Get it going in East London’s Shoreditch
Once the industrial engine for London’s economy, it has become – after a complicated history including immigration, economic underclass, Dickensian slums and Jack the Ripper- one of the most lively, ever-evolving, most artistic and vibrant areas of London. Shoreditch is a turmoil of street-art, street food, markets and odd pop-ups that you just cannot resist, and where our hipster-related eyerolls will probably have to stop… because this is actually kind of cool.
You can’t ever get bored here, there’s always some quirky activity to keep you entertained.
- You can start with an early morning walk (better if you want to avoid crowds).
Take a look around. Shoreditch is the international home of street art: go on a hunt to find new pieces and look for the artists you like the most, and to absorb the creativity that birthed all of this. Street art is everywhere, stay still for a while and they’ll paint over you too.
- Challenge a friend with a game of Ping Pong at Bounce on Old Street, where you can also play beer pong, wonderball and shuffleboard, so you surely won’t be short on games as you stuff your face with their wide range of pizzas. If you don’t know how to play, there are ‘games gurus’ moving across the venue who will be able to help you with the rules of each game . And
DRUMROLLLLLLL
They do bottomless brunch! You can ping pong between tasty sweet and savory treats, isn’t that great? Yes, yes it is.
- Take a seat at the Electric Cinema: 50 armchairs with a side table and blankets to sit down, warm and cozy, to enjoy the screening with snacks and drinks, but that’s not all! Book a front seat if your favorite way to enjoy a movie is laying down and cuddled up, because that’s exactly what you’ll get! A comfy mattress, a nice blanket, and the best cinema experience of your life.
- Play Drag Bingo with Ginger. Is there anything more to say? Head to the Looking Glass Cocktail Club for an outrageously funny night of bingo, dancing, team games and incredible prizes – this is a must-do. Find them at Kachette Shoreditch every other Friday, for “balls, babes and bingo”.
- Visit the local feline icon, the UK’s longest running cat cafe Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium, it’s way beyond your average cat cafe. Heaven for rescue kitties and kittie lovers alike.
The inside is themed like Alice in Wonderland, and you also get to hang out with cats and cakes? It’s not merely a pleasure, it’s a need. - Make time for a pit-stop at the ball-pit! What are we talking about? It’s Ballie Ballerson, ball pit cocktail bar of course! Where else can you release your inner child in a ball pit, while also having a few drinks?
Prices vary throughout the week, so if you’ve got the option to go mid-week you can score a great deal. It’s fun, it’s unordinary, it’s the best to feel like a kid
7. Noted as one of the world’s best bars, Nightjar is an obvious must when it comes to unique places to visit in Shoreditch. It’s a cool speakeasy with some sleek decor and eccentric cocktails, with live jazz and swing bands, perfect for sipping delicious, expertly-crafted cocktails in style. Of course there are plenty of other very note-worthy bars, such as Happiness Forgets and Ever After on Hoxton Square, The Cocktail Trading Co and Found, and exuberant spots like Callooh Callay, all in all it’s unlikely you’ll leave with a dry mouth.
8. Columbia Road flower market deserves some time. One of the most popular weekend markets in London, there are vendors offering everything from succulents and houseplants to opulent bouquets, bulbs and herbs. It’s easy to reach, only a five-minute walk from Hoxton and Shoreditch High Street railway stations on the East London line. Listen to the loud traders shouting while taking in the perfume of the plants and flowers.
9. Shoreditch is famous for everything”street”, and street food is definitely one of those. Pick a post-night out breakfast at Brick Lane bagel institution, Beigel Bake. A classic end to a late, great East End night out, since it opens at 6am. If you manage to keep your eyes open a little bit longer, you can browse the Sunday market for global street food such as Canadian poutine and Thai treats, it’s great, especially if you’d been drinking… But Backyard Market or Sunday Upmarket are your go-to when outside it’s cold and wet.
10. BOXPARK. Now this really is a cool one. We mentioned pop-ups, right? Well, here is the world’s first pop-up mall that opened in Shoreditch, in 2011. Finding a creative way to use shipping containers, it’s totally in tune with the cool, creative vibe of the area – it mixes fashion, food, drinks and entertainment. BOXPARK is a siren call to all foodies with its pop-ups from the vegan CookDaily to Soft Serve Society, a dessert spot selling freakshakes, tea, coffee and creative versions of sweet treats. The venue sits under Shoreditch High Street Overground Station, an it also has four bars and a late-night event space.
11. Take a dive in history at Elder Street. Sitting oddly close to the shiny sleek buildings around Liverpool Street Station, it’s one of London’s finest preserved Georgian streets. A national treasure that won’t end up swallowed into modernity, and that can’t give you a sense of a long (but not too long)-gone London.
12. Put on some comfy shoes and head towards Hackney City Farm, an unexpected bit of countryside in the midst of London! It is completely free to visit and has all sorts of farm animals including horses, goats, sheep and chickens, go, take your kids to look at all those chickens! As well as a paddock to graze in (the animals, you’re not allowed to), there are several stable buildings you can visit, plus there is a cafe and a small shop selling organic produce.
13. If poopy grounds aren’t the thing for you, The Queen of Hoxton is very much the opposite. It’s one of our go-to rooftop bars, with a good, grungy live entertainment, it’s a bar and club spread over multiple floors. Coming in the summer is the best for the rooftop set-up (a couple of bars plus a food hatch) plus their outdoor cinema and stunning sunset view, perfect for the end of a day of exploring, or maybe a date?
14. Into books? How lucky for you! Go and browse Books at Libraria, that is to say one of the coolest bookstores in London. Find it just off Brick Lane on Hanbury. Try and find your bearings within their original book-shelving approach: the sections are named like esoteric topics such as “brain and being” or “ways of seeing”. It’s their own particular way of encouraging browsing and foraging lucky discoveries. If you like social commitment, you should know that on Mondays, their closing day, they lend their space to social service organizations in aid of recent immigrants helping them with language and assimilation skills. We love that, don’t you?
15. Head into Shoreditch’s green patches to find the peak of counterculture: the Nomadic Community Gardens are a community space settled in between two sets of train tracks (of course, what else could you expect). “Nomadic” because the current owner of the property has yet to develop the land, so he is letting the community use it temporarily. And “garden” because, well, obviously, there are vegetable gardens located in the space. Find murals, sculptures made of trash and abandoned objects, have a bev at the mobile coffee shop and sip it at the fire pit. The Para Carnival, run by Sharif, is a program that engages disabled folks to participate in local carnivals and parades. The whole place has that outer world, hippie community vibe that makes it a wonderful spot to just be.
There are many more, obviously, the activities in this peculiar, thrummy, and lovable neighbourhood are neverending, but these are the ones that we really really think you should try out!