Today I want to share my guide to Highbury, London with you. Part of the London Borough of Islington, this north London neighborhood is known for being home to Emirates Stadium. But there’s a lot more to N5 than that, from the restaurants and shops on Highbury Park to the green expanse of Highbury Fields. Read on for the best of the area.
Highbury, London
Just north of Islington and Upper Street, Highbury is one of many great local areas of London to explore.
The name Highbury comes from a manor house built on a hill in 1271. Once comprised of farmland and woodland, today the area has a good mix of residential streets and places to eat and shop. It’s a great neighborhood to discover.
If you’re looking into where to live in London, it’s also a good choice. Central enough to be easily accessible from the heart of the city but local enough to have a neighborhood feel, it’s an ideal spot to call home.
How to Get to Highbury
Highbury is easy to get to from other parts of London. There are good tube, train, and bus connections throughout the area.
Highbury & Islington station lies at the southern end of Highbury. It makes it simple to get to the neighborhood on the tube, train, and Overground. Lots of local buses stop around here, too.
There’s also a tube station at Arsenal and a train station at Drayton Park, so there are plenty of choices when it comes to transportation.
The area is within easy walking distance of places like Canonbury, Barnsbury, Stoke Newington, and Finsbury Park, too.
Things to Do in Highbury
Once you’ve arrived in this north London neighborhood, you’ll encounter lots of things to do in Highbury. Whether you’re in the mood to eat, drink, walk, or watch a sporting event, there’s something to suit your mood.
There are lots of great restaurants, cafes, bars, and pubs on St Paul’s Road near Highbury Corner, and more up on Highbury Park and Blackstock Road. I love the little cluster hidden away where Calabria Road meets Corsica Street, too.
When it comes to shopping, Highbury Park is a great place. Everything from cheesemongers to bookshops lines the street. Their colorful facades add atmosphere to the area.
If you want to explore the side streets, there’s no shortage of lovely spots to wander through. Highbury Terrace Mews is a great hidden gem, and Highbury Terrace itself has beautiful residential architecture to admire.
Highbury New Park is pleasant to stroll down, what with its grand buildings and trees. And that’s to say nothing of the streets near Highbury Square and Highbury Grove, many of which have pretty Victorian terraced houses.
If you want to watch sports, Emirates Stadium is home to Arsenal FC, one of London’s famous football (soccer) teams. And if you want to play sports, Highbury Fields has everything from tennis courts to playing pitches.
Speaking of Highbury Fields, this green space is a great place for picnics in the summer and walks at other times of year. It’s a pretty place to sit and soak up the area’s ambiance, too.
At the northern end of the neighborhood, Gillespie Park is another green space that’s worth discovering. It has lots of walking paths through nature, and it’s home to the Islington Ecology Centre.
If you’re looking for landmarks, the Highbury Clock Tower is just the thing. Built in 1897 in celebration of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, it’s still an eye-catching local icon today.
A more recent icon is Highbury Square. The former Arsenal stadium, it’s now a residential apartment complex with eye-catching Grade II-listed Art Deco architecture.
Highbury, London
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this Highbury, London area guide and that it’s gotten you excited to discover this place yourself. It’s a great local part of the UK capital, and it’s worth exploring.
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