How to experience London like Bridget Jones
As the latest Bridget Jones movie arrives in cinemas, explore the locations where the singleton’s on-screen adventures unfold — from London’s leafy parks to West End shops via a ‘blue soup’-inspired cocktail.
Shot in the capital over the course of two decades, the four Bridget Jones films chart both the evolving relationships of their titular heroine and the changing face of London itself. Based on a satirical newspaper column-turned-books by Helen Fielding, the series is partly a love-letter to the city the British writer calls home, featuring contemplative walks across the bridges of the Thames, lengthy chats in raucous bars, declarations in cosy restaurants and interventions by kindly cab drivers. Here’s how to follow in Bridget’s footsteps in London.
1. Wander in Hampstead
In the latest film, Mad About the Boy, Bridget lives in the affluent North London suburb of Hampstead. Flask Walk, a cobbled street lined with shops, pubs and cafes, was briefly closed for filming — and key scenes were also shot on Hampstead Heath. The city’s green lung, this 800-acre patch of urban wilderness is made for exploring. Begin at Parliament Hill — which also featured in a dream sequence in an earlier film and has captivating views over the skyline — before heading on to neo-classical villa Kenwood House for coffee.
2. Eat at Borough Market
Bridget buys the ingredients for a disastrous dinner party at Borough Market in Southwark — still the city’s finest culinary destination, with hundreds of small-scale producers and street food stalls gathered beneath its distinctive green arches. Exterior shots show Bridget’s flat sitting above traditional pub The Globe — a space now occupied by restaurant Khao Bird. Its menu features Thai dishes much like those Bridget sampled in Bangkok for 2004’s The Edge of Reason, plus a blue-coloured, rum-based cocktail named in honour of her infamous soup. Thankfully, the taste is vastly superior.
3. Drink in Granary Square
In the two decades since the first Bridget Jones film appeared, London’s Kings Cross has been transformed from a notorious no-go zone to an atmospheric hangout spot. At its heart is Granary Square, a European-style piazza filled with 1,080 jet fountains and lined with restaurants and bars — Bridget and her trio of trusted friends bag a waterside table for drinks in 2016’s Bridget Jones’s Baby, but try The Lighterman’s wraparound terrace for panoramic views over the square.
4. Hang out in Greenwich Park
Partly designed by the same architect as Versailles’ palace gardens, Greenwich is one of the city’s grandest royal parks — and best reached by boat from one of several Central London piers. Spend an afternoon relaxing on its grassy slopes like Bridget and her friend Shazza in Bridget Jones’s Baby, taking in the impressive views over the baroque Old Royal Naval College, the Thames River and the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf.
5. Swim at the London Aquatics Centre
Stratford in East London saw massive regeneration ahead of London’s 2012 Olympic Games, including the construction of a stylish new swimming pool designed by Zaha Hadid. In the franchise’s third film the heroine attends antenatal classes here — glimpsed in the background is its inflatable obstacle course, Aqua Splash: great fun and rich with potential for some Bridget-esque slapstick. Afterwards, take time to explore the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park or hop on the Tube for the short ride to Shoreditch and cocktails at The Light Bar, a repurposed power station featured in The Edge of Reason.
6. Shop in Central London
The source of Bridget’s legendary big knickers remains unknown, but she prepares for a fancy dinner with boyfriend Mark Darcy by buying a corset at Mayfair lingerie store Rigby & Peller, formerly bra-fitter to the Queen. The first film also sees a trouser-less Bridget pursue Darcy down Threadneedle Street, in the city’s financial district or ‘Square Mile’. She catches up with him buying her a new diary in The Royal Exchange, a colonnaded shopping arcade, originally built in 1571, and now lined with upmarket shops.
7. Tour The Royal Courts of Justice
All gothic revival spires and fantastical turrets, this impressive Victorian structure stands proudly on the Strand and houses both the High Court and the Court of Appeal. The building can be accessed as part of a pre-booked tour to see the workplace (and spiritual home) of Bridget’s ‘human rights lawyer boyfriend’ in 2001’s Bridget Jones’s Diary. Helen Fielding based her Mr Darcy on the leading man in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and 2025 marks 250 years since the birth of this similarly celebrated novelist.
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