Where to Go in 2026: East London's Olympic Park Has Transformed Into a Cultural Powerhouse
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Show Notes
It's a shiny new year, so this month on Unpacked, we're diving into Afar's Where to Go list: 24 emerging regions and overlooked locales to explore this year.
Like East London, where a billion-pound investment has transformed the 2012 Olympic Park into a creative powerhouse.
In this episode, host Aislyn Greene talks with Nick DeRenzo, Afar's editorial director of newsletters (sign up here!) and a self-described Londoner at heart. Nick makes the case for hopping on the Elizabeth line and devoting time to the East Bank cultural quarter, where you can order a David Bowie costume at the V&A East Storehouse, dine on Chinese-Texas barbecue on a canal barge, and sweat it out in a community sauna.
Plan Your East London Getaway (First, explore our London travel guide.)
Stay
- Moxy London Stratford for budget-friendly stays
- The Stratford, an Autograph Collection hotel
- The Gantry, a Curio Collection by Hilton property
Eat and Drink
- Barge East, a restaurant on a canal barge
- Chinese-Texas-style Uncle Hon’s BBQ
- Badu Café, a Black-owned coffee shop run by a youth athletics nonprofit
- Snacks and drinks along Hackney Bridge, an incubator space in an old candy factory
See and Do
- Explore Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the heart of the East Bank cultural quarter
- Visit the V&A East Storehouse to see 250,000 objects—and use the "Order an Object" program for a personalized curator experience
- Catch a show at Sadler's Wells East, dedicated to non-ballet dance
- Soak at Community Sauna Baths, a not-for-profit with Scandinavian vibes
- Dance at Coven, London's first permanent Black-owned queer venue since the 1970s
Coming in 2026
- V&A East museum dedicated to East London design opens April 2026
- BBC Music Studios moving to the area in 2027
- London College of Fashion campus now open
Resources
- Follow Nick on Instagram
- Explore Afar's Where to Go in 2026 list
- Follow us: @afarmedia
Listen to All the Episodes in our Where to Go 2026 Series
E1: This Island in the Bahamas Promises Pink Sand, Historic Hideaways, and Perfect Solitude
E2: Why Peru's Second City Might Be Its Best-Kept Secret
E3: The New 170-Mile Hiking Network Connecting Stockholm's Dreamy Archipelago
E4: Route 66 Turns 100—and Albuquerque Is Ready to Celebrate
E5: Why Morocco's Chill Capital Deserves Your Attention E6: Three Hours From Nashville, the South's Next Great Food Capital Is Waiting E7: The French Riviera's Last Stop Before Italy—and Its Best-Kept Secret E8: Skip the Serengeti Traffic Jams for This Under-the-Radar Kenyan Safari E9: The Pacific Northwest's 80-Mile Playground Just Got Even Better
E10: The White Lotus Architect Designed a Hotel in This Vietnamese City—Now the World Is Noticing
E11: Malaysia's Most Overlooked Island Is a Feast for Every Sense
E12: The Texas City Getting a Juneteenth Museum, FIFA World Cup Matches, and a Cowgirl Museum Expansion
E13: The South Australian City That Punches Above Its Weight
E14: East London's Olympic Park Has Transformed Into a Cultural Powerhouse (this one!)
Stay Connected
- Sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic. And explore our other podcasts, View From Afar, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.
Unpacked by Afar is part of Airwave Media's podcast network.
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