Earlham Street - London shopping

The west end of Earlham Street is packed with market stalls hawking cheap T-shirts and casual clothes. Sprawling over several stalls is The Wild Bunch florist, which offers a wide array of good-quality blooms. The shops lining the street are mainly funky fashion chains, including global surf-skate-style brand Stussy at No. 19, futuristic club label Cyberdog at No. 9 and expanding British chain All Saints at No. 5, which sells cool clothes and jeanswear for men and women.

Blakes Hotel - London hotel

Set on a lovely residential block, in an upscale neighborhood crowded with BMWs, Land Rovers and the occasional Lamborghini (a Lamborghini dealership is just around the corner), a 10-minute walk southeast of Glouchester station, 20 minutes' walk from the Victoria & Albert Museum, this is London's couture hotel, the brainchild of fashion designer Anouska Hempel (Lady Weinberg). This property remains under the watchful eye of Lady Weinberg, but is no longer affiliated with the Hempel.

Patisserie Valerie - London restaurant

A Soho legend, the original Patisserie Valerie opened in neighbouring Frith Street in 1926 and moved to Old Compton Street after World War II. The cramped interior is a 1950s Parisian time warp, with a cake-stuffed glass counter at the front, a high ceiling, Formica tables and Toulouse-Lautrec cartoons on the walls; there’s also a brighter, airier 50-seat first-floor cafe.

Charing Cross Road - London shopping

The name “Charing Cross Road” gets bibliophiles pulses racing. Together with offshoot Cecil Court (see left), it is London’s main centre of new, secondhand, specialist and antiquarian bookshops. Check out the commemorative plaque on the site of the defunct Marks & Co, whose address gave its name to the book and film 84 Charing Cross Road.

InterContinental London Park Lane Hotel

Since the dissolution of the Savoy Group, this hotel has joined forces with The Berkeley and The Connaught (the latter was closed for refurbishment at inspection) to form the formidable Maybourne Group. This property remains among the most impressive of London's classic deluxe hotels, but it has slipped a half a notch since the last inspection, falling behind the Ritz Hotel, The Berkeley and The Dorchester. The main complaints here revolve around service and maintenance; in spite of the overt polishing evident in most areas of the hotel, there appears to be a lot of sweeping-under-the-rug going on here. Many of the accommodations are freshly renovated, but charging the same rates for the aging, unrenovated units feels like tomfoolery. Still, this hotel retains a more cultivated British air than the Dorchester, which makes it more appealing to traditionalists. But overall, the accommodations and public areas at the latter are more engaging and feel more in touch with modern London's heartbeat. That said, Claridge's hotel's art-deco flair, its Gordon Ramsay offshoot and the Macanudo Bar are among the sexiest sights in the city.

Rules - London restaurant

Open continuously since 1798, and owned by just three families since then, Rules in Covent Garden is the capital’s oldest restaurant and it positively drips with history. Venerable diners have included William Makepeace Thackeray, Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene, Charlie Chaplin and Clark Gable.