We can all pretend to be cool but we all know doing it for the Gram is a key part of travel. So if you’re coming to London, or are looking to add some colour to your Instagram grid by playing tourist in your own town, look no further than this post about London’s most instagrammable spots. This post could be never-ending: there are so many picture-worthy spaces and corners in this City… so I’ve had to stick to my personal choices and to places I liked in the past year. Sue me.
Instagrammable Shops
Biscuiteers
Selling unique, cutesy iced biscuits, Biscuiteers is one of London’s most photographed shops. Cakes, coffee and cooking classes are also an option. A stone’s throw from Portobello Market, Biscuiteers is Instagram goals, although cheap it ain’t.
Biscuiteers’ biscuits boxes can cost a fortune – you will see five-biscuit boxes going for £35 in the shop. The biscuits sure are iced to the tiniest detail, so maybe get yourself a coffee and just one biscuit, suck it up, take your picture and go your own way.
Lutyens & Rubinstein’s Bookshop
I’m a sucker for cute bookshops, and Lutyens & Rubinstein doesn’t disappoint. You can find it almost in front of Biscuiteers. Go in for the books hanging from the ceiling, stay for the impressive book collection.
The Shop at Bluebird
You may not be able to afford much in this gorgeous shop near Covent Garden, but it’s worth walking in just to lust over its interiors. The Shop at Bluebird was born over 10 years ago in an art deco space on London’s King’s Road, in Chelsea.
Now, it moved to a coach house on Floral Street, and in collaboration with Fashion Illustration Gallery and Avery Perfume Gallery in store it showcases the best fashion, beauty and homeware pieces from around the world.
Conservatory Archives
Conservatory Archives is my favourite hub for succulents and plants in Hackney – much quieter and even more stylish than Columbia Road flower market.
With affordable plants of all kinds and its own in-house café, Conservatory Archives is the perfect workspace for people and plant-watching, but watch out: it’s easy to go overboard. Too many cute plants = too much temptation. My house is increasingly looking like the Nevada desert. Guess plants are the new cats for very single millennials.
Instagrammable Bars, Restaurants, Cafés and Quirky Venues
God’s Own Junkyard
I literally can’t ever get enough of this place. Nestled in a Walthamstow industrial complex close to breweries and fashion warehouses, God’s Own Junkyard is an adult playground with neon signs and its own café and bar.
It’s entirely free to visit and it’s the best place for improptu photoshoots – I’ve dragged more than one person there just for that!
El & N Café Hans Crescent
If you’re into pink, EL&N Café Hans Crescent will make you think you’ve died and gone to heaven. To be honest, I was late to jump on the heart booth band-wagon, but when I went I’d had a tough week and just wanted a treat, and it turned out EL&N Hans Crescent did the trick.
It’s not just that it’s pretty. I went early on a Wednesday morning and the place had yet to be flooded by wannabe instagrammers, their cappuccinos were great (and I’m Italian, so I know) and their cakes pretty and tasty. The whole pink thing adds an ethereal vibe to the place, which is way better when contemplated in silence. Sure, it might be a bit overpriced, but the service was great, the staff friendly, the space memorable and I mean… you are in front of Harrods. £4 for a croissant and a cappuccino sounds cheaper than what you’d pay in most Shoreditch places.
The Dalloway Terrace
You know that brunch place that always has a lot of flower decorations? Well… to be fair, there are probably so many now that you might not even know which one I’m referring to! But The Dalloway Terrace, part of the Bloomsbury Club, is as iconic as it gets. Its outside flower decorations change each season, and the space is fully covered and armed with heaters and blankets so you can show off your outfit.
Go in for the flower posing photo opps, stay for the berry and lemon curd pancakes. And make sure you make a trip to The Coral Room cocktail bar next door!
The Spread Eagle Homerton
A Hackney pub might not be the obvious choice when looking for Instagrammable places in London, but if you’re a fan of Prince and everything purple, you may need to think again and get yourself to The Spread Eagle ASAP.
If a Prince shrine, a room with a wall covered in Prince wallpaper and pink neon signs are not enough, go there for the food. At The Spread Eagle, Club Mexicana cooks up some of the finest vegan Mexican grub in the land!
Still Life Café
Taxidermy, life-drawing, white walls and a classy, ethereal-looking Hackney café are the recipe for success for this new Well Street venue. Still Life is everything you should be expecting from this expanding and increasingly hip area of Hackney!
Go in for the taxidermy, stay for the excellent Dark Arts Coffee flat whites.
The Churchill Arms
With a selection of plants outside and on the building that will put your grandma’s garden to shame, The Churchill Arms is a Notting Hill institution that lights up for Christmas and stays Instagrammable all year round. Go in for a pint, and make sure you order some of the Thai rice stir fries from the restaurant at the back – one of the finest in LDN!
Kalifornia Kitchen
One of the many Fitzrovia instagrammable spots, Kalifornia Kitchen is all vegan, very pink and with photo opps aplenty. Pink neon signs, a bright pink staircase and colourful food make it a mecca for influencers.
I wasn’t a huuuuge fan of the food, but I did love their CBD Latte (which actually does taste like cannabis) and that they had my region’s wine, Vermentino di Sardegna, on the list.
Instagrammable Cultural Stuff
The Wallace Collection
A collection of paintings and random armours, weapons and treasuries with fantastic interiors? Sign me up! The Wallace Collection is in the heart of Marylebone and it’s entirely free to visit.
The space hosts extra ticked exhibits and has its own restaurant. You can definitely take pictures inside provided you don’t use flash photography, so go in and get interiors envy!
St. Paul’s Cathedral In Spring
Sometimes a picture is worth more than a thousand words and although I’m no award-winning photographer, this picture I took of Saint Paul’s Cathedral this spring speaks for itself. One of the most iconic London buildings, it gets even prettier once the skies clear and flowers start to bloom!
Broadway Market Cultural Project
Hidden from the hustle and bustle of Broadway Market and tucked behind London Fields park, this community project features cute graffiti and a building that is exterior goals. Pure Hackney – and if you want to know more about Hackney / Clapton places, read here.
This was a light-hearted post because I generally bore you with activism-related stuff, or with pictures of butts. Hope you’ve enjoyed my selection of cute Instagrammable stuff around London and please do point me to new spots I haven’t mentioned – always love a photo opp!
