An obvious choice but no 'best of London' list is complete without the Barbican

Coffee roastery, café, pizzeria and cocktail bar inside an old warehouse just around the corner from Broadway Market.

A special place, a shop which is like a museum, worth popping in to feel the humanness and heritage of London. And if you are looking for rope, compass or any sailing supplies, this is the place. There is no shop like it.

As a keen runner, running through Greenwich Park and on to the river side I see the Thames Barrier, which is not only the worlds second-largest movable flood barrier (after the Oosterscheldekering in the Netherlands) but is also an iconic site on what is fast becoming a recognised stretch for developers including the 02 and Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication.

Where 1984 of George Orwell got its inspiration from, the craziness of a real ministry of propaganda.