Hidden locations in London

This public garden occupies the ruins of a 17th-century church and contains plants and benches. The remains of the church were converted into an urban garden after World War II, providing visitors with a retreat in the City of London.

This collection of illuminated signage spans several decades and includes thousands of neon signs housed in a former warehouse in Walthamstow. The display documents the history of British neon advertising from the 1950s to the present day, showcasing work by artist Chris Bracey, who created pieces for films, music videos and commercial projects. Visitors can walk among lit lettering, film props and vintage advertising boards in a space without conventional exhibition structure.

This canal network lies at the confluence of the Regent's Canal and the Grand Union Canal, featuring waterways with moored narrowboats, restaurants and cafés. The small bridges and tree-lined banks create a quiet setting away from busier parts of the city. Visitors can walk along paved paths or pause at the waterside establishments.

This music hall from 1859 preserves its original architecture and hosts performances spanning music, theater and artistic events. The East End venue stands as one of London's oldest surviving music theaters and attracts visitors seeking historic performance spaces beyond the major West End theaters.

The Leighton House Museum preserves the Victorian home of painter Frederic Leighton, including his studio, a picture gallery and the Arab Hall, a chamber decorated with Middle Eastern tiles. The collection features works by Leighton and his Pre-Raphaelite contemporaries, along with objects the artist acquired during his travels. The building itself represents one of the most notable artist residences of nineteenth-century London.

This public park in London preserves a distinctive collection of over fifty hand-painted ceramic plaques honoring people who died while attempting to save others since 1900. The memorial was initiated by Victorian artist George Frederic Watts and documents rescue attempts during fires, floods and other emergencies. The park itself provides lawn areas and seating in a quiet setting away from the main tourist routes.

This bookshop retains its original Edwardian architecture, with a timber gallery, oak paneling and skylights running through three floors. The collection includes international literature and travel guides organized by destination, offering both contemporary and out-of-print editions. The long, narrow building dates from 1912 and was purpose-built as a bookshop.

This Japanese garden was established in 1991 as a gift from the city of Kyoto and features traditional landscaping with a pond stocked with carp, stone lanterns and a waterfall, offering London visitors an introduction to East Asian garden design.

This museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields preserves the original arrangement of an early 19th-century scholar's house. The rooms contain architectural fragments from various periods, an Egyptian sarcophagus and works by Canaletto and Hogarth. The collection also includes classical sculptures, drawings and decorative elements that the architect assembled during his career.

Eel Pie Island sits in the Thames at Twickenham and is home to roughly 120 residents along with several artist studios that open to visitors twice a year. This private island gained recognition in the 1960s for rock concerts held at the former Eel Pie Island Hotel, where acts including The Rolling Stones, The Who and David Bowie performed. Access to the island is via a narrow footbridge, and the residential properties and studios can only be visited on designated open days.

This medical museum occupies a church attic and displays surgical instruments and medical equipment from the nineteenth century. The collection documents the history of surgery during an era when operations were performed without anesthesia. The space originally served as an operating theater for students of the nearby St Thomas Hospital and now preserves authentic tools and exhibits from this period in medical history.

This 1997 art installation consists of plaster casts of noses mounted on building walls throughout the neighborhood. Artist Rick Buckley created the work as a protest against increasing surveillance cameras in public spaces. The seven noses are distributed across several streets and require a walk through Soho to discover them all.

This triangular tower on Shooter's Hill was built in 1784 in Gothic style with crenellations and pointed arch windows and offers views across the city into seven counties.

This community garden between theaters and restaurants in London's West End supports native plants and urban foxes. The Phoenix Garden provides a retreat from the busy streets of the theater district on a small plot. Volunteers maintain the grounds, designed as an ecological project for local flora and fauna.

This Victorian facility from 1865 houses steam engines from the original construction period. The cast iron decorations on the walls demonstrate the ornamental standards of Victorian engineering. The pumping station was built to handle London's sewage system and displays preserved machinery along with technical details from the 19th century.

This 14th-century complex contains a Tudor hall and chapel. The building served as a monastery and school over the centuries, preserving important evidence of London's medieval and early modern history. Guided tours allow visitors to explore the different phases of the site's use.

This garden occupies around 40 acres within Richmond Park. The Isabella Plantation holds extensive collections of azaleas and rhododendrons planted among mature oaks, with blooms appearing in various colors depending on the season. Developed progressively since the 1950s, the garden now includes several ponds, streams and informal pathways through naturalistic plantings that attract visitors seeking a quieter corner of the capital.

This church was founded in 1123 and combines Norman and Gothic architectural elements in a cruciform plan with substantial stone columns. St Bartholomew the Great ranks among the oldest surviving ecclesiastical structures in the British capital and displays centuries of church architecture in its fabric, located beyond the standard tourist circuits.

This museum occupies the site of the original prison and presents methods of punishment and conditions of incarceration from the 12th century until its closure in the 19th century. The exhibition includes torture devices, period documents and reconstructed cells. The location on the south bank of the Thames once belonged to the Bishop of Winchester's estate, which maintained its own judicial authority. Visitors learn about the treatment of heretics, prostitutes and other prisoners in one of London's most notorious detention facilities.

This nineteenth century pumping station in London's Wapping district preserves its original steam engines and industrial machinery. The former waterworks has been converted into a restaurant and exhibition space while maintaining the historic equipment as an architectural feature. The building represents the industrial infrastructure that powered London's growth during the Victorian era.

This theater in Islington has been presenting puppet shows for children and adults since 1961. The venue also offers workshops on puppet making and specializes in contemporary and traditional performances. The Little Angel Theatre is among the few permanent puppet theaters in London and features an auditorium with around 100 seats.

This historic harbor dating from 1828 evolved from commercial docks into a marina with restaurants and offices housed in converted warehouses along the Thames. The complex sits east of the Tower of London and features pedestrian areas around water basins where private boats are moored. Original dock structures were preserved and transformed into residential and commercial spaces while maintaining the historic port architecture. The site now functions as a mixed use neighborhood with Thames access.

The Chelsea Physic Garden dates from 1673 and houses collections of medicinal plants and exotic species. Guided tours explain the medical uses of various plant species. This institution has served pharmaceutical research and education since its founding and now preserves one of Europe's oldest botanical collections.

This 1815 residence displays manuscripts, books and personal possessions of poet John Keats. Keats lived here from 1818 to 1820 and wrote some of his best known works, including "Ode to a Nightingale".

This Hindu temple in Neasden opened in 1995 as Europe's first traditional mandir, drawing visitors with its hand-carved architecture crafted from Indian limestone and Italian marble. The complex includes exhibition spaces dedicated to Hindu culture, a prayer hall and manicured gardens that offer insight into the religious traditions of the Swaminarayan community.

The Hunterian Museum presents anatomical specimens, surgical instruments and pathological artifacts from the Royal College of Surgeons collection. This medical institution documents the development of surgery since 1799, displaying exhibits on anatomy and pathology. The collection includes preserved human and animal organs, historical operating instruments and objects related to medical science history. The museum holdings originated from surgeon John Hunter's private collection.

This Victorian market hall from 1881 displays the era's typical iron architecture with red and green painted framework beneath a glass roof. The Leadenhall Market now houses shops, restaurants and cafes in one of London's oldest trading districts, standing on the site of the Roman forum.

This Georgian house in Spitalfields recreates domestic life from 1724 to 1914 through period rooms furnished with original pieces, everyday objects and sensory installations. The rooms appear as if inhabitants just stepped out, with warmed teacups, burning candles and the scent of freshly baked bread in the air.

This shopping street in Brixton became the first in London to install electric lighting in 1880. Electric Avenue developed into a major commercial center and remains an active shopping district today, with numerous stores reflecting the multicultural character of the neighborhood.

The Grant Museum of Zoology displays 68,000 specimens from the university's natural history collections. The exhibition includes skeletons, anatomical preparations and animals preserved in alcohol, among them examples of the extinct Tasmanian Tiger and the Dodo.

This 1905 garden complex extends along a 250-foot colonnade (820 feet) featuring elevated walkways and botanical plantings. The structure combines formal garden architecture with natural vegetation across a sloping terrain. Visitors can walk through covered passages overgrown with climbing plants and take in views across the surrounding landscape.

This cemetery opened in 1839 in north London and holds approximately 170,000 graves across 37 acres (15 hectares) of wooded terrain. The site divides into west and east sections and contains the graves of Karl Marx, George Eliot, Douglas Adams and George Michael. The Victorian west section features the Egyptian Avenue and Terrace Catacomb Circle, accessible by guided tour only. The publicly accessible east section is maintained by volunteers and displays the characteristic overgrown vegetation that defines the grounds.

This museum house served as Sigmund Freud's final residence from 1938 until his death in 1939 after fleeing Vienna. The rooms display his personal library of over two thousand books, Viennese furniture from his Berggasse practice, and his collection of ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian objects. The original psychoanalytic couch stands in his former study, where he received patients and worked on his final writings until shortly before his death.

The concrete sculptures displayed in this park were created in 1854 under the guidance of paleontologists and represented the first life-size reconstructions of extinct species, including dinosaurs, marine reptiles and prehistoric mammals, reflecting the scientific understanding of these animals at the time.

This Georgian complex built in 1776 hosts rotating art exhibitions, concerts and cultural events throughout the year. The central courtyard contains 55 fountains that play in summer and transform into an ice rink during winter months. The 19-acre (7.6-hectare) estate stretches between the Strand and the Thames, housing several museums and regular outdoor film screenings.