The Best UK Cities for Street Art and Graffiti
A city-by-city guide to seeing graffiti and street art across the UK, from Bristol and Shoreditch to Glasgow's mural trail and Belfast.
By The Outsider Artist editors, Editorial team, Website Studio
Updated
· Last reviewed · 3 min read
In short
- Bristol is widely seen as the UK's street art capital, home of Banksy and of Upfest, described as Europe's largest street art festival.
- In London, Shoreditch and Brick Lane have the densest street art; Leake Street under Waterloo is a legal graffiti tunnel.
- Glasgow's City Centre Mural Trail, launched in 2014, includes Smug's famous modern St Mungo on High Street.
- Manchester's Northern Quarter, Birmingham's Digbeth and Sheffield's city centre and Kelham Island all have strong scenes.
- Aberdeen's Nuart festival (since 2017) and Belfast's Hit the North (since 2013) bring international artists every year.
Bristol
Bristol's graffiti scene dates from the early 1980s and produced 3D, Inkie, Nick Walker and Banksy. Look in Stokes Croft for The Mild Mild West, on Nelson Street for the survivors of See No Evil, and in Bedminster and Southville, especially North Street, for murals from Upfest. Walking tours run regularly. See Bristol graffiti.
London
London's best areas are Shoreditch and Brick Lane, where murals change constantly; Leake Street, the legal tunnel under Waterloo station; Camden and the Regent's Canal; and Hackney Wick. Ben Eine's letters and Stik's figures appear across east London. See London graffiti.
Glasgow
Glasgow's council-backed City Centre Mural Trail, officially launched in 2014, links dozens of large murals across the city centre. The most famous is the Australian-born artist Smug's modern-day St Mungo, the city's patron saint, shown with a robin on High Street; Smug also painted St Enoch and Child nearby. Rogue-One's portraits of Billy Connolly are also popular. The council publishes a free trail map and audio guide, and runs pilot legal graffiti walls at Custom House Quay, the Riverside Museum and Yorkhill.
Manchester
Manchester's Northern Quarter is the heart of its street art scene. In May 2016 the Cities of Hope festival brought nine international artists, including Phlegm, Hyuro, C215 and Faith47, to paint murals there, each linked to a local social justice charity. Many of those walls have since been repainted, so the area keeps changing.
Birmingham
Digbeth, Birmingham's creative quarter, is lined with murals on its warehouses and railway arches, many painted during the City of Colours street art festival. It is close to the city centre and Digbeth's independent venues.
Sheffield
Sheffield's best-known street artist is Phlegm, whose detailed black-and-white murals of strange characters appear across the city; his 2019 exhibition Mausoleum of the Giants in an old cutlery factory drew more than 12,000 visitors. Kid Acne is known for bold lettering murals. Peachzz's wildlife mural on the Cubo building, about 25 metres high, is believed to be the city's tallest. Look around the city centre and Kelham Island.
Brighton
Brighton's North Laine is full of graffiti and murals. Banksy's Kissing Coppers (2004) appeared on the Prince Albert pub near Brighton station; the original was removed in 2008 after vandalism and sold in 2014, and a replica now stands in its place.
Aberdeen
Nuart Aberdeen, a spin-off of the Nuart festival in Stavanger, Norway, has run since 2017 and has left large murals across the city centre.
Belfast
Belfast has two traditions side by side: the political murals of loyalist and republican communities, and contemporary street art, boosted by the Hit the North festival, which has run each spring since 2013 in the Cathedral Quarter. See Belfast's murals.
Weston-super-Mare
The Somerset seaside town hosted Banksy's Dismaland in 2015, and since 2021 Upfest has curated the Weston Wallz festival there each July.
Tips for street art hunting
- Street art changes constantly: walls are repainted, buffed or redeveloped, so recent photos are more reliable than old guides.
- Join a local tour; guides know new works and the stories behind them.
- Respect residents and private property, and never paint without permission. See graffiti and UK law.
Where to go next
Time your trip with UK street art festivals, or find legal places to paint in legal graffiti walls.
Questions and answers
Which UK city has the best street art?
Bristol is widely seen as the UK's street art capital, but London's Shoreditch, Glasgow's City Centre Mural Trail, Manchester's Northern Quarter and Sheffield all have strong scenes. City guide.
Sources and further reading
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