Places to go in London

Most places listed are centered around East, since that's where I spend most of my time.

Markets

  • Columbia Road Flower Market
    Sunday morning flower and plant market. Road also has a lot of amazing little shops.
  • Southbank Book Market
    Nice outdoors book market, open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., right under Waterloo Bridge on Queen's Walk.
  • Broadway Market
    Nice area with market stalls on Sundays, near some parks (Haggerston Park, London Fields) and some good restaurants and pubs.
  • Camden Lock Market
    Bit touristy, but lots of small fun shops and some food places.

Parks/walking

  • Victoria Park
    Large park with water feature, has a food market lots of food stalls from a large variety of cuisines on Sunday (10am - 4pm).
  • Regent's Canal
    9 mile long canal that runs through central/east London. Walking along it is a great way to find some peace and quiet (depending on time of day). Passes near a lot of the above places.

Museums

  • National Portrait Gallery
    Famous portraits by famous artists
    Area: Trafalgar Square
    Closest underground station: Charing Cross
  • The National Gallery
    Major art from 13th to 19th centuries
    Area: Trafalgar Square
    Closest underground station: Charing Cross
  • Tate Modern
    International modern art
    Area: Bankside/Southwark
    Closest underground station: London Bridge
  • Natural History Museum
    Right next to the Science Museum and Victoria&Albert museum
    Area: South Kensington
    Closest underground station: South Kensington

Breakfast/Lunch

  • The Premises
    English breakfast place that is part of a recording studio complex where a lot of famous artists have recorded albums.
  • The Breakfast Club
    American-style breakfast. The location in Angel is the most fun one, but often has long lines.
  • Laxiero
    Spanish place that does great small breakfasts, located on Columbia Road.
  • BunBunBun
    Vietnamese (great bahn-mis)

Dinner

  • Pizza East
    Fancy pizza place with great starters
  • Dishoom
    Best Indian food, but usually with a wait of about 45 minutes, no reservations
  • Morito
    Tapas
  • Blacklock
    Steakhouse
  • Haché
    Amazing vegetarian burgers

Drinks

  • The Bikeshed
    American-style bike shop with comfortable seating area (also does food)
  • Boxpark
    Center of Shoreditch, lots of life. Not much place to sit, however
  • Black Rock
    Whisky bar
  • Blues Kitchen
    Live music on weekends
  • The Earl Of Essex
    Lots of different types of beer, also does good pub food
  • CitizenM London Bridge
    Upstairs lounge with a nice view over the city

Coffee

  • Serata Hall
    Usually lots of space, close to Old Street Station
  • The Book Club Hackney
    Chill coffee spot