I grew up in Brighton which is full of cheesy bars like this. If you can handle being surrounded by multiple screens playing Kylie at full volume, its pretty much the cheapest bar in central london. The cliental is so varied its great for people watching and completely un pretentious.
A beautiful and spacious (outside of rush hour) way to get from Highbury, through east London to south of the river in minutes. The train snakes epically through Hoxton and Shoreditch and opens up the Jubilee Line via the beautiful Canada Water / Bermondsey stations.
The number 9 bus is the last of London’s old Routemasters. It’s a reminder of how far London has come over the years both in technology and design. The route itself is also one of the Heritage routes going past all of London’s key attractions such as Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Hyde Park Corner and the Royal Albert Hall and the buses are still run by a traditional conductor which is fun and keeps things personal. It is a quintessential London journey.
A small, independent cinema with a lot to offer the Brixton wanderer. As well as operating like you would expect a converted theatre-to-cinema to, Ritzy offers exclusive, niche film viewings, two bars and an upstairs live music venue. All of which provide an amazing platform to be 'culture-slapped' into shape.
Being down on the underground can be quite stressful and draining, but if you have the chance to look up and into the details that has gone into the tiling of the platforms and stations you might start to see some beauty down there. A lot of stations has bespoke tiles and decorations, almost a century old.
Bethnal Green station is one of a handful in London to have been given a very specific additional decoration to the classic cream tiles and name strip. Easy to miss, but dotted around the station are a series of tiles with raised motifs on them, representing aspects of London and places that the Underground visited.
Or for typographers: check the type on Hampstead station or Holloway Road for some inspiration.