North London Date Ideas: Islington, Hampstead and Highgate, With Hours and Prices

How to plan a north London date

North London's best dates are built around walking distance. Kenwood, Highgate Cemetery and Lauderdale House sit along the high ground between Hampstead and Highgate. Keats House and the Freud Museum are both in Hampstead. In Islington, the Estorick Collection and the Almeida Theatre are about a mile apart, and both are near Highbury & Islington.

Some of the area's best-known places already have their own Kindrd guides. Hampstead Heath, its walks and its access information are in the parks and walks guide. Parliament Hill Lido and the three bathing ponds, with their rules and access policy, are in the lidos and outdoor swimming guide. The Regent's Canal through Camden and King's Cross has a guide of its own, and Union Chapel in Islington appears in the second-date guide. This page covers the places those guides do not. All details come from each venue's own pages as read on 14 October 2026.

Kenwood: free paintings on the edge of the Heath

English Heritage says Kenwood is open daily from 10am to 5pm, with last entry at 4.30pm. Entry is free; you don't need to book, though booking online guarantees entry. The collection includes paintings by Vermeer, Rembrandt (among them his Self-Portrait with Two Circles), Gainsborough, Turner and Constable. There is a café on site, and the grounds cover 112 acres of parkland designed by Humphry Repton.

The history gives you something to talk about. According to Wikipedia, Lord Mansfield, the Lord Chief Justice, bought the house in 1754 and commissioned Robert Adam to remodel it from 1764. Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, bought it in 1925 and left it to the nation when he died in 1927, which is why the paintings are there. English Heritage also highlights Dido Belle, a former resident of Kenwood, and says a new portrait of her has been commissioned.

Kenwood works well as the end of a walk across the Heath. Plan around closing time: the house shuts at 5pm, and the Heath's own access details are in the parks guide.

• KenwoodHistoric house and gallery

  Hampstead

  Free, daily 10am–5pm; Vermeer, Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Turner.

Highgate Cemetery: tours, rules and winter hours

Highgate Cemetery is open daily. From March to October it opens 10am to 5pm (last entry 4.30pm); from November to February it opens 10am to 4pm (last entry 3.30pm). It closes on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and access can be restricted during funerals or bad weather. One ticket covers both the East and West sides for the whole day. The cemetery says tours aren't required but recommends one on a first visit.

Tours last about 75 minutes, are in English and go ahead in rain. Dates are released four weeks ahead and tickets are non-refundable; a booked tour includes admission. The cemetery's visit page did not list standard admission or public tour prices on the check date, so check the booking site before you go.

This is a working cemetery, and the rules are strict: stay on the paths and don't climb on monuments; no alcohol, picnics or smoking; no bicycles or scooters; no large luggage. Tripods are allowed on general visits but not on tours, and you can eat your own food only in the West side courtyard. Wikipedia records that the West side opened in 1839 and the East side in 1860, and that Karl Marx and George Eliot are buried on the East side and George Michael on the West.

• Highgate CemeteryCemetery and nature reserve

  Highgate

  Daily; one ticket for both sides; 75-minute tours recommended first time.

Two Hampstead houses: Keats and Freud

Keats House is run by the City of London. Its visit page says the garden is free to enter and dogs on leads are welcome there. Volunteer-led tours of the ground floor run on most Thursday, Friday and Sunday afternoons, starting at about 2.15pm and lasting about 30 minutes. Tickets are bought on arrival, by card only, and current exhibitions are included. Paths to the house are step-free and most ground-floor rooms are wheelchair accessible, but the basement and upper floor are reached by stairs. The page did not give general opening hours or prices, so call 020 7332 3868 before going.

The Freud Museum at 20 Maresfield Gardens is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10.30 to 17.00, and closed on Monday and Tuesday. Adult tickets cost £14.90, or £16.90 with a donation; concessions are £12.90 or £14.90. The audio guide and exhibitions are included, and you can stream the guide on your phone. The current exhibition is called 40 Objects, 40 Years.

Seeing both in one afternoon only works from Wednesday to Sunday, when the Freud Museum is open; a Thursday, Friday or Sunday also lines up with the Keats House tours.

• Keats HouseWriter's house

  Hampstead

  Free garden; ground-floor tours most Thu, Fri and Sun from about 2.15pm.

• Freud Museum LondonMuseum

  Hampstead

  Wed–Sun 10.30–17.00; adults £14.90 (£16.90 with donation).

Highgate Hill: Lauderdale House and Waterlow Park

Lauderdale House sits in Waterlow Park on Highgate Hill, N6 5HG, a short walk from the cemetery gates. Its site says the house has been in use since 1582 and has served as a home, a school and a hospital. On the check date the park was open 7.30am to 6pm, the café 9am to 5pm and the gallery 12pm to 3pm, but hours vary by day, so check the opening-hours page first.

The house programmes gigs, concerts and recitals and has a jazz strand called Jazz in the House. Specific autumn dates and prices were not shown on the page we read, so look at the day-by-day calendar or call 020 8348 8716. A cemetery tour followed by tea in the park makes a well-paced afternoon.

• Lauderdale HouseArts centre and café

  Highgate

  Café, gallery and music in Waterlow Park; hours vary by day.

Islington: the Estorick Collection and the Almeida

The Estorick Collection at 39a Canonbury Square calls itself Britain's only gallery devoted to modern Italian art. It is known for its Futurist works and for figurative art and sculpture from about 1890 to the 1950s. It is open Wednesday to Saturday 11.00 to 18.00 and Sunday 12.00 to 17.00, closed Monday and Tuesday, with last admission 30 minutes before closing. On the last Thursday of each month it stays open until 21.00, and full-time students get in free after 17.00 that evening.

Adult admission is £9.50, concessions £7.50 and full-time students £4.00. The café and shop are free to enter, and Caffè Estorick serves coffee, cakes and lunches from Wednesday to Sunday. Four of the six galleries are wheelchair accessible, as are the café and toilets. The current exhibition, on the photographers Wanda and Marion Wulz, was open on the check date.

The Almeida Theatre on Almeida Street is near Upper Street. On the check date it listed Golden Boy by Clifford Odets, directed by Sam Yates, until Saturday 31 October 2026, with a running time of about 2 hours 25 minutes including an interval. Desire Under the Elms runs from 10 November to 23 December 2026. The Golden Boy page also mentioned a free performance for under-26s on Thursday 15 October.

For cheaper seats, the Almeida's concessions page says select performances of each production have £5 tickets for those aged 25 and under, booked online with the code 25UNDER and proof of age on collection. Discounts for those 30 and under, over 65 or unemployed are not valid on Thursday, Friday or Saturday performances, and in a run's final week concessions apply only to access bookings. Deaf and disabled patrons get discounted tickets for all performances, with a companion at the same rate.

• Estorick CollectionGallery

  Canonbury, Islington

  Modern Italian art; £9.50; open to 21.00 on the last Thursday of the month.

• Almeida TheatreTheatre

  Islington

  £5 tickets for 25 and under at select performances.

Putting a day together

A Hampstead day: Keats House around 2pm on a Thursday, Friday or Sunday, the Freud Museum before its 5pm close, then up to Kenwood (closes 5pm) on another day, or the Heath itself. A Highgate afternoon: a cemetery tour, then Waterlow Park and the Lauderdale House café, keeping to the earlier winter closing times from November.

An Islington evening: the Estorick's late opening on the last Thursday of the month, then a show at the Almeida. Check each venue on the day, because opening hours, exhibitions and concessions change.

Before you go

• From November to February, Highgate Cemetery closes at 4pm with last entry at 3.30pm.
• The Freud Museum and the Estorick Collection are both closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
• Keats House takes card payments only.
• Leave picnics and drinks behind at Highgate Cemetery; both are banned.
• Under-25 Almeida tickets need proof of age when you collect them.

Questions people ask

Is Kenwood free?

Yes. English Heritage lists entry as free, with no need to book, though booking online guarantees entry. It is open daily from 10am to 5pm, last entry 4.30pm.

Do I need a tour to visit Highgate Cemetery?

No. The cemetery says tours aren't required but recommends one for a first visit. Tours last about 75 minutes, run in rain, and are released four weeks ahead; tickets are non-refundable.

When is the Estorick Collection open late?

Until 21.00 on the last Thursday of each month. Full-time students get free entry after 17.00 on those evenings.

Where are the Hampstead Heath ponds rules?

In Kindrd's guide to London lidos and outdoor swimming, which covers the three bathing ponds and Parliament Hill Lido, including the published access policy.