Every city has two versions of itself. The first is the one on the postcards. The second is quieter, stranger, and considerably more interesting. London's hidden version is especially rewarding because the city is so large that even locals haven't found all of it.
St Dunstan in the East: A Church Turned Garden
Most visitors to the City of London walk straight past St Dunstan in the East without realising it's there. The church was bombed in the Blitz, its nave left roofless and open to the sky. Instead of rebuilding, the City planted a garden inside the walls. Fig trees and climbing plants thread through Gothic window arches, ivy takes over the stone, benches tuck into old alcoves.
In summer the garden is shaded and cool -- one of the quietest places in a square mile of constant noise.
Find it: St Dunstan's Hill, EC3R 5DD. Five minutes from Monument Tube. Free, open daily.
Leake Street: London's Legal Graffiti Tunnel
Beneath Waterloo station, a 300-metre tunnel runs under the rail lines. In 2008, Banksy turned it into a legal graffiti space for his Cans Festival. The result is a constantly changing gallery of murals that gets repainted and reborn every few weeks. No two visits are the same.
The tunnel attracts serious artists as well as first-timers with a spray can. Weekends see people actively painting. The lighting is low and the acoustics are strange.
Find it: Leake Street, SE1 7NN. Walk south from Waterloo station's main exit, turn left under the arches. Free, open 24 hours.
St Katharine Docks: The Marina Nobody Told You About
A five-minute walk from Tower Bridge, tucked between the Tower of London and the river, is London's only central marina. St Katharine Docks was a working Victorian cargo dock until 1968. Today it holds around 180 permanent berths for yachts and historic vessels, with waterside restaurants that feel nothing like tourist London.
The dock is surrounded by converted Victorian warehouses that originally stored ivory, indigo, and sugar. The contrast between working boats and old walls is worth the five-minute detour from the Tower Bridge crowds.
Find it: St Katharine's Way, E1W 1LA. Two minutes from Tower Hill Tube. Free entry.
Regent's Canal: Walk East from Little Venice
Regent's Canal runs 8.6 miles across north London. The stretch from Little Venice to Camden is the most immediately beautiful -- about 45 minutes at a casual pace, flat, traffic-free, and lined with painted narrowboats. Pick it up at Warwick Avenue Tube station and follow the towpath east.
Beyond Camden, the canal continues through Hackney past Broadway Market and Victoria Park before reaching Limehouse Basin. The whole walk takes three hours and passes through London's most interesting neighbourhoods without once touching a main road.
Neal's Yard: The Hidden Courtyard in Covent Garden
A tiny courtyard accessible through a narrow alley off Short's Gardens, about 400 metres north of Covent Garden's main market. It's painted top to bottom in jewel colours: turquoise, yellow, deep red. Somehow still overlooked despite being a five-minute walk from one of London's busiest tourist spots.
The yard has a handful of independent shops and a wholefood cafe that's been there since 1976. In summer people sit outside on the cobblestones.
Find it: Enter from Short's Gardens or Monmouth Street, WC2H 9PS. Free.
The Kyoto Garden: Japan in Holland Park
Inside Holland Park, a formal Japanese garden donated to the city by Kyoto in 1991. Koi carp, a waterfall, stone lanterns, and a level of quiet that feels incongruous in a city this loud. Peacocks wander freely. Free as part of Holland Park.
Find it: Holland Park, W8 6LU. Central or Circle line to Holland Park or High Street Kensington.
Dennis Severs' House: Time Travel in Spitalfields
The late artist Dennis Severs filled a Georgian terraced house in Shoreditch with the props of an imaginary Huguenot family's life across three centuries. You visit in silence, moving from room to room. Half-eaten meals, guttering candles, unmade beds -- the family has "just left." One of the strangest and most affecting experiences in London.
Find it: 18 Folgate Street, E1 6BX. Two minutes from Liverpool Street. See dennissevershouse.co.uk for bookings. Ticketed.
How to Find More of This London
The best way to discover non-tourist London is to pick a neighbourhood you've never visited and walk it without a plan. Browse our London neighbourhood guides for walking routes and recommendations from Peckham to Camden.
For London at its most accessible, see our guide to the best free things to do in London.
