London, England is loaded with museums, historic monuments, awesome architecture, cafes and restaurants to suit every taste and budget, but there are also some pretty cool offbeat discoveries awaiting visitors to the city.
We found 10 that might inspire you to get a bit more off the beaten path.
Experience ancient London in the London Mithraeum, a Roman temple excavated post-World War II, where over 600 Roman artefacts including the earliest writing tablets were discovered by archaeologists. Built along one of London’s lost rivers, the Walbrook, it was earmarked for a new location, but has been returned to its original site and is now open to the public in Bloomberg’s European headquarters.
Museum fans take note: the Natural History Museum houses 80 million specimens from a 9,000-year-old human skeleton to a 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite.
For a slice of the darker side of Victorian life, London’s Jack the Ripper Museum has recreated scenes in the heart of Whitechapel during the reign of the still-unidentified serial killer.
You’ll find all manner of animal oddities at the Grant Museum of Zoology where some 68,000 specimens cover the whole Animal Kingdom from the skeleton of a quagga (a long-extinct species of zebra) to the bones of a dodo. Talk about random museum artifacts.
London’s got living, breathing wildlife too. While lush wetlands may be the last thing you expect to see in the suburbs of northwest London, that’s what you’ll find at Woodberry Wetlands. Originally the Stoke Newington East Reservoir, the wetlands have been reclaimed by wildlife — waterbirds, newts, bats and butterflies.
Head to Highgate to find the final resting place of Karl Marx and George Michael (his grave is closed to the public) at Highgate Cemetery. Built in Victorian times, Highgate’s famous for its grand memorials and elaborate style.
While there, explore the newer East Cemetery or take a guided tour of the original (more architecturally impressive) West Cemetery.
For something truly peculiar, head to House of Dreams, a delightfully odd collection of items found by artist Stephen Wright. Among his finds: dolls’ heads, bottle tops, false teeth and wigs, all displayed in his East Dulwich home.
In God’s Own Junkyard in Walthamstow, discover an eye-popping neon art assortment created and curated by late designer Chris Bracey. If you love salvaged neon signs, old movie props and retro film sets, this is your jam. It’s free to visit plus you can buy, rent or simply ogle the glittering kaleidoscope before you.
Eating out in London can also include some non-traditional fare. Grab a java at Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium in trendy east London, and you might be joined by a furry table mate. This cafe is a great way to unwind with coffee, cake — and cats.
If you prefer your meal on the cold and crunchy side, head to the Cereal Killer Café, where every meal is of the breakfast bowl variety from Coco Pops to Lucky Charms.
