Soho is a wonderful place for a lot of things you've mentioned! You could spend weeks i just that area honestly... To start you off, you might want to check out what's on at the Photographer's gallery when you're in town. They have some great exhibitions sometimes!
Hard not to recommend the natural history, science, and V&A museums, which are all in Kensington and easy to get to from Soho. They are all free entry and often have great free exhibitions alongside some paid optional wings. You can take a walk through Hyde Park while you're there, too! Personally, though, nothing beats the Tate Modern which is also super easy to get to from Soho, and again has free entry to almost all of it.
Soho obviously has a big reputation for queer history in London — there's plenty of hotspots and bars worth looking into in the area.
Thrifting, you might have more luck in north and east london. If you just want the highlights, it's hard to go wrong shopping and a bagel in Brick Lane.
Bonus — Flat White in Soho has my favourite coffee in London :)
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Go down to Brick Lane on Saturday or Sunday for the vintage market, it’s huge! Skip hotel breakfast and get a bagel from Beigel Bake while you’re there
Camden Market is where everyone goes. There’s lots of cute stalls and plenty of indie stores between the tourist traps. Try to go during the week because it can get overwhelming with people
Take advantage of the free (yes 100% free) museums!
V&A is a must, especially the costume wing
National Gallery/National Portrait Gallery is also nice
Also, cannot emphasize enough to only eat ethnic food while you’re there and eat as much as you can
Dishoom (if you can’t get a dinner res just stand in line for lunch) is still a top 3 meal of all time for me
Try and get a res at Darjeeling Express! Chef Asma Kahn and her all-women run kitchen were featured on Chefs Table if you want to get to know her and the restaurant better and cry so much
Zima is a v cute Russian spot in SoHo with cafe vibes and cool art
If you’re a garlic girlie, Garlic and Shots is right around the corner and has, yes, so many different shots you can take and so much good bar food with garlic
There’s also a casual Sri Lankan food place called Hoppers on the same block
Seriously, forget about going out of your way for British food. You’ll be disappointed every time
If you ever want to get out of SoHo, walking is so rewarding and there’s a ton a cute things to see. Also, the train is super easy (you can just use your phone to tap in and out now) if you want to explore other neighborhoods further out
Jan 3, 2025
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get the overground around Hackney ! It’s pretty!
most of the museums/galleries have free collections (both Tate modern & Tate Britain, national gallery, V&A as already mentioned — V&A definitely worth a visit) . i also love the museum of the home, the photographer’s gallery, & the ICA (ICA has a cinema and brilliant bookshop also, & it’s v near Trafalgar Square so you can combine classic tourist activity with Something more obscure lol!).
I am a big shopping gworl so i actually love dipping around carnaby street and libertys (which is so beautiful inside!).
depends where youre staying etc and if it stays sunny but honestly the quintessential summer thing to do would be : Sit in a pub with a garden !!!!!
& again - as it’s summer - highly recommend finding a gross little club or gig to go to. if I’m bored I just check resident advisor or dice and see whats coming up.
if you’re comfortable sharing which area you’re staying in then I can send more specific recs hehe
Aug 5, 2024
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-arancina (notting hill) - casual pizza and arancini etc.
-mayfair mercato - food hall in a former church
-spitafields market - another great food hall! I recommend you combine this activity with some vintage shopping on brick lane!
-regency cafe - can get a great full english
-walk along the South Bank - fun energy lots of bars right along the Thames
-Holland Park - there are peacocks in the Kyoto Garden!
-SoHo to go out if you want really crazy going out vibes in the center of things
-Heaven (night club)
-The Social - go see local bands, London has a good music scene
- Borough Market
-Good neighborhoods for going out: Shoreditch, Camden, Hackney
-Tate Modern
-Victoria and Albert museum (free and in a good area)
2d ago
Top Recs from @greebo
I'm not obsessed with it but it's always sweet when the barista does something cool. This one yesterday made me smile because after seeing a few others I realised the guy was doing Pokémon! Fairly certain mine is mew or Mewtwo, I saw him do a horsea, pikachu, and squirtle too...
Mar 4, 2025
Feels a bit redundant to recommend one of the most popular movies of all time, but for me this one had kind of stayed in the category "I'm sure it's good, I'll get to it some day".
A friend put it on and I absolutely adored it – it wasn't just a great, scary horror movie – it covered a breadth of genres, was written really well, had great acting, and looked just wonderful.
Jan 4, 2025
Not to get too poetic on Main, but we're all so used to the idea of our breath fogging up as we walk in the cold. Sometimes you have to turn around as you're walking and watch the remainder of your breath disappear into the air. Best recommended for the drunk walk home from the pub.
Feb 26, 2025