Welcome to Londonist: Time Machine. This week, something a bit different. Rather than dip into a particular facet of London history, I thought I’d instead look at tips for exploring that history. While libraries and archives are invaluable, I’ve always believed that “getting out there and seeing the city” is equally important. Below, I’ve jotted down my thoughts on the best ways to do this. Where to go, what to look for, and a few peculiar habits to cultivate if you want to internalise the city’s geography and history. But first a quick announcement…
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How to Explore London
It’s a big old city, isn’t it? Nobody can ever know London in total. It is, as Peter Ackroyd so shrewdly observes, illimitable. But that shouldn’t stop us trying. The wonderful thing about pursuing an impossible goal is that the thrill of the chase can never end.
I’m 20 years into my own chase. Exploring London has been both my business and my pleasure since I wrote my first Londonist article in 2005. In that time, I’ve got myself into all kinds of weird behavioural patterns, which better help me memorise the history and geography of the city. In today’s article, I’d like to share some of these tips with you. I have no idea if you’ll find them interesting, or whether you’ll think me a little bit odd.
For readers overseas or elsewhere in the UK (of whom I know there are many), you can apply most of these ideas to any big city — it’s not London specific. Apart from the first one. Here we go…
1. Visit The London Centre
The first tip I give any newcomer to the city is “Go visit the London Centre”. The first tip I give any lifelong Londoner is “Go visit the London Centre”. This impressive yet little-known resource in the Guildhall complex contains three huge models of London, with three-dimensional buildings sticking up into the air. Half an hour in their company will teach you more about the layout of the city than any amount of map study. There is no better way to envisage how the many areas of Inner London knit together. The models also contain representations of buildings yet to be constructed, and so we even have a window onto the future of London.
The London Centre is free to visit, without booking — just wander in. It’s housed in the same wing as Guildhall Library, which contains many thousands of books and documents about the capital, alongside temporary exhibitions. Again, all free.
2. Visit a new building every day
Samuel Johnson observed that it is not enough to survey the great streets of London, but you must also visit the innumerable alleys and courts. I’d go one stage further. Try every building.
It’s impossible of course. London contains well over 100 museums, 600+ railway stations and a dizzying number of pubs, restaurants, cafes, shops and other spaces. Nobody could ever visit them all. Not even close.
But the act of trying, no matter how futile, will greatly add to your stock of knowledge about the city. Make it a rule to go into at least one new building every time you’re in London. I’ve done this for years, and it’s taken me into cafes, bars and corner shops I wouldn’t otherwise have considered. At worst, it’ll help you break routine and broaden your experience of the city. At best, you’ll stumble across any number of surprising features, plaques and architectural oddities, which you wouldn’t have otherwise seen. And you never know who you might get talking to.
It need not be somewhere impressive or expensive. A corner shop, a bank, a library… even a public toilet. Explore everything!
3. Always take the road less travelled
When the world was young, and I was newly arrived in London, my commute involved a walk between Waterloo station and Fitzrovia. I took the same path every time — straight across Hungerford Bridge, over Trafalgar Square and up Charing Cross Road. It was the most direct route; what I knew. I never thought to go off piste. Get to work as fast as possible. Head down. I now look back and regret that I didn’t explore the side streets. You could easily sketch out 50 different ways to walk from Waterloo to Fitzrovia that stray only five minutes from the fastest route but take in different streets, different sights, different histories.
These days I rarely follow the most direct route. My journey from A to B will deliberately stray along nearby roads that I’ve never been down1. Even the least promising residential street can hide secrets — a plaque to somebody you never knew lived there, an unusual post box… a boot scraper turned into a toy mousehole.
Diverting down unfamiliar streets will quickly build up your wider knowledge of the city, especially in central London where every turning holds a deep history.
4. View the city through different filters
We all have streets we need to walk down every day. Often, these are the roads nearest our home or place of work. It is easy to switch off and pay no attention to these familiar routes.
Even the most well-trodden pavement can become a classroom, however, if you view it through a new filter. Try this: next time you walk along your local high street, ignore the people and the shops and the cars2 . Focus only on the plant life. What trees grow along the route? Can you identify them all? What lives within each tree? Notice the planters, the ornamental verges, the plants between the cracks, the mosses and lichen and the hanging baskets. You will appreciate your local area a little more, but you will also build up a stock of knowledge to help you better understand the wider city. My aptly named friend
gave me an insight here. Each council has its own preferences when choosing new street trees. You can almost tell which borough you’re in from the arboreal selection.That’s just day one. Next time, walk along that familiar street and focus only on the street art and graffiti tags; or maybe the street furniture (benches, postboxes, bollards, etc.); or the parking restrictions; or the footwear of passers-by; or the sounds you can hear; or the aromas you can smell. Find seven different filters that appeal to you, and rotate through them week after week. You will learn so much.
5. Colour-in the tube map
London has 272 tube stations. How many have you been to? I know precisely because I keep a pocket tube map, with visited stations highlighted. That includes Overground, DLR and tram stops, too. I’m ever so slightly ashamed that, after all these years, I’ve yet to visit West Ruislip or Hainault3 or any of the eastern branches of the tram network. But I’m very aware of my known unknowns, and I will get round to these scotomas at some point.
Keeping this kind of record is fun and personally interesting in its own right (well, it is to me). But it also prompts the enquiring mind to ask questions of the city.
“What is at Boston Manor?”
“Is Mudchute as unpleasant as it sounds?”
“Why have I never visited West Ruislip?”
There is, I suspect, no pressing reason to visit West Ruislip unless you live there, have an acquaintance there, or work for HS2. Even so, it has to be visited because it’s there. When I do set out for terra incognito on the tube, I usually leave the station and walk on to somewhere I am familiar with — in this case Uxbridge or Pinner. It helps me better appreciate how unexplored areas of London connect up to my mental map of the capital.
6. Pay attention to slopes
We can learn a lot about the city from its gradients. As most readers will know, London has dozens of “lost rivers” — old watercourses that have disappeared beneath the pavements, usually into sewers. Once you’ve got an eye for them, you will readily spot these fluvial fugitives in the valleys they’ve left in the streetscape. The best example is the valley of the River Fleet, which is very pronounced at places such as King’s Cross Road, and the land either side of Holborn Viaduct. The crease of the River Tyburn is clear to see in the gentle up-and-down of Oxford Street near Bond Street station. These telltale gradients are present everywhere across the city.
Our old rivers can also be descried in local place names. Bayswater, Brentford, Marylebone, Holborn, Peckham… and many more examples are shown on the map above. Anglo-Saxon settlements were usually established close to a river, and so London’s most ancient place names often have a riverine connection. Look for and learn the routes of London’s old rivers and you will learn much about the development of the city.
7. Read some books
One very obvious way to learn about London and its history is to dig into the best books. I’ve covered this topic at length before, with a couple of dozen suggestions. A good place to start, though, would be London: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd, and then the quartet of social history books by Liza Picard, beginning with Elizabeth’s London. (If you want to toss me a few pence in royalties, then Everything You Know About London is Wrong might also be on the reading list 😉)
8. Index your photos
My photos are my memory. For nearly 20 years now, I’ve been a voracious photographer of London. Not in any great artistic way, but just to keep a record of everywhere I’ve been, and to furnish my articles with images.
I store my photos on Flickr. Most days, I’ll upload 10, add titles and tags and make sure the geolocation is accurate. I’m up to about 30,000 photos, all fully indexed. This collection is a handy resource in its own right. But I also use it to help me remember and explore the capital.
If, say, I’m heading out to Croydon, I’ll search my Flickrstream for that keyword to see what photographs I’ve taken here before. I have 120 photos of Croydon, ranging from the deserted interior of Boxpark to some strap-hangers on the tram, to an artily decorated cappuccino I once sipped in the Whitgift shopping centre. By glancing at Flickr, I reinforce my memories of Croydon, which will help me spot if anything has changed on the current visit. Other photo sites are available, but I still find Flickr is the best for arranging images, even after two decades. Well worth the subscription.
9. Learn some skyscrapers
Conventional wisdom is that skyscrapers are A Bad Thing — “hideous eyesores” that ruin the skyline. I disagree, for reasons that aren’t pertinent to this current discussion. But whatever your opinion on London’s high-rise buildings, they bring one benefit that everyone can make use of: navigation.
If anyone asks you the way to London Bridge station, just find the Shard on the skyline and tell them to follow that. Looking for Fitzrovia? Steer yourself towards the BT Tower. Oxford Street has Centre Point. Elephant has the Strata (the tower that looks like an electric shaver). The boomerang-shaped One Blackfriars sits right over the bridge of that name.
Learn the shapes and locations of a dozen prominent skyscrapers and you can easily orient yourself wherever you are in central London.
10. Follow these people
Exploring London is a rewarding but little noted pastime. I suspect that a lot of people enjoy doing it, yet it’s rarely thought of as an activity in its own right — not like “going to the theatre” or “country rambles”. That said, there are plenty of London explorers with a prominent presence on the web and social media, from whom you can learn much. I’d encourage you to check out the following (in alphabetical order):
Diamond Geezer: The greatest London blogger of all time. The Pepys of our age. DG has been blogging daily, with the greatest erudition, for over 20 years, covering everything from broad-brushstroke history to the minutiae of his local bus stop. Website
Ian Visits: Another long-standing blogger, Ian takes a delightfully geeky look at little-known London locations, transport news and upcoming events that curious Londoners might be interested in. Website | Substack:
John Rogers: London’s foremost video chronicler has accumulated over 600 videos on his YouTube channel. John seeks out the lesser-known corners of the capital, or else finds the strange and recondite in well known city streets. Big fan of lost rivers, too. YouTube
Living London History: Jack Chesher is one of the newer crop of London chroniclers, with a keen eye for oddities on the street. Website | Instagram
The London Appreciation Society: A member organisation who arrange talks and site visits around the capital. Over 90 years old! Website
London Historians: Another member organisation, with an excellent monthly newsletter, meetups, talks, pub crawls and site visits. I’m their regular quizmaster. Website
The London Society: Established in 1912, this is one of the oldest societies for “people who like London a bit more than average”. It hosts many talks and meetups and tends towards topics of architecture and the built environment. Website
The London Topographical Society: The granddaddy of all the London-themed member societies, established in 1880, and boasting a royal patron. Members get twice-yearly newsletters and an annual publication, which is usually worth more than the bargain £20 membership fee. Website
A London Inheritance: In-depth and well-researched blog posts about very specific London locations, often drawing on the author’s collection of London photographs, inherited from his father. Website
Londonist: Long before there was a Londonist: Time Machine, there was Londonist… a general interest site about London and everything in it. Much of the site’s content is “things to do” tips or news, but we also have daily features with an historical bent. Website
Look Up London: Katie Wignall has built up a multi-modal London exploration empire with her Look Up London project. Blogs, tour guiding, Instagram, books… she’s filled them all with her encyclopaedic knowledge of London’s quirkier quarters. Website | Instagram
Municipal Dreams: A website turned Substack (and book) with detailed histories of London council housing and social reform. Substack:
Spitalfields Life: Long-running blog by the Gentle Author with daily insights into the people and places of Spitalfields (and often wider London). Website
The Underground Map: Another website that recently ported to Substack, T.U.M. provides detailed histories of individual London streets, squares and areas. Website | Substack:
Walk on the Wild Side: I’m very new to this Substack about the people and places of Soho, but I’m loving what I’ve read so far. The stories usually focus on the history of the area’s music and nightlife. Substack:
Wooden City: Isaac Rangaswami’s Substack of the unusual, under-appreciated and important places of London, often with a focus on shops or restaurants. Listicles have never been so erudite. Substack:
There are many others who could be added to this list, and my apologies to anybody I’ve offended by omission. Please do recommend your own favourites in the comments.
I hope you enjoyed today’s newsletter and found some of the tips helpful. As ever, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments, or email me anytime on matt@londonist.com
No longer possible in central London, so I instead head for roads I haven’t visited in a while, or those most likely to feature something fresh like street art or a new coffee shop.
I mean, don’t get run over or anything… but don’t give them your primary attention.
Actually, in both these cases I have visited the area, but not used the tube station.
London is one of my favorite places in Britain. It's where I lived when I was first married. I love how every area in all the borroughs of it have unique features from buildings to parks to pillar boxes . In America in general, our neighborhoods look fairly similar state to state outside the city centers. We could use some London charm.
Thanks Matt for another brilliant piece and recommendations. Converted me to a paid sub! The new London Museum website is looking good, with a commitment to telling stories and linking them to collections. https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/blog/ A group of us are developing ideas on how to explore Smithfield in time for the opening in 2026. Your tips on local exploration would be invaluable.