Bow

Bow is a great small neighbourhood next to Victoria Park and Hackney Wick. It's not as cool as Hackney Wick and not as beautiful as Victoria Park, but it has more than enough of nice places in a very English-looking Victorian atmosphere. This place has relaxed atmosphere close to the coolest places of Hackney. The area itself has mainly residential houses and not much action, but there are a few exceptions that make this quiet neighbourhood very pleasant indeed.

Walthamstow

Walthamstow is mainly known to the masses for the boyband named after the post code, East 17. The village is a mixture of picturesque old village houses and soulless suburbs. The scenery may change completely just walking around a corner. There are some nice pubs and parks here and sometimes it's straight out charming. Then again, the areas around the shopping centre are much more grim.

Poplar & Leamouth

Poplar is one of the poorest areas in London. This island of poverty makes Tower Hamlets one of the poorest Boroughs in London, despite its proximity to City and despite the financial district Isle of Dogs being located within the borders of Tower Hamlets. The architecture is mostly grim and brutal. Council flats are starting to get company from ultra modern sky-scrapers and luxury apartments. This mixture of poverty and modernism makes this area interesting for an architecture appreciator. Leamouth peninsula right next to Poplar is showing some signs of artistic atmosphere.

Camberwell

Like many other places in South London, in Camberwell, wealthy and poor areas stand right next to each other and the differences are huge. Walking across one street may take you into completely different neighbourhood. There are some nice parks, pubs and cafés in this area. It's still going through its gentrification, so it may be a bit rough around the edges, but that only makes the place more interesting. I'm guessing this place will see some more interesting places very shortly.

Barnet

Barnet is a North London idyllic country village. There are old countryhouses, parks, churches small cozy pubs and cafés. Dr. Livingstone used to live here after his first trip to Africa. This is a great place to escape the crowds of Central London for a stroll on the countryside.

Enfield

Enfield is a village of contrasts. There are beautiful country pubs, rich people's houses, golf course and country roads. Then again, there's also a bit of visible poverty, which manifests as cheap-value shopping areas and dodgy pubs on the main street. There's a feel of being out of London here, which can be nice if you're tired of crowds.

Clapham

Clapham seems wealthier than its neighboring Brixton, but the atmosphere has some similarities. Nice pubs, parks and restaurants. There aren't that many sights in Clapham, but there are nice places to visit. This is a nice residential area close to Brixton's nightlife, where you can also enjoy the nature.

Fulham

Fulham is a lot shabbier than it's neighboring Chelsea, although some fancier areas can be found near Fulham Palace. Rows of regular London houses and few pubs here and there. The proximity of the Thames gives it a good location, when it comes to jogging. Fulham has a suburban feel even though it's quite close to the city centre.

Kew

Kew is a nice, but very upper class neighbourhood close to Richmond. The area is mostly known for enormous botanical gardens, but the small village around it is nice and worth a visit. When I visited here, there were stalls on the street selling delicious pastries, flowers etc. They also had a few nice looking cafés and restaurants.

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.

Harringay

Harringay is a quiet area north of Finsbury Park. The railway divides Harringay into east and west. The west side is full of expensive looking houses for prosperous people. The east side is rougher, but there are more services on this side. A couple of really nice looking restaurants and a large shopping area caught my eye on my first visit to this area. Apparently this is the place to come to for delicious Turkish food, but I need to investigate more. This area used to be somewhat notorious as a rough neighbourhood, but more recently it has become much more relaxed.

Finsbury Park

Finsbury Park obviously has a big park. There are other interesting outdoor areas as well, nice little restaurants and great connections to all other areas in London. The area consists mainly of residential areas, but there are lots of places worth visiting here, whether it's the pubs, entertainment or restaurants you're looking for.

Crouch End

Crouch End is a bit isolated village in North London. I call it isolated because there's no tube station here and it's not easily reached even by trains. There are some really nice places here though, so it might be worth the visit. There are nice but quiet pubs, ethnic restaurants and small shops. Some of the houses look really fancy, but the area itself is not too posh. Most of the film Shaun of the Dead was filmed here.

Wood Green

Wood Green is a suburb-like area. It's got all the basic services such as shops, cinema, restaurants and pubs. I'm not too familiar with this place though. I know the place basically because of it's proximity to Alexandra Palace and the park in front of it. Areas to the south are a bit rougher when you approach Harringay, but even the Green lanes are now showing some signs of gentrification.

Harrow

The buildings around Harrow on the Hill station are just like any others in the dull suburbia of London, but the old historic Harrow on the Hill with it's old magnificent school buildings and churches make it worth visiting. That's why this page is solely on the old historic centre rather than the whole area of Harrow. If I ever find anything worth visiting in the rest of the Harrow, I'll let you know.