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.
Damian Miranda is a graphic designer, photographer and excessive thinker originally from Melbourne, Australia. He currently lives and works as a freelance designer in London.
The Almeida, in Islington, is a small theatre with big influence. It's an intimate place to discover groundbreaking theatre and get up close to some of Britain's leading actors. The cafe/bar across has a constantly-changing tasty menu, relaxed atmosphere and free wifi. Open all day and great place to spend time even if you're not going to catch a production.
The Wellcome Collection is a free museum and library, mostly dealing with medecine and social history. The exhibitions are unusual and engaging, and the permanent collection includes bizarre items such as medieval masks and human remains.
I personally love photo arts and this gallery puts on some amazing exhibitions by the best artists, such as Vivane Sassen and Gregory Crewdson. The Gallerys’ six-storey space is located right by Oxford Street, so if you are doing some shopping in London, you might as well stop by this gallery. The upper floors consist of two new galleries, while the ground floor hosts a nice café/restaurant. Together with the print sales, the bookstore occupies the basement of the building. I can spend hours just looking at the books, how it is designed, bound, as well as the prints for sale. You can buy all kinds of film; medium format to polaroid film at the store. After some hours at this gallery you just want to go home and start making some photography!