London is a great city with so much going on but people only tend to visit once. When they’ve seen all of the best attractions that the city has to offer, they think they’ve done it all. That’s such a shame because you’ve only scratched the surface and there is plenty more to see and do around the city. Beyond all of the well publicised tourist attractions, there are plenty of hidden locations that only the locals know about. It’s by finding these places that you’ll get a truly authentic London experience. These are some of the best hidden gems the city has to offer.
Ginglik
When you’re looking for places to spend a nice evening, an old Victorian toilet probably isn’t top of your list, but it should be. Ginglik, a Victorian toilet that has been transformed into an amazing music and events venue. A lot of famous British comedians play there and you can often see bands down there as well. Some of the Best West London Hotels are in Shepherds Bush, very close to this great little venue so it’s a good place to stay while you’re in London. It’s one of London’s most fashionable clubs but most tourists have never even heard of it.
Fake Downing Street
When you’re in London you can see Buckingham Palace and you can visit Downing Street, the home of the Prime Minister. The problem is, you can’t get down the road to actually see it up close. If you’re desperate for a picture outside the front door, head to the fake Downing Street on The Strand. This replica of the front door is so accurate that it’s difficult to tell the difference between the two in photographs. Nobody has to know, you can just tell them that you were invited to stand outside the real 10 Downing Street.
Wiltons Music Hall
Wiltons music hall claims to be the oldest music hall in the entire world. Whether that claim is true or not, nobody knows, but it’s still worth visiting. The beautiful building, which is now grade 2 listed, was founded in 1743 as an ale house for ship captains before being turned into a music hall in the 1800’s. There are all sorts of events on there but they mainly hold concerts on a regular basis. Even if you can’t make it there for a show in the evening, it’s still worth going to see the building itself during the day.
Britain’s Smallest Police Station
Chances are, you might have walked past this one a couple of times if you’ve been around the city doing all of the normal touristy stuff because it sits right in the middle of Trafalgar Square. It’s easy to miss though because it’s tiny. It was originally built as a post to monitor protests in the area in the 1800’s. It has a lamp from Nelson's ship, the HMS Victory sitting on top of it. This interesting little piece of history isn’t used as a police station these days though, the council use it as a storage cupboard now.
Next time you head back to London, skip all of the tourist stuff and find some of these hidden gems instead.
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