Bloomsbury

Bloomsbury is a nice change of pace from the chaos of Kings Cross to the North, being mostly quiet residential streets.

It features the University College London and the British Museum - all grand, classical buildings - but also lots of nice human-scale Georgian shops and terraces.

I was particularly taken with Lamb’s Conduit Street - a leafy partially pedestrianised road with many good coffee & lunch options.

Covent Garden

Covent Garden can be thought of as the more genteel neighbour of Soho, consisting of cobbled streets lined with charming Victorian shops now selling nice things that I can’t afford.

The centrepiece of the area is the Georgian former fruit, vegetable and flower market. When the market was moved out to Nine Elms in 1974 the building was saved and has been redeveloped as a shopping destination.

Embankment

The Victoria Embankment (usually just called Embankment - London is awash with things called Victoria) makes up the north bank of the Thames between Parliament and Blackfriars bridge.

It isn’t as nice to walk along as the south bank because a multi-lane road runs along it but it does still offer some good views, and if you’re on a bicycle then a great cycle path too!

Holborn

Holborn - the centre of London’s legal system - is a serious place populated by sensible people, even if they perhaps don’t look it as they flounce around in wigs and gowns.

Pedants will thank me for reminding you that it is traditionally pronounced ho-bn, though even some of the automatic announcements on the tube forget this.

Notting Hill

Famous for the Portobello Road Market, carnival and a fictional second-hand bookshop.

Notting Hill was once the centre of the Caribbean immigrant community in London but its streets of stuccoed Georgian terraces have returned to being a playground for the extremely wealthy.

It is outside the city centre but well placed for the royal residences of Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace, which can be reached through Hyde Park.

South Bank

The south bank of the Thames has an enormous concentration of cultural venues - many of them brutalist icons built for the Festival of Britain in the early 1950s.

The Thames Path along the South Bank is one of the best ways to admire the city, lined as it is with tempting shops and pubs to ensure you get nowhere quickly.

South Kensington

One of London’s most affluent areas, housing the best museums in London.

Westminster

Westminster is where you’ll find the majority of the famous London landmarks and activities, all packed together within walking distance.

The area is strongly associated with royalty and the Mall (which rhymes with pal, not ball!) and surrounding areas are where events such as the coronation and platinum jubilee were held.