What to do during the day¶

Maps used for this section¶

Off the beaten track lists¶

Things to visit¶

Central London¶

Inner city¶

Inner city: Saint Sepulchre: The execution bell would ring welve times outside a prisoner’s cell at midnight on the eve of the prisoner’s execution. ()
Inner city: Freemasons' Hall with museum. ()
Inner city: Saint Martin in the Fields on Trafalgar Square. ()
Inner City: Sky Garden, highest public garden in London. No entrance fee, but tickets are very limited and advanced booking is almost certainly needed. ()
Inner City: The Royal Exchange, the stock market until the 10=930's but now a shopping centre with a nice architecture. ()
Inner City: The ruins of St. Dunstan-in-the-East ()
Inner City: Leadenhall Market, one of the oldest market places in London, dating back to the 14th century. Now a covered market. ()
Inner City: The Barbican Conservatory ()
Inner City: Neal's Yard, a small street near Covent Garden ()
Inner City: Seven Dials Market Market in Earlham Street, one of the seven streets at Seven Dials. ()
Inner City: Kingly Court foodcourt on Carnaby Street near SOHO. ()
Inner City: The Seven Hidden Noses of SoHo: Fun to discover when walking around SoHo, and there are more body parts on walls around London, like hidden ears on Floral Street near Leicester Square.
Inner City: Dennis Severs' House Inside the house, Severs has created the atmosphere left behind by an imaginary 18th-century family. Very expensive for what it is and limitedoening tis. ()
Inner City: St Katharine Docks. Rather for the rich, but with some nice shops and bars. ()
Inner City: Remainders of the London Wall This could be an interesting walk around part of the inner city.
Inner City: Temple Church ()
Inner City: Saint Andrew Undershaft Church. One of the few complete medieval churches in London. ()

The big things:

Inner City: Tower of London with among other things the crown jewels. Extremely expensive at 33.60 GBP. ()

Southwark¶

Southwark, on the banks of the Thames: Queen Elizabeth Hall rooftop garden. One site claimed that it is one of the less popular rooftops with tourists despite the location. ()
Southwark: Stephen Wright's House of Dreams: a house full of dolls collected by Stepeh Wright over a period of 30 years. Not very practical to visit though as it is open only once a month and should be booked in advance. ()
Southwark: Borough Market. Closed on Mondays apart from the summer bank holiday, other days mostly 10am -5pm (Saturday from 9am, Sunday till 4pm). Nice to combine with the Bermondsey Beer Mile. ()
Southwark: Vinegar Yard Foodcourt ()
Southwark: Maltby Street Market Nice food street market at the Bermondsey Beer Mile, but really only open on Friday Evening, Saturday, and Sunday during the day. ()
Southwark: Southwark Cathedral An anglican cathedral. ()
Southwark: Crossbones Graveyar and Garden of Remembrance. Medieval graveyard, but rarely open. ()

Lambeth¶

Web pages
- 60 things to do in the London Borough of Lambeth
Borough of Lambeth: Leake Street Tunnel, a tunnel at Waterloo Station, for its grafitti. ()

City of Westminster¶

City of Westminster: The central staircase at Tate Britain ()
City of Westminster: Jewel Tower English heritage site, 6.50 GBP ()
City of Westminster: Little Venice. Ideal end point for a walk along the Re's Canal. ()
City of Westminster: Abbey Road Studios, but it is not possible to visit except during very select weekends. ()
City of Westminster: Brown Hart Gardens, to visit when shopping in Oxford Street and Bond Street. ()
City of Westminster: Mercato Mayfair: A market in a former church, met vooral eetkramen. ()
City of Westminster: Westminster Cathedral: Catholic cathedral, mother church of catholics in England and Wales and the seat of th Archbishop of Westminster. Free to visit. ()
City of Westminster: Apsley house: English Heritage site near Wellington Arch. Art museum, 12.50 GPB admission. ()

The big things:

City of Westminster: Westminster Abbey Advanced booking required and very expensive at 27 GBP. ()
City of Westminster: Buckingham Palace ()

Camden¶

Camden Town itself is also worth a visit with a nice street market and rock and punk bars.

Borough of Camden: Primrose Hill, a residential neighbourhood with pastel Victorian houses. ()
Borough of Camden: Feng Shang Princess, an interesting Chinese restaurant near Primrose Hill. ()
Borough of Camden: Highgate Men's Bathing Pond in Hampstead Heath is not gay but is said to have a very homoerotic atmosphere (according to GayCities). Nude sunbathing seems to be allowed. ()
Borough of Camden: Kenwood House and Garden. English Heritage site, free to visit, but pre-booking recommended. In Hampstead Heath. ()
Borough of Camden: Highgate Cemetery. And the area North of the cemetary is also worth a visit. ()

Not so small:

Borough of Camden: Camden Market, several blocks near the Regent's Canal and Camden town underground statio. ()

Islington¶

Borough of Islington: Camden Passage. Just a nice area to walk through. ()

Kensington and Chelsea¶

Chelsea is all about narrow cute streets, beautiful white houses and nice restaurants almost on every corner.

Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: Chelsea Physic Garden: A garden where medicinal plants grow. There is enough to do for a few hou. ()
Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: The Churchill Arms pub: Truly Britisch eccentricity, a pub covered with flowers. Between Kensington Gardens and Holland Park. ()
Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: Kyoto Garden in Holland Park. ()
Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: V&A Cafe in the Victoria and Albert Museum near Imperial College. ()
Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: Notting Hill Nice picture place with the well known Portobello Road Market. ()
Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: Portobello Road Market A road marekt next to Notting Hill. All days except Sundays. ()

East London¶

Hackney¶

Boroughs of Hackney and Tower Hamlets: Shoreditch district with street art and lots of eating options. ()

Tower Hamlets¶

Tower Hamlets northern edge: Columbia Road Flower Market: Flower market on Sunday, surrounded by other hip stores. ()
Tower Hamlets west: Brick Lane neighbourhood. A Bangladeshi neighbourhood with trendy bars and art scene. The Ten Bells Pub in the area is known from the Jack The Ripper history as it is the pub where his last victim was last seen. ()
Tower Hamlets West: Spitalfields Market: Market, street food and restaurants. ()
Tower Hamlets: Whitechapel Bell Fundry (site looks to have disappeared, does this still exist?) ()
Tower Hamlets South East: Canary Warf and the Isle of Dogs ()
- A bit pricey, but there is the Bokan 37 restaurant, Bokan 38 bar and Bokan 39 Rooftop Terrace to eat or drink with a view. Reservation recommended. ()

Waltham Forest¶

Borough of Waltham: God's Own Junkyard, a funky art store. Phtography only allowed with smartphone. But there are other things on the site that are also worth a visit. ()

Newham¶

Newham, next to City Airport: Thames Barrier Park ()

Greenwich¶

Greenwich: The Painted Hall in the [Old Royal Naval College]https://ornc.org/) ()
Greenwich, towards Woolwich: Thames Barrier ()
Borough of Greenwich: Greenwich Market, next to the Old Royal Naval College. ()
Borough of Greenwich: The O2 Arena. Climbing the roof is possible but costs 35 GBP at least. ()
[Borough of Greenwich: Eltham Palace and Gardens. English Heritage site and fairly expensive to visit at 16 GBP. ()

Lewisham¶

Borough of Lewisham:Horniman Museum and Gardens. Most of it is free to visit. Animals, musical instruments. ()

Redbridge¶

The major attraction in Redbridge is Epping Forest.

One other park that might be interesting:

Fairlop Waters Country Park ()

Barking and Dagenham¶

Barking Park: On the border with Redbridge. ()

Havering¶

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Bexley¶

Borough of Bexley: Crossness pumping station ()

South London¶

Wandsworth¶

Borough of Wandsworth: Battersea Power Station, formerly a power station but now a shopping centre. ()
Borough of Wandsworth: Battersea Park ()
Borough of Wandsworth: Albert Bridge linking to Chelsea. ()

Bromley (South East Outer London)¶

Borough of Bromley: Chislehurst Caves. Dub out already in the Roman times and used by druids and saxons. ()
Borough of Bromley: Crystal Palace Dinosaur Park. ()

Croydon¶

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Sutton¶

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Merton¶

Borough of Merton: Buddhapadipa Temple, a Budhist temple near Wimbledon. Access should be free, but the main temple is only open on weekends (grounds all around the week). ()

Kingston-upon-Thames¶

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West London¶

Hammersmith and Fulham¶

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Richmond-upon-Thames¶

Richmond is in Zone 4 for public transportation. 15 minutes by train from Waterloo station, or 45 minutes by tube via the District Line (but not all trains on that line go to Richmond so be careful)

Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames: The centre of Richmond is itself well worth a visit according to some site, with nice pubs and restaurants. ()
- One suggestion is Petersham Nurseries which is also restaurant and teahouse. ()
Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames: Kew Gardens: Botanical gardenm open every day. However there is an entrance fee. ()
- With The Palm House (),
Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames: Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park and easy to combine with a longer wlk there. Very nice in the spring with the blooming azaleas. ()

Hounslow¶

Borough of Hounslow: Syon Gardens and Conservatory Entrance 9 GBP - 14 GBP depending on what you visit. ()
Borough of Hounslow: Chiswick House and Gardens: 18th centrury architecture and garden. ()

Ealing¶

Borough of Ealing: The Aeronaut (pub/circus)
()
- VR at The Aeronaut - this was a onetime something?

Brent¶

Neasden Temple Hindu temple, free to visit. ()
Wembley Stadium A guided visit is possible, but needs to be reserved enough in advance and is rather expensive at 24 GBP. ()
Welsh Harp Open Space ()

Hillingdon¶

Ruislip Woods nature reserve Self-guided walks available on the web site, including GPS coordinates, but it is a bit far outside of London. The only walk worth doing is the yellow one which is 9.5km (and that is not even circula) ()
Colne Valley Regional Park: Even more outside London. ()
RAF Uxbridge Battle of Britain Bunker ()

Harrow¶

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North London¶

Haringey¶

Crouch End is just an interesting neighbourhood to walk through. It also has the Crouch End Clock Tower. ()
Alexandra Palace ()
Bruce Castle and park. The "castle" houses a museum about the history of Haringey. ()

Barnet¶

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Enfield¶

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Museums¶

Inner City: The Postal Museum in Clerkenwell, showing a whole hidden world under London, including a ride on the Mail Rail. ()
Inner City: Sir John Soane's Museum, A free museum with architecture as its theme, started by an architect. Recommended by someone who lived in London. ()
Inner City: Welcome collection, A free museum exploring health and human experience. Recommended by someone who lived in London. ()
Inner City: The British Museum. Free but a donation is appreciated, and you need to book a time slot in advance. ()
Inner City: The National Gallery Art museum. Free to visit, but booking recommended. At Trafalgar Square. ()
Inner City: London Transport Museum The name says it all, but not clear what it costs as the web site pushes towards anual passes or card that combine with other sites. Simply too expensive for what it likely is with an anual pass. ()
Borough of Southwark: Tate Modern. Free admission. ()
Southwark: Old Operating Theatre Admission 7.50 GBP. ()
Borough of Lambeth: Garden Museum Probably a bit expensive at 14 GBP for what it is. ()
City of Westminster: Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms. Rather expensive at 27.25 GBP ()
Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: In the Science Museum: The Winton Gallery at the Science Museum (Mathematics)
()
Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: Natural History Museum: Free admission, but booking recommended.
()
Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: Victoria and Albert Museum: Art and design museum. Free to visit. ()
Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: Design Museum: Some exhibits are free to visit with no pre-booking required, others are paying with pre-booking recommended.. ()
Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: Leighton House Museum: Victorian style house of lord Frederic Leighton. 11 GBP admission. ()
Borough of Hackney: Geffrey Museum of the Home. Free entry, donation appreciated. ()
Tower Hamlets: Jack The Ripper museum. Open every day from 9:30 till 18:00. ()
Greenwich: National Maritime Museum The Maritime Museum and the Qeeun's House are free to viit. Greenwich also has the Cutty Sark and Royal observatory but they are each 18 GBP. ()
Borough of Barnet: Royal Air Force Museum London Free to visit, but advance booking may be useful. ()

Outside London¶

National Museum of Computing in Bletchley Park, Milton-Keynes. Open only on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Easy to reach by train from Euston Station.

Shopping¶

Gay shoping¶

LGBT bookstore Gay's The Word, 66 Marchmont Street, close to Saint Pancras
CloneZone SOHO and Earls Court
- SOHO store
- Earls Court store
Prowler Soho and Prowler RED
- SOHO store
- ProwlerRED (close to CloneZone SOHO)
FETCH in Clapham
Fetish Daddy: Not clear is this is actually a shop or just their workplace.
Fetish Freak Closed on Tuesdays.
Regulation SOHO
London Alternative Market: Kink and fetish market every first Sunday of the month, with workshops and an "After Market party" FetLife

Note:

Wearwolf Suede and Leather: Shoreditch, leather clothing, also made to measure, higher price class.
Guilded Fetish, een kleine fabrikant in London. Geen eigen winkel, maar wel bij FETCH en Gear.

Regular shopping¶

Seven Dials area, close to Covent Garden. The seven side streets are also pretty much like a market. ()

Dining¶

Exmouth Market is close to LSE Roseber Hall ()
Borough Market ()
The Kitchens at Old Spitalfields Market ()
Greenwich Market ()
Maltby Street Market: Only Friday and weekends ()
Boxpark Shoreditch ()
Brixton Village and Market Row Markets ()
Pop Brixton: Market housed in containers. ()
Broadway Market, East London ()
Flat Iron Square ()
Mercato Mayfair: In a church. ()
Mercato Metropolitano ()
Tooting Market ()
Camden Market ()
Brick Lane is good for Indian food. ()

Pubs with good food¶

King William IV Pub & Rooms: Hampstead. Gay bar with good food. ()
The Mayflower Pub: Very high score on Google maps, found in a video on fish & chips. ()
Richard The First: Pub with a history in Greenwich. ()
The Windmill Mayfair Pub: Looks like a good place to eat pies. ()

Fish and chips¶

Poppies with locations in Spitalfields, SOHO and Camden
The Golden Chippy: Not too far from The Lord Clyde and also almost in Greenwich. ()

Close to MA1: The Bunker¶

Cafe Mandalay: Burmese restaruant but only open at noon. Interesting to combine with an afternoon at MA1: The Bunker. ()
Bombay Corner: An Indian restaurant close to MA1: The Bunker with a good score on Google Maps. ()
The Eagle Hoxton (Pub): Looks to have some decent pub food, and good scores on Google M. ()

Close to Rosebery Hall¶

Pho Ga: Vietnamese café on Exmnouth Market.Only an evening option Monday - Thursday, noon all days except Sunday. ()
Shawarma Bar: Middle-Eastern on Exmourth Market, with a very good Google Maps score. ()
Attica: Greek restaurant with very good score on Google Maps, but couldn't vind a menu. ()
Black Bear Burger: Multiple locations, a nearby one in the Exmouth Market building. Been in the Exmouth Market location and the burger was ok. ()
Pizza Pilgrims: Chain restaurant with a lot of locations in London. But the one in Exmouth Market does get a nice score on Google Maps. ()
Craft House London: Another Pizzeria at the end of Exmouth Market with good Google Maps score. Combines craft beer and pizza. ()
Bento Bab: Korean place with good reviews. ()
Sen Viet: Vietnamese restaurant a bit towards St Pancras. ()

Other interesting to try¶

Mamasons Fillipino deserts. Try the Bilog. Locations in Chinatown, Kentish Town (close to Camden) and Westfield.
Le Bab. A good kebab. Multiple places but the one which may be interesting as it is relatively close to the hotel is in the Old Spitalfields Market. There was one at the Old Street tube station close to The Bunker but that one seems temporarily closed.
The Mac Factory at Camden Lock Market supposedly has a good Mac-and-Cheese. ()
The Libertine: A restaurant in the vaults underneath the Royal Exchange. Beef is expensive, but some other dishes are OK for a fine dining evening. ()
Barge East: Street food style served in a more regular restaurant setting. At the Plympic park. ()
Honest Burgers has many locations in London and a good reputation. An interesting one is Honest Burgers Old Street as it is relatively close to the hotel and MA1: The Bunker
Burger and Beyond is also a well rated group of burger restaurants. Locations include Camden Lock, SOHO, Shoredcitch and Borough Yards (least rated on Google Maps).