Psst! We want you to tell us a secret! What’s your favourite offbeat place in London?
London might be famous for world-renowned attractions like the Tower of London and Big Ben, but sometimes it’s the city’s hidden treasures that make a trip to the capital special.
Yes, Hyde Park is lovely, but what about the secluded Chelsea Physic Garden? And we know there are stacks of plays and musicals in London, but have you thought about seeing the hidden magic behind the shows at a backstage tour of the National Theatre or the Royal Opera House?
Enter our Only in London competition, and you could win an amazing prize for you and a friend:
- two nights in a luxury boutique hotel
- two London Passes giving you free entry to 55 top attractions
- a martini-making masterclass; two tickets to a Royal Academy show and much more.
So you’ll have the chance to explore all your favourite offbeat places in London for free!
Let us know your favourite offbeat places in London in the comments below.
I love the De Morgan Centre. The last time I went there was an exhibition of amazing lace as well as the lovely Pre-Raphaelite permanent collection.
Although it’s not exactly out of the way, I quite like the Reef Bar at Waterloo Station. It’s cool be able to watch the Waterloo world go by while downing a refreshing pint!
By far my favourite alternative place in London is sitting on the bench on Sawyer’s Hill in Richmond Park looking at London’s skyline all the way across from the Wembley Arch, right over to Canary Wharf! Amazing – especially at night.
Wow – what a picture! Thanks for sharing that!! :)
Wilton’s Music Hall (http://www.visitlondon.com/attractions/detail/282795) is a quirky little theatre near Tower Bridge. I went there to see Fiona Shaw read the Wasteland and would never have known there was a theatre there otherwise!
Shunt (http://www.visitlondon.com/attractions/detail/3889727) under the arches of London Bridge station is also a great, random place to take people visiting London – as long as they’re not scared of the dark!
My favourite offbeat bit of London is actually a walk. More to the point, it’s a walk that won’t exist again until the Waterloo Bridge works have been finished, and until the campaign to reinstate the underpass poem has raised sufficient funds. It’s without doubt, the most magical walk in London: start off at dusk.
You start off from Waterloo station and head into the underpass leading to the Imax where you read Sue Hubbard’s beautiful poem Euridyce, the best welcome to London imaginable. Curve round the Imax and into the my favourite place in the world, the swimming pool walk, all twinkling lights and peace: it’s magical.
Take the stairs up onto Waterloo Bridge and hit the most romantic views in London at sunset – bracing wind, lights and hope. At the end of the bridge, head into the CellarDoor, best bar in London without a doubt. Of course, knowing your way around, you will have ensured you booked a table and thus be able to enjoy your happy hour (4pm-8pm) cocktails in peace. Sensible.
The view of London from the top of one tree hill in Greenwich Park, overlooking the Naval College, Queen’s House, Canary Wharf, St Paul’s and beyond, cannot be beaten – unless it’s by the view from the top of Point Hill, west of the Blackheath Gate. Both are more revealing than the view from the General Wolfe statue, the “official” viewpoint, and both trump the view from the top of Primrose Hill. Sublime.
i don’t know if it’s my favourite, but abney park cemetery in stoke newington is a great spot. beautiful, rugged, peaceful. take a sandwich and a book.
my favourite place is in Swaines LAne Highgate
it is called Holly Village
London Holly Village was built in 1865 by a remarkable, but now little- known philanthropist, Baroness Burdett-Coutts, who inherited the Coutts banking fortune from her grandfather’s second wife, but who never forgot her own humble origins. In her time, Angela Burdett- Coutts was known as the “queen of the poor”, building schools at her own expense – such as the Burdett-Coutts primary school in Westminster. She was also a great friend of Charles Dickens, with whom she collaborated on establishing a home for fallen women in Shepherd’s Bush.
It is very quaint and reminds you of ages past
Thank you
I am leaving for london next week and will surely visit this erea
The old Operating Museum near Southwark Cathedral at Guy’s Hospital. Creepy good fun!