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Best things to do in Croydon – a helpful guide

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Croydon! It has a bit of a reputation, and some of it is even good.

There’s post-war architecture aplenty, and more Victorian architecture than you’d maybe expect. It has links to the archbishops of Canterbury that go back several hundred years. It’s the birthplace of Tracey Emin and Kate Moss. It’s home to the Brit School, UK’s leading school for Performing Arts and Technology. There’s some fantastic street art, though, alas, not as much as there used to be. It was London Borough of Culture in 2023.

Also, there are at least 7 tattoo parlours each a few minutes’ walk from each other. Make of that what you will.

So if you’d like to explore Croydon, this insider’s guide to the best things to do in Croydon is for you.

Good to know: all locations in this article can also be found on a handy map at the end.

For fast navigation, you can click on a section name on the line below to go straight to that section.

EXPLORE/DO | EAT | SHOP | MAP | HOW TO GET TO CROYDON | WHERE NEXT?

Croydon mid century details

At a glance...

EXPLORE/ DO

Take a stroll around the Old Town

Croydon Old Town is clustered around two notable buildings: the Croydon Minster and the former Old Palace of Croydon, both closely connected to the archbishops of Canterbury.

Croydon Minster is the burial place of six archbishops of Canterbury. To the side, St. Johns Memorial Garden used to be the church graveyard and is now a small nice pocket of greenery. The current church is built in the Gothic Revival style so loved by the Victorians. Indeed, the work was overseen by George Gilbert Scott, who was also the architect for the Albert Memorial in Hyde Park and the Midland Grand Hotel (ie the front bit of St Pancras Station). Its intricate stained glass windows are impressive, especially on a sunny day.

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The Old Palace was the archbishop’s summer house for about 600 years until the 18th Century (their main home was in Lambeth). Alas, since it’s now a school, it’s not open for casual visitors but the parts on public view are lovely. It sometimes takes part in Open House, though, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for that if you’d like to visit.

And while it’s not strictly part of Croydon Old town, a five minutes’ walk will take you to the Whitgift Almshouses, a striking four centuries old building in Tudor style, built as a hospital in the 16th century. It’s now a care home, so no visits either, but you admire the exterior, and peek through the gate.

Whitgift Almshouses

If you’d like to know more about Old Croydon, Croydon Council have produced a couple of self-guided walks you can download.

How to get to Croydon Old Town:

  • From East Croydon:

    • Walking: turn right when you leave East Croydon Station, and keep going (follow the tram tracks).
    • With the tram: take the tram (direction: Wimbledon) from the stop in front of East Croydon station, get off at Church Street (the next stop).
  • From West Croydon: the fastest way is to walk. Turn left when you leave West Croydon Station, and keep going. After a few minutes, you’ll see the almshouses on the left hand side.

Visit the Museum of Croydon

The Museum of Croydon is a bit like the Museum of London… but for Croydon. They have a core permanent collection, and also put on regular exhibitions (and associated activities). It’s located inside the Clocktower complex, which also houses the library, so find the library and you’ll find the museum.

At time of writing, there are 2 special exhibitions:

  • Little Manhattan: exploring Croydon’s urban heritage, until 23/02/2024. If you want to know more about Croydon’s post-war construction boom, you might want to put that one in your diary! And if you can’t make it to the exhibition, you might enjoy this really interesting video. It’s a compilation of old clips of brutalist Croydon being built, together with personal reminiscences by people who saw it happening.
  • Rewind: This is Croydon’s Music, until 07/09/2024. Croydon has been a fertile ground from musicians across all genres, and the Museum of Croydon is celebrating this heritage with an exhibition, as well as many associated activities.

Museum of Croydon: helpful information

Address: Croydon Clocktower, Katharine Street, Croydon, CR9 1ET

Website: https://museumofcroydon.com/

On Google maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/LQMTyntY3NkM9kjR6

Go on a tour of Croydon brutalist architecture

Admittedly, brutalist (or post war, or mid-century, depending on your preferred terms) architecture is a bit like the Marmite of the architectural world. But you think the brutalist style is pretty cool, Croydon is one of the best places in London to visit. Even the local Travelodge has a 50s flair.

As soon as you step out of East Croydon station, look left: here’s No 1 Croydon (formerly known as NLA House, colloquially known as the 50p Building, or – in earlier times – the Threepenny Bit building). Built in 1970, it was actually one of the latest additions to Croydon’s brutalist skyline. And behind it, look out for Alico House, originally an office block, now a EasyHotel.

Croydon 50p building and Alico House

Other well knows brutalist buildings include Apollo House and Lunar House. How the names conjure images of the brand new era of space exploration and the optimism of the 1950s after the dark years of the war! They’re both government offices, so you can’t visit, understandably enough.

Corinthian House and Amp House are probably less well known, but share the same unmistakable mid-century DNA, as you can see in the photos below..

Croydon Amp house and Corinthian house

There’s also Fairfield Halls, whose elegant lines might cause you to re-evaluate brutalism.

And don’t forget the Nestle building (or St George’s House, to give it its proper name), an iconic feature of the Croydon skyline. For now, it’s just an empty shell wrapped in scaffolding, before starting its new life as a block of flats (presumably of the luxury kind).

The Nestle Building in Croydon

And that’s just a small sample of the best known examples of post war architecture in Croydon. Walk around, and you’ll spot plenty of humble office blocks in the characteristic 60s style. And the St George Walk shopping arcade, a real blast from the past. It’s already half demolished, catch it before it’s all gone!

There’s a smattering of buildings from the 1930s, too – check out Electricity House (now the Croydon campus for the London South Bank Electricity) and the former Segas offices on Park lane, near Fairfield Halls. Grade 2 listed, and sadly derelict.

And check out Croydon’s Victorian architecture too.

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Croydon’s town hall was built in the late 19th century and is really very pretty. It’s part of a whole group of buildings called the Clocktower Complex, which also house the library, the aforementioned Croydon Museum, and the David Lean cinema (on which more below). There’s a café, too.

Address: 9 Katharine St, Croydon CR0 1NX

Website: https://www.croydon.gov.uk/libraries-leisure-and-culture/arts-entertainment-and-culture/croydon-clocktower

The beautiful St Michael’s Church is also from the late 19th century and was designed by John Loughborough Pearson, who also designed – amongst other things – Two Temple Place, one of the most amazing buildings in London.

Address: 7 Poplar Walk, Croydon CR0 1UA

Website: https://www.stmichaelscroydon.com/

And as with post-war architecture, walk around and you’ll see plenty more Victorian around. (Special mention to the former Allders department store, now sadly vacant.)

Explore Park Hill recreation ground or Wandle Park. Or both!

Park Hill recreation ground and Wandle Park are two parks near the city centre. They are probably too big to be called pocket parks, but not so big that that you can get lost in them.

Croydon Wandle Park and Park Hill Park

Park Hill recreation ground

Park Hill recreation ground dates back to 1888, and was created on land that used to belong to the Archbishops of Canterbury (here they are again…). It’s also known as Park Hill Park, which begs the question – what came first, the Park, or the name for the hill?

If you walk towards the back of the park, where it becomes a bit wilder, you’ll soon glimpse a fine Italianate mansion. This is the house formerly known as Coombe Cliff House. Built in 1853, it’s currently a special school, but until 1903 it belonged to the Horniman family. John Horniman was a tea trader; at the end of the 19th Century, Horniman’s was the largest tea trading in the world. The family’s lasting legacy, however, is the museum that bears their name, in Forest Hill.

And what’s that, tucked into a corner? Is it a castle? No, it’s a disused water tower. It was built in the late 19th century to bring clean water to Croydon – not a given back then. It’s currently undergoing renovations. Will it be open to the public when the renovations are complete? We’ll see, I guess.

And finally, don’t miss the walled herb garden. It’s absolutely lovely.

Park Hill recreation ground – helpful information

Address: Barclay Road Croydon CR0 5NS

How to get to Park Hill recreation ground: it’s a few minutes walk from the town centre.

Park Hill recreation ground on Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/geLPZJSmVSgMNhGy8

Facilities: toilets, ice cream and snacks kiosk, children’s playground, and netball, basketball and tennis courts.

And also: There’s a volunteers group for the park called “Friends of Park Hill Park & Recreation Ground Croydon”. Their website is worth visiting, they have a wealth of information about the walled garden (including volunteering opportunities) and the history of the park.

Wandle Park

The other smallish park within walking distance of the town centre is Wandle Park. There’s a little something for everyone here: a rose garden, and a Victorian bandstand, and a water fountain (in working order, and delightful on hot days). There’s a kid’s playground, too, and a skate park. Wandle Park is where the river Wandle emerges, although it disappears again at the other end of the park.

Wandle Park – helpful information

Address: Cornwall Road Waddon CR0 4JR

How to get to Wandle Park: take the tram towards Wimbledon and get off at the Wandle Park stop. Wandle Park is also within walking distance from the town centre, althought it’s not the easiest walk if you’re not familiar with it.

Wandle Park on Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/bjfxSik5xzW8BvMr5

Want to explore more green spaces in Croydon?

In fact, there are dozens of green spaces of all sizes in Croydon. I’ll mention Lloyds Park, Addington Hills, Coombe Woods here, and for the rest, here’s Croydon Parks and playgrounds directory, a neat search tool made available by Croydon Council, with scrollable map and plenty of filters.

Special mention to the Shirley Hills viewing point in Addington Hills. On a clear day, you can enjoy a breath-taking panoramic view over all of London. (To get there, take the tram towards New Addington and get off at Coombe Lane.)

Check out some of the very best street art in London

Croydon is one of London’s coolest spot for street art, so if you love street art, you’re in the right place. Worth checking out this Street Art Tour Of Croydon. It was written in 2016, so is unfortunately out of date (the area is being redeveloped and several buildings have been knocked down), but it’s nice to see these pieces recorded for posterity.

Catch a movie at the David Lean cinema

Croydon’s best independent cinema! Well, make that Croydon’s only independent cinema… Named after one of Croydon’s most famous exports, David Lean, it screens a great range of movies, from art house releases to independent classics. Can you say hidden gem?

Address: Katharine St, Croydon CR9 1ET,

Website: https://www.davidleancinema.org.uk/

Visit Addington Village

If you want to see where the archbishops of Canterbury spent their summers after they stopped using the Old Palace, head to Addington Palace in Addington Park. It’s now an events venue, so it’s not open to casual visitors, but you can admire the exterior and wander the grounds. In bucolic Addington village, you’ll find St Mary’s church and graveyard, where 6 archbishops are buried.

And Croydon Council have a Addington Village heritage walk booklet you can download, if you’d like to learn more.

How to get there: take the tram towards New Addington, and get off at the Addington Village stop

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EAT

Croydon places to eat

Visit BoxPark for all the street food

Boxpark is home to over 30 traders, with cuisines ranging from Italian to Malaysian to Greek to Egyptian, including plenty of vegan options. Plenty of tables in the canteen-style cavernous interior, too.

Address: 99 George St, Croydon CR0 1LD,

Website: https://www.boxpark.co.uk/croydon/

Play with your food at The Ludoquist: a board game cafe bar

OK, this one I probably could have put in the “Shop” part below and also in the section above. The Ludoquist is a rather unique spot: it serves food at very decent prices, you can play board games, and you can buy them too. And, oh my, they have lots of games, including solo ones. Did you know you can have solo board games? I didn’t.

Address: 63-67 High St, Croydon CR0 1QE

Website: https://www.theludoquist.com/

Experience British pubs at their best at the Spread Eagle and the Green Dragon

The Spread Eagle

For traditional British food in a beautiful Victorian setting, head to the Spread Eagle, in the Clock Tower complex. Can’t get more British than that.

Address: 39-41 Katharine St, Croydon CR0 1NX

Website: https://whelanspubs.co.uk/whelans-premium/the-spread-eagle/

The Green Dragon

A more eclectic take on traditional pub food, plus board games and a shelf of books. Can you say cozy? The British pub experience at its best.

Address: 60 High St, Croydon CR0 1NA

Website: https://www.crafted-social.co.uk/green-dragon-croydon

Feast on one of the scrumptious paratha rolls at the Paratha Inn

If you’ve never heard of a paratha roll, think of it as an Indian burrito, with a thin paratha bread standing in for the tortilla, and filled to the brim with curries of various kids. Portable curry – what a genius idea! You can read my review of Paratha Inn here and you can check their site here.

Address: 244 High St, Croydon CR0 1NF,

Website: https://www.parathainn.co.uk/

… or head next door to the Tava shop for even more Indian street food

Why not try the all-day breakfast?

Address: 248 High St, Croydon CR0 1NF,

Website: https://www.thetavashop.co.uk/

Savour superior Thai cooking at Anna’s Thai Restaurant

Get the Massanan Curry. It’s yum.

Address: 281 High St, Croydon CR0 1QH,

Website: https://www.annasthai.com/croydon/

In fact, there are eateries aplenty on that stretch of road, so if the restaurants above don’t appeal, something else not far probably will catch your fancy.

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SHOP

Check out some very cool shops

There’s a Primark, a M&S and a Next outlet store. There are more £1 shops that you can shake a stick at, and two shopping centres, neither of them particularly exciting. And, oh yes, there’s an IKEA a few tram stops from the town centre. (Which, to be fair, is quite handy.)

Still, Croydon boasts some very cool, unique shops.

Oscar Dahling Antiques

An absolute treasure of a shop. It’s not very big, but it’s packed with a carefully curated eclectic assortment of beautiful old things. Lots of mid-century collectables to be found, usually including refurbished Anglepoise lamps. Dare I say it’s a one room version of Alfie’s Antique market? Dare I call it a hidden gem?

Address: 87 Cherry Orchard Rd, Croydon CR0 6BE

Website: they don’t have one, so here’s their Google map entry

101 Records: a treasure drove of second hand vinyl

Fantastic shop, with a huge stock, and excellent prices. Music lovers, this is one for you.

Address: 21 N End, Croydon CR0 1TY

Website: https://101-records.edan.io/

DnR Vinyl: your go-to for grime

If grime and dubstep are more your thing, DnR Vinyl is the place you want, and it’s only a short tram ride from the town centre.

Address: 352 Lower Addiscombe Rd, Croydon CR0 7AF

Website: https://dnrvinyl.co.uk/

How to get there: take the tram towards either Elmers End or Beckenham Junction, and get off at Addiscombe.

Forbidden Planet and A Place in Space: comics and collectables

That’s right, Croydon has not just one, but two spots dedicated to comics, cards and action figures. There’s the Croydon offshoot of Forbidden Planet, whose main store in in Covent Garden, and you’ll find more at A Place in Space.

NameAddressWebsite
Forbidden Planet43 Church St, Croydon CR0 1RHhttps://forbiddenplanet.com/
A Place in Space96 Drummond Rd, Croydon CR0 1TXhttps://www.ebay.co.uk/str/aplaceinspace

Rummage in the charity shops

In all honesty, Croydon’s charity shops are not even vaguely in the league of the charity shops of Battersea or Pimlico, but hey, it never hurts to check. And they tend to be quite a bit cheaper than charity shops in central London, so there’s that.

The charity shops in the town centre are somewhat spread about, but Croydon’s not very big, so that’s not really a problem.

NameAddressWebsite
Scope West Croydon3 London Rd,
Croydon CR0 2RE
https://www.scope.org.uk/shops/
St Christopher’s Croydon48 Church St,
Croydon CR0 1RB
https://www.stchristophers.org.uk/shop/croydon/
Alice’s Attic51 High St,
Croydon CR0 1QD
https://www.pah.org.uk/
Hidden Gems Charity Shop96 High St,
Croydon CR0 1ND
https://hiddengemscroydon.org/
British Heart Foundation Furniture & ElectricalSuffolk House, George St,
Croydon CR0 1PE
https://www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/find-bhf-near-you/croydon-furniture-electrical-store
Croydon Animal Samaritans136 Cherry Orchard Rd, Croydon CR0 6BB,https://www.croydonanimalsamaritans.co.uk/

There’s also a cluster of charity shops closer together in Addiscombe, all on Lower Addiscombe Rd.

How to get to the Addiscombe Charity shops: take the tram towards either Elmers End or Beckenham Junction, and get off at Addiscombe.

NameAddressWebsite
St Christopher’s Hospice Shop – Addiscombe243 Lower Addiscombe Rd,
Croydon CR0 6RD
https://www.stchristophers.org.uk/
The Salvation Army249 Lower Addiscombe Rd,
Croydon CR0 6RD
https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/
RSPCA Shop Croydon267 Lower Addiscombe Rd,
Croydon CR0 6RD
https://www.rspca.org.uk/
Scope Addiscombe307 Lower Addiscombe Rd,
Croydon CR0 6RF
https://www.scope.org.uk/shops/
The Garwood Foundation294 Lower Addiscombe Rd,
Croydon CR0 7AE
https://garwoodfoundation.org.uk/

Visit one of London’s oldest street markets: Surrey Street market

Surrey Street market is nearly 750 years old: the first charter for the market was granted in 1276 by one of the archbishops of Canterbury (yep, them again).

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It’s kinda like a farmers market in that it sells mostly fruits and vegetables, and it’s a proper old fashioned food market where the traders entice you by yelling “Pound a boooowl! Pound a boooowl!” to sell their wares. Great atmosphere even if you’re not buying anything. And it’s open 6 days a week.

On Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/rb68KccijTnnb9jx8

Website: https://www.croydon.gov.uk/business-licences-and-tenders/markets/find-market/surrey-street-market

Stock up your food cupboard on London Road and beyond

London Road near West Croydon is a paradise for a large array of food stores, with an emphasis of produce from the Middle East and Indian sub-continent.

The two largest (and best) ones are:

Savemore

The Savemore awning proudly boats “Indian – Pakistan – West Indian – African – Sri Lankan – English – Turkish groceries” and they’re not kidding. It’s absolutely packed, and the chutneys and pickles alone take up several shelves.

The Turkish Food centre

Next door to Savemore, you’ll find the Croydon branch of the Turkish Food centre. Here the emphasis in on Mediterranean food, but they also sell ingredients for many other cuisines. They also sell fresh Turkish bread and marinated olives by the pound. Oh, and baklava. Ummmm, baklava

And there are some great food stores that are not on London Road:

Wing Yip Superstore

That one is definitely a bit out of the way, but for Asian groceries, Wing Yip is a must-visit. They sell fresh vegetables and meat and fish too, as well as fresh cakes. Plus, the whole spot is a mini shopping centre with a bakery (the Tai Pan Chinese Bakery) and a Chinese restaurant (Tai Tung).

How to get there: it’s a 10 minutes walk from Waddon train station, which is one stop from West Croydon.

Polski Supermarket

Back to the town centre for the Polski Supermarket, in the same street as Surrey Street Market. You can probably guess what they specialise in… Well stocked, and they sell fresh pastries. Mmmm, pastries…

Terra House

Terra House is a fine Romanian deli, and they have takeaway snacks, too.

NameAddressOn Google Maps
Savemore65-67 London Rd,
Croydon CR0 2RF
https://maps.app.goo.gl/8GHqrNK5C8afhUdt5
The Turkish Food centre73-77 London Rd,
Croydon CR0 2RF
https://maps.app.goo.gl/nYqnywjvLPYYRgry5
Wing Yip Superstore544 Purley Way,
Croydon CR0 4NZ
https://maps.app.goo.gl/tU1iUQ15JfV7NUUh9
Polski Supermarket47-48 Surrey St,
Croydon CR0 1RJ
https://maps.app.goo.gl/pSSnnzMsGQZ3Yo5E6
Terra House206 High St,
Croydon CR0 1NE
https://maps.app.goo.gl/vfkk4XURKYm4jUmx5

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Croydon, the final word

So there you have it. Croydon: half post-war brutalist architecture, half cool street art, half Victorian grandeur, half yummy street food. (Maths? Whazzat?)

Croydon Lunar House

How to get to Croydon

Croydon is pretty well connected: there are 2 main train stations, East Croydon and West Croydon. West Croydon is also on the Overground. And there are trams to Croydon from Wimbledon.

  • From Central London, trains leave from either Victoria, or Kings Cross and London Bridge and all stations in between Kings Cross and London Bridge. This will get you to East Croydon.
  • From South London, trains leave from Clapham Junction and will also arrive in East Croydon.
  • From East London, the Overground will take you to West Croydon.
  • From West London, take the tram from Wimbledon. George Street is the most central stop, but you could also go to East Croydon.
  • If you’re travelling from further south, say Brighton or Gatwick Airport, you’ll also arrive at East Croydon

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From East Croydon station, it’s a short walk (5 to 10 minutes) to the town centre (turn right on leaving the station – there’s signage aplenty, including a handy a handy mural in front of the station).

From West Croydon station, turn left. This will get you to the main shopping street.

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Where to go from there?

Crystal Palace is practically next door! How about visiting Roti Brothers for some of the best burgers in London?

Morden Hall Park, one of the most gorgeous parks in south London, is only a few stops away on the tram. And Crofton Books, one of the best second hand bookstores in London, is only a few stops away on the Overground.

If you enjoyed this in-depth guide and found it helpful, maybe you’d like to read my Westminster guide?

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Croydon: the big handy map of everything

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