‘Rock Down to Electric Avenue’ as Eddy Grant would say, and check out Brixton, one of the most colourful, diverse and trendy parts of London! Filled with exotic markets, fantastic live music venues, edgy art galleries and fashionable bars, you’ll find Brixton in the London Borough of Lambeth, inner-South London, with no congestion charge. Stockwell, Clapham Common, Streatham, Camberwell, Tulse Hill and Herne Hill border it, and as Brixton Tube Station sits on the Victoria Line in tube Zone 2, you can get to places like Oxford Circus in less than 15 minutes. As Brixton's mainline station has a fast train service it can whisk you into Victoria in only 7 minutes.

Brixton appears in the Domesday Book as Brixiestan. This means 'Brihtsige's stone' and was a meeting place for the ancient Brixton hundred of Surrey. The area was mostly farmland until until the beginning of the 19th century when the Vauxhall Bridge opened in 1816 and improved transport to central London. As a result, huge Victorian houses sprung up along the main roads attracting thousands upon thousands into the area, and the real Brixton was born. By 1889, Brixton became part of the County of London, and by 1925 Brixton had become the shopping capital of South London, with the largest shopping centre in the area that included three large department stores and some of the earliest branches of what are now Britain's major national retailers.

The Brixton area was bombed during World War II, contributing to a severe housing crisis, which in turn led to urban decay. The 1940s and ‘50s saw waves of immigrants from the Caribbean settling in the area. Brixton has definitely had it’s bad times, with racial tension immerging in the form of race riots in between mainly black community and the mainly white police force in the 80s and 90s. However, today it’s a fascinating and welcoming place, despite a somewhat edgy reputation. If you want a lively trip with plenty of art and culture, fantastic bars and pubs, and a night-life to rival anywhere else in London, then you have to come to Brixton!

If you’re a serious night owl, Brixton is definitely the place for you! It boasts a fantastic clubbing and live music scene that’s famous all over London and beyond, with amazing venues like the Brixton Academy, the Fridge and The Windmill for you to try. There are plenty of bars open until 2 in the morning too! Another key attraction is the diversity of the area, which makes Brixton an ethnically and socially fascinating area to explore. Nothing illustrates this more than Brixton Market that sells a range of Afro-Caribbean, Indian, Vietnamese and South American goods. As Brixton is now a real landmark for urban arts and culture, staying here is a truly enriching experience. When you fancy venturing into central London, Brixton’s tube and train station offers you quick and easy access.

If you want a quiet place to stay then Brixton probably isn’t the place for you, but why visit the Capital if you don’t want to get stuck in to everything it has to offer? You may be concerned that Brixton is saddled with a reputation for gun crime and drugs, but you should remember that this is a problem in every capital city. In addition, serious policing efforts in Brixton in recent years have sought to address these very issues, so you’ll probably find more of a police presence here than anywhere else in London! There are some rundown areas here too, as Brixton has some struggles with poverty, but if you stick to the main thoroughfares, you won’t really come across this. The fact that Brixton is somewhere trendy, lively and full of character far outweighs any negatives!