The Sunday Times Best Places to Live 2026 lists the north London urban village among the best in the capital for its community spirit, vibrant high street and good schools.
Judges visited each location and weighed up factors such as schools, transport, broadband speeds, culture, access to green spaces, and the health of the high street.
Norwich came out top overall, with Richmond named the best place to live in London – but Crouch End was one of five other neighbourhoods to make the cut.
“Crouch End has all the charm of a quintessential English market town – it just happens to be in the capital’s Zone 3,” reads the entry.
“It has vibrant shops and restaurants, a frankly indecent quantity of green space, solid schooling and family-size period homes.
“Yes, it lacks a Tube station, but independence is part of the package. Why would anyone want to leave somewhere so friendly and welcoming?”
Helen Davies, Best Places to Live editor, said the guide is “full of places that show that our village, town and city centres can still be full of life, as well as places bursting with natural beauty, culture, connectivity and most importantly a sense of community.
“One thing all our chosen locations have in common is that the people who live in them are proud to call them home.”
Crouch End is also bursting with creatives and media folk – columnist Caitlin Moran, broadcaster Amol Rajan and actor James McAvoy are current residents, while past residents include Simon Pegg, David Tennant, Andy Serkis, Katherine Ryan and Alan Carr.
It’s known for its strong community spirit and down to earth family friendly vibe where neighbours say hello in the street.
They love the high street’s mix of indie cafes, restaurants, pubs and shops such as family-run bakery Dunns, Sourdough Sofia, and Walter Purkis fishmongers.
Everything radiates outwards from the famous Victorian Clock Tower.
The strong cultural scene includes the annual Open Studios with artists exhibiting in their homes; the Crouch End Festival – one of the UK’s biggest community arts festivals – and regular comedy nights at The King’s Head pub.
There are also regular live music gigs at Holy Innocents Church – not to mention it’s the home of Crouch End Festival Chorus.
The area also has two cinemas, including the Crouch End Picturehouse, and a range of parks from Priory Park to The Parkland Walk – a beautiful nature trail along a disused railway line.
Folk can also venture further a little further afield to Highgate Wood or Alexandra Palace park.
There’s an open air lido in Park Road, secondary schools such as Alexandra Park and Fortismere, while Rhodes Avenue, Ambler Primary, Coldfall Primary and Trinity Primary Academy are all rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.
For property seekers there’s a stock of Victorian and Edwardian housing, although the area doesn’t come cheap with average flat prices costing £520k and houses £1.5m.
Anyone who does want to leave Crouch End will need to hop on one of the many buses to Finsbury Park or Highgate Tube station, or pick up a train at Hornsey or Crouch Hill.
Places to eat include the Michelin Bib Gourmand rated French bistro Les 2 Garcons in Middle Lane, Through The Woods serving British European cooking, Melange in Tottenham Lane, Bar Esteban tapas bar, or the Rosemary Cafe in Park Road and Coffee Circus in Crouch Hill.
