Serviced Apartments in Harlow

Discover the best activities and attractions Harlow has to offer, and find out what makes this city a vibrant and exciting place to live or visit.

Harlow Town Park
Harlow Town Park is an award-winning central green space offering lakes, ornamental gardens, children’s play areas, a café and regular community events (seasonal fairs, bandstand performances and family activities). As the town’s principal public park it delivers health and wellbeing benefits, provides free recreational space for families, and attracts visitors from surrounding areas — supporting nearby cafés, leisure providers and occasional event-based trade.

The Gibberd Garden
Created by Sir Frederick Gibberd (the town’s masterplanner), The Gibberd Garden is a thoughtfully designed residential garden and sculpture setting featuring terraces, water features, rare plants and modern sculptures. It’s a specialist draw for gardeners, design and architecture fans and those interested in mid-century landscape design; the garden’s ticketed openings and events contribute to local cultural tourism and small-scale hospitality spending.

Harlow Sculpture Town (public sculpture trail)
Harlow is known for one of the UK’s most significant collections of modern public sculpture, curated and maintained through organisations and donors linked to the town’s post-war redevelopment. The sculpture trail — dotted across parks, shopping areas and civic spaces — gives Harlow a distinctive cultural identity, encourages walking tours and cultural tourism, and supports education and community arts programmes that raise the town’s profile and generate visitor spending.

Harlow Museum and town heritage attractions
The local museum and heritage attractions tell the story of Harlow’s past and its New Town development, with displays on archaeology, local industry, and social history plus changing exhibitions and learning programmes. As an educational resource, the museum supports schools and community groups, preserves local heritage, and helps attract history-minded visitors, which in turn supports nearby businesses and civic pride.

Old Harlow and The Harvey Centre (dining & shopping)
Together these offer a balance of high-street retail and independent character: The Harvey Centre is Harlow’s main indoor shopping hub with national retailers and café options, while nearby Old Harlow retains a village atmosphere with independent shops, pubs and restaurants clustered around historic streets and riverside walks. This mix sustains everyday retail employment, nurtures independent hospitality and creates a varied visitor experience that keeps spend circulating locally.

Explore the diverse transport options available in Harlow, from efficient public transportation systems to convenient road networks. Whether you're commuting to work or exploring the city, this section will give you an overall look at the available transportation systems.

Public Transit System
- Rail (West Anglia Main Line) - Frequent commuter services operated by Greater Anglia from Harlow Town and Harlow Mill stations providing fast connections to London Liverpool Street, Stratford and onward services toward Stansted Airport and Cambridge; useful for commuting and regional travel.
- Local and Regional Buses - A network of local buses links residential estates, the town centre, hospitals and both rail stations; regional routes connect Harlow with nearby towns such as Bishop’s Stortford, Epping, Chelmsford and Stansted/airport-area destinations. Services are run by a mix of national and local operators.
- Coach and Long‑Distance Services - Long‑distance coach services and National Express routes serve motorway-accessible stops near Harlow; coaches provide intercity travel options and connections to airports and major cities.
- Taxis and Private Hire - Licensed taxi firms, minicabs and app-based private‑hire services operate across Harlow for on‑demand travel, airport transfers and late‑night journeys.
- Community Transport and Demand-Responsive Options - Local community transport, dial‑a‑ride and charity-run schemes provide door‑to‑door services for older and less-mobile residents and supplement the scheduled public services.

Major Highways
- M11 - Major north–south motorway a short drive west of Harlow providing fast routes toward London (south) and Cambridge/Stansted area (north).
- M25 - London orbital motorway accessible to the south via connecting A-roads, giving Harlow links around Greater London and to national motorway network.
- A414 - Primary trunk road running through/near Harlow connecting the town east–west to Chelmsford, the A1(M)/M1 corridors and local commercial areas.
- A120 - Important east–west route north of Harlow that provides access toward Stansted Airport, the A12 and the port/industrial corridors to the east.
- A10 - Regional route within easy reach that provides an alternative north–south corridor linking to Hertfordshire towns and further regional destinations.

Cycling Infrastructure
- Cycle network and facilities - Harlow has an extensive local network of off‑road cycleways, traffic‑calmed residential routes and shared-use paths that follow the town’s green wedges and link estates, schools, the town centre and rail stations; cycle parking is available at key hubs and there have been ongoing local authority initiatives and funding rounds to improve routes, signage and safety for everyday cycling.

Recent and Upcoming Improvements
- Harlow & Gilston Garden Town transport commitments - Large-scale housing and regeneration plans include funding commitments and proposals for improved public-transport links, junction upgrades, walking/cycling routes and local road improvements to support new neighbourhoods.
- Rail service and capacity enhancements - Ongoing timetable, rolling-stock and punctuality improvements on the West Anglia Main Line (Greater Anglia service upgrades) have increased capacity and reliability for commuters to London, Stansted and Cambridge.
- A414 and local junction works - Targeted carriageway, junction and safety improvements on the A414 corridor and feeder roads to reduce congestion and improve journey times for inbound and outbound traffic.
- Active travel and cycling upgrades - Local authority schemes and external funding (active travel grants) have been used to expand cycle routes, improve crossings and make short journeys safer and more attractive by bike or on foot.
- EV charging and sustainable transport measures - Rollout of on‑street and public EV charge points, promotion of electric vehicle uptake, and low‑emission/open data initiatives to support greener car and taxi fleets across the town.
- Station and interchange improvements - Incremental upgrades at Harlow’s transport hubs (improved waiting facilities, customer information, accessibility works and parking/secure cycle storage) aimed at better integration between bus, rail and active travel modes.