southbank.
Southbank is generally accepted to be the area of London across the Thames between the London Eye and Blackfriars Bridge, but a stroll can be extended beyond that all the way to London Bridge, the Borough Market area and beyond.
One way to explore the area is to walk across the Westminster Bridge and start walking east. The entertainment options are mind-boggling; The London Aquarium, Eye and The London Dungeon are the first attractions, all great fun for the whole family.
The area is also considered to be the cultural heart of London with the Southbank Center, National Theatre and BFI (British Film Institute) theatre all within walking distance to each other. Further east still is the Tate Modern, a mecca for lovers of modern art.
For the culture-vultures that still can’t get enough, see a play at Shakespeare’s Globe. This theater is a replica of the one that The Bard saw his own plays in. When you watch the performers from your seat in the open air, you can’t help but realize you are watching the same play in the same place as theater-goers 500 years ago.
All this activity will make you hungry so head to one of my favorite places in Southbank, Doggett’s Coat and Badge in an area that used to be full of brothels in the Middle Ages. Today it is a restaurant with good food and a spectacular view of Blackfriars Bridge.
My other favorite spot is Borough Market, an open-air food market with many stalls selling everything from lobsters to wild game. Foodies beware! This place is addictive.
Talek Nantes | Travels With Talek
Go on a foodie adventure through Chinatown
While many tourists love to walk through the colorful streets of Chinatown, one of the most instagrammable spots in London, not all know that this ethnic enclave, bordering Soho to its North and West, is also an unmissable foodie spot.
Londoners themselves love to go to Chinatown to grab a quick bite. Not only the food can be very cheap, but there’s a plethora of options that you won’t be able to find anywhere else in London. Chinatown in London is in fact an Asian food paradise! The perfect place to go for an uncommon self-guided foodie tour.
This colorful part of London is divided into different areas. For a more modern take on Chinese food, in the form of grilled meat and dumplings, try Manchurian Legends.
Feel like eating dim sum? Gerrard Street is full of restaurants and little shops selling dim sum and duck. One of the best places to go to is Dumplings’ Legend: they make over 8000 dumpling a day and have something like 47 flavours!
As you walk around, letting your nose guide you, there’s a good chance that you’ll be lucky enough to find imported snacks and nibbles like Taiwanese jackfruit chips, bamboo charcoal peanuts, and Hello Panda biscuits (they’re so good!) so always keep your eyes open!
And in case you feel like shopping for ingredients that you wouldn’t find back at home, check out SeeWoo, founded in 1975. They are well known for importing the weird and wonderful foods and produce from Asia, including exotic fruit, sauces, snacks and snacks.
Danila Caputo | Travelling Dany
Relax under the trees in Hampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath is a hidden nature gem in London’s north, accessible most easily by the Overground or Northern Tube lines. Unlike London’s other parks, Hampstead Heath truly gives you a feeling that you’ve left the city completely and are immersed within nature.
Full of hiking trails, ponds, thick forests, and hilltop viewpoints, you could easily get lost in Hampstead Heath for hours. The only way you’d know you were back in London is if you reached a hilltop like Parliament Hill to get a stunning view of London’s skyline!
This is probably the only place in London you could catch deer grazing in an expansive field or truly get lost among the trees without stumbling back onto one of London’s busy streets within a few moments.
There’s actually a cafe inside the park you can visit as a little break, called The Brew House, which is part of a beautiful Manor called the Kenwood House. Both are great to check out, as well as the nearby Kenwood open air theatre, The Luna Cinema.
Once you have spent enough time among the plants and animals, check out the adorable little town of Hampstead (also a stop on the Northern Line) to find some classic British pubs and cafes. It’s a perfect day’s outing!
Kimmie Conner | Adventures & Sunsets
Take a walk through Brixton Market
Brixton Market is a great non-touristy place to visit in London. It’s very popular with Londoners, but it’s well off the beaten path as far as tourists are concerned. The market is spread around a few streets and arcades in the south London suburb of Brixton, which has been home to a large Afro-Caribbean population for the last sixty years and more. It is the best place in the UK to shop for or sample Caribbean food.
Brixton is the last stop on the Victoria Tube line, and the Market is within a minute’s walk. Electric Avenue is the first street to the left of the Tube station, and was made famous by an Eddy Grant song of the same name in the 1980s. It got its name as it was the first street in the UK to have electric lighting. It’s also the core of the original Brixton Market, with lots of food shops, stalls and arcades with more stalls and cafes.
Electric Avenue runs into Atlantic Road, where more shops are huddled in the arches underneath the railway. The entrance to Brixton Village, with its arcades full of cafes and restaurants, is also here. The Market has expanded further with the opening of Pop Brixton, a collection of pop-up bars and restaurants in shipping containers that has been going strong for over three years.
Brixton Market is also one of the best places in the UK, if not the world, to shop for reggae records, with Pure Vinyl, Container Records and Lion Vibes all excellent.
David Angel | Delve Into Europe
Get away from the crowds at a hidden Blues club
Not far from the bustle of Oxford Street’s shops on Kingly Street in Soho, you’ll find somewhere distinctly different for your listening pleasure. London’s original Blues bar, the wonderfully named Ain’t Nothin But, provides the best Blues this side of the Atlantic. Served up in two free (yes, free) sets most nights, you’ll find reliably good live music delivered to an appreciative crowd every evening.
A short walk from Oxford Circus tube, head behind London’s favorite store, Liberty to find Aint Nothin But on a buzzing street full of dining and drinking options. You can’t make a reservation, so the best time to arrive is ready for the 6:30pm set. Grab a seat at the back, get chatting to your neighbours in this very sociable bar, and settle in for the evening.
Ain’t Nothin But is understandably popular, so if you arrive late, don’t be surprised to find it difficult to get a seat, or even a spot to stand. There’s a celebratory feel here, with groups and couples making this a destination bar.
Charges apply after 8:30pm on Friday and Saturday nights. Head over on a week night or a mellow Sunday to enjoy reliably good live music, great company and a genuinely warm welcome.
You can find Ain’t Nothin But at 20 Kingly Street, Soho W1B 5PZ.
Bernie Jackson | A Packed Life
Take a break from the city for some kitty snuggles
If you are a cat lover visiting London, you should definitely take a trip to Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium.
It was the first Cat Café to open in the UK back in March 2014, and is named after Alice in Wonderland’s small red cat before she climbed down the rabbit hole! Quirky right? Just like this cat café, don’t you just love it?
Cats are very therapeutic to be around, and are very independent. If you are a cat owner, you know when they don’t want to be stroked, and when they don’t wish to be around people they will walk away. In a cat café it’s not acceptable to chase after them – all good cat cafés will have house rules displayed, and ensure they are enforced.
At Lady Dinah’s you can order a coffee which is delivered with a delightful paw print etched into the froth – so cute. Whilst sipping on your latte, or nibbling on a sandwhich, cats will be all around you doing what cats do best – either sleeping, or sitting up high looking down on you. You may even see café favorite Wookie lording it up in his chaise lounge by the window.
In total 13 cats live here, all donated by people leaving the Country. White cats, black cats, big fluffy grey cats…if you love cats, you will be in your element here!
You can find Lady Dinah’s at 152-154 Bethnal Green Road in London. The nearest Overground station is Shoreditch High Street, and the nearest Underground Tube stop is Liverpool Street or Bethnal Green station on the Central line (Red).
Angie | Feet Do Travel
Head to Shepherd’s Bush Market
London is famous for certain markets – Borough Market being the most well known – but there are numerous other smaller, arguably more authentic neighbourhood markets in London that are not only worth visiting because they’ll give you a real sense of local London, but also because they have lots of great stalls to find some bargains or yummy street food. Shepherd’s Bush Market in West London is one of these markets.
This daily market is where locals in Shepherd’s Bush and the surrounding area go to buy fresh fruit and vegetables, meat or fish and other produce, but you can also find a wide array of other goods and services. Snaking along one side of the Hammersmith & City Underground line between Goldhawk Road and Shepherd’s Bush Market stations (you can access the market from both stops) there are shops in the railway arches and stalls set up outside.
When I lived in Shepherd’s Bush I used to wander down the market and often thought you could find anything or everything you needed there from a watchmaker, florists, and a pet shop, to stalls selling luggage clothes, beauty products, and kitchenware.
Some of the market traders there are family business that have been fixtures of Shepherd’s Bush Market for several generations, though over the 104 years the market has been running it has become much more multi-cultural, reflecting the local community. This is also good for visitors to find an excellent range of street food on Shepherd’s Bush market including Caribbean food, Nepalese dishes and what is considered the best falafel in London at the unassuming but very popular Mr Falafel store.
Frankie Thompson | As The Bird Flies
When you visit the city next, be sure to add these 19 quirky things to do in London and explore the lesser known side of England’s bustling capital!
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I was in UK for 40 days and didnt do any one of these. I need to go back haha
Yes you do! So many fun things to explore over there 🙂
These are great! Definitely saving this for my next trip to London. I tried to go to Ain’t Nothin’ But and wasn’t able to get in because I was a dunce and didn’t think to make reservations…!
Ah shoot! Those speakeasies can be tricky 😉