Crystal Palace & Gipsy Hill

Crystal Palace has it all, poverty, wealth, great eateries and pubs and a park with all sorts of interesting stuff like dinosaurs, ruins, maze and a TV tower. It's a bit far away in the south, but it's definitely worth a visit. There's a sense of not being in London in here due to hills and oddities. The southern part downhill is a quite poor area with not much to offer, but the northern part on the hill could be to the liking of many hipster and artist-like people. Gipsy Hill, just a bit north from Crystal Palace, is a more relaxed area with some great pubs for hanging out.

Crystal Palace Park: This place has a lot of things, so I'll give each of them their own bullet point.

• In the southern part of the park, you can see huge dinosaur statues. These statues were unveild here in 1854. They may not be as accurate as today, but it's interesting to see how they were pictured in the days before even Darwin's 'On the Origin of Species'.
• There is a big tea maze, where you can get lost in the eastern side of the park. It seems pretty easy at first, but it takes you a while to get to the centre of it.
  
• The original Crystal Palace was built to Hyde Park but later it was moved here. It burned down in 1936, but the ruins are still there. This includes huge stairways, sphix statues and human statues with no heads. It's well worth exploring these survival parts of the palace.
• There's also a sports academy, TV tower, that is apparently the third tallest structure in London, and a steep hill with a great view away from London (to Croydon).

Drinking:

• There are some really nice looking pubs north of the Crystal Palace park. Westow House is a fantastic quite large pub with bookcases, comfy sofas, chandeliers and exceptionally tasty beers on tap. There's also live music or quizzes from time to time. The place looks amazing! It may be a bit crowded on weekends.
• The White Hart is a cozy pub with reasonable selection of beers and a beer garden at the back. Not the most interesting pub necessarily, but good enough to hang out with your friends.
• Beer Rebellion Gipsy Hill is a small pub with really tasty Late Knights Brewery beers. Some of the beers may be a bit expensive, but they're amazing!
• The Paxton is a fancy looking large pub with a great garden. Beer selection is excellent and the atmosphere is laid back.

Eating:

• Vegan Carribean Café is a nice change to otherwise meat-heavy Carribean food. This small café sells really tasty portions of various Caribbean foods. And it's all vegan! Price is not too bad either. Downstairs, there is a yoga studio. 
• Domali serves delicious vegetarian and pescaterian foods. The restaurant is very nice and prices very affordable. They also have coffee and pastries. There's even a backyard for sunny days and great offers in cocktails.
• Blue Mountain Rum Lounge and Restaurant is a cozy rum bar and restaurant serving absolutely delicious Caribbean food. They also have plenty of vegetarian and fish options available. I suggest you order some sides as well. The staff is very friendly.

 Areas around Crystal Palace: Norwood, Sydenham, Dulwich, Penge