London's Hippest Neighborhood Is Shoreditch

If you're visiting London and tired of doing all the touristy things, make sure you save some time to check out the new and happening parts of town. After all, London isn't just an old city with a ton of historical tourist attractions (though they are gorgeous and interesting!). It's also a bustling creative hub filled with musicians and artists and plenty of hipsters.

When you plan your trip to London, make sure to include a stop in the neighborhood of Shoreditch. It's widely considered one of London's coolest art scenes, and there is a lot to see here.

How to Get to Shoreditch

The neighborhood of Shoreditch is just northeast of downtown London. You'll probably need to transfer at Whitechapel to get on this red line, but it's just one more stop up, so it's not a long commute. When you exit the Shoreditch High Street station, you will already find yourself pretty much in the middle of it.

Top Things to Do in Shoreditch

In my opinion, the best thing to do to get a feel of Shoreditch and the art scene in London is to visit the area around the Brick Lane Vintage Market. If you're a fan of vintage clothes, this is absolutely the spot for you. But even if you're not, the surrounding streets are buzzing with exciting things to see. There are tons of murals, cute shops, and plenty of options for great food.

1/ Walk around and enjoy the street art

It's a quick five-minute walk from the Shoreditch tube station to Brick Lane, and you'll see plenty of cool graffiti along the way. I am a huge fan of street art. I don't mean your run-of-the-mill "tagging" graffiti, but more like murals on the sides of buildings. I love the pops of color and the publicly accessible art brightening up an otherwise boring concrete wall or brick building.

It seems like almost every street in Shoreditch is chock-full of street art, murals, sculptures, and other decorations. Brick Lane also intersects with the popular tourist destination known as Graffiti Alley, so be sure to pop your head in as you pass by. This is probably the best spot to get an Instagram picture or two if that's your thing!

2/ Lunch on some amazing street food in the Food Hall

Come hungry! Just next to the Brick Lane Vintage Market is one of the most chaotic (in a good way) food markets I've ever had the pleasure of smelling. The Upmarket Brick Lane Food Hall is a huge maze of stalls, all offering decently priced, delicious-looking food.

If you struggle with indecision, you've been warned. Not only can you find every type of cuisine here, but you'll find multiple versions of each one, all offering full menus of amazing dishes. Of course, I wasn't able to try every stall, but based on the lines and smells, I'd venture to guess that you can't go wrong. Plus, once you've got your food, there are multiple rooms of cozy seating areas to eat or lounge before you get back to shopping!

3/ Shop your heart out in the Vintage Market

I've never been more surprised than I was walking down a random staircase off the street, mostly unmarked and possibly a little dark, and then emerging into what is essentially the biggest closet on earth. There was very little to separate or distinguish between the different sellers, so the Vintage Market seems like a literal underground maze of rack after rack of vintage clothes.

You can find pretty much anything you might want or need down here. Clothes of every fashion and every size, tons of styles from different eras, and accessories for days. Really, if you've forgotten anything in your packing for your trip, check out the Vintage Market before you head to a normal retailer to restock.

In addition to the actual underground Vintage Market, the surrounding blocks are home to plenty of other hip stores, vintage/antique sellers, and more.

In Conclusion, Is Shoreditch Worth Visiting?

Yes. If you're wondering if Shoreditch is still trendy and worth a visit, I say absolutely. Shoreditch is a great place to spend an afternoon people-watching or even rebuilding your closet if you have the space in your luggage! I had a great time walking around, and I highly recommend a quick visit. You can set it aside as a lunch spot and plan to spend a couple of hours enjoying the art scene, or stop by for dinner or a visit to a bar to get a sense of the cool nightlife here.