East London Information

While east has not traditionally been a magnet for tourists, with redevelopment, gentrification and a vibrancy long-known to its locals, it is full of charms and surprises. And with the Olympic Games 2012 due to take place in its heart, east London is buzzing with change and anticipation.

Hackney

A large borough to the north east of The City, Hackney has a colourful past and present and some might even say, a split personality. It is chequered with high-rise council estates and the fringes of the old East End, while also homing rows De Beauvoir Town’s leafy terraces and some uber-trendy loft and warehouse conversions. Broadway Market on a Saturday heightens the easy clash of cultures, with arty types and musicians mingling through the busy street shoulder-to-shoulder with families buying their pricey, organic humous and handmade tortellini. Victoria Park, east London’s largest and best park sits centrally and surrounds its own village, complete with pubs, delis, cafes and shops.

Tube: Bethnal Green

East End

Home to the legendary cockney, this once poor part of town to the east of the City of London, is now as vibrant and ethnically diverse as you will find. The East End’s distinct character has stood up to some stringent gentrification of parts and its gritty appeal has become as much of a lure as it was once to be avoided. Brick Lane and Spitalfields show best how cultural and economical shifts have impacted on the area in recent decades, while the famous Banksy graffiti scattered around it serves as a reminder of the raw and rebellious East End.

Tube: Stepney Green, Whitechapel, Aldgate

Tower Hamlets

A developing residential area to the directly east of the City of London and anchored by London’s first and still skyline-defining feature, The Tower of London, overlooking Tower Bridge and looking up to The City of London.

Tube: Mile End

Stratford

While not entirely without charms, as home to the Theatre Royal and Stratford Circus, the buzz around Stratford is in the not-too-distant-future developments, most notably the Olympic Park for the London 2012 games. East Londoners also look forward to the opening of Westfield Stratford City, a monster of a shopping mall to rival its West London cousin in Shepherd’s Bush, with some 300 stores under its roof. Transport links have improved considerably to allow easy access for the 2012 Games and beyond.

Tube: Stratford

Stoke Newington

‘Stokey’, as it’s affectionately known by locals, is an ‘off-tube’ pocket of Hackney that centres around Church Street, a known haven north of the river for ‘yummy mummies’ and their broods. The restaurant offering around Church St and Newington Green, to the south, is more than impressive. And Clissold Park to the west of Church Street is home to its very own herd of deer in the animal enclosure and an aviary.

Train: There is no nearby tube stop so the best way to get here is using the mainline and getting off at Rectory Road

Dalston

Dalston bridges Shoreditch and Stoke Newington but has developed an unmistakable character of its own, full of music, bars and grit.

Tube: Haggerston

Shoreditch

The shabby chic of Shoreditch is translated through a seemingly unkempt facade, of those who dwell and mingle there as well as the buildings themselves. Arguably a nod to the days of it being a haven for the broke and the artistic, it is now a reasonably pricey and definitely trendy place to live and comes alive at night, with the full range of restaurants, pubs and bars; from the highest of high end, to the roughest of boozers.

Tube: Old Street

Walthamstow

A suburb, bordering on Essex, Walthamstow is a surprising shopping option for those who don’t mind a little trek out. Its focal point is an active market, lined by many stores, both high street and independent.

Tube: Walthamstow Central

Docklands

A history of extremes, having really from being the starting point of London as a city, as the largest port in the world, to a derelict wasteland when London’s docks had closed by the 1980s, it is today a fully redeveloped financial and residential district, home to the sky-scraping Canary Wharf and London City Airport.

Tube: Canary Wharf

Canary Wharf

A major financial and business district, where once West India Docks stood, Canary Wharf boasts some of London’s tallest buildings and has the feel of a concrete island, in amongst a tightly packed residential area of east London. Beneath the imposing buildings such as One Canada Square, there lies a warren-like series of shopping malls, providing the busy banker with everything they might need without veering too far from the office. It makes for a relatively quiet alternative to the bustle of Oxford Street.

Tube: Canary Wharf