Curious things to do in London

1. London Mithraeum 

If you like museums, you’ll love the London Mithraeum 

Once you’ve looked for (and hopefully found – he does sometimes wander) Dippy the dinosaur at the Natural History Museum and gawked at the British Museum’s big hitters, delve into an ancient Roman temple beneath a Bloomberg office building in the City. Followers of mystery religion the Cult of Mithras first met at this underground dwelling in secrecy – surrounded by whispers and haze – around AD240. The reconstructed remains of the Temple of Mithras are free to visit and mystifying to experience: it’s all very immersive as every now and then the lights go down, water drips, chanting starts and an image of Mithras the god glows. Expect the enigmatic.

Top tip: More than 600 object lost by some of the first Londoners are displayed here – look for Britain’s earliest recorded written document.

2. Little Venice

If you like London’s parks, you’ll love to take a walk in Little Venice.

If you’ve already picnicked by the bandstand in Hyde Park and been on the boating lake in Regent’s Park, go for a stroll in Little Venice. Follow Regent’s Canal to see boats slowly nodding at one another and listen to birds twee-tweeing in the trees framing the water. Pass the likes of a puppet theatre barge, a cafe stretching over a bridge and maybe even a songster serenading couples on his gondola. Head towards Camden to see brightly coloured boats topped with sundecks and massive Maida Vale mansions before reaching the iconic market where vintage threads and food truck grub abound.

Top tip: Before you reach Camden Market, you’ll see a turn-off with a sign pointing left towards Primrose Hill. You might want to stop in at the park for its skyline views.

3. Dennis Severs’ House

If you like art, you’ll love Dennis Severs’ House

It’s hard to define Dennis Severs’ House. It’s theatre, it’s art… as the house’s motto goes: ‘you either see it or you don’t’. This Georgian-era home in Spitalfields is like a living museum, designed to look as if a fictional 18th Century Huguenot family left it just moments ago. Think teacups left on tables and stacks of letters under inky quills. Everything flickers in candlelight as wafts of woodsmoke seep into rooms. There’s a real sense of ephemerality. You can go for a relaxed visit, in which low talking is allowed, on a Saturday or opt for a silent visit on a Sunday. All your senses are heightened during the silent experience: clocks tick and wood fires crackle in the quiet.

Top tip: If you’re visiting on a Sunday, go to Columbia Road Flower Market (open 8am-2pm) while you’re in the area to see buckets stuffed with colourful blossoms and join Londoners gathering bouquets in their arms and they rummage for antiques.

4. Brick Lane

If you like to eat like a local, you’ll love a bagel on Brick Lane.

Pie and mash slathered in gravy, scones slathered in cream, fish and chips slathered in vinegar – once you’ve sampled some classic British dishes, make tracks for Brick Lane. Sit down in a curry house for a slap-up meal or grab a quick bite to eat at Beigel Bake. This little bakery doling out perfectly soft and chewy bagels stuffed with salt beef and other scrumptious fillings has been going since 1974. It’s open 24/7, so Londoners can get their go-to orders at 3am, and it’s an East London institution. The now Prince and Princess of Wales even visited in 2020 – that means you don’t have to go to Buckingham Palace to stand where royalty have stood, you just have to go to Beigel Bake.

Top tip: Stop in at Brick Lane Market while you’re in the area. Vintage shoppers flock here to sort through a sea of denim, tweed, sequins and streetwear.

5. London Transport Museum

If you like the London Underground, you’ll love to explore those tunnels.

Most people take the Tube during their London holiday. Not many walk through an out-of-use station or see a secret wartime shelter in the tunnel network. London Transport Museum’s Hidden London tours give you the chance to quite literally see beyond the city’s surface. You can step into a closed-down station and a wartime air-raid shelter on the Aldwych tour or walk along hidden tunnels beneath the West End on the Charing Cross tour. Look out for film settings used in British flicks like Paddington and Skyfall. Alternatively, discover original Victorian waiting rooms and poster pieces on the Baker Street tour. You’ll see more of the Underground than most locals ever will.

Top tip: Book ahead and make sure the tour you choose is right for you. There’s a lot of walking and access via stairs. Children under the age of ten won’t be able to join.

6. Parliament Hill

If you like the views from The Shard, you’ll love to climb Parliament Hill.

London looks good from all sorts of angles, whether you’re rotating in a London Eye pod, sipping bubbly at the top of The Shard or rolling out a yoga mat at Sky Garden. Ferris wheels and towers aren’t the only way to get panoramic views, though – Londoners beeline to city parks when they want to get the skyline in their eyeline. Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath, with its wide-open views of the City of Westminster, is a favourite of picnic blanket-touting locals: googly-eyed couples and groups of friends packing fruit punnets often gather at the summit to watch the sunset.

Top tip: Make a day of it in Hampstead. Potter around independent shops in Hampstead Village and swim in the ponds on the Heath before finding a spot on Parliament Hill for sundown. 

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