Cities like London are top of mind for travelers, but they’re difficult to dig into.
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With almost two thousand years of history under its belt, this capital is massive, ancient, and ready to be discovered. It’s also incredibly modern, home to larger-than-life establishments, contemporary gardens, and so much more.
In short, even those who stick around for a full week (or four) might find that they don’t have enough time to really dig into London’s underbelly.
Sure, we all want to wander the halls of the Tate Modern, catch a glimpse of Big Ben and the Tower of London, then go on a spooky little Jack the Ripper tour. We want to catch a ride on the Eye of London, then head to a concert at the O2 Arena.
But one of the best ways to really get to know a city is through its more idiosyncratic sites—those places that locals adore and tourists rarely see.
In a place like London, you won’t be short on those types of destinations… but you need to know where to find them.
I’ve selected three lesser-known attractions in London that showcase the city’s long history, modern sensibilities, and endlessly fascinating rabbit hole-like side streets.
3 lesser-known attractions in London worth your time
Walk into the past at Dennis Severs’ House
Dennis Severs was an English artist born in 1948. He occupied this Georgian home (built in 1724) from 1979 until his death in 1998. During that twenty-year stint, Severs began painstakingly restoring the home room by room into a historically semi-accurate depiction of life in the 18th century.
Specifically, Severs was creating a dream-like vision of how a family of Huguenot silk weavers would have occupied the home. The result is a ten-room bonanza of ‘swag’ from the 1600s and 1700s, laid out in painstaking fashion.
There’s even a ‘Victorian poverty and squalor’ room in Dennis Severs’ House, which smells appropriately disgusting.
Learn about rock royalty on Eel Pie Island
This island is set in the center of the Thames—and you might recognize the name if you’re a fan of classic rock. During the 1960s, Eel Pie Island was home to a popular venue for jazz and blues.
That, eventually, became one of the first performance venues for some of the world’s top rock acts, including The Rolling Stones, The Who, and Pink Floyd.
Today, you can explore the remnants of the venue, which is now one of the lesser-known attractions in London because it burned down in the early 1970s.
Just take the newly restored footbridge onto the island, then follow the plaques to learn about its history. I’m not the biggest fan of rock music, so I’d probably spend my time learning about why the island got this name.
Get medicinal at the Chelsea Physic Garden
I don’t usually associate Victorian London with health. In fact, I remember one of my tour guides in London describing a type of Pea Soup Fog that would overtake the city, slowly poisoning its residents with each breath.
But that’s just one side of the story.
Welcome to the Chelsea Physic Garden, which was established back in 1673 by a society of apothecaries in order to grow medicinal herbs. It’s not just a cool historical site, though—it’s one of the country’s oldest botanical gardens.
For centuries, the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries preserved and maintained the gardens. Today, it’s home to over 4,500 medicinal and edible plants. When you take a tour of the gardens, you can learn about the history of medicine and botany in London, along with modern plant-based medical practices.
