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The most exciting North London markets are open every weekend, and linked by the busy and colourful Camden High Street. Camden Market, near the tube station, is packed with stalls selling clothes, shoes and jewellery. Further up the road, by the canal, Camden Lock Market focuses on crafts and ethnic goods. Stalls in the warehouses of Stables Market have great food on sale. Open weekends only between 8am and 6pm.

Regent’s Canal, Camden Lock

The centrepiece of the Docklands development is Canary Wharf and the 240-m (800-ft) -high, 50-storey Canada Tower designed by the US architect, Cesar Pelli. Although the tower is not open to the public, parts of the complex are open to visitors, including the mall, where there are shops, restaurants and bars. The star of area’s exciting architecture is the magnificent Canary Wharf station, designed by Norman Foster.

Vaulted glass roof, Canary Wharf DLR station

The great Victorian novelist and social campaigner (1812–70) lived in Doughty Street for two years from 1837. The house is his only surviving London home, and he thought it “a frightfully first-class family mansion, involving awful responsibilities” (see Charles Dickens Museum).

Ornate oriental archways in Gerrard Street mark the entrance to Chinatown, an area of London that has, since the 1950s, been the focus of the capital’s Chinese residents. Here you can shop at Chinese supermarkets, gift shops and martial arts suppliers and, on Sundays, browse the street stalls selling exotic vegetables. The Chinese New Year, celebrated in late January or early February, is a particular highlight. Chinatown abounds with excellent-value restaurants.

This piece of Italy in London is a high spot of English 18th-century architecture. The square villa, with its dome and portico, was built for Lord Burlington, with beautifully painted interiors by William Kent. Temples, statues and a lake complete the Italianate gardens.