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