Top 5 Places in London for Pokémon GO

Are you tired of seeing nothing but Pidgeys, Drowzees and Rattatatas (an eerily realistic depiction of the animals, and drunks, found 'in the wild' in London) on your Pokémon GO sightings? There are some great places in the city to find the much-coveted starter Pokémon, evolutions, an abundance of Magikarp so you have plenty to grind up and get a Gyarados, and even a location that spawns Pikachus like clockwork. I've spent the last few weekends exploring London through my Pokémon GO app and am sharing my best finds with you below.

Green Park

About a 15 minute walk away from my office I spent a lunch break here and discovered it is an Eevee nest. There was always at least one on my sightings (if not more than one) and I managed to capture six in the span of just 15 minutes! Perfect to get yourself that much-coveted Vaporeon. There aren't many Pokéstops in the park but the ones in the middle are very frequently lured up and the one near the Canada Memorial spawns a range of Pokémon and always has multiple lurking about, from Oddishes and Nidorinos to Magnemites and Seels.

Tower Hill to South Bank

The South Bank (from Tower Bridge all the way to the London Eye/Houses of Parliament) is a Pokéstop paradise. There are stops every few meters, making this the perfect place to stock up on items. Make sure you don't spin any stops more than once and each 10th stop will be a 'super stop', giving you at least six items. This area is especially good on the weekends as the majority of stops will have lures on them too. And, because you're walking along the Thames, you'll find an abundance of water Pokémon on the way, especially Magikarp (a good way to save up for a Gyarados), Goldeen, Staryu, Starmie, Slowpoke, Poliwag, Poliwhirl, Krabby and Psyduck.

Special mention here must also go to Tower Hill, just outside the iconic Tower of London, which is a hotspot for Pokémon players. There are only a few Pokéstops but two of them are right next to each other creating a double lure spot. And, likely because so many people are playing up there, there are always interesting and rare Pokémon roaming around. During my very first time playing Pokémon GO I caught an Aerodactyl here and several Dratinis. When I went back there was a Pinsir, Grimer and Onyx. The hill isn't very big, but it's a good starting off point for a few hours of playing, just walk over Tower Bridge and you can continue on hitting the South Bank route mentioned above.

Holland Park

Nests are great but the best ones are of course for the starter Pokémon and Holland Park is a Bulbasaur one! They're scattered around the park and once you've found them you can return to the locations each half hour or so and there will be a new one that has spawned in the same spot. If you don't want to walk around a lot, you can take a seat in the Kyoto Japanese Garden which has several stops that usually have lures on them and you'll get the occasional Bulbasaur there too. However, phone reception in this park is very poor so patience is virtue (and you probably have to reboot the game several times). I caught eight Bulbasaurs (and some other things along the way) in about two hours.

St Paul's Cathedral

Starter Pokémon may be hard to find (and catch) but even worse is Pikachu. If you're unlucky while hatching your 2K eggs and are just getting Pidgeys and Weedles, then a visit to St Paul's Cathedral is a must. There are a few Pokéstops around the Cathedral but if you go to the one just across the street (on the route to the Millennium Bridge), 99% of the time you'll be able to catch a Pikachu here which spawns like clockwork. The Cathedral gardens also spawns a regular Exeggcute, and if you cross the Millennium Bridge, you're on the South Bank and can continue walking along there either to Tower Bridge (and pop across to Tower Hill) or the Houses of Parliament.

Alexandra Park

While there are very few Pokéstops in Alexandra Park, especially considering its size, there are some centred around Alexandra Palace and the lake that are a must to seek out. However, the best thing by far about this location is that it is a Squirtle nest! As soon I left the train station I caught one and there was always one on my sightings list. In the end I caught six or seven Squirtles in about two hours. And while the Pokéstops are few and far in between (and reception is horrible just outside the palace) we also captured a bunch of other great Pokémon, including Ponyta, Abra and Dratini, so not a bad day of playing at all. 

Bonus: Mr. Mime in London

I have no idea if these locations regularly spawn European exclusive Pokémon Mr. Mime, which is why I'm not including them officially in the top 5, but I found mine in Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square Gardens. So if you're an overseas visitor and desperate to complete your Pokédex with this European character before you leave again (or you're from the UK and you simply don't have one yet), definitely hit up those spots!

Bonus: Brighton

Not in London, but just an hour away by train is an entirely new world filled with Pokémon... Brighton! I visited on Saturday and while I only had the app open for a few hours, I captured an abundance of Voltorbs and Magnemites and even managed to get my first Machop and Hitmonchan! My sightings list was very different from the one I'm used to in London with a lot of to me new Pokémon in the sightings, proving that each city has its own range of common and rare Pokémon for players to catch.


And that's it for my London Pokémon GO tips! What are your favourite places in London to play Pokémon GO? Leave your tips and experiences playing the game in the capital in the comments below.