SOAS university has a small gallery space dedicated to exhibitions about Asia, Africa and the Middle East. There's a small but beautiful Japanese zen garden on the rooftop (currently closed for refurbishment)

Sometimes when I wake up it feels like I am at sea watching a big ocean liner pass by. It is the view from my home in one of the two stepped concrete apartment blocks that make up the Brunswick Centre in Bloomsbury. When you visit skip the chain stores of the shopping centre below (except for the excellent Renoir Cinema) and instead get an invitation to one of the small but gorgeous flats with their winter gardens or just wander through the spectacular concrete A frames and across the vast sun drenched terraces on podium level.

Open until late night.  Make sure to sit down for the best hand pulled noodles

This is one of the only platforms on the London Underground that is not bombarded with billboard advertising. It's a reminder to myself of how an uncluttered environment can give you so much more room to think.

Serving dangerously good cocktails and boasting one of south London’s most innovative menus, this amazing place to eat, drink and hang out with friends is housed in an equally spectacular architectural salvage shop.