What is Stratford known for?

Stratford is known for: East London's Olympic reinvention - parkland, international shopping, and a cultural scene that's only getting started It is best for Attractions, Sports, Culture.

What are the best things to do in Stratford?

Stratford is especially popular for Attractions, Sports, Culture. Browse our curated directory for top-rated attractions, restaurants, and experiences in the neighbourhood.

Is Stratford worth visiting as a tourist?

Yes — Stratford is one of London's most characterful neighbourhoods, known for east london's olympic reinvention - parkland, international shopping, and a cultural scene that's only getting started. It offers an authentic side of London beyond the main tourist trail.

Stratford Neighbourhood Guide - London Vacation Guide

Stratford's transformation from post-industrial east London to one of the city's most dramatic new districts happened in less than a decade. The 2012 Olympics created the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park - 226 hectares of parkland and wetland. It's the largest new park built in London in over a century, and its quality is consistently underestimated.

Our Picks in Stratford

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

London Aquatics Centre

Leisure / Architecture

Zaha Hadid's masterpiece — the wave-roofed Olympic swimming venue, now fully open to the public for leisure and lane swimming. Two 50-metre pools, the diving pool, and a spectacular building. Lane swimming from £5.10.

💡 Book online for lane swimming sessions — the pool is popular but manageable. The building is best appreciated from outside the pool hall looking at the roof structure from the east approach. The cost is the same as any leisure centre.

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Park

London's newest major park — 560 acres of landscaped grounds around the Olympic venues, with wetland gardens, play areas, the River Lea, and multiple café venues. Free to enter. The park hosts major outdoor events throughout the summer.

💡 The park is dramatically better in the north section (away from the Stadium and Aquatics Centre) — the wetland gardens and the quieter paths along the River Lea are where the parkland quality is highest. The main plaza near the stadium is often very busy.

ArcelorMittal Orbit

Attraction / View

Anish Kapoor's 114.5-metre spiral sculpture, with a public viewing platform at 80m and the world's tallest and longest tunnel slide running down the outside. The view of the Olympic Park and east London skyline is unique.

💡 The slide is ticketed separately from the viewing platform and sells out on peak days — book online. The viewing platform alone gives you the best aerial view of the Olympic Park without the slide queue.

Lee Valley VeloPark

Sports Venue / Leisure

The 2012 Olympic Velodrome — now open for public track cycling sessions, learn-to-ride sessions, and BMX. The track cycling sessions require a cycling proficiency check but are available to all competent cyclists.

💡 Book the Learn to Ride sessions if you've never been on a velodrome track — they're properly taught and the experience of riding a 42° banked Olympic track is unlike anything else available to the public in Britain.

Westfield Stratford City

Shopping

Europe's largest urban shopping centre — 300 shops, multiple food halls, cinema, and direct access to Stratford station. Useful primarily as a warm/dry base for Olympic Park visits, and the food court quality has improved significantly.

💡 Use Westfield primarily for its supermarket (ground floor), food courts, and as a covered walking route between Stratford station and the Olympic Park entrance. It's genuinely convenient and the food hall on the upper level has improved.

Three Mills Island

Historic Site

A short walk south of the Olympic Park: a cluster of Grade I listed mills on a tidal island in the River Lea — one of the oldest industrial sites in London, operating as mills since Domesday. The House Mill is the world's largest surviving tidal mill, open for tours.

💡 House Mill tours run on the first Sunday of each month and are extraordinarily interesting — the tidal mill mechanism, the gin distillery history, and the Victorian industrial archaeology of the site. Book in advance.

🕵 What Locals Know

The Olympic Park is bigger than it looks. Most visitors see the Stadium, the Orbit, and the Aquatics Centre and feel they've done it. The north section of the park — the wildflower meadows, the wetland walks along the River Lea, the quieter gardens — is where the horticultural quality is highest. Allow at least half a day.
Major events at London Stadium require separate planning. West Ham home matches and major concerts fill the surrounding area for hours before and after. If you're visiting the park on event days, plan around the stadium schedule.
East Bank is not finished yet. The UCL campus, V&A East, and BBC Music Studios are under construction. What is visible today will look completely different in five years. Visiting now means seeing one of London's major developments in progress.
Stratford is one stop from Canary Wharf on the Jubilee line. The two are natural companions for an east London day — Olympic Park in the morning, DLR south to Canary Wharf and Greenwich in the afternoon.