London Hidden Gems: 15 Places Tourists Always Miss

Tucked inside Holland Park, the Kyoto Garden is a tranquil Japanese garden complete with a waterfall, koi pond, and perfectly manicured trees. Donated by the city of Kyoto in 1991, it feels a world away from the bustle of Kensington High Street just minutes away. Peacocks roam freely in the surrounding park. It is free to visit and rarely crowded.

A warehouse in Walthamstow filled with thousands of neon signs, vintage movie props, and illuminated artworks. God's Own Junkyard was the workshop of neon artist Chris Bracey and is now a dazzling gallery and cafe. Open weekends only, it is one of the most Instagrammable spots in London. The Rolling Scones cafe next door serves excellent cakes. Walthamstow itself is increasingly trendy, with great street food at the nearby Ravenswood Industrial Estate.

The former home of Victorian artist Frederic Leighton is one of London's most extraordinary interiors. The Arab Hall, inspired by his travels in the Middle East, is covered floor-to-ceiling in turquoise and gold Islamic tiles. The rest of the house showcases his paintings and the luxurious lifestyle of a successful Victorian artist. It costs just a few pounds to enter and is never crowded.

In the churchyard of St Pancras Old Church, headstones are arranged in a circle around an ash tree. This unusual sight was created by a young Thomas Hardy (yes, the novelist) when he worked as an architect's apprentice and was tasked with relocating graves to make way for the railway. The churchyard also has one of London's oldest churches and a lovely community garden.

This small park near St Paul's Cathedral contains one of London's most moving memorials. Victorian artist George Frederic Watts created a wall of ceramic plaques commemorating ordinary people who died saving others. Each plaque tells a brief, heartbreaking story. The park itself is a peaceful green space popular with City workers at lunchtime but almost unknown to tourists.

In Rotherhithe, the small Brunel Museum tells the story of the Thames Tunnel, the first tunnel ever built under a navigable river. Designed by Marc Brunel and completed by his son Isambard Kingdom Brunel, it was an engineering marvel of the 1840s. The underground chamber occasionally hosts concerts and events with extraordinary acoustics. The museum is a 5-minute walk from Rotherhithe station.

London is full of secret spots if you wander beyond the tourist trails:

• Dennis Severs' House (Spitalfields) - a time capsule of 18th-century London, experienced in silence
• Crossness Pumping Station (Abbey Wood) - Victorian industrial architecture more ornate than most palaces
• The Pergola at Hampstead Heath - an Edwardian elevated walkway draped in wisteria, hidden above the Heath
• Wilton's Music Hall (Whitechapel) - the oldest surviving grand music hall in the world
• The Charterhouse (Smithfield) - a 600-year-old former monastery, plague burial ground, and almshouse
• Daunt Books (Marylebone) - a stunning Edwardian bookshop with a long oak gallery
• The Sir John Soane's Museum (Holborn) - an architect's obsessive collection crammed into a townhouse, free to visit
• The Wellcome Collection (Euston) - art meets medicine in one of London's most thought-provoking free museums
• Cable Street Mural (Shadwell) - a huge mural commemorating the 1936 Battle of Cable Street

Want to explore London with a local guide who knows all the secret spots? A walking tour is the best way to discover places you would never find on your own.

The best way to discover London's secrets is to wander without a strict itinerary. Get off the Tube one stop early and walk. Explore side streets and alleys. Visit on weekdays when tourist crowds thin out. Talk to locals, ask baristas and shop owners for recommendations. London rewards curiosity more than almost any other city.

For more ideas, see our budget guide (many hidden gems are free) or browse our local tips section for insider advice.