A Local's Guide to London's Hidden Streets
London hides its best streets one turn away from its busiest ones. Step through the right archway and the noise stops — gas lamps, bow windows, a courtyard nobody told you about. Here are the ones our guides take people to first.
Goodwin's Court, Covent Garden
A slip of an alley off St Martin's Lane lined with bowed Georgian shopfronts and working gas lamps. Blink on the way past and you will miss it — most people do.
Postman's Park, City of London
A quiet garden holding the Watts Memorial: Victorian ceramic tablets honouring ordinary people who died saving others. One of the most moving spots in London, and one of the least visited.
Cecil Court, near Leicester Square
A pedestrian lane of antiquarian bookshops and print dealers, essentially unchanged since the 1890s. A young Mozart once lodged here.
Neal's Yard, Covent Garden
A burst of painted colour hidden inside a triangle of ordinary streets. Come early in the morning when it belongs to the locals.
Leadenhall Market
Not exactly secret, but always missed: a glorious Victorian arcade in the heart of the Square Mile, built over the site of the Roman forum. Weekday mornings are best.
Kynance Mews, Kensington
Cobblestones, wisteria and rose-covered cottages behind an archway — proof that some of London's prettiest streets were built as stables.
How to find your own
Go early, look up, and turn into the lane that doesn't look like it goes anywhere. Or walk with someone who already knows: that is what our Hidden London guides do every day.
Join our Hidden London Walk with a local guide.