Welcome to London x London’s Highgate Guide: your guide to the best bars, restaurants and things to do in this North London neighbourhood.
Highgate sits on a hilltop on the eastern edge of Hampstead Heath, near the meeting point of the Camden, Islington and Haringey borough boundaries, bordering Archway and Muswell Hill.
Skirting the eastern edge of Hampstead Heath, Highgate may be one of London’s quaintest spots.
Long a haunt of the bohemian intelligentsia, its sleepy village feel hides plenty to see and do.
Towering Georgian houses, old pubs, chi-chi cafes and, of course, that cemetery give Highgate plenty going for it, and it has long been a favourite with the well-known. First it was the literary elite, Charles Dickens (albeit briefly), Samuel Taylor Coleridge and John Betjeman among them, these days it’s musicians, models and film stars, Kate Moss included.
What draws most people, though, is the quiet pace of village life. Wandering past Highgate Cemetery and along streets lined with historic houses, it can be hard to believe London is still just beyond the trees. Highgate Village is charming in a way that few corners of this chaotic city manage, pretty, historic and full of old-world pubs to drink in.
Bohemian village charm on the edge of the Heath
