How to Experience London Like a Local

Skip the checklist: this is how locals actually enjoy London

1. 1

   Oyster card

   Transport for London ticket machines or 4,000+ shops · Electronic smartcard for all London public transport · Load with credit, tap at yellow readers when entering and exiting

   Oyster cards are electronic smartcards used to pay for public transport in London and can be used on the Tube, Elizabeth line, buses, trams, Docklands Light Railway, London Cable Car, Uber Boat by Thames Clippers river bus services, London Overground and most National Rail services. The majority of Londoners currently use an Oyster card routinely to pay for all their public transport needs. Simply tap the card on the yellow card reader at the gates when you enter and exit a Tube station or as you board a London bus or tram. Locals load credit, use it daily without thinking about it, and never buy single tickets—paying cash for a single Underground journey in the centre of London is more than double the price of the same fare with an Oyster card.

   Source: Visit London / Transport for London
2. 2

   Borough Market

   8 Southwark Street, London Bridge, SE1 1TL · Historic food market with produce and street food stalls · Tuesday–Sunday 9am–5pm; mornings quietest on Tuesdays and Wednesdays

   This market is one of London's oldest and largest food markets, with over 100 delicatessens, butchers, fishmongers, and cheesemakers selling fresh produce, meats, artisanal delicacies, and more. Visiting in the mornings during the week is best if you want to explore Borough Market at your leisure without the bustling crowds, with Tuesdays and Wednesdays tending to be quieter than Thursdays and Fridays. Locals come here for actual shopping—not photo ops—grabbing fish, vegetables, cheese and bread. It's where you shop before dinner, not a destination in itself.

   Source: Carpe Diem Tours / Borough Market
3. 3

   E. Pellicci

   337 Bethnal Green Road, Bethnal Green, E2 6NF · Café and institution · Monday–Friday 6.30am–2pm, Saturday 10am–1pm; closed Sunday

   This Bethnal Green institution has been feeding the local community for more than 120 years, named after Elide, wife of Primao Pellicci who first started working in the cafe in 1900, and the traditional cafe is still owned and managed by the family. The orange panelled wooden decor was carved by regular customer and carpenter Achille Capocci in 1946 and, thanks to his handiwork, the cafe has been granted Grade II listed status. Walk in before 8am and sit at the same Formica counter as builders, nurses and dog walkers. Order eggs and toast. This is what London breakfast actually is.

   Source: Globetotting
4. 4

   Brick Lane

   East London, Aldgate East or Shoreditch High Street station · Bangladeshi curry houses, beigel shops, street food · Open daily; best late on Friday and Saturday nights

   From the 1970s onwards, Bangladeshi families — predominantly from the Sylhet region — transformed Brick Lane into what locals now call Banglatown, with neon-lit curry houses that line both sides of the street as their legacy, and whilst some have become tourist traps, others remain genuinely brilliant. Skip the touts outside and tuck away at the quieter northern end of Brick Lane where you'll find restaurants like Shahin's that don't bother with touts or neon signs. Beigel Bake serves salt beef or salmon and cream cheese sandwiched between freshly baked dough, and it's open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, making it one of the best late night restaurants in London.

   Source: British Curry Network
5. 5

   Café Cecilia

   London Fields, Hackney, E8 · East London breakfast spot · Summer-only, walk-in only; Wed–Fri 9am best for peace

   Café Cecilia is an east London couture canteen, a simple white-walled room full of 35mm photographs and photographers, and breakfast is the best time of day to visit, with slabs of black pudding, poached eggs, soft Guinness soda bread, and plum ketchup all making an appearance on the hearty, Irish-influenced menu. The Haggerston cafe is strictly summer-only and walk-in-only, and on the weekend, bikes whizz past and chic crowds gather, but swing by Wednesday to Friday at 9am, and you'll have a more peaceful breakfast experience. Sit by the window watching locals and photographers drift in. This is where people live.

   Source: The Infatuation
6. 6

   Victoria Park

   East London, Mile End or Bethnal Green Underground · 86-hectare urban park with lakes, pavilion café and beer garden · 7am–dusk daily

   Victoria Park, also known as Vicky Park or the People's Park to locals, is without a doubt in the borough of Tower Hamlets and is the borough's largest park, opened in 1845 to provide the densely populated East End with a tranquil escape and green space. The People's Park Tavern is a charming village pub and brewery beside Victoria Park in the heart of East London, with one of city's best beer gardens. Stroll around the scenic West Lake with its Chinese pagoda, watching rowboats glide across the water while enjoying coffee from the acclaimed Pavilion Café. This is where Hackney people spend Saturday afternoons.

   Source: Things To Do In London
7. 7

   The Monsoon at Brick Lane

   147 Brick Lane, Shoreditch, E1 6SB · Bangladeshi curry house · Daily noon–midnight; Friday nights busiest

   Monsoon Express does the best takeaway-style curry on Brick Lane, and their Friday night queue tells you everything. This is the kind of place regulars return to for a midweek dinner, not tourists hunting the loudest neon sign. Open daily from noon until midnight, it serves everyone from lunching locals to evening crowds, and like many Brick Lane establishments, it's BYOB, making it popular with groups and regulars alike. If you want to eat where locals eat on Brick Lane, look for places with queues at 11pm, not 9pm.

   Source: British Curry Network
8. 8

   Stoke Newington Church Street

   North London, Stoke Newington station · Village-like high street with independent cafés, restaurants and shops · Most venues open 7am–6pm daily

   If anyone in London knows Stoke Newington, they likely know Church Street, this village-like high street that is at the heart of what makes Stokey so beloved, with its leafy charm and strong sense of local character offering a slower pace that feels miles away from central London, even though it's just a few stops from the city, and what makes this street special is its independent spirit. JOICE CAFE is a family-run Turkish cafe where the owners' kids help out after school and everything's made fresh downstairs, with counter service with genuine warmth, and proper homemade food at £10 for lunch, plus the kind of community feel that's rare in London these days. Locals live here. They don't visit.

   Source: Tata Cheers
9. 9

   Highbury Fields

   North London, Highbury & Islington station · Park and residential neighbourhood with local pubs and cafés · Open daily; busiest weekends

   Surrounded by handsome townhouses, this peaceful park is the green heart of Highbury, declared open to the public henceforth and forever in 1885, and it's the largest open space in the borough of Islington and serves as a busy thoroughfare between Highbury & Islington station and the neighbourhoods to the north. This neighbourhood has a softer pace, with tree-lined streets, handsome homes, independent cafés and local parks giving it a more residential feel, and even so, Highbury is far from sleepy and has some of North London's most charming pubs, great coffee spots and a growing reputation for quality local food and drink. Stop off at French bakery and cafe Le Péché Mignon, which is well placed for picking up coffee and a best-in-the-area croissant, as well as all sorts of picnic-perfect treats.

   Source: The Modern House
10. 10

    Leyton, Francis Road

    East London, Leyton station (Central line) · Neighbourhood with independent cafés and weekend markets · Best Saturday mornings

    On a Saturday morning, Francis Road in Leyton smells of coffee and warm pastry, and nobody's in a rush, and that's the thing about this Leyton neighbourhood in E10: it does everything its famous neighbour Walthamstow does, just quieter, cheaper, and without the crowds queuing for a table. Leyton is the bit of east London that's quietly brilliant and still overlooked, a proper neighbourhood where people stop to chat on the pavement and the independent shops actually know your name. For something gentler, Leyton Jubilee Park is a big, easy green space to walk off the market, with room for a wander or a lie in the grass, and it's a proper neighbourhood park, not a tourist one, which is exactly its charm.

    Source: Destined for London