StayAreasHidden gems in London
Once you've seen the big sights, London's best moments are often in the smaller places: a garden in a ruined church, a house left as it was in 1837, a canal-side café.
1.St Dunstan in the EastFree
A church bombed in the Blitz, now a garden growing through the ruins.
Stay nearby: South Bank · ~$295/night2.Postman's ParkFree
A small park with a wall of tiles remembering ordinary people who died saving others.
Stay nearby: South Bank · ~$295/night3.Leadenhall MarketFree
A painted Victorian market hall in the City, quietest at weekends.
Stay nearby: South Bank · ~$295/night4.Sir John Soane's MuseumFree
An architect's house packed with antiquities, Hogarth paintings and an Egyptian sarcophagus.
Stay nearby: Covent Garden · ~$360/night5.Little VeniceFree
Narrowboats, a floating café and a canal walk to Camden.
Stay nearby: Paddington · ~$230/night6.Kyoto GardenFree
A Japanese garden with a waterfall and peacocks in Holland Park.
Stay nearby: Notting Hill · ~$270/night7.Leighton House
A Victorian painter's house with a golden tiled Arab Hall.
Stay nearby: Kensington · ~$295/night8.Neal's YardFree
A colourful courtyard of cafés tucked behind Seven Dials.
Stay nearby: Covent Garden · ~$360/night9.Daunt BooksFree
An Edwardian bookshop with long oak galleries and skylights.
Stay nearby: Marylebone · ~$320/night10.Barbican ConservatoryFree
A jungle inside a brutalist estate, open on selected days.
Stay nearby: Shoreditch · ~$240/night11.Wilton's Music Hall
The world's oldest surviving grand music hall, still staging shows.
Stay nearby: Shoreditch · ~$240/night12.God's Own Junkyard
A warehouse of neon signs in Walthamstow, open at weekends; take the Victoria line to the end.
13.Columbia Road on a SundayFree
The flower market and tiny shops on a Victorian terrace.
Stay nearby: Shoreditch · ~$240/night14.The Painted Hall
A ceiling painted over 19 years, in the Old Royal Naval College.
Stay nearby: Greenwich · ~$200/night15.Hampstead Heath and Parliament HillFree
Wild heathland, swimming ponds and a view over the whole city.
Stay nearby: Camden · ~$215/night
Written by the StayAreas editorial team · Updated Oct 2026 · How we research our guides