If The Roads Take You To East London.

23rd September 2021

If Only All Roads Led To East London

East London is one of the most popular areas of the city. It has a unique charm with a hip and artistic vibe that attracts the creative type. East London is home to some of the capital’s very best museums, historic houses, markets, restaurants and green spaces. 

Whether you’re spending one day in London, or one month, it offers countless activities to entertain you. This area is full of hidden gems and has something everyone will appreciate. Whether you’re looking for historical places to visit, fun markets to check out, or unusual things to do in London, the East End is the place to be.

To make a long story short, here is the must-see list when you come to East London.

Columbia Road Flower Market

One of London’s most well-known and nicest-looking markets, Columbia Road overflows with bucketfuls of beautiful flowers every Sunday, where you can buy everything from banana trees to bedding plants.  Market traders line the narrow street selling flowers, houseplants, herbs, bulbs and shrubs.

Columbia Road Flower Market can be found in Bethnal Green in east London near Brick Lane and Spitalfields. The market is a five-minute walk from Hoxton and Shoreditch High Street railway stations on the East London line and a 17-minute walk from Old Street Tube station on the Northern line.

London Fields Lido

East Londoners need only to pop along to London Fields Lido to swim in their heated pool for a toasty dip. London Fields Lido is a 50m Olympic-sized heated outdoor swimming pool open all year round and located in Hackney, central London. 

The swimming pool has lane swimming available all day, swimming lessons for children and adults, one-to-one swimming lessons and advice and instruction for members and non-members during swim fit sessions. Facilities also include a café as well as a large sundeck and sunbathing area. 

Spitalfields City Farm

Spitalfields City Farm brings the countryside to the city, providing education and environmental opportunities to local communities relaxed and enjoyable. The farm is less than a mile from the busy streets of Tower Hamlets.
 
Visitors are actively encouraged to participate in the farms, such as volunteering, educational workshops, and children's activities. The farm hosts many exciting workshops throughout the year.

Olympic Park

One attraction, three memorable experiences!

With breathtaking views of London, the world’s longest and tallest tunnel slide and the UK’s highest freefall abseil, the ArcelorMittal Orbit is a viewing experience like no other. 

Standing at 114.5m tall, the ArcelorMittal Orbit gives you the chance to explore London’s famous skyline through the stunning floor to ceiling windows before experiencing the city’s landmarks from the outside observation walkway suspended 80m above the ground. Discover sights including Big Ben, St Paul’s Cathedral and the O2 and get a bird’s eye view of the former London 2012 Olympic venues.
 
The ArcelorMittal Orbit perfectly combines awe-inspiring city views with fun and contemporary art.

Victoria Park

Victoria Park, also known as the People’s Park, is a 218-acre public park in Bow, East London.

The park is the largest and most popular green space in East London, attracting around 9 million visitors a year. It is famous for hosting popular festivals and events.

Other popular attractions include the park's boating lake, children's playgrounds, sports facilities for football, cricket, tennis and lawn bowls, and cafes. The park is bordered by the up-market Victoria Park Village, offering high-quality pubs, restaurants and boutique shopping.

The Park is adjacent to London Fields and the Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park and is bordered by the Regent's and Hertford Union Canals. It is found a 10-15 minute walk from Mile End and Bethnal Green tube stations.

Geffrye Museum

The Geffrye is a fascinating museum specialising in the urban middle classes’ furniture, art, and domestic interiors. Displays are carefully arranged in a series of period rooms ranging from 1600 to the present. The museum is housed in lovely Georgian almshouses formerly owned by the Ironmongers Guild and surrounded by an aromatic walled herb garden and period garden rooms.

The museum traces the development of domestic interiors in England through 11 rooms, each decorated to represent a different period over the past four centuries.

Emirates Air Line

Take to the air on London's only cable car and enjoy a truly unique experience in east London.

Emirates Air Line crosses the River Thames between Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks, just five minutes from the O2 by North Greenwich Tube station. Cabins arrive every 30 seconds, and flights are approximately 10 minutes each way.
 
Whether you're having a night out with friends or indulging in a romantic sunset, the Emirates Air Line is a must-do experience. 

Dennis Severs’ House

Step back in time and into a real-life painting of 18th Century London. Guests are encouraged to explore in silence to not to disturb the family of Huguenot silk weavers. Each room is lit by fire and candlelight; the smell of food and faint background sounds build upon the viewer’s imagination. This experience has been running for over 35 years and is one of the rarest in the world. More than a museum, Dennis Severs house is an unparalleled exhibition experience, “a still life drama” explained Servers, “a rare moment in which to become lost in another time.”

Spitalfields Market

At its heart, Spitalfields ‘Traders’ Market is an uncompromising array of independent stallholders, showcasing incredible hand-crafted and hard-to-find pieces that make every trip unique and memorable.  

Next door, the historic Old Spitalfields Market also offers restaurants and fashion stores and some quirkier boutiques and less traditional market stalls. The whole experience helping to make your visit memorable with stories you’ll want to share. There are some fantastic old-fashioned pubs close by. Overall, Spitalfields remains today the fascinating, fun, leisurely place to visit. It always has been, and now with our incredible Food Trucks, serving up the most amazing street food in London. With something for everyone, you can feel the genuine charm of a proper East London welcome.

V&A Museum of Childhood

The V&A Museum of Childhood houses the UK's national collection of childhood objects, ranging from the 1600s to today.

As well as toys, dolls and games, the museum has a wealth of objects relating to aspects of childhood, including home, childcare, play, learning and clothing.

Rare, hand-crafted objects sit alongside well-loved toys from the 20th century, allowing an insight into how different children might have lived, thought and felt, through the things they were surrounded by throughout their childhood.

In addition, the museum runs temporary exhibitions and displays, activities, events and workshops, outreach projects and an award-winning programme for schools.

The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities

What do Siamese piglets, dodo bones and a biscuit half-eaten by David Attenborough have in common? Very little, except these and other oddities, can be found at Viktor Wynd’s extraordinary and imaginative museum. 

Like its founder, hovering halfway between theatre and sculpture, shop and museum, The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & Natural History is both an installation and performance. The museum is divided into two parts: the Upper Galleries, with up to two art exhibitions a year, and the double-vaulted basement Wunderkabinett, displaying the permanent collection of Curiosities, Natural History and Fine Art, from old master etchings to tin toys and extinct birds in custom-built and salvaged museum cases.

The museum is situated in a former call centre on the main drag in Hackney.

Wilton’s Music Hall

Wilton’s Music Hall is situated in London’s historic East End. The world’s oldest surviving music hall focuses on theatrical and East End history and a living theatre, concert hall, bar, and heritage site. Wilton’s host’s many artistic works, including plays, opera, puppetry, classical music, cabaret, dance and magic shows, alongside a year-round programme of education and heritage activities, including workshops, talks and tours.

Walthamstow Wetlands

A vast, internationally important reserve just 15 minutes from central London and free to visit, you will find a unique haven to explore, enjoy and connect with nature. Walthamstow Wetlands is a fully operational 211 hectare Thames Water reservoir site which is the main source of water supply for 3.5 million people. Walthamstow Wetlands is the largest urban wetlands in Europe, providing home and shelter to a wide range of wildlife, from rare waterfowl to majestic birds of prey.

Broadway Market

Broadway Market is a Victorian street market situated in Hackney, North London. In addition to the thriving Saturday market, over 70 shops, cafés and restaurants are open seven days a week from dawn to dusk. From costermongers to green-grocers, everything that is fit to sell is on offer here.

The street is part of the old “Porter’s Path” and has been used since Roman Times. 

In more modern times, Broadway Market, and specifically the barbershop, was the location for David Cronenberg’s 2007 film, Eastern Promises. The opening scenes of the 1988 movie Buster were shot at the Regent’s Canal end of the market. Along with many squares and streets in the East End of London, it is rumoured that the old Broadway Market partly inspired EastEnders.

Dalston Eastern Curve Garden

Dalston Curve Garden was built in 2010 as a free-to-enter neighbourhood oasis on the old Eastern Curve railway line in Hackney, which had been disused since the 1950s.

It was designed by architect Muf and landscape architect J&L Gibbons in collaboration with Hackney Council, residents and community groups in response to a lack of green space in the Dalston area.

Here, you can settle down for a sip of juice or coffee from the café on one of the benches and tables nestled amongst the shrubbery or in the wooden pavilion building at the top of the garden's gentle slope. There's a pizza oven and blankets for use in winter. The park also hosts gardening, craft and children's workshops and popular seasonal events like the annual display of spooky Halloween pumpkins.