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This self-guided Brick Lane street art walking tour is the perfect way to discover this vibrant corner of East London.
Delve into the neighbourhood’s rich and ever-changing art scene, where it seems that every free surface is coated in graffiti, paste-ups, and sculptures.
Brick Lane is one of the most famous streets in London, known for its colourful graffiti, rich history, awesome curry houses, and vibrant culture. I fell in love with East London’s street art scene when I was living in Whitechapel, and ended up learning a lot about the local artists! So, I put together this walking tour around Brick Lane and the surrounding sidestreets, to provide the perfect introduction to the area. Enjoy…
Last updated: March 2025 with new photos and up-to-date info.
I originally wrote this post several years ago, when I was living around the corner from Brick Lane. As you can imagine, a lot has changed since then: street art is constantly evolving. The good news is that even if some of the works of art have changed, the street art hotspots mentioned in this guide remain the same.
Brick Lane and East London Street Art Tour
More Street Art: If you want to explore further, try my Slums and Street Art East London Walking Tour route. You could even combine the two and fill a whole day exploring the area.
Getting There
The best underground stations to start from are Aldgate or Aldgate East. Both exit onto Whitechapel High Street, on either side of Osbourne Street. From there it’s a short walk to the start of Brick Lane.
When to Go: Best Time to Explore Brick Lane’s Street Art
The best time to take this walking tour is either on Sunday or on a weekday evening. Many shops have artwork painted onto their shutters, so these can only be seen when the shops are shut and the shutters are down: usually before 9am or after 5pm.
Also, Brick Lane is closed to traffic for a street market on a Sunday. This provides a fantastic diversion while you explore the street art scene, but it can get pretty crowded. Luckily, most of the best art is found on side streets, so you can escape the market crowds by following this route.
Recommended Tours
Don’t want to explore on your own? Book a guided tour with a local expert for more insights:
- Street Art and Graffiti Guided Walking Tour (2 hours, from £25pp)
- East End Street Art Tour and Spray Painting Workshop (3-4 hours, from £37.50pp)
- Half-Day Street Art Tour and Workshop (4 hours, from £45pp)
- East End London Instagrammable Street Art and Graffiti Tour (2 hours, from £37.77pp)
What You’ll See
Graffiti isn’t just about scrawled nicknames tagged on the side of buildings (although you will see a lot of tags around). These are some of the things to look out for around Brick Lane:
- Murals: large-scale, artistic paintings. Famous local artists include Jim Vision, Jimmy C, Ben Eine, Stik, Malarkey, and Mr Cenz.
- Stencils: the artist makes a stencil first, then sprays up the image, allowing for quick installation. Banksy is the best example.
- Stickers, posters, and paste-ups: pre-made stickers and posters stuck onto walls. Wheat paste is also sometimes used to paste up paper posters.
- Mosaics and tiles: added to the edges of buildings, often on corners. The Space Invader tiles by Invader are a well-known example; there are a few around Brick Lane.
- 3D: the use of sculpture or extra objects to create 3D art on a wall.
READ MORE: 8 Street Artists You Need to Look For in East London
Brick Lane Street Art Tour Map
Walking Tour Route
1 – Beginning of Brick Lane
Start at the bottom of Brick Lane, at the corner of Wentworth Street. This is where Osbourne Street ends (A) and turns into Brick Lane.
Brick Lane is sometimes known as “Banglatown” thanks to its historic Bangladeshi-Sylheti community. These days, the street is a legendary London curry spot; this first section is lined with a huge array of curry houses.
You’ll see traces of the area’s strong artistic heritage early on, including a large mural on the building next to the Brick Lane Arch. Head straight up Brick Lane until you reach Fashion Street, keeping an eye out for murals and paste-ups decorating the shops and coffee houses.
2 – Fashion Street
Take a left onto Fashion Street (B). Here, you’ll find a quiet lane of narrow, red-brick townhouses facing the stately exterior of the GCU University building. There’s a lot of great street art along Fashion Street, including a few large murals. But what really stands out are the bright, primary colours of the shop shutters, best viewed outside of opening hours.
Look Out For: There’s a mural by the well-known locally-based artist Jimmy C on Fashion St. Find it on the corner of the second shop on the left, before the University building (still there as of March 2025).
Walk back out onto Brick Lane and keep heading up towards Hanbury Street to reach the next stop. On the left, next door to Christ Church School, is an abandoned shop completely covered by paste-ups and small paintings. You can’t miss it!
Detour: Hidden Alley / Carpark
On the left-hand side of Brick Lane, between Fashion Street and Fourier Street, you’ll spot a little alleyway leading to an off-road car parking area behind some shops. This nondescript yard is a hidden treasure trove bursting with colourful art.
3 – Hanbury Street
Turn left onto Hanbury Street (C), which is home to several vintage shops, cafes, and bars. And, of course, plenty of street art! You’ll also find Hanbury Hall – a historic community centre with a popular cafe.
Cross back over Brick Lane to the eastern side of Hanbury Street (D) to find a road bursting with lively, eclectic street art and artist’s studios. The street is also home to London’s biggest vintage store, Atika.
Look Out For: On the eastern branch of Hanbury St, you will find a huge black and white mural of a crane by Belgian artist Roa, a famous and long-standing piece that’s been there for at least a decade (still there as of March 2025).
4 – Truman Brewery (and Space Invaders)
Back on Brick Lane, keep heading up towards the junction with Buxton Street and Quaker Street. There’s a lot of smaller art surrounding the former Truman Brewery (now a dining and entertainment complex): lots of tiles, mosaics, and stickers, particularly on building corners.
The most famous are the two Space Invader tiles (by artist Invader). You’ll find #ldn_25 next to the entrance to Back Yard market, and #ldn_24 on the left just after the entrance to the Truman Brewery complex. See map here.
Look Out For: All along Brick Lane, you’ll spy several small, brightly painted broccoli sculptures attached to buildings – including on the corner of Woodseer St. These are made by Adrian Boswell, aka Brocolli Man – browse more of his works at The Broccoli Lane Galley on Dray Walk (between Hanbury St and Quaker St).
5 – Railway Bridge & Graffiti Alley
Just after the Quaker St/Buxton St junction is a railway bridge over the Overground tracks, usually covered with various tags and a few fun murals.
On your right, just before the bridge, is a small alleyway leading to Brick Lane Station Park, nicknamed Graffiti Alley. This is usually home to some great large-scale graffiti – and it’s not uncommon to spot artists painting around here.
Top Tip: If you’re visiting on a Sunday, the railway bridge is where the Brick Lane Street Market really kicks off. So check out the stalls and buy yourself a fresh fruit salad or some falafel.
6 – Cheshire Street & Grimsby Street
Past the bridge, turn left into Cheshire Street (F) – which is jam-packed with fascinating shops – then take the first left into Grimsby Street, where you’ll find some awesome large-scale murals. Grimsby Street will lead you back around to Brick Lane, so turn right and start heading back up the way you came.
Look Out For: At the back of Grimsby St is a large mural by Hackney-born artist Stik, known for his iconic black and white stickmen. This one is called The Screamers and has been there since 2008. (Still there as of March 2025).
7 – End of Brick Lane
Carry on to the top of Brick Lane. On the other side of Bethnal Green Road (G) there are usually a few murals, including a “legal wall” used for commissioned street art (usually advertising). There used to be another Stik stickman here but it seems to have vanished (as of March 2025).
Don’t miss: the justifiably famous Beigel Bake. Considered by many to be the best bagels in London, they’re particularly famous for their salt beef bagels, served with huge chunks of salted beef, pickels, and mustard. Grab one and head to Rhoda St Park (see below).
Detour: Rhoda St
Cross Bethnal Green Road and one block up you’ll find Rhoda St. The park here makes a great picnic spot with your bagel, and there are some great murals towards the end of the street (towards Swanfield St).
8 – Bacon Street
From Bethnal Green Road, head a short way back down Brick Lane and turn right at Bacon Street. There’s always plenty of street art around here – including a few top names.
Look Out For: You can see a pig, by Roa, underneath the window of the Fifth Dimension Tattoo Parlour (still there as of March 2025). There’s usually a good mural on the wall between the tattoo parlour and the second furniture store, too.
In the past, there was a large-scale portrait of local legend Charlie Burns, a ninety-six-year-old resident known as the “King of Bacon Street”. Charlie was known for watching the world pass by from the passenger seat of his daughter’s car seven days a week outside the family’s second-hand furniture store. Sadly, the mural is no more – although someone may paint another. You can read a fascinating interview with Charlie at Spitalfields Life.
9 – Sclater Street
Turn right into Sclater Street (H) and walk right to the end. Sclater Street has always been a good spot for street art: there are murals and paste-ups all along the wall on the left side of the road.
Look Out For: About halfway along Sclater St, turn around and look back. There’s a large tag from controversial London-based artist Helch, known for tagging over popular pieces of art and getting their iconic H logo on the side of motorway bridges!
There’s also a fun mural covering the side of the Sky Guild Gaming Centre, across the road from Sclater St.
10 – Club Row & Whitby St
At the end of Sclater Street, cross over Bethnal Green Road (the crossing is around the corner to the right). Take a left into Club Row (I), then left again to duck into Whitby Street, which always has several good pieces.
Look out for: There are murals from two local legends on Whitby St. On the corner is a long-standing bubble art mural by Jimmy C, and further down is a colourful mural by East-London-based Jim Vision (both still there as of March 2025.
11 – Redchurch Street & Ebor Street
Head back to Club Row, then take the next left into Redchurch Street – where there’s always plenty of street art to discover. Detour left to see the Shoes on a Rope installation hanging above Chance Street. Then, turn left from Redchurch Street onto Ebor Street (J).
Look Out For: A huge-scale mural from London-born letterform artist Ben Eine: the piece reads “I don’t like this anymore” in huge, colourful letters along the entire length of Ebor St. This used to be home to Eien’s ANTI and PRO walls but they’ve been replaced.
Where Next?
Ebor St is the end of my Brick Lane street art tour. There’s still plenty more art to discover in the area, but these streets are some of the best – and home to some of the most famous murals. If you want more, pick up my other East London Walking Tour from Chance St to explore more of Shoreditch.
From Ebor St, it’s a short walk to Shoreditch High Street overground station or about a twenty-minute walk to Liverpool Street Station. Alternatively, you can head back to Brick Lane to visit the shops, cafes and bars around that area. Grab a bagel from Beigel Bake, some dumplings from Bun House, or head to Upmarket Brick Lane Food Hall.
Some more awesome nearby streets for street art include: Shoreditch High Street, Rivington Street, and Broad Street. Look out for the graffiti-strewn Jubilee Line carriages atop the Kingsland Viaduct on Broad Street.
Read More
Slums and Street Art Self-Guided East London Walking Tour
East London Street Art – Guide to Popular Artists
A Local’s Guide to Bermondsey and South East London
I hope you find this Brick Lane street art walking tour useful! If anything has changed, leave a comment to help me keep the guide up to date!
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Wow, thank you! So glad you liked the post:)
Fantabulous! Thanks for this, it’s great – you told me to check back, and of course it was well worth the return visit (as always). I hope I can pop round one day after work before the clocks go haywire and winter descends upon us once more! :-)
Thank you! There’s so much out there at the moment, especially with all the Olympic themed stuff – it’s well worth a visit :)
Very Interesting stuff! Will check it out next time I make it to London.
Thanks so much for this! You saved my day! Today I was supposed to join one of those ‘street art guided tours’ in Brick lane, but I arrived late and I missed them. Thx to your tips I still managed to make a great day out of it on my own and took great pictures.Looking fwd to try your 1st itinerary
Thank you So glad this helped! Looks like my research paid off :)
Such a great area to find street-art. I was there a few weeks ago too.
Thanks a lot for creating the Brick Lane graffiti map! I struggled to find a high quality one and you made it happen, simple and beautiful!! Amazing blog.
Thanks Philippe, I’m happy it helped :)