London/Hackney

Hackney staged some of the events during the 2012 London Summer Olympics such as hockey in the Lea Valley Arena as well as hosting the world's media with many of the big events happening in the nearby Olympic Stadium and VeloPark. This was a hot spot for tourists and locals during the action.
Hackney has diverse population and the area has undergone massive regeneration in recent decades. Hackney is now very fashionable with a thriving arts scene in the south of the district for example.
In the far north of the district near Stoke Newington, Stamford Hill is the centre of the Hassidic and Adeni Jewish communities in London and the largest in Europe. A visit here certainly provides a very different cultural experience to anywhere else in Britain.
Hackney is also known for its wide open green spaces such as Hackney Marshes,(home of 88 football pitches) being the most notable and known as the spiritual home of grass roots soccer in the UK.

By bus

Hackney is well served by buses from all over the capital, with the routes converging on Hackney Central, Dalston and Stoke Newington. Bus routes serving Hackney include the 30, 38, 48, 55, 56, 67, 76, 106, 149, 242, 243, 253, 254, 277, 488 and D6

By train

The London Overground network has stations at:

• Hackney Central (Zone 2)
• Dalston Junction (Zone 2)
• Dalston Kingsland (Zone 2)
• Haggerston (Zone 2)
• Hoxton (Zone 1 & Zone 2)
• Homerton (Zone 2)
• Hackney Wick (Zone 2)

National Express East Anglia run rail services from Liverpool Street to a number of stations in Hackney, with the principal station on the line being Hackney Downs.

By tube

There are no stations in the district but northern parts can be easily reached from Manor House and Finsbury Park stations (both Piccadily line).

The best way to get around the borough is to walk or get buses. The many parks and green spaces dotted around make Hackney much nicer to walk around than its inner London location would suggest.

Landmarks

• Hackney Town Hall

  phone: +44 20 8356-5000
  address: Mare Street, E8 1EA
  Built in the 1930s including the surrounding square and gardens.

• Sutton House

  phone: +44 20 8986-2264
  address: 2 & 4 Homerton High St, E9 6JQ
  Tudor House in Homerton, owned by the National Trust.

• St John-at-Hackney Community Space Centre

  phone: +44 20 7613-9525
  address: Lower Clapton Rd, E5 0PD
  This tower of St John-at-Hackney Church is the oldest building in Hackney and a famous landmark of the borough.

Parks

• Victoria Park commonly called the People's Park, its huge and hosts summer festivals.

• Clissold Park

  address: Greenway Cl, N4 2EY
  Park with a rich history. It is a former country house and estate and was first opened to the public in 1889.

• Hackney City Farm

  phone: +44 20 7729-6381
  address: 1 Goldsmiths Row, E2 8QA
  Farm dating back to the early 1800s. It is now open to the public and is home to domestic animals. Also houses a café.
• Hackney Downs, near Clapton Ponds, has free tennis courts and is nice for cycle, though a bit plain and squarish.

• Haggerston Park

  phone: +44 20 8356-8428-9
  address: Audrey St, off Goldsmith's Row, E2 8QH

• London Fields

  phone: +44 20 8356-8428 or +44 20 8356-8429
  address: Richmond Rd, Hackney, E8
  There are records of a public park at this site going back to the 16th century. Every Saturday, there is a farmers' market selling here, complemented by many others selling hand-made jewellery, gifts, childrenswear and vintage clothing.

• Woodberry Wetlands

  phone: +44 20 8802-4573
  address: 1 Newnton Cl, N4 2RH
  Two former Thames Water reservoirs which are now managed as a nature reserve in urban Hackney by the London Wildlife Trust. Has a small visitor centre.

Museums

• The Clowns Archive

  address: Holy Trinity Church, Beechwood Rd, E8 3DY
  Museum of clowning, unique collection of faces on eggs. Open only first Friday of every month from noon-5PM.

• Geffrye Museum

  phone: +44 20 7739-9893
  address: 136 Kingsland Rd, E2 8EA
  Furniture museum which charts the evolution of London urban interior design and furnishing since 1600. Main museum closed for two years from January 2018 for refurbishment. One of the houses open for tours.

• Hackney Museum

  phone: +44 20 8356-3500
  address: Technology & Learning Centre, 1 Reading Ln, E8 1GQ
  Providing a history of Hackney and periodic exhibitions.

Galleries

• 291 Gallery

  phone: +44 20 7613-5676
  address: 291 Hackney Rd, E2 8NA
  Contemporary art within visual art, digital art, live performances, video and music events.

• Rhodes + Mann Gallery

  phone: +44 20 7729-4372
  address: 37 Hackney Rd, E2 7NX

• The Residence

  phone: +44 20 8986-2324
  address: The Verger's Cottage, Eastway, E9 5JA
  Avant garde gallery with up-and-coming and newly established artists.

• Space Gallery

  phone: +44 20 8525-4330
  address: 129-131 Mare St, E8 3RH
• Elevator Gallery and the Chocolate Factory both near Hackney Downs on Stoke Newington Rd.

• Hackney Empire

  phone: +44 20 8985-2424
  address: 291 Mare St, E8 1EJ
  Historic theatre and music hall, offering an eclectic mix of entertainment.

• East London Art Walks

  phone: +44 20 7739-1743, +44 7799 776 016
  A friendly, qualified art guide will take you around a selection of the most interesting exhibitions on at the moment and also talk about the history of contemporary art in East London. call for times and meeting points.

• London Fields Lido

  phone: +44 20 7254-9038
  address: London Fields Westside E8 3EU
  Lovely old-fashioned outdoor swimming Lido run by Hackney Council.

• Rio Cinema

  phone: +44 20 7241-9410
  address: 107 Kingsland High St, E8
  A splendid old cinema dating back to the 1900s. Specialises in foreign language films, offbeat arthouse productions and children's programming.

• Walk Hackney MarshesLovely walk along the River Lea and canal which stretches across much of East London and further. A surprisingly rural experience in an otherwise densely built district of London.

• London Fields Brewery

  phone: +44 20 7254-7174
  address: 365–366 Warburton St, E8 3RR
  Every Saturday, London Fields Brewery run brewery tours. Come down and have a guided tour of the brewery and learn how they are making their superbly tasty beers. Also included in the price are tastings of the beers in the BrewHouse, the brewery's very own pop-up bar.

• Ümit & Son Store

  phone: +44 20 8985-1766
  address: 35 Lower Clapton Rd, E5 0NS
  DVD, VHS, Videodiscs, 8mm film reels and more are all sold here. Projectors and equipment for some of the less standard formats are available for hire and the shop also offers a video-to-digital transfer service.

• Viktor Wynd's Museum of Curiosities

  phone: +44 20 7998-3617
  address: 11 Mare St, E8 4RP
  A macabre museum and gallery as well as a shop, modelled on a 17th-century cabinet of curiosities. The place to go if you've ever wanted to buy a taxidermy, skeletons, skulls (human or otherwise) or similarly eccentric oddities. Upstairs is a bar (free entry) and the museum itself is down a gilded spiral staircase beside the counter. The owner has an excellent collection of Leonora Carrington paintings. Children are only allowed before 17:00. Museum entry is £4, £2.50 on Thursday evenings

Shopping centres & markets

• Broadway MarketVisit on a Saturday. Has a variety of gastropubs and trendy clothes!

• Ridley Road MarketMix of traditional East-end fruit and veg alongside Afro-Caribbean delicacies, imported films, clothes and household items. Little of interest for the tourist to buy, but a great experience. Watch your pockets in the crowded pavements behind the stalls. There are also market stalls on the side streets surrounding Dalston Kingsland station.

• The Kingsland Shopping CentreThe main shopping mall in the borough.

• Stamford HillThe centre of the Hassidic Jewish community and has many kosher bakeries, delis and supermarkets.

• Stoke Newington Church StMany small bookshops and antique stores.

Stoke Newington (Church Street), Broadway market and, more recently, Hackney Central, have a variety of gastropubs. There are many great Turkish and Asian restaurants on Kingsland Road. To the south of Mare Street there are a great number of very reasonable Vietnamese restaurants. Some also have the bonus of being able to bring your own alcohol, which brings down cost considerably.

Budget

• Green Papaya

  phone: +44 20 8985-5486
  address: 191 Mare St, E8 3QT
  Offering great Vietnamese food for vegetarians and meat eaters alike.

• Mess Cafe

  address: Amhurst Rd
  Great quality caf breakfasts.

• Song Que Cafe

  phone: +44 20 7613-3222
  address: 134 Kingsland Rd, E2 8DY
  Rated by Zagat as the best Vietnamese on Kingsland Rd.

• Viet Hoa

  phone: +44 20 7729-8293
  address: 70-72 Kingsland Rd, E2 8DP
  You must try the salted prawns!

Mid-range

• Buen Ayre

  phone: +44 20 7275-9900
  address: 50 Broadway Market, E8 4QJ
  Argentine Grill restaurant.

• The Empress of India

  phone: +44 20 8533-5123
  address: 130 Lauriston Rd, E9 7LH
  Indian cuisine.

• Biddle Bros

  phone: +44 20 8985-7052
  address: 88 Lower Clapton Rd, E5 0QR
  Lively pub with a good local following. Often have a live band or DJ in the evenings,

• The Birdcage

  phone: +44 20 8806-6740
  address: 58 Stamford Hill, N16 6XS
  Friendly Stoke Newington pub that often has live bands playing.

• The Cat and Mutton

  phone: +44 20 7254-5599
  address: 76 Broadway Market, E8 4QJ

• The Cock Tavern

  phone: +44 20 7248-2918
  address: 315 Mare St, E8 1EJ

• Crate

  address: Unit 7, Queens Yard, Hackney Wick, London, E9 5EN
  Beer and pizza focused bar on the canal, close to the Olympic Park.

• Amhurst Hotel

  phone: +44 20 8800-7587
  address: 45 - 47 Amhurst Pk, N16 5DL
  Budget hotel in north London with self-catering facilities

• City Inn Express

  address: 144 A Mare St, Tudor Rd
  A quality bed & breakfast good for budget travellers.

• The RE Hotel London Shoreditch

  phone: +44 20 7613-6500
  address: 419-437 Hackney Rd, E2 8PP

Despite its reputation as a dangerous place, it is relatively safe provided you're careful. Most violent crime occurs amongst the gangs in the rougher parts of the borough. Stick to commercial areas where there will be lots of people. Keep away from housing estates as some can be very dangerous. Hackney Wick and some of the surrounding areas should be avoided. Hackney becomes much more dangerous at night, and it would be highly foolish to go out walking alone. There is heavy youth presence in the borough, so if you are there at night, don't go alone.