What is Hackney known for?

Hackney is known for: East London's most genuinely creative neighbourhood - canal-side markets, Broadway Market, and London Fields without the Shoreditch price tag It is best for Markets, Parks, Food.

What are the best things to do in Hackney?

Hackney is especially popular for Markets, Parks, Food. Browse our curated directory for top-rated attractions, restaurants, and experiences in the neighbourhood.

Is Hackney worth visiting as a tourist?

Yes — Hackney is one of London's most characterful neighbourhoods, known for east london's most genuinely creative neighbourhood - canal-side markets, broadway market, and london fields without the shoreditch price tag. It offers an authentic side of London beyond the main tourist trail.

Hackney Neighbourhood Guide - London Vacation Guide

Hackney is where east London actually lives. Broadway Market on Saturday is one of the best food markets in London, Victoria Park is extraordinary, and London Fields is full of actual Hackney residents rather than visitors. The canal towpath network gives you miles of car-free cycling and walking.

Our Picks in Hackney

Curated by our editorial team. Not paid. Not sponsored. Just places we think are worth your time.

Broadway Market

Market

London's finest Saturday market — canal-side, combining artisan food, craft, and the remnants of a proper working-class street market. The combination of fresh pasta, aged cheese, rare-breed meat, and authentic Turkish and Caribbean food is unmatched. Runs 9am-5pm Saturday.

💡 Arrive at 9:30am before the queues at the food stalls grow. The Borough Market rule applies here: go early. The canal towpath south of the market is beautifully peaceful at this time while the market builds up behind you.

London Fields Lido

Swimming Pool / Park

A 50-metre outdoor heated lido in London Fields park — one of the finest outdoor pools in London, open year-round. Adjacent to the park with its barbecue areas, cricket pitch, and tennis courts. The combination makes for a complete day out without leaving the park.

💡 Book online in advance for peak summer sessions — the Lido operates a capacity booking system and fills up on warm days. Early morning sessions (6:30am) are quietest and the water is at its most clear.

Netil Market

Market

A covered market under an arch on Westgate Street, open Saturday and Sunday — smaller than Broadway Market, more artisan, and with some of the best coffee in Hackney. Independent traders, vintage, handmade goods, and a café culture that breeds lingering.

💡 The coffee at the Roastery café inside Netil Market is some of the best filter coffee in east London. Arrive early, get a seat outside the arch, and watch the Saturday morning Hackney traffic.

Hackney Wick Street Art

Art Walk

The Hackney Wick area — east of the canal, north of the Olympic Park — has one of the highest concentrations of street art and independent studios in London. A walkable area of old industrial buildings, canal-side warehouses, and art spaces.

💡 The walk from Hackney Wick Overground station along the canal towpath south past the arches and studios takes about 40 minutes and is the best free art tour in east London. The Yard Theatre and Grow Hackney are landmarks along the route.

Sager + Wilde

Bar / Wine

One of the bars that defined Hackney's drinking culture — a natural wine list, seasonal bar snacks, and a relaxed atmosphere that has nothing to prove. The Paradise Row original is the benchmark; the Church Row branch is larger.

💡 Get there for opening time (5pm weekdays, 12pm weekends) on a Friday evening for the quietest version of one of Hackney's most loved bars. No reservations for bar seats — first come, first served.

Ridley Road Market

Market

One of the oldest and most important traditional markets in east London — fresh produce, fish, African and Caribbean groceries, fabrics, household goods. Operating since the 1880s, Tuesday to Saturday. An authentic working market with none of the artisan premium.

💡 The Ridley Road Market Bar (open evenings Thursday to Saturday, set inside a former market stall) is one of Hackney's best small music venues — funk, soul, jazz nights in a space with forty people and a licence until midnight.

🕵 What Locals Know

Broadway Market is not just Saturday. The street has permanent independent shops open daily — bakeries, wine merchants, independent cafés. Worth a visit any day of the week, with Saturday the obvious peak.
The canal east from Broadway Market is very different from the canal west. Walk east along the Regent's Canal from Broadway Market and you hit a quieter, more industrial stretch — fewer tourists, more working boats, occasional heron. The Victoria Park section is extraordinary in spring.
Hackney Wick at night is worth a specific trip. The warehouse clubs and bar-arches around Hackney Wick are the last serious alternative nightlife area left in London after the closure of Fabric and the conversion of Dalston venues. The area operates properly late.
Clapton Pond and Lower Clapton Road are the next Hackney frontiers — a fifteen-minute walk north of Broadway Market, the area around Clapton Pond has the independent restaurant density that Broadway Market had ten years ago. The prices are lower and the bookings easier.