Spots

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Champagne and cocktail bar serving gourmet hotdogs.

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

A Grade 11 listed Nicolson's pub.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Authentic pub popular with university students.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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 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.

Victorian Boozer

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

Pub with a Theatre

with Jukes Basement Bar: previously the Kentish Town police cells

Gastropub