Great food and atmosphere in Brixton. Try their Vegan Viking pizza: Cashew cheese, pistachio pesto, red chillies, rocket and mint or their Cauliflower cheese arancini. And who doesn't like a bottomless brunch in the weekends?

The Greenwich Observatory with its green laser beam can transfigure any night sky. If you decide to cross the Thames via the foot tunnel, make sure you look out for the green ray. You can be on one side of the meridian in a minute, and cross to the other side on the next, without even realising it.

Lots of traditional charming country pubs around the area, but it can a bit hit and miss. A really friendly one with amazing food (and a unusually large veggie selection…) is the Beehive in Epping Green; close to the Great Wood. It's friendly enough you dare going there by yourself with the paper and are not at the mercy of local rubbernecks ("the rubberneck" = person who stares at strangers without any sign of guilt)

The Sackler Crossing is part of a route through the 120 hectares of Kew Gardens, designed by John Pawson in 2006. Set low to the surface of the lake, it seems to float across the water.

At first a memory of an old relationship, it quickly became my favourite market. Major highlight for the gin tasting with rosemary on a sunny Sunday afternoon.