Wow time sure flies! I can’t believe it’s been 1 month since my last post. Since then I’ve been to London and back and just finished editing all of photos from that trip this past weekend. While on my trip, I published a poll on my Instagram stories to determine what sort of content you’d be most interested in reading about in regards to London, and a complete list of my top 15 most Instagrammable Places won out! Surprisingly I never wrote a 10 Things to do in London post the last time I was there in 2017 (odd, I don’t know how this slipped through my regular travel content), so I’ll definitely be putting together that post as well in the coming weeks. If you prefer a list of things to do versus places to take photos, keep an eye out for that post! In the meantime, let’s jump right into my favourite 15 places in London for Instagram photos!
Remember to bookmark this post for any of your upcoming trips to London so that you’ll have it for reference when planning out your itinerary!
As always, all of the locations have been organized into the different categories that are most frequently searched for online in order to aid the building out of your itinerary. I’ve also included the ideal times to arrive at each location at in order to avoid crowds (if that’s something that is a priority of yours), because while many of them definitely require an early morning start, many also do not. Night owls fear not! You can definitely sleep in and still get amazing photos at some places that are empty pretty much all day long.
Iconic London Landmarks
No trip to London is complete without a repertoire of photos of some of the most iconic places. Since I last visited 2 years ago, the Big Ben is still currently under construction so I’ve yet to be able to snag a photo with it, but these 2 should definitely be on your photo bucket list in the meantime!
Red Phone Box
Did you really visit London if you don’t have a photo with the quintessential red telephone booths as proof? The answer is no, no you did not. I’m just kidding. You can 100% visit London without taking any photos at all, but most people make it a point to snap a quick pic with the red phone boxes. The phone boxes can be found scattered all throughout London, but some of the most iconic spots to grab a photo include Parliament Square, Broad Court, and Smithfield Meat Market.
Timing: The Parliament Square location is right next to Big Ben and some other tourist attractions, so we assumed that it would be a bustling and busy location. We showed up at Parliament Square at around 8 AM to take our photos and actually found the streets to be extremely quiet and free of any pedestrians or traffic. It wasn’t until closer to 10 AM that the streets began to fill up. So don’t worry too much about waking up early for this location! We also attempted to shoot the 5 phone boxes in a row in Broad Court (right next to Covent Garden) but this location is unfortunately currently under-construction, rendering the phone boxes relatively inaccessible. We didn’t attempt to shoot the ones at Smithfield Meat Market since it was a little out of the way of our itinerary, but since it’s housed inside of a market building, I would recommend visiting this location before the market gets busy.
Tower Bridge
Often mixed up with London Bridge (the popular nursery rhyme that we grew up singing), Tower Bridge is actually the one that most people want to see. London Bridge in comparison is a basic and simple little bridge with no actual visual attractiveness to it that really warrants a picture. Tower Bridge is the beautiful blue suspension-draw bridge with a pedestrian walk on street level, and a glass walk over top that you can pay to access. If you want photos of the Tower Bridge, there are 2 common vantage points—one the bridge (the photo to the right), and on the South Bank of the River (the photo on the left). Both vantage points showcase the beautiful blue hue.
Timing: Avoid rush house as the bridge will be full of commuters, but otherwise any other time during the day works perfectly!
Pastel Homes
The beautiful pastel coloured homes of London is another iconic photo opportunity and beauty that you have to see for yourself (more about that in my 10 Things to do in London post). Although Notting Hill is well known for its colourful rows, there are any many other less popular neighbourhoods with homes just as stunning for you to explore.
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an entire neighbourhood with many roads full of pastel homes. You could literally explore any of the roads coming off of Portobello road and stumble onto the pastel homes of your dreams. Some of my favourite ones include Colville Terrace, Hillgate Place, and Lancaster Road.
Timing: Any time is great as there aren’t often people hovering outside of the homes. You might actually luck out with coming in the later part of your morning since most residents will have moved or taken their cars out for the day. If you come too early, everyone will still be at home getting ready for the day and the road will be fully parked with cars.
Primrose Hill
Another beautiful neighbourhood with lovely pastel houses is the upscale Primrose Hill. In this area, you’ll find less tourists and more locals. There’s a park nearby with children playing before and after school, along with some lovely little private mews that offer some reprieve from the busy streets of London. You can definitely also wander around and come upon some beautiful houses, but my favourite area is Chalcot Crescent. This little curved road offers some vividly painted pastel homes, and if you’re in luck there won’t by any cars parked out front obstructing your view.
Timing: This quiet neighbourhood always seems to be full of cars and no tourists so you’re fending off vehicles more than pedestrians in the way of your photos. The timing for here would be similar to Notting Hill.
Floral Installations
You’ve probably seen them on Instagram or literally everyone online, those massive floral displays on the front of stores, cafes, and restaurants. This design aesthetic is abundant throughout Europe, but from my research online, it apparently originated from London—which is why you’ll see floral installations on almost every single corner of the streets. You’ll even see the dingiest bars with insane flowers draping off of their windows, it’s literally the norm there. It’s hard to narrow down which ones are the best since there are so many and retailers often swap them out seasonally, but the below 3 are my top favourite places since they’re all down the street from each other making it extremely easy for you to hit up all 3 places in one go for your Instagram photos!
Peggy Porschen Cake
Chances are that you already know of this cafe/bakery before you even knew what it was called. It’s famous on Instagram and for good reason. With the adorable pink exterior, and beautifully decorated entrance (obviously full of flowers) it’s not hard to see why it’s so frequently photographed. I’ll also admit that their coffee and cakes are to die for as well. If there’s one thing that I hate, it’s aesthetics with poor quality products, and Peggy Porschen does not disappoint. Not only is the place beautiful, but the food and drink are top notch as well.
There are 2 different locations, and I’m preferable to the Belgravia one (116 Ebury St), but the Chelsea (219 King’s Rd) location is just as adorable. While the Belgravia location has more outdoor seating and abundance of florals, the Chelsea spot has the most adorable pink bike, and less seating on the exterior—this makes it actually easier to snap your photo since there won’t be a lot of other people milling around outside of the cafe.
Timing: Go as early as possible (I would even recommend as soon as it opens) as the tables fill up quickly. We were never rushed to leave, but we’ve previously overheard waiters informing guests that there is a 2 hour seating limit. If you also want specific cakes/desserts, the earlier you arrive, chances are that they’ll still have your dessert of choice available and in-stock.
Dominique Ansel Bakery (17-21 Elizabeth St)
My first time experiencing Dominique Ansel was in NYC when I went at 7 AM with the girls to get in line for their famed cronuts. I can definitely attest that there was no such line up at their London location. Immediately down the road from Peggy Porschen Belgravia, the exterior is not easily missed. At our time of visit, it was completely covered in massive purple blooms (which are sure to change up throughout the seasons) but other than that, there isn’t much as going on in front. There are no seats for customers to sit at, so it’s relatively easy to get your shot as long as you’re respectful of customers entering and exiting from the doorway.
Timing: Any time of the day as this store front doesn’t seem to garner as many tourists as others do.
Joanna Wood (57 Elizabeth St)
Perfectly timed for fall, the exterior of this interior designer’s office was covered in red, yellow, and orange foliage. Joanna wood is also right down the road from Peggy Porschen (but in the opposite direction of Dominique Ansel), making it a quick hop, skip, and a jump to this next shoot location. This spot is a little trickier to shoot because there’s a lamp post immediately in front of it place on the sidewalk, so chances are that you’ll either have to take your photo at an angle, or use an extremely wide lense, or crop in a little bit tighter. I particularly loved this storefront because of its bench, giving versatility to posing instead of your typical standing/walking poses.
Timing: Any time of the day as this store front doesn’t seem to garner as many tourists as others do.
Dalloway Terrace (16-22 Great Russell St)
This restaurant is situated in the back of a hotel, and although stunning with it’s explosion of flowers on the terrace, is quite difficult to shoot. You need to make reservations 2 weeks ahead of when you’re planning to go in to eat (reservations also only upon up 2 weeks in advance, so don’t bother trying to book something 5 months down the road), and because the space is so small, the staff aren’t too fond of anyone showing up to take photos with a massive DSLR. Please ensure that you’re respectful of other diners while shooting in this space as you’re going to be seated quite close to others and you don’t want to impact their enjoyment of the space either. I would recommend setting your expectations low and to only shoot on your phone or a small mirrorless camera.
Timing: Any time of the day as long as you have reservations. You can attempt to walk in, but chances are that the terrace will be completely filled all-day long with those who previously made reservations. The terrace is also covered so you won’t have to worry about excessive sunlight.
EL&N Cafe (9 Market Pl)
For some reason this cafe is searchable on Google Maps as “Elan Cafe“, but when we arrived, we noticed that the signage was for EL&N Cafe. Weird, but I’m not going to ask any questions. What is important to note that there are many different locations and not all are designed equally. Though all are beautiful, some are easier to shoot than others. We had several on our list to visit, but the only one that we ended up actually going to and shooting in was the one in Oxford Circus. Surprisingly the spot that we had intended to shoot in was void of any customers so we revelled in our luck and shot to our hearts’ content.
Another location that I would have loved to visit would be the Knightsbridge one (42 Hans Crescent) for the sweet tart covered wall, or even the Belgravia one (25G Lowndes Street) for the floral explosion booths.
Timing: Since the majority of your shooting doesn’t involve any natural light, any time of the day works. However you can’t always guarantee that the booths and locations inside of the cafe won’t already be taken, so I would recommend as early as possible in the day.
Other Notable Places
Besides the iconic spots, pastel homes and floral facades, there are a handful of other notable places that are perfect for photos as well. Some are less popular than others, but all are well worth a photo in my opinion. Whether you want to visit somewhere a little bit more touristy, or something a little bit more low key, there’s a nice mix of places in this section of the list for you to be able to grab your dream London photo for Instagram.
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is one of my favourite places to visit in London. Between plentiful food options (there’s a Shake Shack!), shopping (there’s Chanel and Dior!), busker performances, and many other activities nearby, you’ll never go bored there. There are also many little photo opps scattered about the plaza such as the floral displays in the main entrance (this also alternates seasonally) and a series of wooden bench swings on a different side of the market that both allows for a place of rest, and cute photos.
Timing: The earlier the better because it gets quite busy, but if you’re patient and willing to wait, you really can get a photo at any time of the day.
Kew Gardens
Kew Gardens is a little bit outside of the downtown London area, and you’ll probably need to take a train there if you don’t have access to a car, but the trip is definitely worth it! There is an entrance fee to gain access to the gardens, but it isn’t much compared to what you’ll be able to get to see. The property itself is massive, so I would recommend setting aside a half to full day to be able to take it all in. With many beautiful places to shoot, you’ll never run out of back drops to grab photos against. Our favourite was the Temperate House as it had these beautiful white wrought-iron staircases with a panoramic overhead view of the greenhouse. You can also get a similar look in the Palm House as it also has these stunning staircases but the humidity levels inside actually make it really difficult to grab any sort of photos because both our phones and cameras instantly fogged up upon entering.
Timing: As early as possible. I would recommend going in the middle of the week and right at opening in the morning to get the staircases as empty as possible. By noon, the entire place is completely filled with people, making it difficult to get any photos.
Hurlingham Books
Located in the South West of London, this little bookstore is found in the Fulham neighbourhood. Touting themselves as the oldest independent bookshop in the area, They have a wide range of books on sale for £1 to first editions worth thousands. Although their collection of books in the windows looks impressive, they also have an entire warehouse with over 2 million books nearby if you can’t quite find what you’re looking for in the store. Not only is this a charming little spot to visit on your trip to London, but a cute non-touristy but uniquely London spot to grab a photo as well.
Timing: Any time of the day as this store front doesn’t seem to garner as many tourists as others do.
Lower Sloane Street
Lower Sloane has to to be by far one of my favourite streets in all of London. As much as I love pastel houses, there’s something charming about these rust coloured homes/offices that strike a chord inside of me. With rows and rows of similar designed houses and no crazy signs in site, it’s extremely easy to grab a photo here! Just keep a watchful eye on traffic as there’s a constant flow coming from both sides of the street!
Timing: Any time of the day as this is a busy commuter road, so the traffic never really slows down.
Regent Street
You’re bound to have seen many photos of this street already, and from different vantage points as well. You can either grab a photo at the bend, where the road goes straight, or where the road swerves a little bit. Just take a quick gander at Google Maps to find out where you want to shoot your photo and head towards there. I primarily love this spot because it really showcases the beautifull designed English buildings flanking either side of the road. If you’re lucky, you might also be able to grab a photo with one of the red double decker buses passing by in the background! We only managed to capture one of the adorable taxi cars in ours, but we’ll take it!
Timing: As early as possible in the morning before the stores open because there aren’t any customers walking along the roads. The roads begin to fill up by 10 AM, so if you can get there earlier, then you’ll be able to get some amazing photos!
I hope that you found some new places to add to your itinerary for your upcoming or future trips to London. There are so many more places that I’d love to continue adding to this post in the future, and I definitely hope to grow this post to become something that is a comprehensive guide for Instagrammers visiting London. So if there are any places that you feel that I may have missed, or would warrant a spot in this post, please feel free to comment and let me know!
Photography Credits: Mel Inspired
