Alternative London

Been there, seen that? Explore lesser-travelled London with our guide to the city away from the tourist trail

Friday 17 January 2025

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Things to Do Editor, London

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Forget Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London. You won’t see this side of London on a postcard. But who wants to stick to the tourist trail?

This is where actual Londoners hang out. From alternative nightlife to endearingly quirky pubs, cult museums to local curiosities, you’ll find all manner of off-beat entertainment in our guide to the very best alternative things to do in this gloriously weird city.

Alternative days out in London

Things to do

The 7 alternative wonders of London

Hidden wonders in unexpected places

Things to do

20 alternative London attractions

Away from the picture-postcard scenery

Things to do

Alternative places to visit in London

Brilliant spots away from the crowds

Things to do

Unusual things to do in London

The weirdest and freakiest things to see

Unusual things to do

Sport and fitness

London’s best alternative fitness classes

Tired of the treadmill?

Things to do

Weird and wonderful hobbies

Freaky, fun activities

Restaurants

The best quirky restaurants

London’s full of ’em

Museums

14 strange London museums

Fewer queues and crowds

Alternative nights out

Nightlife

The ten best LGBT+ clubs in London

Go out and stay out all night

Clubs

The best clubs in London

You’ll never be bored

Bars and pubs

The best quirky bars and pubs

The right amount of weird

Theatre

Immersive theatre in London

Defying stuffy conventions

Escape the tourist traps in the city

Attractions

Isabella Plantation

Watching south-west Londoners mistake chugging around Richmond Park in their 4x4s for a day in the country isn’t everyone’s idea of fun, but the...

Attractions

Hill Garden and Pergola

A favourite of local artists, this formal Arts and Crafts garden, created between 1910 and 1925 by Thomas Mawson for soap magnate Lord Leverhulme and restored...

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Attractions

Walthamstow Wetlands

Walthamstow Marshes have always been a place for Londoners to go and pretend they live in the actual countryside, and now that illusion is about to get even...

Attractions

Nunhead Cemetery

Two-hour guided tour of Nunhead Cemetery, a romantic and overgrown Victorian cemetery featuring 1,000 ivy-clad angels and mighty Victorians buried in the green...

Unusual day-trips from London

Travel

Ten unusual days out within easy reach of London

Seriously weird and wonderful curiosities

Art

The best alternative art day trips from London

Head to one of these enticing spots

Bizarre London museums

Museums

Leighton House Museum

Leighton House reopened in April 2010 after a £1.6 million refurbishment which has uncovered and restored many of the decorative schemes and features of...

Museums

Wellcome Collection

4 out of 5 stars

Sir Henry Wellcome, a pioneering 19th-century pharmacist, amassed a vast and idiosyncratic collection of implements and curios relating to the medical trade,...

Museums

Museum of Brands, Packaging & Advertising

3 out of 5 stars

Roll up, roll up! The Museum of Brands has found itself a glam new home; still in Notting Hill but now with extra added space for its seemingly endless...

Things to do

Horniman Museum

4 out of 5 stars

An anthropological museum set in 16 acres of landscaped gardens, the Horniman has a traditional natural history gallery – dominated by a bizarre, overstuffed...