Whitechapel & Spitalfields

The area straddling Whitechapel and Spitalfields in East London is one of the city's most historically layered — a Huguenot silk-weaving district in the 17th century, a Jewish immigrant neighbourhood in the late 19th, a Bangladeshi community from the mid-20th century, and now an area where all of those histories overlap with a growing creative and technology sector.

Brick Lane

Brick Lane is the area's spine — Bangladeshi curry houses and sweet shops at the southern end, vintage clothing, street art and the Sunday Upmarket further north. The Sunday Upmarket (inside Old Truman Brewery, also Sundays) is a well-curated mix of independent food, fashion and crafts and worth combining with a Brick Lane wander.

Spitalfields Market

Old Spitalfields Market — a Victorian covered market hall — runs general stalls Thursday and Sunday (antiques Thursday), with a permanent food court alongside. Less atmospheric than its history suggests but useful for a covered browse in bad weather.

Street Art

The area around Hanbury Street and the Old Truman Brewery has one of the highest concentrations of street art in the city — rotating constantly, with pieces from internationally known artists alongside local work. Walk slowly through the back streets for the best finds.

Getting There

Aldgate East (District and Hammersmith & City lines) for Whitechapel; Liverpool Street (Central, Circle, Elizabeth and Metropolitan lines, National Rail) for Spitalfields.

Tips

• Sunday brings both Brick Lane street market and Spitalfields to life — the best day to visit.
• The Sunday Upmarket inside Old Truman Brewery is worth the entrance.
• Walk the back streets around Hanbury Street for street art between the main market areas.