- lastminute.com>
- Travel inspiration>
- Cultural Explorer>
- Things To Do In Camden
12 things to do in Camden
Camden is one of the best places in London for people watching. You'll see eccentric characters, all different types of fashion, and people having a go at busking (they're not the slick performers you'll get in Covent Garden). If you're a Londoner, you might know it as the place you went to your first gig. And if you're on holiday here, it's somewhere you'll want to photograph. It's busy, it's gritty and there really isn't anywhere else like it in London - but if that doesn't convince you, here's some more reasons Camden should be on your list.
- Enjoy live music every night of the week
- Head to some of London's best pubs and bars
- Get a decent cuppa
- Eat some amazing food
- Wander around eccentric shops
- Go on a street art tour
- Visit London Zoo
- Watch the sunset
- Stroll, ride or sit along the canal
- See where Dickens got his ideas
- Discover beautiful old buildings
- Attend a festival
1. Enjoy live music every night of the week
Punk and Brit Pop were two of the biggest movements to really explode in Camden Town. And gigs still happen here all week, in venues big and small.
The PowerHaus Camden - formally known as Dingwalls - only fits a maximum of 500 people inside, but had acts like Foo Fighters, Strokes or Mumford and Sons pass through it. The Dublin Castle helped launch the careers of Blur and Amy Winehouse.The Roundhouse is one of north London's landmarks.
2. Head to some of London's best pubs and bars
3. Get a decent cuppa
Visit one of Yumchaa's cafes (we love the Camden Parkway one in what was once a pet shop) or get a takeaway from the stall in Camden Lock Market - loose leaf, naturally. If you like coffee chains you'll be fine, equally if you want an artisan roastery with mismatched furniture and crockery you're in a good part of town.
Coffee Jar always has queues so you know its good.
4. Eat some amazing food
Now KERB Camden Market is open seven days a week there's 35 different food stalls to grab a bite to eat. You'll get the latest cult cuisine in the city here.
If you'd rather go for a sit-down meal then pick something up in the food markets, there's a great range of new and established restaurants.Goodfare Italian cafe has been serving residents and visitors for more than 40 years, and there's a really nice family-friendly vibe here.
York & Albany is a bit more upmarket, with a modern British menu.
5. Wander around eccentric shops
6. Go on a street art tour
There are now more than a hundred murals, graffiti pieces and portraits on hoardings and buildings in Camden - giving Shoreditch a run for its spray-painting money. To see as much of the art as possible, take a walking tour.
You'll find more local art at the Camden Arts Centre. With it being Camden, they also have music nights on here. It's one of our favourite lesser known galleries in London. Proud Camden in the Stables Market is also part nightclub, part art gallery - it's got a 10,000 sq ft exhibition space for photographs.
7. Visit London Zoo
You can actually catch sight of the giraffes from the canal, but it's definitely worth paying to get in and see some of the world's rarest animals up close. You can even stay the night in the new lion zone.
8. Watch the sunset
Primrose Hill park used to be a place for duels, but these days it just goes quietly about its business as one of the best natural viewpoints in London. It's surrounded by beautiful grand houses and they kindly keep the trees low so you can see across the city.
9. Stroll, ride or sit along the canal
The Regent's Canal towpath stretches from the depths of Paddington all the way east to Stratford. You can take a themed (or normal) narrowboat tour, a waterbus, Santander bike, or walk along it. Or grab some food from the market, and sit along the edge. Keep an eye out for the diagonal bridge with cobbles as well as the places where the horses that towed the barges were tethered. To discover more about the history of the canals - pop down to Kings Cross and visit the London Canal Museum.
10. See where Dickens got his ideas
Charles Dickens lived in Royal College Street (now No. 112 College Place) - and placed many of his characters in Camden, including the long-suffering Bob Cratchit's family in A Christmas Carol. Other famous residents of that street included the French poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine, who enjoyed a stormy romantic relationship at No. 8. There was even an influential group of artists who met in the area at Walter Sickert's studio - and they called themselves the Camden Town Group. Sickert's most famous work is the gruesomely titled, The Camden Town Murder.
Gloucester Crescent in Camden Town is immortalised in the film, The Lady in the Van, starring Maggie Smith. It tells the real story of Miss Shephard, who lived in the driveway of playwright Alan Bennett. The out-of-work actors in cult-comedy also live in Camden Town. Although sadly Richard E Grant and Paul McGann's "local" has been demolished now.
11. Discover beautiful old buildings
St Pancras Old Church can lay claim to being one of the oldest Christian sites in London, however it had to be rebuilt and reworked in Victorian times to create the pretty place of worship it is today. Raymond Burton House houses the Jewish Museum London. The former Carreras Cigarette Factory is an Art Deco masterpiece, best known for its Egyptian-style gigantic effigies of black cats at the entrance.
12. Attend a festival
Camden Rocks festival is a June all-dayer - more than a hundred acts play at venues across the area. The month-long Camden Fringe runs at the same time as its larger Edinburgh counterpart - but has about 250 different productions on at 25 venues.
Sign up to our newsletter
We'll send you exclusive offers and sneak peeks of our best deals,
plus travel tips and the latest advice on where you can go.
Connect with us
Mobile app
Support and useful information
