Highgate & Archway

Highgate is a wealthy neighbourhood on the hill. There aren't any steep hills in Central London, so this is a welcome change. Beautiful parks, tea rooms and a cemetery with some celebrities. There is adorable village mentality in Highgate village. This place feels miles away from the hustle and bustle of busy Central London. Archway to the south of Highgate is a bit more deprived area, but I'm including in this post, because it's not big enough to be an area of its own.

Sights:

• Highgate Cemetery is one of the "magnificent seven" cemeteries surrounding the Central London. This one is particularly interesting, because its inhabitants include Karl Marx! Eric Hobsbawm recently joined him, as his ashes were buried here. The entrance to this "new" side costs £3. You can visit the old side only by joining a tour. New side has the celebrities though and some funny humorous tombs such as the one that reads only "dead". The old side is beautifully gothic and there have been rumours throughout the years about scary things, such as a vampire living in the grounds.

Parks:

• Waterlow Park is one of the most beautiful parks in London. There are some beautiful buildings as well, such as the Lauderdale House. I suggest you go there in the autumn, because then the trees are really beautiful and colourful. Lots of dogs running around. 
• Highgate Wood is a foresty quiet park. They do have a few football pitches, but other than that, it's just a great place to enjoy the quiet forest paths.

Drinking:

• There are quite a lot of nice country-style pubs in Highgate. The Woodsman is one of them. Situated right next to Highgate tube station, Woodsman has fairly large beer garden, beautiful wooden panelled walls, comfy leather sofas, fireplaces and great beers on tap.
• The Flask is a fantastic atmospheric Fuller's pub. They have half-roofed beer garden and the pub itself is divided in small rooms, where you can hide with your entourage. In addition to Fuller's beers, they have some local microbrewery products on tap.
  
• The Old Crown Inn is the closest pub to the Karl Marx cemetery. They even have a beer called Karl Marx on tap. They also host pub quizzes and open mic nights. There's also a pool table.  
• Charlotte Despard is a nice hangout pub with a pool table, arcade game table and a pub cat. They also have quite an amazing beer selection including some Belgian and American craft beers. 
• The Duke's Head is a great old pub with an amazing beer selection. They have cask ales and keg craft beers from local breweries such as Hammerton, Beavertown, Kernel and Fourpure.
• The Angel Inn is a beautiful dark wooded pub with a bit younger crowds compared to the
  
  surrounding pubs. They have a great beer selection and some interesting ciders. This place is quite laid-back.

 Areas around Highgate: Hampstead, Crouch End, Holloway