The V and A houses a public collection of prints and drawings of every kind imagineable from old master drawings to photographs, playing cards, fashion plates and wallpapers. You have to select what you want to see from the collection http://collections.vam.ac.uk/and book in advance. The behind-the-scenes route up to the study room of v and a is a treat alone (pictured)

Let your imagination run wild in this surreal London Park. Crystal Palace is a great place to walk around dinosaurs and get introduced in prehistoric vibes.  Sculptor Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins was commissioned to make lifesized models of newly discovered dinosaurs back in 1952. They were the first dinosaur sculptures in the world, pre-dating the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. They have been recently remodelled in 2002. Note: family and children friendly over the weekends

Archive collection of surgical instruments - anatomy and pathology - dental instruments - medicine and surgery (basically a lot of dead things in jars, really interesting to draw from).

Westerns Laundry is a restaurant and wine bar (natural wine) in a converted laundrette that does brilliant small plates (focus on seafood).

If you've lived in North London then you probably know all about The Faltering Fullback and their legendary multi-level beer garden