Hidden gems in London
Skip the tourist circuit. These London spots are the ones locals actually send their out-of-town friends to.
Top spots in London
Tate Modern
CultureBankside
Turbine Hall installations and free Bankside views from the viewing terrace.
Borough Market
Food & DrinkSouthwark
Centuries-old food market — salt-beef bagels, oysters and raclette.
Hampstead Heath
OutdoorsHampstead
320 hectares of meadow, ponds for swimming and Parliament Hill skyline.
British Museum
CultureBloomsbury
Rosetta Stone and Parthenon sculptures under Foster's Great Court roof.
Columbia Road Flower Market
CultureBethnal Green
Sunday-morning Cockney shouts, peonies and Shoreditch coffee crawls.
Where to eat
St. John
$$$British · Smithfield
Fergus Henderson's nose-to-tail classic — bone marrow and madeira.
Dishoom Covent Garden
$$Bombay café · Covent Garden
All-day bacon naan and house chai in a Bombay Irani-café setting.
Padella
$$Italian · Borough Market
Hand-rolled pici cacio e pepe; expect a 45-min queue.
Lyle's
$$$Modern British · Shoreditch
Daily-changing produce-led tasting menu in a stripped-back room.
Frequently asked
- Locals' under-the-radar picks include Tate Modern, Borough Market, Hampstead Heath. These are the places that don't show up on the first page of mainstream travel guides.