The Mayflower

Oldest pub on the Thames — wooden jetty, river view, low ceilings.

Borough Market

London's defining food market — go early Saturday, eat your way around the perimeter.

Sir John Soane's Museum

Free, tiny, deranged — Soane's own house preserved exactly as he left it in 1837.

Hampstead Heath

320 hectares of wild north London — swim the ponds in summer, climb Parliament Hill for the skyline.

Tower Bridge

The bridge people mean when they say London Bridge. Walk the high-level walkway for the glass floor.

The Black Friar

Wedge-shaped Arts-and-Crafts pub by Blackfriars station — interior is the destination.

Columbia Road Flower Market

Sunday-only flower market in the East End — 8 a.m. for choice, 2 p.m. for prices.

Maltby Street Market

Borough's smaller, scruffier sibling — railway arches, weekend only.

Greenwich Park

Royal park with the Observatory at the top — best skyline view east of central.

Millennium Bridge

Foot-only suspension bridge from St Paul's to Tate Modern — the only crossing aligned on St Paul's dome.

The Wallace Collection

Free national museum in a Manchester Square townhouse — armour, Boucher, the Laughing Cavalier.

The Spaniards Inn

16th-century coaching inn on the edge of the Heath — Dickens drank here, you should too.

The British Museum

Free, vast, civilisationally heavy — go for one room, not all of them.

Tate Modern

Turbine Hall first, top-floor terrace second — the rest is bonus.

The National Gallery

Trafalgar Square's quietest secret — free, central, two-hour visit doable.

Victoria & Albert Museum

Decorative arts done at scale. The cafe in the tiled room is the prettiest cafeteria in London.

Natural History Museum

The Hintze Hall whale is worth the queue alone. Free, go on a weekday.

Regent's Park

Queen Mary's rose garden in June. Primrose Hill at sunset, year-round.

Hyde Park

Serpentine swim in summer, Speaker's Corner on Sunday, Winter Wonderland in December.

Richmond Park

Deer roam free — 2,500 acres, the largest royal park. Climb King Henry's Mound for St Paul's protected view.

Victoria Park

East London's lung. Pavilion Cafe, weekend market, dogs everywhere.

Battersea Park

Peace Pagoda by the river, kids' zoo, Power Station newly reopened next door.

The French House

Half-pints only, no phones at the bar, De Gaulle's wartime HQ — a Soho institution.

The Dove

Smallest bar in the UK by the Thames. Rule, Britannia! was supposedly composed upstairs.

The Lamb

Victorian snob screens still intact — drink behind frosted glass like it's 1890.

The Princess Louise

Sam Smith's pub with tiled walls, etched glass, and partitioned booths. Cheap pints in central London.

Ye Olde Mitre

Hidden down an alley off Hatton Garden — sign and all. Tudor history, no music.

Hammersmith Bridge

Currently pedestrian-only, Victorian wrought-iron beauty — best photographed at golden hour.

Albert Bridge

Lit at night with 4,000 bulbs — most photogenic crossing south of Chelsea.

Westminster Bridge

Green to match the Commons. Stand mid-span at dawn for the Wordsworth view.

Broadway Market

Saturday-only food + flowers + vintage. Pair with London Fields and Pub on the Park.

Brick Lane Market

Sunday sprawl — bagels at Beigel Bake at 2am to soak up the night.

Old Spitalfields Market

Covered market — Thursday is antiques, Friday is fashion, weekends are everything.

Leadenhall Market

Victorian arcade, Diagon Alley in the films — empty on weekends, magical at lunchtime weekdays.

Smithfield Market

Working meat market since the 12th century — get there at 5am or never.

Holland Park

Kyoto Garden, peacocks, ruins of Holland House. Quietest royal-borough green space.

Postman's Park

Tiny City pocket park with the Watts Memorial — ceramic tiles commemorating ordinary heroes.

British Museum

A vast repository of the world's cultures, controversially including hundreds of items that were looted from their places of origin. Entire sections are devoted to Egyptian, Greek, and Middle Eastern artifacts, as well as the piece which united them all, the Rosetta Stone. Other

The Ned

Soho House Group's grand banking hall — nine restaurants, rooftop pool, members' club feel with hotel access.

Cartoon Museum

A vast collection of cartoons and comics on display with special, often topical, exhibitions.

Shangri-La The Shard

Floors 34–52 of The Shard — the highest sky pool in western Europe. Splurge with a river view.

Charles Dickens Museum

Museum at the former home of Dickens exhibiting writings, paintings, furniture and other items relating to the writer.

The Standard, London

Ex-Camden town hall next to St Pancras — red exterior lift, Decimo rooftop, all-day Isla café.

Foundling Museum

A museum and a gallery telling the story of the Foundling Hospital, an orphanage for abandoned children founded in the 18th century. Massive art donations by British artists and the involvement of George Friederic Handel as a patron made this childcare organisation an early centr

The Zetter Marylebone

Georgian townhouse charm — a smart boutique for a first London visit. Seymour Bar downstairs.

Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology

Formerly the teaching collection of Sir Flinders Petrie, one of Britain's greatest archaeologists, now preserved by University College London. Exhibits include beaded dresses, sculpture and wall reliefs, items of everyday use, papyri, cartonnage and pottery. Fascinating!

The Hoxton, Shoreditch

East London original — lobby doubles as a coworking café, Hoxton Grill for hangover brunches.

Pollock's Toy Museum

A treasure trove of antique toys exhibited in a warren of 6 rooms above the toy shop of the same name. A very charming place indeed, though the doll rooms are a bit gruesome.

The Rookery

33 rooms carved out of restored 18th-century houses in Clerkenwell — creaky floors, four-posters, roll-top baths.

Camera Museum

A downstairs museum dedicated to cameras from the 1800s to present day, including a camera rifle like the one used in Licence to Kill. The museum is a quick visit and worth the stop even for someone with a moderate interest in photography.

The Beaumont Mayfair

Art-deco Mayfair grand — Antony Gormley 'ROOM' suite is a suite you sleep inside a sculpture.

Brunei Gallery, SOAS University of London

An exhibition space that hosts a programme of changing contemporary and historical exhibitions from Asia, Africa and the Middle East, aiming to present and promote cultures from these regions and to be a student resource and public facility. There are live music performances ever

The Rosewood London

Edwardian courtyard hotel behind an arch off High Holborn — Scarfes Bar has the best pianist in Bloomsbury.

Coram's Fields

A park which is run as children's play area. Facilities include a pet's corner, lawns, sports pitches and a nursery. No adults are allowed to enter the park unless they are accompanying children. All visitors are welcome to join the local kids.

Batty Langley's

Sister to The Rookery in Spitalfields — 29 Georgian-styled rooms, honesty bar, dawn walks to Brick Lane bagels.

St George's Gardens

Peaceful gardens and interesting monuments including the daughter of Richard Cromwell, son of Oliver Cromwell.

The Laslett

Notting Hill townhouses knitted into a 51-room boutique — Portobello market at the door.

Bubbledogs

Champagne and cocktail bar serving gourmet hotdogs.

The Old Vic

Waterloo's 200-year-old proscenium — Kevin Spacey era over, but Matthew Warchus is programming boldly.

Flying Horse

A Grade 11 listed Nicolson's pub.

The National Theatre

Concrete South Bank icon — three stages, unbeatable £15 Friday Rush tickets.

The Wheatsheaf

Freehouse with beautiful leaded windows. Used to be Aleister Crowley's regular.

Shakespeare's Globe

Open-air replica of the original — £5 groundling tickets, rain or shine. April–October main season.

Royal Opera House

Covent Garden's crown — ballet + opera at world-class pricing. Ampitheatre seats are the value pick.

Sam Smith's Pubs

Check also a [http://www.jamesgretton.co.uk/samuelsmiths/ map with pub locations].

Fitzroy Tavern

Owned by the Samuel Smith brewery, the Fitzroy Tavern offers good, cheap beer. The pub, which took its name from a local aristocrat, the Earl of Fitzroy, in turn inspired the name of the surrounding area of Bloomsbury, Fitzrovia, and was a popular drinking place for BBC broadcast

Wigmore Hall

Best chamber-music acoustic in Europe — lunchtime concerts £16, BBC Radio 3 broadcasts weekly.

The College Arms

Pub frequented by students from nearby University College London and Birkbeck College.

The Bridge Theatre

Nick Hytner's post-NT venue by Tower Bridge — flexible auditorium, high-profile programming.

The Harrison

Prince Charles Cinema

Leicester Square's rep cinema — 35mm sing-alongs, all-nighters, cheapest cinema seats in central London.

Ronnie Scott's

Frith Street since 1959 — jazz's London address. Late set is the real one; book weeks ahead.

The Jeremy Bentham

Named after the prominent political philosopher and early supporter of University College London, and located very near the main entrance to the college, the pub tends to attract more senior academics than does the College Arms.

The Lord John Russell

Authentic pub popular with university students.

Cadogan Hall

Ex-Christian Science church in Sloane Square — home to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Mabel's Tavern

Sadler's Wells

Dance's UK home — Angel's contemporary stage. Ticket alerts fill within the hour on Pina Bausch runs.

The Museum Tavern

A very good pub, offering a wide range of real ales, and some excellent food. Can get busy in the summer months.

TCR Lounge Bar

A common drinking place for medical students from University College Hospital, who jostle alongside office workers. Gets exceptionally crowded after office hours.

Yorkshire Grey

British Library

The official book depository of the United Kingdom, holding a copy of every book ever printed here, and a wide variety of periodicals. No less than 150 million items catalogued and there is an unimaginable of shelving! Visitors may not use the library unless they have proof of id

Camley Street Natural Park

A 2-acre nature reserve amid the industrial wasteland just north of King's Cross Station. This lovely little park gives visitors interested in nature the opportunity to learn about the work of the London Wildlife Trust who administer this and 26 other reserves in London. This is

Jewish Museum

In 2010, it reopened after a renovation with a modern extension. Exhibitions on the long history of the Jewish community in London. Well laid out and interesting.

Peckham

Frank's Cafe rooftop, Bussey Building, Rye Lane — south-London arts' current centre of gravity.

The Lock Market

Many stores mainly focused around music and clothing. This is the market most people mean when they talk about the "Camden Market".

The Stables Market

This is the largest of Camden's market areas, featuring hundreds of stalls selling everything from African art to beds to fetish clothing to antiques. This is probably the best place in London for interesting clothes, including vintage, goth, cyber and general club-wear. Cyberdog

Inverness Street Market

This is a small market selling a range of common goods such as fruit and vegetables, cheap clothes and other bits and bobs. The Inverness Street Market is the smallest market in Camden, but it's the original local market in Camden predating the others by decades.

The Buck Street Market

This is the first market you see turning right out of the tube station and it has a big sign declaring it "The Camden Market". However, it only sells only the typical funny t-shirts, knock-off designer boots, keyrings, etc., that you can find in practically every city in the worl

The Devonshire Arms

The dress code is strictly alternative and the pub has got a late night license for Fridays and Saturdays. DJs every night and some gigs. The artwork on the walls was produced by Robin, the barman.

The Camden Road Draft House

Victorian Boozer

The Dublin Castle

A bit rowdy and often quite packed, this pub and music venue has played a pivotal role in British music. It is well known for producing the 1980s band Madness and helping a great many other groups along their path to glory. Worth a stop, just for the atmosphere.

The Edinboro Castle

A more refined side of Camden, this pub is part of a chain in North London attempting to apply a little class. It has a fine selection of beer and cider, including a selection of Belgian beers both bottled and draught. The food is always good and the staff always friendly. There

The Good Mixer

A nice pub where the likes of Blur and Pulp and a load of other Britpop bands from the 1990s used to drink. Prices are reasonable, there are two pool tables, and the general atmosphere is laid back and friendly.

Hawley Arms

Tucked away in a side street close to the Stables Market, this two-story pub has a small garden and a roof terrace. There are sometimes concerts upstairs. A favorite of the late Amy Winehouse.

Jazz Café

Food, drink, and music (jazz, soul, blues). Every Saturday the place turns into a great 1980s music club, with "I love the 80s".

Waitrose's Wine Bar

Pleasant and good-value place to sit and sip, though it closes when Waitrose around 9PM.

The World's End

Local landmark and a good meeting point. It is large, with two separate bars and a lot of seating. Food is served at the weekend.

The Lion And Unicorn

Pub with a Theatre

Neighbour

with Jukes Basement Bar: previously the Kentish Town police cells

The Oxford Tavern

Gastropub