The Lonely Planet guide to seeing street art in England
Clever, colorful and often political, get to know some of England's cities on a street art walk. Pete Mella/Shutterstock
Graffiti art – commonly known as street art – evolved as a subcultural, anti-establishment form of creative expression in 1970s New York, and it has taken England by storm. The English graffiti art movement began to flourish in cities like London, Bristol and Liverpool from the 1980s, and today it is a key feature of many city streetscapes.
While initially illegal (it still is in many spots), street artists have gained notoriety and respect over the decades – so much so that some street artists are now household names, and their works are not only celebrated, but even protected by city councils.
Across the country, local councils and public institutions have embraced the street art aesthetic, commissioning new works, holding festivals and publishing walking tour maps so that visiting tourists can find well-known works by big names, as well as pieces by up-and-coming artists.
While early street art was dominated by large graphic images or stylized monograms (known as "tagging") using created using spray cans of paint, today you’ll see a vast range of styles and media, including stencil work, paste-ups, murals and installations. Some pieces of street art are large and hard to miss, but if you walk down many city streets and look closely, you may notice smaller, detailed artistic expressions, often with insightful political commentary.
Here is a guide to England's most popular cities for exploring street art – however, throughout the country, you'll spy works of street art in unexpected places, so keep your eyes open and your camera at the ready.
1. Bristol
The West Country city of Bristol is the indisputable capital of street art in England, and the distinctive stenciled style and provocative works of the anonymous Bristolian artist known as Banksy have earned both the artist and the city a worldwide reputation.
On a stroll from Park St to Stokes Croft, you’ll pass many famous pieces, but there is outstanding street art all over the city center and beyond. Begin with one of the most famous pieces by Banksy, Well Hung Lover, which was satirically painted on the side of a Park St sexual-health clinic in 2006. It is a rare surviving example of Banksy's early work in Bristol.
On Quay St, Nick Walker’s bowler-hatted Vandal pours paint down the side of a 10-storey building and the adjoining Untitled mural of cranes is part of Mariusz Waras’ M-City project. Continuing onto Nelson St, you can’t miss See No Evil, displaying Bristol artist Inkie’s swirling style, or the huge, lumberjack-shirted Wolf Boy by Aryz.
Beyond it, the exterior of the Full Moon pub on North St is covered with an astrological mural by Bristol artist Cheba and Yellow Face Lady, looking even more colorful after a repaint by Stinkfish in 2021.
Head to Hillgrove St to find Tsunami of Roses by Phlegm breaking across a house on the corner with Jamaica St. Turning right takes you past the People's Republic of Stokes Croft (PRSC) Outdoor Gallery, which belongs to a local community-action group, and back on to Stokes Croft, where Banksy’s iconic Mild Mild West adorns the wall by The Canteen.
2. Leeds
Leeds has emerged as a key center for contemporary street art in the north of England. In the neighborhood of The Calls, you’ll see the Paving the Way mural, created by Akse P19, celebrating Leeds United Football Club. Another mural by the same artist can be found at Leeds Beckett University's town center Student Union building.
You & Me, Me & You by Anthony Burrill in The Calls was painted as a message of hope in the first year of the global pandemic. In Mabgate, you can see a historic mural capturing a moment from Leeds life in 1987. Other areas to explore include the Hyde Park district, Quarry Hill, Boar Lane, and Merrion Place.
Planning tip: Take in some of the city’s best murals by following the Leeds Street Art Trail.
3. Brighton
The famously progressive coastal city of Brighton, with its strong LGBTQIA+ community, creative and student populations, is unsurprisingly awash with interesting and often political street art. Local businesses are often very supportive of Brighton’s street art, even commissioning work to adorn multi-story buildings and transforming some areas of the city into large public galleries.
The North Laine area is a hotspot for colorful murals, political graffiti, and intricate stencils. Not all of Brighton's street art has a graffiti aesthetic – you’ll see murals with more naturalist or spiritual themes as well. Artists like Aroe and Sinna One have left their mark on Brighton’s walls, contributing to a dynamic visual culture that blends satire, social commentary, and playful creativity.
Planning tip: See some of the highlights on a two-hour walking tour with graffiti expert REQ, for insider info on the latest additions to Brighton’s street art scene.
4. Folkestone, Ramsgate and Margate
On the Kent coast, the seaside town of Folkestone, and its neighbors Ramsgate and Margate, all have vibrant arts scenes which include plenty of street art as well as public sculptures and installations.
Download the Creative Folkestone map showing work from the Folkestone Artworks exhibition, which includes more than 70 contemporary pieces of outdoor art by artists including Tracey Emin and Antony Gormley. Don’t miss Cornelia Parker’s Folkestone Mermaid at Sunny Sands beach, Lubaina Himid’s Jelly Mould Pavilion on the seafront boardwalk, and Richard Woods’ playful installation, Holiday Home, floating in the middle of the harbor – a comment on housing inequality.
In Ramsgate, look out for a bronze bust of Vincent van Gogh by Anthony Padgett, a brick three-piece suite by Rodney Harris, and the installation Beacons, created by Conrad Shawcross in collaboration with local schoolchildren.
And keep your eyes peeled on every corner in trendy Margate, where there are numerous pieces commissioned by the Turner Contemporary gallery, alongside a wealth of spontaneous street art, joining the work of many artists with galleries and shops in town.
Planning tip: Check out the Rise Up map for where to see colorful murals across Margate with a thematic focus on the ocean and sustainability.
5. Birmingham
Birmingham is also well known for its burgeoning street art culture, where the high walls flanking Digbeth’s Custard Factory form a perfect industrial canvas for Birmingham’s most talented graffiti artists. Look out for works by local artists, such as billboards by Fokawolf, colorful murals by Gent 48 and politically-charged stencils by Mohammed Ali.
Some of the city’s boldest work can be found on Floodgate St, Gibb St and Lower Trinity St, but look out for the small car park on nearby Rea St, hiding a magnificent mural of local Brummie heroes Black Sabbath, who played their farewell gig at the city's Villa Park stadium on July 5, 2025.
Across the city center in the historic Jewellery Quarter lies another notable piece of street art. Just above a bench next to the train station on Vyse St is a festive work from Banksy highlighting the issue of homelessness, with two reindeer riding into a starry sky.
6. Coventry
In what was once a grey post-war industrial estate, Coventry’s cultural hub of FarGo Village (which first opened in 2014) is now a vibrant canvas for surreal street art, as well as a hub for vintage boutique stores and busy craft-beer taprooms.
Coventry city center also features colorful murals and large-scale artworks by local and international artists. Major events such as the city being named UK City of Culture in 2021 and hosting the Turner Prize at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum have helped spotlight this West Midlands city’s transformation as a creative center.
7. Lincoln
Gorgeous, historic Lincoln – with its medieval cathedral, imposing Norman castle and appropriately named Steep Hill – has also morphed into a dynamic, vibrant place to visit in the 21st century, with waterside bars and bistros and eye-catching street art at the Sincil Bank Art Project.
Bringing striking, bold murals to an under-appreciated area of the city, the Sincil Bank Art Project includes a stunning depiction of Sir Isaac Newton on the corner of Kirby St and Sincil Bank, by French artist Zabou. Also look out for the angular Empowerment sculpture over the River Witham and the annual Imp Trail, with its colorful sculptures dispersed across the city.
8. Sheffield
The former industrial city of Sheffield is splashed with some magnificent street art. A portrait of local music hero Jarvis Cocker – the work of artist Bubba2000 – adorns the side of Kelham Island’s Fat Cat pub, with Cocker captured in a typically languid pose.
Back in the city center, the huge, nature-inspired Reverie by artist Peachzz looks out over Pound’s Park. Luke Horton’s art is a love letter to Sheffield and is virtually inescapable in the city, with cartoon characters and local sayings splashed about the streets. His football-themed work is always charming, especially the murals on Snuff Mill Lane and at Hillsborough Stadium.
9. Manchester
Several ingredients make the Northern Quarter in Manchester a particularly vibrant area to visit, and one of them is the street art. From artist Hammo’s bright cartoonish scenery in Stevenson Square to the mystical mural of a woman on the corner of Church St and Red Lion St, this art-splashed neighborhood is a constant feast for the eyes.
When night falls and the murals are less visible, several bars around the Northern Quarter are lit up with vivid red neon, making it fantastic for evening street art photography. If you wander anywhere in the city center, also keep an eye out for edgy work by local street artists.
Planning tip: Learn more about how the history of the North Quarter neighborhood is intertwined with art on a Street Art: The Modern History of the Northern Quarter tour by local creator and guide Hayley Flynn.
10. London's Leake Street Arches
A fairly grungy road beneath Waterloo Station in London seems an unlikely place to find art, theater spaces and restaurants, but Leake Street is one of the latest sections of London's many railway arches to get the redevelopment treatment. The Leake Street Arches tunnel is sometimes dubbed “the Banksy Tunnel” as a nod to the street artist’s guerrilla-art Cans Festival, which was held in the same area in 2008.
Directly beneath Waterloo’s rail tracks and stretching for 300m (984ft), this revamped space stands as London’s lengthiest legal graffiti canvas. The arches are essentially a living gallery, with established and emerging artists coming from around the globe to paint over each other’s murals. You’ll almost always be able to see artists at work, and as the canvas continues to evolve and change, no two visits will be the same.
11. Hackney Wick, London
Also in East London, but further east towards Stratford and the parklands created for the 2012 London Olympics is Hackney Wick. This once-industrial area has been transformed by warehouses repurposed into communal spaces for artists, co-working hubs, galleries, bars, small theatres and restaurants such as the globally recognized Silo.
The open-air art gallery that is Hackney Wick features street artworks ranging from political murals to abstract patterns and large-scale portraits, some of which are being displaced by newly built apartments. A lot of street art pops up along the area’s canals – even one of the boats moored in the area has been painted by local artists such as Sweet Toof.
12. Shoreditch, London
On the walls and buildings on streets radiating from Brick Lane in London’s East End is an ever-changing display of brilliant street art, with this diverse district moonlighting as a canvas for legends such as Banksy, STIK and Ben Eine, as well as less well-known artists.
Sometimes providing funny social commentary, sometimes doling out hard-hitting political commentary, and sometimes just created on an artistic whim, the area's spray paintings, stickers, miniature sculptures and collage-like paste-ups reflect the colorful personality of these East London neighborhoods.
Planning tip: To understand the stories behind the works, you can sign up for a guided walk with Shoreditch Street Art Tours, led by passionate guide Dave, who interprets the stunning pieces to a rapt audience.
This article was adapted from Lonely Planet’s England guidebook, published in June 2025.