Lovely, open space close to Highbury and Islington with tennis courts, netball courts, kids' playground and Parkrun on a Saturday morning at 9am!  

If you want a peaceful day out of the busy city, Highgate doesn't really feel like London. The cemetery is interesting and peaceful, there's a tour of the old half which is definitely worth the money. Karl Marx, among others are buried there.

Home to all the toys you'd probably forgotten about.

The many book stores dotted along this strip can provide hours of inspiration. Aside from those selling new books, several specialise in second-hand and antiquarian books.

The Barbican is worth visiting for it's brutalist architecture alone. The concert programming is really diverse; it's home to the BBC Syphony Orchestra, but you'll also find bands like the Dirty Projectors and the National amongst the classical and contemporary composer line up. Plenty of art, dance and theatre too, however, the Conservatory is the real gem that's not to be missed.