If a slice of the great outdoors is all you’re after, you’re in luck – London is brimming with balconies. Now you just need to decide what it is you’re looking for: a place to keep some potted plants, a spot for alfresco dinners or simply a striking vista?

For far-reaching views, this two-bedroom maisonette on Denbigh Street comes in first, with a brightly lit kitchen that provides access to a balcony overlooking the Shard, the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament. If you’re one to jump at every opportunity to eat outside, these recently completed flats on Sprowston Mews in Forest Gate have extended outdoor areas to accommodate alfresco drinks and dinners as well as private balconies off the bedrooms. 

For those seeking lots of sunlight, this cleverly conceived apartment crowning Sandstone Place, a 1970s social-housing development on the popular Whittington Estate, is hard to beat. A large reception room leads out onto a south-facing balcony, while the estate itself – a short walk from Parliament Hill – has half-a-dozen well-tended terraces. And for the green-thumbed, there’s this unique two-bedroom house on Hoxton Street, which has a pair of spacious balconies – the glazed conservatory is currently being used as a winter garden. 

Of course, sometimes a balcony is just the beginning. This split-level flat on the ninth floor of Edrich House II, a modernist block designed by the celebrated architect George Finch, has not only a balcony but also communal spaces – including a children’s playground – at the foot of the building.

There are obvious benefits of having access to a communal garden: these green patches offer year-round joy to residents without much, if any, of the maintenance. Plus, they’re excellent spaces for neighbours to come together.

Edrich House isn’t alone in offering both a balcony and shared spaces. This well-proportioned flat on the top floor of the Grade II-listed Pullman Court in Streatham Hill has a west-facing balcony with sweeping views, as well as access to the creamy-white development’s well-kept gardens. This contemporary flat in Trellick Tower, designed by Ernö Goldfinger and built in the late 1960s, also comes with both types of outdoor space, as does this immaculate home on the fourth floor of the low-rise Speed House in the Barbican estate.

If you enjoy growing vegetables, this two-bedroom apartment on Prince of Wales Road in Kentish Town has not only communal lawns but also raised beds. And this ground-floor flat in a late-Victorian townhouse on Lordship Lane in south-east London has a shared garden and is also within easy reach of local wildlife sanctuaries at Sydenham Hill and Dulwich Woods. Similarly, this recently refurbished option on the first floor of Romney Court, a modernist block in Belsize Park, has a communal garden and is a 15-minute walk from the green expanses of Hampstead Heath.

It’s fair to say that there’s nothing quite like throwing open your doors on a clear day and stepping out into your own garden – a safe place for your children (or pets) to play and a secluded spot for you to soak up the sun on a lounger or read a newspaper in peace. 

For Lillie O’Brien, the current owner of this restored Victorian maisonette in Clapton, having her own garden is like having “a little oasis”. Reached via the white-walled kitchen, it comprises some decking and a bountiful patch of earth that produces fruits and vegetables aplenty – the core ingredients of O’Brien’s London Borough of Jam.  

Beyond the wrought-iron railings, this elegant flat is spread across two floors of a Victorian townhouse on Highgate West Hill. It has a pair of balconies, one of which has more than enough space for a table and chairs, as well as its own leafy garden. Plus, to fully immerse yourself in the natural world, the freshwater swimming ponds of Hampstead Heath are only a few minutes’ walk away. Fancy a dip?

And finally, for less green-fingered but equally outdoorsy urbanites, there are courtyards – sheltered outdoor spaces that require minimal upkeep. These are great if you’re away a lot or simply a tad forgetful when it comes to watering and weeding. Plus, paving stones don’t get water-logged in the rain or rock-hard in the heat.

This design-led two-bedroom flat on Bartholomew Square, a quiet residential street nestled between Old Street and Clerkenwell, has a walled courtyard that’s reached through a slender kitchen. A largely paved space with some plants and sweet-smelling shrubs, it features an abstract mural by artist Mela Yerka and backs onto the mature London plane trees of Radnor Park. And if you’re craving time out on the grass, St Luke’s Garden and Bartholomew Square are also nearby.