A genuine outdoor oasis in a central part of London, this centre's pool is a popular spot for those wanting to cool off before or after work in Holborn or in between shopping sprees in Covent Garden.
Always worth stopping by. The in-house Café is one of the calmest places around Oxford Street. Some exhibitions are free of charge and the shop has a large collection of photo books and retro cameras.
Impress your friends by telling apart the 5 regiments of Foot Guards: Scots Guards have no plume, Grenadiers have white, Coldstream have red, Irish have blue, and Welsh have green and white.
18 September: Visit Samuel Johnson's house on his birthday. Today the house is open to the public, and offers a fascinating insight into the life of the great wig-wearing depressive.
Excellent climbing wall for all levels. Focused on bouldering but roped Walls too. Great outdoor area too. Refreshments, changing rooms and place to lock up your bike. £7 a climb.
Incredible social enterprise with tennis, climbing, pong pong and a gym. Facilities based inside and outside.
The home of cricket. Check out a local county game through the summer or just enjoy a beer in the pub outside. Even if you don't understand the rules of the game, definitely worth a visit.
Yeah, it looks all shiny now, but go back 230 years and you'd be watching graverobbed corpses being dissected by the Hunter brothers. How quickly people forget.
The uniformed attendants of Burlington Arcade are known as Beadles. They were originally all ex-soldiers from the 10th Hussars, the regiment of Lord Cavendish who built the arcade
This place is everything that James Bond would want it to be: sexy, shiny and classic all rolled into one long room Read more.
Great place to see animals and feed some goats. Close to Morden Park which is great for walking
Walk through the Columbia Road Flower Market and end with a nice brunch at Hackney City Farm, perfect on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The aromatic garden is amazing and the pigs HUGE.
A brilliant community resource, allowing urban kids to get up close with farmyard animals including pigs, goats, a cow and horses, not to mention any number of farm birds. Free entry too.
This once neglected area was transformed to provide a recreational place for people living East. It was opened by Princess Anne, The Queen's daughter, in 1977 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee.
brunch is excelent. at £8 for breakfast it may seem pricey but quality is the best around and it is great value.
The Old Hall dates back to 1489, making it a unique and ancient London survival. It has served as a court, and a hall for banquets, exams, lectures and parties. It was restored in 1927.
This imposing building was originally a car showroom (Wolseley Motors Limited). Now it is one of London’s smartest restaurants - designed by David Collins - it is a joy to dine in! Read more.
Burn your lips off at the best chinese restaurant in the world. The house special sea bass in chili oil is epic
Beautiful and very peaceful place with some impressive marble carvings. Completely created, shipped, constructed and maintained by volunteers. Well worth a visit.
This barge is London’s only floating church. It’s been here since 2003, brought by Dutch Christians offering spiritual wealth to bankers who think they have it all.
Britain's premier shop for maps of the UK and far flung places. Also Michael Palin's first port of call when he needs a map and inflatable globe for his BBC documentary travels.
There's a 'secret' skittles alley in the basement, but they keep it locked when not pre-booked.
15 August: Indian Independence Day. First opened in 1939 before moving here in the 1950s, the restaurant has not changed much in recent years and offers a truly authentic Indian experience.
Drop into this free gallery next time you're passing - always something interesting here
Sweet memories. Spent a lot of hours here back in 2003. Best place for LIVE Jazz & Pizza
The London home of Belgian beer. Whether you’re into pilsners, gueuzes or trappists, you’ll be spoilt for choice by a tome-like drinks list. Head on market day for atmosphere to rival any Brussels bar Read more.
Quality local boozer. Friendly chatty locals. Great selection of craft beers. Will definitely be back.
This hollow Arch was half ventilation shaft for the Underground, half a tiny police station until 1992. Now open to the public for a sneaking glimpses of the Buckingham Palace private gardens.
May have eclipsed the Barbican as my favourite cinema in London. Comfy seats, reasonably priced, lovely building. Auditorium could be more steeply raked, but that's a minor quibble. Tres bon!
Brilliant pub in the winter and even better in the summer. If you're going to eat, go for the chilli dish - although the wine, beers and cider are all v.good and v.reasonably priced.
The largest bookstore in London, Foyles is the epicenter of London's bibilophilic beaten path. Amidst four floors there is literally no book that you will not find. Kristin Knox, The Clothes Whisperer
The physician John Snow investigated a cholera epidemic in Soho in 1854 and made the breakthrough that cholera was water-borne. By turning off the public water pump here he saved many lives.
In Brixton, up until 2009, the old Granville Arcade was just another of London's many retail spaces in abandoned disrepair, until Spacemakers were called in to regenerate the space. Read more.
Located right in the middle of Borough Market, Roast gets all of its produce from its neighbors. If you're a vegetarian, this restaurant is for you as it has a wide variety of meatless meals.
Awesome place to spend an evening with friends - beats any UK mini golf I've been to! One of the highlights in the area
Big Chill Bar offers world-class hip-hop and funk, a low-key, sociable atmosphere, and free entry. Before stopping in, though, work up a thirst by going record shopping in Brick Lane’s famed stores. Read more.
Newly reopened. Check out the miniature games room on the first floor, with table football and Monopoly stuck to the ceiling for some reason.
Standing on the top deck and looking out at the river is one of the great London experiences.
Headquarters of the English Folk Dance And Song Society (a shadowy offshoot of MI5 of which little is known, or provable), Cecil Sharp House is a great place to visit even when there isn’t any music. Read more.
Small but perfectly formed. One of the best music venues in London. Good selection of beer too.
There's a folk club here. The Sambrook's Wandle is a decent pint. Look out for the Laurel & Hardy memorabilia. Didn't rate the pizza much, and certainly not the way it was sold...
Nice, probably family run but definitely cozy pub with all the typical English meals, atmosphere and beer.
They put on a great folk night upstairs every Sunday. Good selection of ales and it's spacious.
Opened in 1927, Veeraswamy's is said to be the oldest surving Indian restaurant in the UK. Famous diners have included Ghandi, Charlie Chaplin, Marlon Brando and the Prince of Wales.
London Zoo was opened for Fellows of the Zoological Society of London in 1828, only opening to the public in 1847 to aid funding. It currently houses 755 species of animal.
Highgate Wood has an excellent and well-equipped playground, complete with sandpits, climbing equipment of various levels of difficulty and a zip wire that gets very busy at peak times. Read more.
You'll be surprised at the natural beauty and size of the wetlands right in the centre of London. It's recommended you go at different times of the year to see how the wetland changes with seasons.
Get up early and go listen. The early morning birds' songs is a great way to start the day.
The first lingerie shop I've been to that measure you completely by eye, no measuring tape whatsoever. I was a bit self conscious at first but was made to feel very at ease by staff, who were lovely.
From giant rabbits to miniature Shetland ponies, monkeys to the mouse house, this zoo has something for everyone.
"Amid the bronzes, murals and ladies in hats, the Royal Academy restaurant manages to make dinner into a fine art..." Read more.
The style of the hotel is very elegant. The rooms are a bit small but quite comfortable.
If you need to design or fix something, this shop has some very interesting components!
Probably the best tourist attraction in London, mainly because of the Beefeaters (Yeoman of the Guard) who do the tours (optional, but unmissable) - they tell a story very well! Read more.
The Peacock Theatre doubles as an LSE lecture space as well as performance space for Sadler’s Wells contemporary dance company. Two great London institutions under one roof - heaven.
Can't recommend this place highly enough - fantastic theatre for kids of all ages, babies-teens
Richmond Park is the largest royal park in London, with free-roaming deer wandering its varied landscape. From the King Henry’s Mount there is a stunning view of St Paul’s Cathedral 10 miles away.
16 July: The walkway was designed by the same architects who created the London Eye and is based on a Fibonacci numerical sequence, one of nature's most common growth patterns.
It's hard to imagine a more authentic east london pie experience (and the pies are cheap, fast and excellent)
Glad to see there is a Harringtons still open! My Dad used to live next door to Vic Harington on Morden.
They do pretty much one thing and one thing well. Beef pie. With the option for double pie or double mash. Or both.
Of course, this is one of London's great music venues. Even better for extreme circus. Look up to the roof on the extension and you'll see a little-known Antony Gormley.
A film studio since 1933, it was bought by the BBC in 1954 and turned into the leading film and TV studios in the country. Early episodes of Z Cars and Doctor Who were transmitted live from here.
21 September: Britain's largest anarchist bookshop has been the headquarters of Freedom Press, which runs it, since 1968. It stocks thousands of books, newspapers & pamphlets and also serves coffee.
Best Vietnamese in Shoreditch! Signature dishes: Phở (rare steak, well-done flank, beef tendon or beef tripe) and Beef wrapped in betel leaves
This is possibly the best value for money Vietnamese restaurant in London and one of the best. Order the salt and spicy squid. AMAZING.. Read more.
Perhaps the best restaurant in Marylebone. Each dish is better than the next, but if you needs pointers: fried squid, Turkish eggs, crab & coconut laksa, chorizo croquettes. Die happy, the end.
offers a completely new modern European menu each and every day to just 35 lucky diners (think hearty, carnivorous dishes, such as grilled ox tongue, saddle of wild hare and lamb pie). Read more.
Great historic building (old Michelin tires factory) worth a visit in it own right. Bonus: the breakfast at the outdoor cafe is great. Get the fried eggs!
Morito is amazing. Please don't come here. We want to keep it to our selves. It's too good.
The menu of this classic British restaurant changes all the time, but the favorites are always there. Fancy a plate of crispy pig's tail and watercress? Then this is the place to go.
It isn't called the Dalston Superstore for nothing - hosting different clubnights through the week and offering cakes, coffee and wifi in the day...how could you say no?
As the mecca of London clubland, one really can't go amiss. Check out the Fabriclive CD vending machine as you come in! Read more.
This pumping house was opened in 1838 to supply west London with clean water, and now houses a collection of early steam engines. The landmark Stand Pipe Tower is based on a Florentine bell tower.
Brilliantly wholesome vegetarian cafe, where you can sit in the glorious gardens for free! A real oasis in this very urban part of the City
Right next to the Starbucks on portobello road! Easy and cute photo op.
This is one of London’s ‘ghost’ stations, closed since 1994. During the Blitz it housed precious treasures from the British Museum. These days it’s in regular demand as a film set.
The the first floor flat about the Globe Tavern was used as the exterior for Bridget Jones's flat during filming for Bridget Jones's Diary starring Renée Zellweger
The fourth wedding from "Four Weddings and a Funeral" was recorded here.
Described as ‘probably the finest dining hall in the Western world’, this is also where Lord Nelson lay in state after his death at the Battle of Trafalgar. Thousands came to pay their respects.
This is the widest street in London. The black mark on the clock above the gateway to Horse Guards marks the time when Charles I was beheaded in this street in 1649.
The famous illuminated advertising of Piccadilly Circus began as early as 1893, before most of the city had electric street lighting.
This is a great place watch or catch trains. One of the best even!
This 18th century pub stands on the site of an earlier inn used by playwrights and actors of The Globe theatre. From here Samuel Pepys watched the Great Fire of 1666 destroy the city on the far bank.
Recommended: Not for the faint hearted, this two-floor museum offers both a brilliantly intellectual and educational experience - with everything from bones to pickled guts. Yum yum! Read more.
We finally did it. We finally managed to get the prized seats in the raised 'pulpit' area.
London’s oldest theatre is in its fourth incarnation. The third burned down in 1809. It is said to be one of the world’s most haunted theatres, so watch out for ‘The Man in Grey’!
The concrete-clad, 1960s modernist grandmother of them all: no theatrical tour of London is complete without a visit to the National. Read more.
In 1837 The Royal Opera house was the first ever theatre to use limelight. Limelight comes from the mixing of oxygen and hydrogen and then adding real burning lime to achieve a bright light.
Founded in 1818, for most of the 19th century this theatre was known as the Royal Victorian Theatre and advocated temperance, i.e. no booze. It was damaged in the Blitz and only reopened in 1950.
Huge menu and a great selection of drinks! Affordable and lively pub. Very large with garden. Great on a sunny day.
Knockout view of the city from the viaduct . Shame it's hard to get to from South side parkland walk... Involves the A1 and busy muswell hill road ... But worth it!
Oxleas Wood, Shrewsbury Park & Woodlands Farm! Check out rural suburban London at its best!
The church was saved from the Great Fire by the quick thinking of Admiral Penn (whose son founded Pennsylvania) - he ordered his sailors to blow up neighbouring streets to make a fire break.
13 January: Founded in 1983, the centre is home to a café where people of all ages gather, as well as a museum of everyday life, bringing together early-20th-century objects.
This iron replica of Big Ben dates from 1892. Its refurbishment in 1981 was sponsored by the French company Elf Aquitaine, hence the insription ‘my heart beats true for England as for France’.
Originally a deer park for Henry VIII, so he could hunt while staying at Whitehall Palace, the park was laid out in a formal style by Charles II, when Pepys came here to watch ice skating.
Grab a hot chocolate, a seat by the window of the cafe and watch everyone else fall over!
It is small and round and located in the heart of the city just behind behind Liverpool Street station. Turn up and go. £9 entrance plus £2 skate hire Read more.
The rink is just outside the West Front of the palace, so you can enjoy stunning panoramic views and an enchanting Christmas atmosphere. £12.50 for adults, £9 for children and £36 for families. Read more.
Yummy! Such a friendly place, decor is so rustic&warm - love the plates and random coloured chopstick! Starters all amazing (squid and tempura veg recommended) and my beef curry was delish! Loved it!
My new favourite in the Pho Mile. Not an easy decision as the competition around is really good, however the monkfish with dill won my tummy and my heart. Delicious. And really cheap!
7 February: See the snowdrops. Petts Wood covers more than 300 acres & is owned & managed by the National Trust. In February, the first of the snowdrops begin to push up from the woodland floor.
10 February: Drink in the pub where Lenin and Stalin 'first met'. Some claim that they met in the pub which is now called the Crown. Lenin had recently moved publication of Iskra to Clerkenwell Green.
