Founded in 1828 the museum houses around 67,000 specimens many of which are now extinct or endangered. My favorite is the skull of a Bottlenose Whale from 1860.

One of my favourite places to snoop around is the food market open on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It's always bustling with crowds so great for people watching. You can get the best of anything here which is why it's hard to resist spending a small fortune.

The AA is Britain's oldest school of architecture, but anyone can take advangte of the great work going on there. You can catch really interesting public lectures and free exhibitions throughout the year. There are also occasional installations and event launches, a bijoux cafe and brilliant bookshop. A great place to hang out with the builders of the future.

Everyone should visit this absurd restaurant once in their lifetime. Its over-priced, mediocre food but the decor and ambiance is like nothing else in theatrics and campery. You are met on arrival by a white velour 'napkin' artfully screwed up on your diner plate. Absorbent, not? Fabulously awful, yes.

In terms of materials and form, these galleries offer so much. On an abstract and typographic level, so useful. This is a section of an altar frieze, from the Eye Temple at Tell Brak (N.E. Syria), dated 3300–3000BC. The Egyptian rooms take the tourist weight; these spaces are much quieter and amenable time spent drawing and thinking.