Barbican Conservatory

The lowdown

The Barbican is all raw concrete and hard edges, which is exactly why the conservatory hidden inside it is such a shock. Tucked above the theatre's fly tower is the second largest conservatory in London, a humid glasshouse packed with more than fifteen hundred species of tropical plants and trees. It is free, and most Londoners have no idea it exists.

Inside, the paths wind up and over walkways through palms, ferns and creepers, past ponds of koi and terrapins and a separate arid house full of cacti. The contrast is the magic, brutalist concrete softened by jungle, with the grey towers of the estate framed through the leaves and the glass.

The catch is access. It is only open on selected days, often with a free timed slot you need to grab in advance, so it takes a tiny bit of planning rather than just turning up. Get it right and you have one of the most photogenic free hours in the city, with hardly anyone in it.