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Morning

Start at Old Spitalfields Market, close to Liverpool Street station, where organic food stalls hold sway during the week, and many more, selling clothes and collectibles, fill the floor on Sundays. Cafés and stalls sell delicious coffee and breakfasts both in and around the market.

Emerging from the market on its southeast corner, cross into Fournier Street, where the gallery at No. 5 retains the original panelling of the 18th-century silk weavers’ houses. Stroll Princelet and Elder streets, just off Fournier, for a real taste of historic London.

Head into Brick Laneto browse among the saree and Bangladeshi gift shops. Stop for lunch at one of the many authentic curry houses that line the street.

Afternoon

After lunch turn right into Whitechapel Road. Notice the distinctive Art Nouveau façade of the Whitechapel Art Gallery and pop into the gallery’s stunning three-floor exhibition space to take in a contemporary art show. Have a cup of tea in the museum café and stop by the bookshop.

Finally, take a ride on the driverless Docklands Light Railway (from Tower Gateway, a short walk from Whitechapel), for some of the best views of East London. Emerge at Canary Wharf to see London’s latest architecture around Cabot Square, and finish the afternoon with a drink at Via Fosse on West India Quay.

Morning

Start at Waterloo with breakfast and a self-guided tour of the Marriott Hotel, based in the splendid former headquarters of the Greater London Council. Cross Westminster Bridge to visit Westminster Abbey and nearby St Margaret’s Church.

Continue along Abingdon Street to Lambeth Bridge and re-cross the river. Have a coffee at the delightful little café at Lambeth Pier, passing Lambeth Palace on your way. Walk along the Albert Embankment for a stunning view of the Houses of Parliament across the river.

For lunch, you might like to try the Japanese restaurant YO! Sushi or the innovative fish! . Both are in Belvedere Road, behind the London Eye.

Afternoon

Walk along the embankment to the South Bank Complex, browsing the second-hand bookstalls outside the National Film Theatre. Continue past the craft shops of Gabriel’s Wharf to the Oxo Tower’s designer galleries just beyond and take the lift to the tower’s viewing platform for a great view of the city.

Afterwards, head along the embankment to Tate Modern - a wonderful place to spend the rest of the afternoon. Have a drink with more views in the Espresso Bar: Level 4.Further downriver, the Anchor pub is a good place to relax and have dinner.

Morning

Start the day from Westminster Pier, because the best way to arrive at Greenwich is by boat. The journey takes 50-60 minutes and there are terrific river sights on the way. The old tea clipper Cutty Sark is visible on arrival and worth an immediate visit. Afterwards step into the nearby Greenwich Gateway visitor centre to get your bearings.

Behind the visitor centre is Greenwich Market, which is liveliest on weekends. Grab a coffee here, and then explore the surrounding streets, full of antique and marine shops. Turn into Wren’s Old Royal Naval College, walk around the Grand Square, and then down to the river. Take a break for some lunch and a pint at the old Nelson Tavern on the far side of the Naval College overlooking the river.

Afternoon

After lunch, make your way back up to the National Maritime Museum and buy a combined ticket for this and the Royal Observatory Greenwich, which is on the hill behind. Spend a couple of hours exploring the fascinating museum, the largest of its kind in the world, then make your way to the Observatory. This is the home of world time, and stands on the Prime Meridian. You can be photographed with one foot in the eastern hemisphere and one in the west. Return to Central London by boat, or by rail from Greenwich.

Morning

Take the tube to Leicester Square and have a coffee at the Arts Theatre café before taking in the latest exhibition at the Photographer’s Gallery next door.

Head up Monmouth Street to Seven Dials, a lofty sundial where seven streets converge. Check out the market stalls and shops in Earlham Street then continue up Monmouth Street to the small entrance to Neal’s Yard with its fine cheese and bread shops. Buy soap at Neal’s Yard apothecary. Visit Covent Garden Piazza for some pre-lunch fun from the street entertainers outside Inigo Jones’ elegant St Paul’s Church. Take a look inside before lunch in the Royal Opera House’s Amphitheatre Restaurant, with its wonderful views.

Afternoon

Leave the Piazza via Russell Street, past the TheatreMuseum, down Wellington Street to the Strand. Cross the road and turn left to the recently refurbished Somerset House, home of the Courtauld Institute . Start with their collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. Pause to relax by the Courtyard fountains or at the River Terrace Café before checking out the Gilbert Collection’s decorative arts objects. Alternatively, visit the Hermitage Rooms which recreate, in miniature, the imperial splendour of the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg.

Morning

Start the day in Trafalgar Square at 10am when the fountains are switched on. You could spend a day at the National Gallery , but limit yourself to an hour, perhaps just visiting the Sainsbury Wing.

For coffee, head next door to the Portrait Restaurant at the National Portrait Gallery. It has fine views over Trafalgar Square.

Head up Charing Cross Road to Leicester Square. Note the statues of Shakespeare and Charlie Chaplin in the middle of the square. Continue towards the bright lights of Piccadilly Circus and the famous statue of Eros, and then walk up Shaftesbury Avenue, centre of the city’s theatre district. Turn off here into bustling Chinatown , with its colourful shops and restaurants.

Lunch in Chinatown is obligatory. Enjoy the bustle of the Golden Dragon on Gerrard Street, or the calm of the excellent Joy King Lau in Leicester Street, just off Lisle Street.

Afternoon

Give the afternoon over to colourful and lively Soho. Eat a peach fresh from the stall in Berwick Street Market, then stroll up Wardour Street, home of the movie industry. Reward yourself with tea and a slice of cake at Patisserie Valerie in OldCompton Street.

Morning

Arrive at the British Museum at 10am (opening time) so that you can enjoy the new Great Court in peace. View Norman Foster’s glass dome while having coffee at the café here. Stroll past the great Assyrian bas-reliefs on your way out.

Browse the antiquarian book and print shops, such as Jarndyce , along Great Russell and Museum streets. Turn left up Little Russell Street, noticing the fine Hawksmoor church of St George’s. Loop around Bloomsbury Square and check out the list of Bloomsbury group literary figures posted here. Head west to Bedford Square with its elegant Georgian houses. Cross Tottenham Court Road and carry on to Charlotte Street.

Afternoon

See the photos of literary figures such as Dylan Thomas in the basement bar of Fitzroy Tavern at No.16 Charlotte Street, while enjoing a pre- lunch drink. If you fancy something more substantial than bar food, try a curry from Rasa Samudra at No. 5.

After lunch amble gently back to Tottenham Court Road for some homeware shopping. Heals and Habitat sell a wide range of furniture and household items, many at the cutting edge of British design. On the second floor of Paperchase (at No. 213–5), the cafe serves good tea.

Morning

Before setting out for the day, reserve a ticket for MadameTussaud’s for the afternoon. Start at Bond Street Underground, exiting on Oxford Street. Opposite is St Christopher Place, a narrow lane with charming shops, which opens into an attractive pedestrian square. Stop for a coffee break at one of Sofra’s pavement tables.

Continue into Marylebone Lane, a pleasant side street of small shops, which leads to Marylebone High Street and its wide choice of designer shops, including The Conran Shop . Stop awhile in the peaceful memorial garden of St Marylebone Parish Church, planted with various exotic trees. Methodist minister and hymn-writer Charles Wesley (1707-88) has a memorial here

Afternoon

For lunch, the Orrery , beside The Conran Shop, is recommended. For a lighter snack, try Patisserie Valerie at 105 Marylebone High Street.

After lunch, bypass the legendary lines of people outside Madame Tussaud’sand spend an hour and a half checking out celebrity wax figures and the Planetarium.

Cross Marylebone Road to Baker Street, for tea and a sandwich at Reubens , before heading for the charming Sherlock Holmes Museumat No. 221b, a faithful reconstruction of the fictional detective’s home.

Morning

Starting from St James’s Park Underground, walk up through Queen Anne’s Gate, noting the lovely 18th-century houses. Pass through the alley in the corner into Birdcage Walk then into St James’s Park . Get a coffee from the café by the lake and watch the pelicans before heading up to Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard at 11am. After the ceremony, head up The Mall, past St James’s Palace and into St James’s Street. Turn right into Jermyn Street, and check out such traditional shops as cheese seller, Paxton and Whitfield, and perfumery, Floris. Walk through Wren’s St James’s Church near the end of the street, leaving by the north exit where a craft market is held. Head west down Piccadilly to Fortnum’s.

Afternoon

Fortnum & Mason is the perfect place to buy tea, as a souvenir, and to have lunch, in the Fountain restaurant, where the dieter’s choice is caviar and half a bottle of champagne.

Cross Piccadilly to the Royal Academy of Arts and spend an hour on their permanent collection, including Michelangelo’s sculpture,Madonna and Child . Window shop along Burlington Arcade and then the galleries of Cork Street . Turn left into Bond Street, heading for Brown’s stylish hotel in Albemarle Street, where you can relax over a lavish English tea.

Morning

Starting at Hampstead tube station, head left down pretty Flask Walk (The Flask pub once sold spa water) to the local museum in BurghHousefor some background on the area. Then spend some time exploring the many attractive back streets, which are lined with expensive Georgian houses and mansions. Visit Well Walk, fashionable in the days of the Hampstead spa (a fountain in Well Passage on the left still remains), and Elm Row, where D H Lawrence lived at No. 1.

Stop for a coffee at one of the many cafés along Hampstead High Street and then make your way to Keats House , spending half an hour looking around. Afterwards, a stroll across Hampstead Heath to Kenwood Housewill prepare you for lunch.

Afternoon

The Brew House Café at Kenwood serves excellent light meals and has a fine position beside the house, overlooking the lake. After lunch, a visit to the house will take an hour or so.

Leave the Heath by the nearby East Lodge and catch a No. 210 bus back towards Hampstead. The bus passes the Spaniards Inn and Whitestone Pond - the highest point on the Heath. Alight at the pond and walk to the tube station, taking a train to Camden Town. Get lost for the rest of the afternoon in lively Camden Lock Market , ending the day with a drink and some food on the LockTavernroof terrace.

Morning

Start at South Kensington Underground station, and follow the signs to the Victoria & Albert Museum . Spend a delightful hour in the new British Galleries and see the recreated period rooms. Follow Old Brompton Road to the Brompton Oratory , where you should take a look at its sumptuous Italianate interior, with 12 marble Apostles. Cross the road for a coffee and a pastry at Patisserie Valerie.

Turn right into Beauchamp Place, where window shopping takes in creations by such English designers as Bruce Oldfield and Caroline Charles. Continue down into Pont Street, and turn left up Sloane Street. Check out Hermés, Chanel and Dolce e Gabbana before turning left along Knightsbridge to Harrods.

Harrods has a choice of 21 bars and restaurants. The food hall’s Deli and the Oyster Bar are best. Save dessert for the 4th-floor ice-cream parlour.

Afternoon

Just five minutes north of Harrods, Hyde Park , offers a peaceful walk along the south bank of the Serpentine. Heading for Kensington Palace you pass the famous statue of JM Barry’sPeter Pan and the Round Pond, where model-makers sail their boats. West of here, the palace’s costume exhibit includes many of Princess Diana’s dresses. Next door, The Orangery Tea Rooms provide a restorative cup of tea.