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This recently refurbished Georgian town house is now a pleasant small hotel. It has a garden at the back and all rooms areensuite .

In university holidays, some student rooms are available at reasonable rates. This house, though, has space all year. Dormitories, single and twin rooms are available at a range of prices. There is a bar, a gym, a restaurant and internet café.

This large, rambling hotel near Piccadilly Circus is good value for its central position. Because it is a popular hotel for London breaks, weekend rates are more expensive. The hotel has no restaurant but there is a large Irish theme bar, O’Callaghan’s.

Situated just by South Kensington tube station and handy for the museums, this typical west London hotel has comfortable rooms with bathrooms. Reception is on the first floor. On the ground-floor is an American-style bar (not owned by the hotel) run by New Yorker Janet Evans, which serves great cocktails.

Scissors, clocks, books, boomerangs – this store shows what a right-handed world we live in. All left-handed people should find something here.

There has been a market here since the 18th century, and the daily fruit and vegetable stalls remain cheap, cheerful and thoroughly Cockney. Half the time, traders talk in old money (“ten bob” is 50p) and round things up to a “nicker” or a “quid” (£1). It opens around 9am six days a week.

Burberry sells its famous trenchcoats as well as checked clothing and distinctive luggage.

This handsome, half-timbered building dates from 1925 and its fine wood-floored and panelled interior is as much a part of the shopping experience as the exclusive goods it contains. Long associated with the Arts and Crafts movement, it employed artists such as William Morris to design its fabrics. Great for men’s and women’s fashions and original gifts.

The main street in Soho is a lively thoroughfare both day and night. It is also the centre of London’s sex scene, and now the site of popular gay pubs, Compton’s of Soho and the Admiral Duncan. Soho’s vibrant streetlife spills into Frith, Greek and Wardour streets, where pubs, clubs, restaurants and cafés have pavement tables, often warmed by gas heaters in winter. Some, like Bar Italia in Frith Street and Balans Café at 34 Old Compton Street, are open 24 hours. Everywhere fills up when the evening’s performance at the Prince Edward Theatre ends. A delicious breakfast is to be had at Patisserie Valerie, and such long-standing shops as the Italian delicatessen I Camisi, and the Vintage House (700 whiskies in stock), give the area its village feel. Body tattooists are at work here, and fetish shops show that the sex industry still flourishes.

Old Compton Street

Bar Italia, Frith Street

Londoners head east on Sunday mornings for the bustling street markets. In addition to Petticoat Lane in Middlesex Street, with its bargain clothes and household items, and Brick Lane’s bric-à-brac, there is the teeming plant and flower market in Columbia Road. Ten minutes’ walk from the north end of Brick Lane, Columbia Road is a delightful cornucopia of all things horticultural at bargain prices.

Columbia Road Market

Opened in 1909, this store has a handsome neoclassical façade adorned with imposing columns and a huge clock. A London institution, Selfridges is still popular for women’s fashion.

Selfridges window

Running through the centre of the decidedly fashionable Notting Hill, Portobello Road, with its extensive selection of antique shops, is a great place to spend some time. It is especially good on Saturday when the market is in full swing. This starts just beyond Westbourne Grove, with fruit and vegetables, bread, sausages, cheeses, then music, clothes and bric-à-brac. Beyond the railway bridge it becomes a flea market. Sit upstairs in the Café Grove (No. 253a) and watch it all go by, or quench your thirst in Fluid’s juice bar (13 Elgin Crescent). Ethnic food is otherwise what goes down best, and the West Indian flavour spills over into the vibrant music and colourful clothes stalls.

London’s two Tate galleries house a superb collection of international art. Modern focuses on contemporary work after 1900, and Britain on national art from 1500 to the present (see Tate Modern and Tate Britain).

The cultural jewel of the City, owned, funded and managed by the Corporation of London, the Barbican is a modern building of some complexity. Music, dance, theatre, film and art all take place here, with top visiting performers and artists. Opened in 1982, the arts complex is part of a major development covering 20 acres and flanked by 42-storey blocks of flats. Access from the Barbican tube station is along a marked route above ground level, passing the Museum of London and looking down on the church of St Giles Cripplegate. This church, dating from 1550, is a lone survivor of World War II bombs.

A cornucopia of treasures is housed in this enchanting museum named after the devoted royal couple. There are fine and applied arts from all over the world, from ancient China to contemporary Britain. Highlights include extraordinary plaster copies of statues, and monuments and artifacts from the Italian Renaissance. Displays are arranged over six floors of galleries. The stunning new British Galleries display more than 3,000 objects illustrating the best of British art and design since 1500. There are restored period rooms and touchable objects.

Major contemporary artists tend to be shown here. Cindy Sherman and Gilbert and George have had recent exhibitions. This is one of London’s most exciting galleries, often transforming its space to suit the work. Installations have been known to spill out into the park – even to become an outside tearoom. Busy on warm weekends.

The enormous and varied collection here explores both the geology of the Earth and the incredible range of life it supports (see Natural History Museum).

Charles Saatchi’s collection of contemporary art includes work by controversial Young British Artists Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas.

Famous for its food hall and restaurants, this elegant department store still has male staff who wear coat tails. Try the extravagant ice creams in the Fountain restaurant.

Open for tea, coffee and lunch, this delightful café is located in a pretty conservatory overlooking Kensington Gardens.

A classic Soho café with a wide range of delicious cakes and pastries: the fresh croissants make it a good place for breakfast. Its Frenchness extends to the smoky atmosphere, but there is a no-smoking area downstairs.

Mussels with mayonnaise and fries, washed down with one of a 100 different beers, are the mainstay here, with waiters dressed as monks serving at the long refectory tables. Try the set- price £6 lunches.

This basement restaurant is the original of a chain of modern Oriental eating houses, offering fast, efficient service. Inexpensive Japanese dishes are served cafeteria-style, with diners eating side-by-side.

Atmospheric jazz and blues dive that stays open up to 2am. The Rolling Stones played here, as did the Sex Pistols and other punk bands of the 1970s. Today there is Indie music and early evening dance classes. Membership is not required.

This corner of Hyde Park attracts assorted public speakers, especially on Sundays.

This pocket of green in the middle of Mayfair was planted in 1789 and its 30 huge plane trees may be the oldest in London. In 1774 Clive of India, hero of the British Empire in India, committed suicide at No. 45. Memorial benches in the square bear moving inscriptions, many from Americans who were billeted in Mayfair during World War II. The main UK Bentley and Rolls-Royce dealer’s showroom is on the east side of the square.

This treeless expanse, enjoyed by kite flyers, lies behind Greenwich Park. Donkey rides can be taken around the edge, and on the far side is Blackheath Village.

Scores of international films are shown in this three-week festival when cinemas, including the National Film Theatre, reduce prices. A booth is set up in Leicester Square to take bookings and distribute programmes.

Parks with rowing lakes include Hyde Park, Regent’s Park and Battersea Park.

Filled with grand tombs, many of the rich and famous, this is the best of London’s cemeteries. The living have to pay to get in, too, and the cemetery is divided into eastern and western halves, the latter visitable only with a tour.

The most extensive concert series in the world. The famous last concert is relayed live to adjacent Hyde Park, whenLand of Hope and Glory rocks the Royal Albert Hall to its foundations.

The best place is the stables at Hyde Park.

Rent bikes from On Your Bike in London Bridge (020 7378 6669) and The London Bicycle Tour Company in Gabriel’s Wharf (020 7928 6838).