Name: 36 Unique London Spots Only Locals Know About
Uploaded: 2026-02-05T11:16:37.000Z
Duration: 32 min 17 s
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From dining on a cheese barge to drinking coffee in a former Victorian toilet, and

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even strolling along parts of the Roman wall from the time when London was known as Londinium 2000 years ago, there's no shortage of quirky and unique things to do in the UK capital.

In this video, we're going to take you on off the beaten path exploration of most places that tourists miss.

This video will be divided into chapters, sorted out by location for your convenience and so that you can easily incorporate the places we visit into one of your London itineraries.

And if you're looking for one of those, we actually have a three day full guided tour on our channel.

Paddington is situated in West London and is best known for its proximity to Hyde park and its big bustling station, which sees over 66 million annual entries and exits.

Despite being a district with so much thoroughfare, there are a few hidden gems that are a bit off the beaten path which we'll run through now.

Little Venice is particularly picturesque and I really love visiting in the spring when all of the cherry blossoms are out, and

in the fall when you get to see all of the autumn leaves.

Like many of these Venice type names, no one actually knows the original of Little Venice and however, it was probably coined at some time in the 19th century because of its resemblance to Venice.

With all of the beautiful canals and canalside houses.

The area grew to particular prominence during the 19th century when lots of canals were built, as this was a main way to transport goods in and out of London.

During Victorian times, writers, artists and other creatives moved to the area.

Today, Little Venice is still associated with lots of big names, including Jennifer Saunders and Kate Moss and Robbie Williams.

One of the more picturesque spots within Little Venice is at the junction where three canals meet to form a triangular basin.

Here you'll find an abundance of local wildlife, which might be surprising considering you're right in the heart of central London.

One of the more unique boats in the area is the Puppet Barge, which has been entertaining younger visitors to Little Venice for over 30 years.

Because of all the canals, there are a surprising number of boat themed activities you can do.

Of course, you can go on a canal cruise along the water, but

one of the most fun things to do in the area is actually to go onto one of the many boats into the cafes and bars and restaurants.

We're currently on the Cheese Barge, which offers up small plates of British cheese.

We've ended up going for the set menu, which is a soup, a choice of a cheese sandwich and there's Also a dessert, which we'll have afterwards.

So overall, it was a really fun experience.

However, I probably wouldn't go again for two reasons.

Firstly, although it's a cheese restaurant, the food was still very oily.

And the second thing, it was very, very slow.

So we spent over an hour in the restaurant and all we had was, like, a sandwich and a soup.

Paddington Bear is a beloved fictional character created by Michael Bond in the 1950s.

Today, you can follow a trail of Paddington Bear characters all over Paddington.

This Paddington Bear statue can be found on platform one of Paddington Station.

It has a pretty special place in the story of Paddington Bear because this is where the little bear was first found by Mr.

It was actually unveiled to the public in 2000 by Michael Bond.

The real time clock was created by Dutch artist Martin Bass in 2009, and

it depicts a worker inside the clock, visually creating each minute as the seconds go by.

We've just arrived at the floating pocket park to relax for a bit, which is why I picked up this matcha.

Now, the really interesting thing, apart from the fact that the park floats, is the bridge we're on at the moment actually lifts up a few times a week to present a fan shape.

There are these little pockets of calm called Muse trees.

They date back to a time when London was run on horsepower and traditionally they would have housed stables.

Today, they're some of the most exclusive residences in the city.

Some of the more popular ones include Kainans Muse and St.

Luke's Muse, which are both found in Notting Hill and South Kensington.

This one is Bathurst Mews and it's particularly charming.

So something I didn't realize about this particular Mews street is that it's actually still home to a stables where you can see some horses.

Italian gardens sit between Hyde park and Kensington Gardens.

They're believed to have been created in the 1860s and were probably a gift from Prince Albert to his brother, beloved Queen Victoria.

Today, they comprise of five basins and some beautiful flowers.

Honestly, this is a very quiet, peaceful spot where lots of Londoners love to come and hang out.

I think a lot of people don't know about them, but they are very gorgeous.

While there's no bad time to visit the gardens per se, the best time to visit is probably during the late spring, when an abundance of flowers can be enjoyed.

This isn't necessarily a hidden gem, but there is a huge number of parakeets living across London.

it's thought that they arrived in the 1970s when a few caged birds escaped into the wild.

Today they're thriving and they can easily be spotted because they're bright green.

This is Reformers Tree, and once upon a time, an oak tree would have stood here on site.

And this is where members of the Reformers League who were campaigning for the right for all men to vote, would have gathered and protested.

In 1866, the tree was burnt down and the remaining stump became a notice board of sorts.

And here people would gather, as this had become a symbol for the right to protest and the right to gather.

In 1872, following an act of Parliament, Speaker's Corner was established on the corner of Hyde Park.

This meant that anyone could talk about anything they wanted, as long as they refrain from using obscene language.

This place doesn't look like much, but this is Tyburn Tree, which is where Tyburn Galloways was situated.

And this was the main execution point in London from the 16th to 18th centuries.

Today we're really close to the Marble Arch tube station, Oxford street, and

to be honest, right now we're in the middle of a crossing It a busy, busy street, but

London's West End is pretty iconic because here you can explore the world famous Covent Garden, the beautiful streets of Marylebone and many other famous London attractions is probably where you'll spend most of your time in London when you come to this city.

Luckily, however, there is still a plethora of hidden gems and unique things to do in this area which we're going to explore.

Now, Just because you're going in an underground passage to cross the street doesn't mean it doesn't have to be fun.

This is the Wonder Pass and it's full of local historical facts and little miniature artworks.

It's also a bit of a hidden gem because most people just use the level crossings to cross the street and so there's hardly anyone else here.

London is obviously quite famous for all of its massive green spaces, but

the other thing that it is home to is lots of smaller gardens and parks which are tucked away in residential areas and not that many people know about.

We're going to go and visit one of those now.

The Garden of Rest commemorates a church which was on site on Marylebone Road that was sadly very, very damaged by the Blitz.

Unfortunately, the money wasn't around at the time in order to restore the church and so in 1949 it was demolished.

Today, this lovely, quiet, peaceful park is dedicated to the graveyard and church that once stood on site.

You can even see some of the former gravestones lining the corners of the park.

While most churches in the UK are Protestant, the Church of St James is actually a Catholic denomination church.

It's one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture here in London and it dates dates all the way back to 1890.

I've probably mentioned this in a few videos before, but

this is one of my favorite museums in London and I consider it a bit of a hidden gem because not that many people know about it.

This is the Wallace Collection and it's housed within Hertford House.

It's completely free to visit and features a particularly fine collection of 18th century French paintings, porcelain and furniture.

There's also a really nice cafe in the back in the conservatory area.

The center of London is peppered with new streets, but

one of my personal favorites is this one which is Wimpole Mews.

Unfortunately there is a bit of construction here right now, but the street remains lovely and calm.

Have you ever dreamed of having a coffee in a former Victorian toilet?

Well, that's the exact experience you'll get if you head to a tenant court coffee in Fitzrovia.

There's a few branches across the city, but

the one in this area specifically is housed within a former men's urinals.

Despite the fact that we're really close to Covent Garden, which is one of the busiest places in London and is in fact so busy that often my phone doesn't even have signal when we go there.

It's quite busy today because it's currently the school holidays, but

it's still quite peaceful in comparison to nearby Covent Garden.