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Grab your deerstalker hat and sharpen up your sleuthing skills to join the world’s most famous fictional detective on a journey around his home city.
Here’s where you’ll find the best of Sherlock Holmes in London…
Sherlock Holmes attractions in London
Visit the Sherlock Homles Museum at 221b Baker Street
Sometimes referred to as ‘the world’s most famous address’, 221b Baker Street was the fictional home of Sherlock Holmes between 1881 and 1904, according to the stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Although London’s Baker Street did not go as high as 221 during the time the books were first written, the street was eventually extended and the address is now a privately run Sherlock Holmes Museum.
The museum is dedicated to everything to do with the famous detective, with exhibits including items from several different films and TV adaptations, as well as recreations of iconic scenes including the famous study.
An absolute must-visit in London for Sherlock Holmes fans!
Did you know? The museum building is actually located between 237 and 241 Baker Street however it was granted special permission by the City of Westminster to bear the address of 221B Baker Street.
Take a Sherlock Holmes Tour of London
Want someone else to show you around the best of Sherlock Holmes London?
Here are a few of the best Sherlock Holmes tours London has to offer…
Have a Pint in the Sherlock Holmes pub
The Sherlock Holmes Pub in London is a traditional Victorian pub serving drinks and pub grub in Westminster, with themed beers such as the Sherlock House Ale and Watson’s Golden Ale.
But the most exciting thing about the pub isn’t just its name and novelty drinks, it’s that it has a whole recreation of Holmes and Watson’s study and sitting room upstairs, complete with an extensive collection of memorabilia, artwork and photos from the books and many film and TV adaptations.
The objects were acquired by the pub’s owners from an exhibit created for the 1951 Festival of Britain.
Address: 10-11 Northumberland Street, Westminster.
Nearest tube stations: Charring Cross and Embankment.
Test Your Detective Skills in a Sherlock Holmes Escape Room
Address: W12 Shopping Centre Ground Floor, Shepherds Bush Green, London.
The Official Sherlock Live Game is an exciting escape room experience created by Sherlock Holmes series creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss.
The unique escape rooms begins before you’re even inside, with its entrance concealed by a fake opticians inside a shopping mall in Shepherd’s Bush. The only way to get inside is to know the secret code.
During the game, you’re thrown into cool immersive sets and scenes from the show in order to find clues, solve riddles and challenges, and test your own detective skills before the time runs out.
The game even includes special virtual appearances from the stars themselves, including Benedict Cumberbatch, Andrew Scott, and Martin Freeman.
Then once you’ve completed the game, you can head next door to Shelock’s Mind Palace for a well deserved drink (more below).
Drink Cool Cocktails in Sherlock’s Mind Palace
The Mind Palace is a hidden speakeasy for secret agents and spies, conveniently connected to the Sherlock escape room experience.
As well as a creative menu of themed cocktails, the Mind Palace also offers immersive cocktail-making experience, “The Case of the Poisoned Chalice,” in which you’ll need to solve mysteries as a team in order to find the ingredients and complete your drink.
Go for a Sherlock Holmes Themed Afternoon Tea
Every weekend, the Mind Palace also hosts Mrs Hudson’s afternoon tea.
The unique afternoon tea includes a tasty selection of freshly made sandwiches, scones, sweet treats, and tea/coffee, which come with an even tastier Sherlock-themed mini-mystery for you to solve.
Spend a Night in the Holmes Hotel
The Holmes Hotel is a is a boutique-style hotel set inside an elegant 18th-century Georgian townhouse in Marylebone Village London.
As hinted at in the name, the hotel has a Sherlock Holmes theme throughout – a noticeable yet understated theme that doesn’t take away from its elegant yet contemporary style.
A stay at the Holmes Hotel is a fun idea for those looking for a Sherlock-themed experience that isn’t super tacky.
Find out more and book a stay at the Holmes Hotel here.
Sherlock Holmes locations in London
Check out more Sherlock Holmes sites in London that were either mentioned in the books or used as filming locations in the movie and TV adaptions…
St Bartholomew’s Hospital
It was in St Bart’s Hospital in the City of London that Sherlock Holmes spoke the words “You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive” upon meeting Dr John Watson for the very first time in Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1887 novel A Study in Scarlet.
Dr Watson had trained and worked at the hospital before being deployed to Afghanistan, while Sherlock Holmes was doing some work in the Hospital’s chemical lab. The pair were introduced when Watson needed a place to live and Holmes happened to have a spare room in his flat.
Although the real hospital has not been used as the filming location for this scene in any of the adaptions, the exterior of the hospital was cleverly used in the BBC Sherlock series when Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) jumps off of the building’s roof during his (spoiler alert) fake suicide attempt
Also read: 7 things you didn’t know about St Bart’s Hospital.
Speedy’s Cafe
In the BBC Sherlock series, the exterior shots of Sherlock’s flat 221b Baker Street were in fact not filmed on the real Baker Street due to heavy traffic but instead were filmed just down the road on North Gower Street in Bloomsbury.
It is also in this same location in Bloomsbury where you’ll find the very real Speedy’s Cafe, the small sandwich bar and cafe which is a prominent regular in the series.
Speedy’s still remains a functioning cafe, however, due to its newfound Sherlock fame they also sell themed sandwiches and souvenir T-Shirts for the more hardcore fans.
Address: 187 North Gower Street, Bloomsbury.
Nearest tube station: Euston.
Simpson’s-in-the-Strand
This historic high-end restaurant on the Strand was once referred to by Watson as “our Strand restaurant”, while at the end of The Adventure of the Dying Detective, after fasting for three days, Holmes says to Watson “Something nutritious at Simpson’s would not be out of place.”
The characters’ love for Simpson’s is believed to have come from author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s own preference towards the traditional English restaurant.
Address: 100 Strand, London.
Nearest tube stations: Temple and Charring Cross.
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Emily is a born and raised London girl, starting life in the north of the capital then moving down to Fulham in the southwest. She has a master’s degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology from University College London and now works full-time running this blog and as a freelance travel writer, splitting her life between London and travelling the world as a digital nomad.
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