Tabitha Joyce

Rei Kawakubo, the Japanese designer behind Comme des Garçons, is responsible for this genre-defining concept store. Now in a Haymarket spot three times the size of the Dover Street original, it’s a jaw-dropping playground for style lovers, with eccentric spaces dreamt up by the mix of designers displaying here – from Simone Rocha to Salomon. The Rose Bakery, tucked away on the top floor, is an in-the-know spot for a piece of cake inside this chaotic, communal home of free-range fashion.

Tucked between the Fulham and Gloucester roads is an old-fashioned pub – with Chesterfields and Victorian partitions – that has the propensity to feel like the Mediterranean. On any summer’s evening it’s buzzing, with people perched on the wall outside sipping Aperol Spritzes. The south- facing terrace is always fully booked on sunny weekends. And in the winter diners will find reliable British favourites such as beef Wellington on the menu. A classic London pub that isn’t sticky or stuck in a rut.

With its Art Deco chequered floor, resident pianist and cucumber finger sandwiches at tea, Claridge’s is about as classic as it gets. Yet it also has an eye on what’s cool: in the gargantuan subterranean spa with its own Josh Wood hair salon, for example. And in the John Pawson-designed ArtSpace Café, with its gallery-like patisserie counter and access to an actual gallery of rotating free-to- enter exhibitions from artists such as Damien Hirst and Mary McCartney. Hard to beat for its all-out excess.

Entering Hyde Park from Kensington High Street is far more peaceful and scenic than the Park Lane corners (though you might spot the Household Cavalry trot past). In the summer children happily splash in the Diana Memorial Fountain and families seek out the best picnic spot in the wildflower meadows. The members of Britain’s oldest swimming club have the Serpentine lido to themselves in the early morning year-round, but from mid May regular punters can dive in after 10am, and then warm up with a bacon buttie and a cup of tea at the café.

This 220,000-work collection captures the essence of British society. There is a vibrant painting of Zadie Smith by Toyin Ojih Odutola as well as oils of Shakespeare and Lord Byron, and the annual Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait exhibition is always a joy. For anyone passing, it’s worth stopping just to look at the bronze doors scribbled with the faces of 45 women by Tracey Emin.

The V&A is instantly calmer than its neighbouring Science and Natural History museums. On a warm day crowds gather to paddle in the elliptical courtyard pool. Inside there is always something new to discover. The blockbuster fashion exhibitions (Alexander McQueen, Christian Dior, Balenciaga) are definitely worth the entry price, but visitors shouldn’t miss highlights in the permanent collection including Renaissance works by Botticelli and statues by Michelangelo. Exit through the gift shop – the best museum store in London.

Probably best known for its Egyptian collection – which is the most comprehensive outside of Cairo and includes the Rosetta Stone – the British Museum is filled with every kind of antiquity imaginable. Discover world-famous objects from ancient Iran, 5000 BC China and Roman Britain. It’s jaw-dropping that all this is housed under one roof.

A long-time fixture of the London contemporary art scene, influential collector Charles Saatchi spearheaded the YBAs – the group of young British artists that included Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin. These days, his cool Chelsea headquarters is a great setting for shows from artists such as French photographer JR. Visit on a Saturday to tap into the Duke of York Fine Food Market, which sells lunch options from dim sum to doughnuts.

The boutique store – a much smaller, more curated version of Harrods down the road – has always been known for its exceptional stylists. The beauty department on the ground floor is a world of its own, with a stellar cast of visiting practitioners. But the appointment of Kate Phelan (formerly of Vogue) as creative director sees Harvey Nichols enter a new era; one where the beauty and fashion align more clearly and the fifth-floor restaurant hosts cool restaurant pop-ups including Trullo and Homeslice.

Just around the corner from the magazine meets lifestyle brand’s offices (and across the road from Chiltern Firehouse), the Monocle Café draws a cool crowd. Coffee drinkers are dressed in the seamless organic T-shirts and workwear jackets for sale in the Monocle Shop, a few doors down. The cortados are top-notch and the cardamom buns are from Fabrique, a hit Swedish bakery in Hoxton. If there’s a seat at the table right at the rear, nab it and enjoy the back catalogue of Monocle magazines.

From 8am every Sunday, market traders fill cobbled Columbia Road with blousy bouquets of peonies, hydrangeas and sweet peas. There are also bulbs and potted houseplants, and in December, Christmas trees. Beyond the flowers is a line of Victorian shopfronts stocked with crochet baskets at Straw, timeless womenswear at Colenimo and vintage furniture at B Southgate. Arrive early and pick up a breakfast cardamom bun from Pavilion, although there’s a better chance of a deal just before the stalls close at around 3pm.