London neighborhood: Southwark—South of the Thames
The south side of the Thames, from Shakespeare's Globe to the Tate Modern in South Bank, Southwark, and Lambeth
The south side of the Thames, from Shakespeare's Globe to the Tate Modern in South Bank, Southwark, and Lambeth
Even if you can't attend a performance, this painstaking replica of an Elizabethan theater in the round is worth a visit just to see it and learn more about the history of British theatre
Fantastic modern art museum in a massive former power plant, with blockbuster exhibitions and a fab gift shop and bookstore
This faux-medieval bridge is well worth the photo stop—but you might not bother with the exhibition
This modern pedestrian suspension bridge between the City and Southwark has quickly become a beloved landmark
The play's the thing... to do at Shakespeare's Globe, a faithful recreation of a genuine Elizabethan theater in the round.
Basic, bland motel with a great location—and attached to one of London's most historic pubs where Shakespeare once drank
Favorite Southwark pub filled with cozy snugs and literary associations just a block from Shakespeare's Globe
A 17th century pub and National Trust Landmark, set on the ground floor of an old coaching inn
Fine French cuisine with Thameside views of the Tower of London
Alongside notable natives like actor Stephen Fry and author Evelyn Waugh, the Village of Hampstead has been a magnet for notables, artists, and celebrities since the 19th century. This is just a short list:
Among the legions of writers and authors we count Charles Dickens, Agatha Christie, D H Lawrence, John le Carré, Martin Amis, P. L. Travers (Mary Poppins), T.S. Eliot, Ian Fleming, John Fowles, Aldous Huxley, A.A. Milne, George Orwell, Robert Louis Setevnson, H.G. Wells, and a nearly complete set of major Romatic poets: Lord Byron, Percy Bysse Shelly, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and John Keats (whose Hampstead home is now a museum).
Musicians Sting, Ozzy Osnourne, Paul Robeson, Boy George, Liam Gallagher (of Oasis), and Hary Styles (of One Direction) all have called Hampstead home.
Artists John Constable, Lucien Freud, Walter Gropius, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Piet Mondrian, George Romney, and the architect George Gilbert Scott have lived here, as did psychiatrists Sigmund Freud and his daughter Anna Freud.
Hampstead was home to both the the famed adventurer and diplomat Sir Richard Burton (famous for his English translations of One Thousand And One Nights/Arabian Nights and the Kama Sutra), and the famed Welsh actor who took his name, Richard Burton.
Other actors folowed: Peter Cook, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dame Judi Dench, Michael Palin, Elizabeth Taylor, Helena Bonham Carter, Ricky Gervais, Judy Garland, Jeremy Irons, Peter, O'Toole, and James Corden, plus director Ridley Scott.
However, in 2015 Cumberbatch and his wife moved just east to Dartmouth Park, and celeb power couples Tim Burton/Helena Bonham-Carter and Gwyneth Paltrtow/Chris Martin (pre-divorce) decamped just south nearby Belsize Park along with James Corden (who then moved Stateside to take over The Late Late Show) and Cameron Diaz. Are Hampstead's glory days as the Beverly Hills of London over?