Best time to visit London

Highgate Cemetery in London

One of the creepiest sites in London known for its vampires and famous people's graves

Best time: year round

Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery

There are about 170,000 people buried in around the 53,000 graves of Highgate Cemetery. It attracts a lot of visitors who believe that supernatural forces are present at the cemetery. The place is also very green with beautiful Victorian and Egyptian-influenced tombs, perfect for short walks. Karl Marx and other famous people like sci-fi author Douglas Adams, adventurer James Holman, and criminal genius Adam Worth are buried here.

Opened in 1839, Highgate Cemetry was part of a plan to provide seven large, modern cemeteries outside of central London. The initial design was made by architect Stephen Geary. Tombs and buildings bear an impressive Victorian Gothic style.

In the 1970s the cemetery became the location for the horror films of the Hammer movie studio. These films caused a burst of popularity of the cemetery. ‘Vampire hunters’ frequently visited the cemetery at night, when two magicians, Farrant and Manchester, announced the official vampire hunt on the cemetery grounds in 1970, which was stopped by police. Highgate cemetery remains a popular location for the occult, paranormal and vampiric enthusiasts on Friday the 13th and other mystical dates.

The cemetery is open daily except for the 25th and 26th of December. Also, keep in mind that East and West cemetery parts have different opening arrangements.

Practical info

When is the best time to visit Highgate Cemetery?

Highgate Cemetery is open year-round, but the summer months of May to September are the ideal period to witness blooming flowers and gardens. It remains open on bank holidays but shuts only on 25th and 26th December, and the East and West parts have different opening arrangements. Show more

Where can I find Karl Marx’s grave in Highgate Cemetery?

Karl Marx's grave is one of the most sought-after tombs in Highgate Cemetery's East part. The grave is easily identifiable with the surface's signs, and visitors will need to pay an entrance fee to access it. Show more

What are the different opening arrangements for the East and West parts of the cemetery?

The East Cemetery of Highgate Cemetery can be visited without a guide, but one has to book a ticket ahead of the visit. The timings are from Monday to Friday – 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and extended on weekends based on the season. In contrast, the West Cemetery has specific opening hours and dates and can be explored only via guided tours. Show more

Who else famous, besides Karl Marx, is buried in Highgate Cemetery?

The Highgate Cemetery is the final resting place of numerous eminent figures, including the likes of Herbert Spencer, a philosopher; Michael Faraday, a notable chemist and physicist; George Eliot, a renowned novelist; Douglas Adams, the author of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, among others. There are also several lesser-known individuals who have found their resting place in the cemetery. Show more

What makes Highgate Cemetery a popular destination for paranormal enthusiasts?

Highgate Cemetery's popularity with paranormal enthusiasts stems from being a location for Hammer horror films in the 1970s, which led to the spread of ominous events linked to the area, including paranormal activity. The graveyard's reputation as a haunt for eerie events has since captured the imagination of many supernatural enthusiasts, and it still enjoys a reputation as being mystical with a possibility of supernatural occurrences. Show more

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Last updated: by Eleonora Provozin