London’s 8 best hidden attractions: Art, history, street food, drink and more
Have you visited all of them?
Each year London attracts more than 30 million visitors. Most of those tourists, however, will tend to gravitate towards this world city’s many iconic landmarks.
That’s perfectly understandable. How many other cities in the world can boast the UK capital’s combination of grand history, sprawling green spaces, and modern architecture? And that’s not to mention its peerless art and culture scene.
But there’s much more to London than the usual roster of perfectly preserved palaces, monuments and parks. As the more discerning of its 9.1 million permanent residents will tell you, it’s a city of hidden gems and secret delights.
Here, then, is a run down of some of the less well travelled attractions, from quirky art experiences to street food paradises and less-well-known stately homes.
The very fact that they’re all housed within the tight confines of London means that they’re not exactly what you’d call off the beaten track, while some of them are pretty popular in their own right.
All, however, are joined by the fact that they’re not typically considered among the first ports of call for your average tourist.
1. God’s Own Junkyard in Walthamstow
London is packed full of world class galleries, but its artistic spirit simply can’t be contained within a bunch of ornate buildings and prestigious colleges. God’s Own Junkyard exemplifies this. It’s a warehouse situated on the otherwise unpromising Ravenswood Industrial Estate in humble Walthamstow, and it’s filled to the brim with neon signs and movie props. Founded by the late artist and prop maker Chris Bracey, visiting it is like stumbling into a hallucinogenic dream of a fun fair – albeit with free entry and an on-site cafe and bar to help sooth your frazzled synapses.
2. Dennis Severs’ House in Spitalfields
American artist Dennis Severs bought this Grade II listed Georgian pad in the 1970s, before restoring it and employing it to tell the story of successive generations of a fictional Huguenot family. Each of its 10 rooms depicts a particular era, spanning the 18th to the 20th centuries. Don’t expect carefully framed artefacts and stuffy descriptions here, but rather a fully immersive experience that gives you a strong impression of how real people would have lived in the British capital. It’s a genuine assault on the senses, in the best possible way.
3. Barbican Conservatory in the City of London
There’s every chance you’ve heard of London’s Barbican before. It’s a one-of-a-kind arts venue, concert hall, cinema and residential housing estate set within a remarkable brutalist complex. Not everyone who visits this iconic venue, however, realises that it also houses a 23,000-square-foot glass house filled with some 1,500 species of plants and trees, not to mention various species of fish. It’s the second largest conservatory of its kind in the capital, and entry is completely free, though you do need to book in advance.
4. Ham House in Richmond
Right on the edge of leafy Richmond, not far from the famous Richmond Park, sits Ham House. No, it’s not one of those hot new belly-busting sandwich shops that seem to be taking over the capital right now. Rather, it’s a beautifully preserved and lavishly appointed 17th-century country house located right on the south bank of the River Thames, packed full of authentic period detail and surrounded by pristine gardens. What with it being managed by the National Trust, you can expect a good tea room too.
5. Maltby Street Market in Bermondsey
Food-obsessives from around the globe flock to London to eat at the city’s many world class restaurants, not to mention its various food halls and historical markets. It’s all too easy to overlook Maltby Street Market in all the rush. Housed along an extended section of railway track, both within and alongside the arches (the temporary stalls are only there at the weekend), it plays host to wide range of world cuisine. The wider stretch is the permanent home to several of London’s craft beer taprooms (including the iconic Kernel Brewery), making it a great location for a tipple or two.
6. Dulwich Picture Gallery in Dulwich Village
Well away from the broadly central location of London’s biggest and most famous art galleries, Dulwich Picture Gallery sits in the quaintly but appropriately named Dulwich Village – a surprisingly quiet and verdant portion of South East London that feels like it should be located the other side of the M25 motorway. The 200-year-old gallery itself holds the considerable claim of being the world's first purpose-built public art gallery, and it has managed to keep up the good work by maintaining an impressive collection of 17th and 18th century paintings from various artists both great and small.
7. Leake Street Arches in Lambeth
One of London’s most exciting art exhibits is hidden away beneath one of its busiest transit hubs. Some of the informal names that have been given to the eight former railway arches underneath Waterloo station hint at their unique appeal. Some call it The Graffiti Tunnel, while to others it’s the Banksy Tunnel in honour of the Bristol artist that opened it in 2008. In practice, it’s a 300-meter-long stretch of tunnel featuring an unbroken collection of legal graffiti. It also plays host to a vibrant art and events space, as well as several independent restaurants and bars.
8. St-Dunstan-in-the-East in the City of London
We’ve featured this little gem of a place before as one of the most romantic places in London, but it’s also perhaps one of the most incongruous. How does a faintly magical bombed out church-turned-public garden exist in such close proximity to the cold, steely financial district? And more to the point, how do more people not know about it? This 12th century church has survived the Great Fire of London and the World War Two blitz – more or less – and is now a leafy oasis in the heart of the city.
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