St John The Baptist Greek Orthodox Church

You'll spot the golden cross from the street before you step inside this Greek Orthodox church in London. It's properly eye-catching - all Byzantine domes and ecclesiastical grandeur in a city where you'd normally expect red brick Victorian terraces. The interior is what draws you in though. Candlelight flickers across icon-covered walls, incense hangs in the air, and there's a real sense of reverence that hits you the moment you cross the threshold.

This isn't a museum piece or a tourist tick-box. It's a working parish church, so you're stepping into someone's active faith space. The mosaics, the ornate iconostasis, the whole aesthetic - it's transport without the plane ticket. You'll find yourself lingering longer than expected, even if you're not particularly religious.

The church welcomes visitors respectfully outside of services. Photography might be restricted, so check before you point your phone around. It's perhaps a 15-minute stop rather than a half-day outing, but that's exactly what makes it good - you pop in, get what you came for, and move on to the next thing.

If you're camping at Lee Valley in Edmonton, this is a quick detour worth taking. It's the sort of place that breaks up the parks and playgrounds nicely, gives you a bit of culture without the crowds. Families with older children who can appreciate quiet spaces will get more from it than toddlers, frankly.