An unassuming glass door on an otherwise plain facade hides a cavernous space, with high ceilings and huge sliding partitioned walls producing excellent exhibitions in a space you'll want to go back to.

These giant spectral cylinders are great at different times of the day but my favourite time is around dusk when the buildings in the city start to light up. The Gherkin and the new Shard building are framed in the lowest ring then the shifting colours of the sky are almost split in the following ellipses.

Inspired by Dave Eggers’ projects in the USA such as the Pirate Store in San Francisco and Superhero store in Brooklyn, The Monster Supplies Store in Hoxton is home to the Ministry of Stories: A volunteer run organization, founded by Nick Hornby, to help young people with creative writing of all kinds through workshops and free mentoring sessions. The store is the “Purveyor of quality goods for monsters of every kind” with fascinating bottles and tins containing everything from eyeballs to Zadie Smith’s short story Mortal Terror.

This is an amazing place for the summer when the water gets pretty warm or the winter if you are very brave. The only downside is that it can get very crowded in the Mixed pool but the men’s pool is normally quiet and it has a diving board.

An excellent bookshop by Brick Lane, the interior design is incredible and the selection unexpected. A good place to get lost in!