Pretending to be a local in London

[NewZealandintherain]

Where should we go? It’s just my husband and I.

We like walking/people watching/little boutiques/vintage/nice pubs and history. What is Highgate like? I fancy visiting the cemetery. Also East London? I liked Shoreditch/Brick Lane when I last went.

Any tips would be great! Thanks 🤩

Highgate is a fab idea. It does feel very self-contained, has lovely old houses and plenty of quirky history - the Highgate Society’s website highgatesociety.com/people/walks/

Piccadilly and St James, Jermyn St area.
Shepherd Market, off Bond Street fashionable restaurants. The Grapes is an OK place.

Highgate and Hampstead. Do a tour of the west side of the cemetery, explore the east side yourself, then walk up Swain’s Lane to Highgate village, stop for coffee,food or a drink, and walk down through the Heath to Kenwood House to see the Rembrandt, then walk down through the Heath proper to Hampstead where there’s lots to see and do, including the Keats and Freud House museums, lots of odd little streets to potter on, famous graves to find.

The 214 bus will take you up to Highgate village from Old Street.

Highgate Cemetery is brilliant - both sides are well worth a couple of hours on a dry day.

Bloomsbury - second hand book shops, the wonderful Gay's the Word shop (if you've seen the film, 'Pride' you'll know it from that), nice places for coffee, easy walk from Euston.

Walk down the canal from Angel to London Fields stop in at any of the 3 bookshops on Broadway Market (Artwords is very cool), walk through the park and have lunch or dinner at Sune.

So many great ideas, thank you!!! Where would you base yourself hotel wise for Highgate/Hampstead? Thanks ☺️

Do Greenwich, Greenwich Park, Queens House, the Old Royal Naval College, Cutty Sark and the Maritime Museum. Lots of history, cafes, quirky shops.

I love Highgate, I lived nearby for many years. If I were exploring Highgate I’d look for a hotel in Angel. It’s very vibrant, great transport links, good shopping, close to the city Highbury Fields, Canonbury and Stoke Newington.

Thanks! I’m looking at the Zetter in Clerkenwell. Is that a good spot? thezetter.com

Highgate and Hampstead will be a lovely holiday. I live in London and love visiting posh parts of London. Marylebone is a nice central part of London to visit.

If you stay in Clerkenwell and haven’t seen it before, go and have a mooch around the Barbican if you’re at all interested in architecture. There are a couple of interesting churches around there too. You can book tours of the Barbican - really interesting.

The area around Rochelle Canteen in Shoreditch is lovely in the summer. There are also some gorgeous little green oases in the City, eg Postman’s Park etc. A walk around St Mary le Bow on a Saturday with all the bells ringing is special. A walk along Regents Canal, from nr Paddington to Camden Lock is great if not raining.

Clerkenwell has an absolutely fascinating history — even look up the Wiki entry to start. Great place for a wander. Great food, too. St John, Moro, Modern Pantry, the Eagle.. Shopping on Exmouth Market. Street food markets there and Leather Lane. Zetter Townhouse used to have a good cocktail bar? Lots of good pubs. Postal Museum, Dickens Museum.se3 what’s on at Sadler’s Wells?

The area around Marylebone High Street is lovely for pottering around shops. So is Holland Park and Kensington.

Hampstead and Highgate are gorgeous, and Clerkenwell is a pretty area but has no tube. Worth considering if you want to get around.

Postman’s Park

Clerkenwell is a great spot to stay. Very short walk to Angel which ticks a lot of your boxes, access to Regents canal as PP mentioned, 214 bus to Highgate from City Road. You can also easily walk to Bloomsbury which is a nice area (not just British museum!). And Barbican etc.
I think that's a great choice!
I recommend Duke of Cambridge in Angel, organic food and drinks- delicious!

F

Soho! You are travelling from one side of the planet to the other, you must stay in the magical land of Soho. Its an 18th century town accidentally preserved by fate. Much of Sohos colourful past remains because it was too poor and too nasty to be developed and the presence of organised crime was helpful in this regard! Most of the crime and grime has gone leaving the beautiful buildings and a vibrant food and shopping heritage. And if you like swimming there is a marble swimming pool in Marshall Street, that's correct a swimming pool lined with marble. Beat that Highgate.
Clerkenwell is alright but it's not Soho.

There’s bound to be an Airbnb in Highgate or hampsred

I lived in Greenwich years ago & loved it.

Do any area and do a Treasure Trail walking map/mystery tour (self guided and costs about £10 total) I do them most new places I visit and it’s always a way to see interesting out of the way places. When you are looking for things you start to notice things… it looks like they are aimed at kids but all the adults I have recommended them to love them too! If you google online you can find the site and they have lots all over London and the UK…

Soho is great but it's full of tourists/ day trippers. Not so good for living like a local. Greenwich also lovely but chock full of tourists.

Chelsea would be an alternative, ditto Marylebone / Bloomsbury, but I think Highgate is the winner. Bear in mind that the iconic view from Hampstead Heath which you've seen on a million movies and TV shows nowadays requires getting through a scrum of Instagrammers, but otherwise it's all lovely.

The Horniman museum, Herne hill, Dulwich, brockley park and round there. Lovely, chilled, few tourists, green, a world away from the west end.

It’s okay. It’s a bit of a no man’s land between Angel and the west end really. Quite residential but not one of Londons most interesting neighbourhoods …