Hampstead pairs 790 acres of heath with a village that still looks like something out of a period drama, and it’s one of the few parts of London where a proper walk and a proper lunch both feel compulsory.
We’ve lost entire afternoons in Hampstead without meaning to, wandering off the Heath’s marked paths and ending up somewhere we didn’t recognise, which is more or less the point of the place. It’s drawn poets, psychoanalysts and Hollywood stars to live here for centuries, and it still has the quietly wealthy, slightly bohemian feel that made them want to stay.
The Heath itself spills over into Highgate to the east, while Camden and Primrose Hill sit within easy reach to the south. We’d give yourself a full day here if you can: a morning on the Heath, an afternoon among the house museums, and an evening in one of the village’s genuinely excellent old pubs.
The best things to do in Hampstead
Walk the wilder corners of Hampstead Heath
A rambling green expanse right on London’s doorstep, the Heath has drawn walkers for centuries, including poets John Keats and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, both said to have found inspiration in its scenery. It covers 790 acres of woodland, meadow, hill and pond, and most people, us included, only ever see a fraction of it on any single visit.
The circular walk is a good way to see most of it in around four hours, though there are shorter routes if a quick escape from the city is all that’s needed. If you want to do it properly, we’d point you towards a set of self-guided Hampstead Heath walks that carve the space into manageable chunks rather than trying to wing it. Hint: the paths get muddy fast after rain, so trainers you don’t mind ruining are the move.
Brave a cold-water dip in the Hampstead Heath swimming ponds
The Heath is also home to a set of outdoor swimming ponds: a mixed pond on the Hampstead side, and separate ladies’ and men’s ponds on the Highgate side that stay open all year round, whatever the weather is doing. Cold water, ducks for company, and a proper sense of having done something very British await anyone brave enough to get in.
Pond swimming costs a few pounds a session, and it’s one of a handful of genuinely good outdoor swimming spots in London where you can go year-round rather than just in a heatwave. Worth knowing: queues build fast on hot weekends, so go early if you want a swim rather than a wait.
Get theatrical at Hampstead Hill Garden and Pergola
Just around the corner from the Heath, this elevated garden and covered walkway feels far removed from the city below. It was built by Lord Leverhulme for Edwardian society functions, all pillars and climbing wisteria designed to impress, and is now open to the public as a quiet, slightly theatrical spot for a wander that most tourists walk straight past without noticing.
Go on a weekday morning if you can. It’s free, it’s rarely crowded, and it photographs better than almost anything else on this list.
Browse the shops along Flask Walk
A narrow pedestrian lane just off Hampstead High Street, Flask Walk is where the area’s independent shopping lives, from Keith Fawkes’ secondhand bookshop to Judy Green’s garden store and a run of secondhand designer boutiques. It’s a proper wander-and-browse street rather than one built around a single destination shop.
It leads naturally to The Flask, a pub with an extensive beer and wine list worth a stop after a wander round the shops, particularly if you’ve timed it for early evening.
Picture the past at Fenton House
This 17th-century house and garden, five minutes from the Heath, is a good spot for a picnic, with grounds that invite lingering and interiors that give a sense of how London’s wealthier residents once lived. Fenton House was once owned by Lady Binning, who filled it with antique porcelain and 17th-century furniture, and it’s one of the more overlooked National Trust properties in London.
The garden is really the star, though, a pretty hodge-podge of different gardening styles that by rights shouldn’t work together but somehow does, with an orchard terrace that’s worth the entry fee alone in blossom season.
Visit the former home of John Keats
The former home of poet John Keats, preserved much as it would have looked in his time, Keats House carries the grandeur that comes with having written lines like “a thing of beauty is a joy forever”. Keats found both friendship and inspiration here, famously falling for the girl next door, Fanny Brawne, and the house does a good job of explaining why the place mattered so much to him in such a short life.
Sit on Freud’s couch (almost) at the Freud Museum
Sigmund Freud’s final home, shared with his daughter Anna, still holds his study and the couch on which many of his theories took shape. His antique collection, notes, personal library and family photographs are all on display at the Freud Museum, making for an absorbing way to spend a rainy afternoon, whether or not you know your id from your ego going in.
See contemporary work at Catto Gallery
One of the better contemporary art galleries in the area, Catto Gallery shows a rotating mix of work, from Cottam’s moody paintings to Duffin’s more eccentric pieces, alongside occasional events and exhibitions. It’s free to walk round, and unlike a lot of commercial galleries, nobody minds if you’re just there to look rather than buy.
Swim year-round at Parliament Hill Lido
Open every day of the year, including Christmas, this unheated open-air pool has been drawing swimmers since 1938. Parliament Hill Lido isn’t for the faint-hearted, but on a rare hot weekend, it’s one of the better ways to cool off in the area, and family sessions make it more manageable if you’re bringing kids who aren’t ready for a proper unheated dip.
Spot the odd silhouette of Admiral’s House
Despite its name, this striking building was never home to an admiral, though it’s rumoured to be named after Admiral Matthew Barton, who retired to Hampstead in the 1800s. A later owner added an observation deck and cannon mounts, giving the house its odd, part-ship silhouette that stops most people in their tracks the first time they see it.
It isn’t open to the public, but the rooms can occasionally be rented for anyone keen on a closer look, so it’s one to admire from the street rather than plan a visit around.
See a Rembrandt for free at Kenwood House
A grand mansion and 112 acres of grounds that once belonged to the Earls of Mansfield, Kenwood House is now open as a museum with an art collection that includes a couple of Rembrandts, hung in a Robert Adam interior that’s worth the visit on its own. Entry is free, which for a collection of this quality is genuinely rare in London.
The cafes and sculpture dotted through the grounds make it worth combining with a walk on the neighbouring Heath, and it’s an easy add-on if you’re already doing the circular route.
Learn the village’s history at Burgh House
A Grade I-listed Queen Anne house in the centre of the village, rescued by local residents and converted into a museum and gallery space, Burgh House and Hampstead Museum tells the story of Hampstead itself. Past residents have included art collectors, Rudyard Kipling’s daughter, and a man once declared a nuisance for building a dung stool at the bottom of the garden, which is the sort of detail that makes local history worth reading.
The house also has a cafe serving good coffee and homemade cakes, and it’s free to get in, so it’s an easy stop to fold into a longer walk round the village.
Order the scotch egg at The Spaniards Inn
A dependable dinner spot for hearty, classic dishes and good bar snacks, including a handmade scotch egg worth ordering on its own, The Spaniards Inn dates back to the 1500s and is one of the oldest pubs in London. Being just outside the old city boundary, it escaped the Great Fire of 1666 entirely, and Dickens wrote about it, while local legend has Keats writing part of “Ode to a Nightingale” in the garden.
The pub also serves limited-edition beers on tap that tend to sell through quickly, so ask what’s on rather than assuming your usual order will be available.
Eat by the fire at The Holly Bush
A properly old-fashioned pub with a menu that goes well beyond standard pub grub, The Holly Bush serves dishes like Cornish stone bass and English pea ravioli alongside the usual suspects. On a cold evening, with the fire going, it’s one of the more atmospheric places to eat in Hampstead, tucked up a side street that most visitors never find.
Get your hands round a burger at Spielburger
Large burgers at prices that stay under £10, served in a red-leather, graffiti-lined room on Heath Street. The fried chicken and Philly cheesesteak burgers at Spielburger are both worth ordering, ideally with a side of truffle fries, and it’s a useful cheaper option in a village that can otherwise get expensive fast.
Eat close-quarters Italian at La Gaffe
A family-run Italian restaurant with rooms above it, La Gaffe serves authentic dishes in a warm, close-quarters setting that’s been going for decades. The pesto ravioli and cod with prawns and mushrooms are both strong choices, and the tiramisu is among the better versions in London, worth saving room for even if you think you’re full.
Drink under fairy lights at The Garden Gate
One of the better beer gardens in the area, with a classic pub interior and a garden strung with fairy lights, The Garden Gate makes an evening here feel a little removed from the city, even though the Heath is right on the doorstep. Good for a long summer evening that starts with one drink and doesn’t.
Pick up fresh bread at Karma Bread Bakehouse
A bakery turning out some of the better bread in London, from focaccia to rye, along with fresh doughnuts for anyone after something sweeter. Karma Bread is a good stop on the way to a Heath picnic if you’d rather not rely on whatever the corner shop has left.
Have breakfast at New York Cafe
A cosy spot for coffee sourced from Colombia, India and Ethiopia, paired with home-cooked dishes, New York Cafe on Heath Street is the kind of unfussy neighbourhood breakfast spot that Hampstead can otherwise be short of. The pancakes are a strong reason to visit for breakfast, and a heated garden means outdoor lunches are possible year-round.
Order the skewers at Jin Kichi
A Japanese restaurant built around yakitori, with skewers running from tender chicken breast to hearts and crisped skin, best washed down with a cold Kirin. Jin Kichi has a newly refurbished, minimalist dining room, and it’s routinely named among the best restaurants in Hampstead, popular enough that it’s worth booking rather than turning up and hoping.
There’s also a solid menu of noodles and sushi for anyone not ready to commit to skewered chicken heart.
