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Mini guide to Croydon
Only 10 miles south from the centre of London, Croydon is a thriving town with a wealth of shops, restaurants, parks and gardens. The town is also home to many historical places of interest ranging from the 1000-year-old Croydon Palace to the world’s first purpose-built international airport.
To the southern edge of the main shopping centre is Katharine Street, home to Croydon’s must-see attraction, the Croydon Clocktower cultural centre. The centre is full of exhibitions, a museum, live arts performances, art house films, the Central Library, a cafe, balcony bar and tourist information centre. From Katharine Street, take the short walk to Church Street to visit St. John the Baptist Church, which is the burial place of six Archbishops of Canterbury.
Croydon is one of south London’s main shopping centres, with most well-known stores located in the central Whitgift Centre and Drummond Centre, which are joined together by a pleasant pedestrianised area. The Whitgift Centre also has many fine restaurants including Thai, French and Italian, or for a more relaxing break there is also a wine bar and numerous cafes.
Croydon is a large borough with many sights worth seeing, many of which are slightly further than walking distance. One fine example is the Shirley Windmill in Postmill Close, Shirley, slightly east of the town centre. Built in 1854, the windmill was restored in the late 1990’s and is now fully working and has an excellent visitors centre. Another Town attraction is Airport House on Purley Way, south-east of the town centre. Airport House is home to the Croydon Airport Visitor Centre, which takes a nostalgic look at the world’s first purpose-built international airport.
Croydon is 15 minutes by train from central London (several trains an hour), and 20 minutes from Gatwick Airport which has daily flights from most European destinations. Heathrow is around 45 minutes drive on the clockwise M25 providing further access to international flights. This ring road also makes access to the England convenient in all directions.
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