Hampstead and Highgate are North London's two hilltop villages, separated by the Heath. An honest comparison of their pubs, views, history and feel to help you choose.
Hampstead vs Highgate: Which North London Village Wins?
Hampstead and Highgate sit on two hills with Hampstead Heath spread between them, close enough to walk from one to the other in under an hour. They get compared constantly, usually by people deciding where to visit or, more nervously, where to spend a great deal of money on a house. They are genuinely similar: both hilltop villages, both old, both green and well-off and slightly literary. But they are not the same, and once you know them the differences are clear. Here is an honest comparison.
The quick version
If you want the short answer: Hampstead is busier, more famous and has more to do; Highgate is quieter, smaller and feels more like a real village that visitors have not fully discovered. Hampstead wins on choice and energy. Highgate wins on calm. Which of those you want depends entirely on your mood and the day.
The feel
Hampstead has been a destination for two centuries, and it shows. The High Street is busy, the pavements fill up at weekends, and there is a constant low hum of people who have come up specifically to be in Hampstead. It is lovely, but it is not sleepy.
Highgate is the gentler of the two. Its village centre, around Highgate High Street and the Pond Square area, is smaller and slower, with fewer tourists and a stronger sense that the people there actually live there. If Hampstead is the village everyone has heard of, Highgate is the one people move to and then quietly recommend to almost no one.
Things to do
Hampstead has more, simply because it is bigger and more visited. Kenwood House, the bathing ponds, the bigger range of shops, more cafes and restaurants, the Freud Museum, the Keats connection. You can fill a full day in Hampstead without trying.
Highgate's headline attraction is one of the best in London: Highgate Cemetery, the Victorian garden cemetery where Karl Marx and George Eliot are buried, with its Egyptian Avenue and ivy-swallowed tombs. Beyond that there is Waterlow Park, the historic pubs, and the quiet pleasure of the village itself. It is less to do, but the cemetery alone justifies the trip.
The pubs
Both do historic pubs extremely well, and this might be the closest contest. Hampstead has the Holly Bush, the Flask and, on the Heath edge, the Spaniards Inn. Highgate has its own Flask (a different, equally old pub), the Wrestlers and the Bull. You cannot lose either way. If pushed, Hampstead has the slight edge in sheer number and the Spaniards Inn's history, but Highgate's pubs are quieter, which on a busy weekend can matter more.
The views
Both villages are high, so both have views, but they point different ways. Parliament Hill, on the Hampstead side of the Heath, gives the famous protected view across the whole London skyline, and it is hard to beat. Highgate's views are more glimpsed than panoramic, caught between buildings and from the higher streets. Hampstead wins the view contest, mostly thanks to Parliament Hill.
Getting there
Hampstead is easier to reach, with its own Northern line station in the centre of the village and the Overground serving the Heath. Highgate's tube station sits down the hill, a proper walk and climb from the village centre, which catches people out. For pure convenience, Hampstead wins again.
So which one?
Go to Hampstead if you want a full day with plenty to see, do not mind crowds, and like a village with energy. Go to Highgate if you want somewhere calmer, you are drawn by the cemetery, and you prefer a place that feels lived-in rather than visited. The best answer, honestly, is to do both in one day: start in one village, walk across the Heath, and end in the other. That walk, between the two hills with the city spread below, is better than either village on its own.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hampstead or Highgate better to visit?
Hampstead has more to do and is easier to reach, with Kenwood, the ponds and a busy High Street. Highgate is quieter and smaller, with Highgate Cemetery as its standout. For a first visit with limited time, Hampstead offers more; for calm, choose Highgate.
How far is Hampstead from Highgate?
They sit on two hills with Hampstead Heath between them, about a 30 to 40 minute walk apart across the Heath, often via Kenwood. It is one of the best walks in North London.
Which has better pubs, Hampstead or Highgate?
Both are excellent. Hampstead has the Holly Bush, the Flask and the Spaniards Inn; Highgate has its own Flask, the Wrestlers and the Bull. Hampstead has slightly more, Highgate's tend to be quieter.
Can you visit both Hampstead and Highgate in one day?
Yes, and it is the ideal way to see them. Start in one village, walk across Hampstead Heath via Kenwood, and finish in the other. The crossing, with the London skyline in view, is the highlight.
