Things To Do In Hackney

Hackney blends East End grit with modern, hipster charm. While some lament its over-gentrification, there’s no denying that this inner-east borough has a buzzing atmosphere, a strong sense of community, and more independent bakeries than you can shake a cardamom bun at.

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Once a collection of villages outside the city, Hackney has evolved into one of London’s most dynamic neighbourhoods.

You’ll find bespoke jewellery, curated fashion houses, stylish homewares, an array of quirky retailers and something increasingly rare on London’s high streets: independent bookstores.

Wander along the canal and under the railway arches, and you’ll see how Hackneyites make use of every available space.

Walls burst with political murals, hole-in-the-wall cafés are tucked under railway arches, and the towpath is set up with deck chairs as a shrine to wishful thinking.

Vintage stalls spill onto the streets, and converted warehouses serve as artists’ studios, coffee shops, or microbreweries pouring experimental ales.

Hackney may feel over-gentrified for many, and having recently rediscovered it ourselves, we can see why. But there’s no denying it remains one of London’s most exciting areas to explore.

Tourists have yet to overrun it, so you’ll find yourself mixing with locals as they go about their day.

This guide focuses on London Fields and Hackney Central, the heart of Hackney’s creative and cultural scene.

LAYOUT OF HACKNEY

Hackney covers a large area in northwest London. To see everything, you would need to take local buses and trains.

So, we’ve focused this guide on the smaller areas around London Fields and Hackney Central. Here, you’ll find all the best things to do, and you can easily explore on foot.

Getting there – The most convenient train stations are London Fields and Hackney Downs, both of which are on the newly named Weaver Line that runs from Liverpool Street Station in Central London.

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THINGS TO DO IN HACKNEY

Here are the main things we love getting up to in Hackney. Once you get there, each of these attractions and experiences can be visited on foot.

1. BROADWAY MARKET

Broadway Market has had traders on it since 1883, when it comprised 35 stalls selling vegetables, flowers, drapery, tinware, and pails.

The current food market was launched in 2004. It operates on Saturdays and serves a diverse selection of tasty morsels.

In 2024, Broadway Market was awarded the Best Food Market, and it’s easy to see why.

SATURDAY BROADWAY MARKET

The market operates on Saturdays and Sundays.

Saturday is the biggest day, with most vendors out. The event is mostly about street food, and it’s hard to think of a cuisine not represented.

Our highlights include Deeney’s for their mega toasties, Bagio Burgers for the burgers and loaded fries, Hanoi Kitchen for the bao buns, Broadway Hog for the incredible pork rolls, and Thai on the Fly for their Pad Thai.

You’ll also find bakery stalls, cured meats, fresh fruit and vegetables, homewares, jewellery, and more.

The market is open from 9 am to 5 pm on Saturday.

SUNDAY BROADWAY MARKET

The Sunday Market has fewer stalls, but you’ll still find some great stuff, including Brownies, Katsu Wraps, Crosstown Doughnuts, Thai on the Fly, and The Authentic Souvlaki, just to name a few.

The flower stalls are also out on Sunday.

The market is open from 10 am to 4 pm on Sunday.

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SHOPS ON BROADWAY

In addition to the market, the street has a fantastic selection of shops.

Many streets in London have fallen victim to chain stores, but not this one.

Amazingly, it can support three different bookstores. Artwords Bookshop is carefully curated and specialises in fashion, graphic design, and photography.

Donlon Books covers counterculture, music, and LGBTQ+ literature. The Broadway Bookshop has a tiny room on each of its three floors packed with books ranging from fiction to philosophy.

For a caffeine fix, grab a takeaway coffee from Climpson & Sons or sit at the tables at L’Eau a La Bouche and watch the world go by.

We had brunch at El Ganso. The Spanish-influenced dishes were excellent. At lunch, they serve tapas washed down with a choice of Spanish sherries.

2. HACKNEY BAKERIES & COFFEE SHOPS

I can’t think of another area of London with more bakeries than Hackney.

A diverse selection of bakeries offers unique goodies, each contributing to the community in distinct ways.

You could easily spend an entire morning wandering between them, stuffing yourself with delicious baked goods.

Here are some of our favourites:

E5 BAKEHOUSE

E5 Bakehouse has been crafting high-quality bread for 15 years beneath the railway arches near London Fields Station.

Its speciality is Hackney Wild, an organic sourdough made with local ingredients from farmers who share their vision of an Agrarian Renaissance.

They have a cafe out back where you can get mighty sandwiches, scrambled eggs, or sweet pastries. On a Saturday morning, you’ll need to join the queue.

FORNO

Forno specialises in traditional Italian pastries from their cool location under the railway arches near Regent’s Canal. Their signature is Roman maritozzi, sweet buns filled with fresh cream.

The industrial-style interior features exposed brick and an open kitchen – all the coolness you’d expect from Hackney. There are also a few tables outside.

POPHAMS

By day, Pophams is an artisanal bakery known for handcrafted viennoiserie pastries and sourdough bread. It uses traditional ingredients with a few seasonal twists and ad hoc treats including their Marmite and cheese swirl.

Most of the action is outside, where communal tables are abuzz with weekend chatter.

They run a pasta restaurant from Tuesday to Saturday evenings.

PAVILION

Located on Broadway Market, Pavilion specialises in sourdough bread, pastries, and coffee, emphasising traditional baking methods and quality ingredients.

This is a great place to pick up some bread while strolling the market. They also do great takeaway sandwiches.

YEAST

Yeast focuses on breakfast pastries and aims to create the best croissant in London. We haven’t tried all the croissants in London, but the pain au chocolat from Yeast was very good.

3. LONDON FIELDS

On a warm sunny day, east Londoners flock to Lincoln Fields. There’s a mix of social sports—a cricket pitch, tennis courts, an outdoor gym area, and laid-back areas purposely built for relaxing.

It’s popular with picnic-goers, joggers and sunbakers and has a lovely community feel.

Come here in the afternoon and grab a pint at the Pub in the Park. The raised outdoor terrace looks over London Fields, making it great for people-watching or catching up with friends.

4. LONDON FIELDS LIDO

There is something great about outdoor swimming in London, and (in my opinion) there is no better lido in the capital than London Fields.

It’s an outdoor pool but it’s heated all year round.

The 50-metre pool is great for serious swimmers, with fast lanes operating throughout the day. But it’s also great on a rare hot day in London when you just want a bit of a splash.

Entry costs £6.60 and includes use of the changing rooms, showers and lockers (£1 coin).

There’s a large sundeck (concrete) sunbathing area and a café. The pool is open from 6:30 am to 9 pm every day.

5. THE VICTOR WYND MUSEUM OF CURIOSITIES

Upstairs, the Victor Wynd Museum is a fairly cool absinthe bar set in a Victorian-inspired space,

Downstairs, it’s one of the strangest museums you will ever visit. It doesn’t have a theme; it’s more of a collection of anything that has caught the curator’s eye.

There’s an array of truly strange and fascinating items, such as two-headed lambs, a Fiji mermaid, and condoms purportedly used by the Rolling Stones.

There’s also a macabre assortment of mummified mammals, shrunken human heads, a two-headed kitten, and an eight-legged lamb.

Leave your scepticism at the door and immerse yourself in this strange world of taxidermy, celebrity memorabilia, erotic art, and the downright unusual.

This is definitely not for kids. It might be best to have a drink in the bar before you go downstairs. Tickets cost £12.

6. ROOFTOP SAUNAS

The handmade timber saunas with a view at Rooftop Saunas is one of the most relaxing ways to experience Hackney.

The facility has private timber cabins, cold plunge pools, bucket waterfalls, and showers with expansive city views. It’s an excellent set-up that was awarded the Best Urban Sauna in 2024.

Each sauna can accommodate up to 4 people, and you can book a sauna for 30, 60, or 90 minutes.

They are located on the top of Netil Corner, a former office block that has been transformed into a creative hub. The venue includes a rooftop bar, restaurant and pizza joint.

To get here use the Netil Corner entrance on 2 Bocking Street E8 4RU. You’ll need to press “directory” and then “Saunas” on the door buzzer.

7. MARE STREET MARKET

Mare Street Market is a dining and retail hub that also serves as a community space.

The open-plan Bar and kitchen are open all day, but it’s more of a place where you’d come to sit and work all day rather than an interesting space to hang out with friends.

The Chandelier Room is an elegant dining option, and there’s also a deli, Flying Horse Coffee and Barber and a few quirky retail places.

8. NETIL MARKET

Netil Market is an open-air market just a short distance from Broadway Market.

It features a diverse range of food vendors, independent shops, artisanal stalls, and a lively community atmosphere.

Like most of Hackney, Netil Market strives to create a space for independent brands, and it shows.

There’s a whole range of products that are hard to find anywhere else, including Paradox Coffee, Winghut Wines,

The market is open every day except Monday, from 9 am to 10 pm. The full market runs from Friday to Sunday.

9. POCKETS

As a pop-up in Netil Market, Pockets became so popular it moved to a permanent address under the railway arches.

It’s a takeaway that serves only one thing: vegan falafel pitta wraps.

Their bread is stone-baked and incredibly fluffy. They are filled with cabbage slaw, sumac onions, tomato, parsley, and cucumber.

But the true star of the show is the potato, which is battered and deep-fried until perfectly crisp. It’s added to the wrap, which is then drizzled with tahini, hummus, red zhug, and mango amba.

At £9 it’s a huge and great value lunch.

Operating Hours: Open Thursday to Sunday from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

10. ST AUGUSTINE’S TOWER

St Augustine’s Tower is Hackney’s oldest building and the only surviving part of the early 16th-century parish church of St Augustine.

The tower is open between 2 pm and 4:30 pm on the last Sunday of every month. Entry is free and only a short climb to the top.

St Augustine’s Tower is surrounded by St John’s Church Gardens, which served as the churchyard for the original St Augustine’s Church.

The churchyard functioned as a burial ground for centuries, and you can still see several decaying tombstones dotted around the grounds.

11. HACKNEY BREWERIES, BARS & PUBS

Hackney is home to no fewer than six microbreweries and has become a centre for real ale production in London. Many began life under the arches of the railway line and have since expanded.

The bar scene in Hackney blends traditional pubs with contemporary venues, reflecting the area’s diverse cultural make-up.

Here are some of our favourites.

Cat & Mutton – A classic old pub on the corner of Broadway Market serving hearty pub grub and 16 different beers on tap. On warm summer days, punters spill out onto the pavement.

The Last Tuesday Society – Sip absinthe or cocktails in the spooky, well-lit surroundings above Victor Wynd’s Museum. Then, delve into the secrets below.

Hackney Church Brew Co – A small, innovative artisan brewery very close to St Augustine’s Tower. Its busy taproom operates from under the railway arches on Bohemia Place. Open Wednesday to Sunday.

Five Points Brewing Company – This microbrewery started under the railway arches and grew until it required more space. Now located a few hundred meters away on Mare Street, the best time to sample their beers is on Thursday or Friday from 5 pm to 7 pm, when they are just £3.99 a pint.

Pub on the Park – Located on the edge of London Fields, Pub on the Park has a large outdoor seating deck, which is the perfect place for a pint on a sunny day.