Finsbury Park & Crouch End

Finsbury Park and Crouch End sit in North London above Holloway — not obvious tourist destinations, but increasingly worth knowing about as two of the city's more pleasant neighbourhoods for independent food, cafes and a genuinely local atmosphere.

Finsbury Park

The park itself covers 116 acres with a boating lake, tennis courts and one of London's better park cafes. It's also a major music venue in summer — the likes of Wireless Festival and large-scale outdoor concerts run here. Arsenal's Emirates Stadium is a short walk away.

Crouch End

The Broadway and surrounding streets have an excellent independent food and café scene — one of North London's most genuinely pleasant areas to spend a Saturday morning. The area around the Clock Tower has a village-square feel unusual for London at this density. Priory Park, just off the Broadway, is a quieter green space worth knowing about.

Getting There

Finsbury Park station (Victoria and Piccadilly lines, plus Overground) for the park. Crouch End is not on the Tube — bus from Finsbury Park station (W7) or from Archway (W5, W7) is the standard route.

Tips

• Crouch End Broadway on a Saturday morning has some of the best independent food shopping in North London.
• Finsbury Park is one of the few large London parks with a genuine music festival culture — check the summer events programme.