Where to stay in London

London's rock-and-roll neighborhood: the Camden Market complex sprawls around the Regent's Canal with hundreds of stalls selling street food, vintage clothes, and everything else. The Lock Market and Stables Market are the most interesting. The Electric Ballroom is one of London's legendary live music venues. Amy Winehouse grew up here. The canal walk from Camden to Islington is one of London's best free walks.

Southeast London by DLR or river boat: the Cutty Sark (the last surviving tea clipper), the National Maritime Museum (free), the Royal Observatory where the Prime Meridian runs through the courtyard (free to stand on, £16 to go inside), and Greenwich Park - the best hill view of the London skyline outside a helicopter. The Sunday antiques market in the Covered Market is excellent. The journey by Thames Clipper from Westminster is itself a reason to go.

The north and south banks of the Thames from Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge contain most of what people picture when they picture London: the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Tate Modern, the Globe Theatre, Borough Market, and the HMS Belfast. The South Bank walk between Waterloo Bridge and Tower Bridge is the finest free urban promenade in Europe - especially at night when the buildings are lit and the river reflects everything.

London's creative east: Brick Lane (Bangladeshi food, vintage markets, Beigel Bake open 24h), the Columbia Road Flower Market on Sundays, the Old Spitalfields Market, and the Shoreditch street art scene that's been evolving since Banksy. The neighborhood runs from the financial edge of Liverpool Street into a world of gallery spaces, concept restaurants, and weekend morning markets. The Ace Hotel area is the social center.

The neighborhood of the movie and the real: Portobello Road Market (Friday-Saturday is best for antiques, Friday morning for serious dealers), the pastel-colored townhouses of Westbourne Grove, and the garden squares behind them. Holland Park and Kensington Gardens adjoin it. One of London's most photographed streets (Elgin Crescent) is here - and it's exactly as beautiful as it looks.

The most expensive real estate in London and, arguably, in Europe. Mayfair has the Ritz, Claridge's, the Connaught, Annabel's, and Bond Street's entire luxury mile. St James's has the gentlemen's clubs of Pall Mall, Christie's and Sotheby's auction houses, and Berry Bros & Rudd - the oldest wine merchant in Britain (founded 1698, still in the same shop). The Royal Academy is on Burlington Arcade. Walk it on a weekday morning when the city is at its most composed.