This list of recommendations is in honor of Annie, world’s best cousin, who’s about to visit London. I lived in London for a year so this is my stream-of-consciousness, off-the-top-of-my-head list of favorite places there. (NB: it’s been ten years [!] since I lived there so this is by no means a comprehensive or updated list. It’s also not an “insider guide” to the coolest spots in London, because, again, it’s been ten years and I’m not that hip.)

• Borough Market

Probably my favorite place anywhere in the world, Borough Market is a huge outdoor food market huddled under raised train tracks with everything you can imagine: butcher shops, fresh fruit and veggies (all the mushrooms!), seafood hawkers slinging whole fish through the air, bakery & coffee stalls, prepared foods ranging from fresh paella to wild game sausage sandwiches to samosas. I could go on and on. I recommend a weekday late morning to early afternoon wander so you can start with some pastry and coffee and sample your way through the cheeses and other snacks before grabbing whatever peaks your interest for lunch. Also, leave time for a wander from the market down to the Thames. The narrow alleys are full of cool and interesting spots — my fave is the ruins of Winchester Palace tucked away on Pickfords Wharf.

• Victoria and Albert Museum

My favorite museum in London. They have excellent rotating exhibits, so check their site for what’s on (I saw their David Bowie exhibit when I lived there and it was incredible). Bonus points for finding my favorite spot in the museum: a quiet, out-of-the-way corner with old wooden staircases and doorways from the Middle Ages mounted on the walls under a glass ceiling (hint: it’s in the Medieval & Renaissance section).

• Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese

The pub with the best name in all of London, it was rebuilt in 1667, served as a watering hole for Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, and others, and has two underground levels that really play up ye Olde London vibes. Great to pair a visit with a stroll up Fleet Street to admire the Royal Courts of Justice building.

• Ain’t Nothin’ But The Blues Bar

Fantastic live music every night of the week in a tiny bar. Vibes

• City of London Distillery

Dark and buzzy basement gin bar where I first discovered that good gin doesn’t taste like pine air freshener.

• Camden Market

The funkiest spot in London, great for shopping for unique gifts and browsing the more unique fashion options (looking at you, Cyberdog).

• Walk on the south bank of the Thames

I recommend the stretch from Tower Bridge to the Millennium Bridge pedestrian footbridge to check out the Tate Modern and the reconstruction of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Southbank from Waterloo Bridge to Westminster is also nice, if slightly more touristy/busy given the proximity to Big Ben and the London Eye.

• Admiring the graffiti in Shoreditch

Shoreditch is definitely hipster central (or it was a few years ago at least) and it doesn’t disappoint with its collection of cool graffiti. Great for an afternoon stroll with stops at some hip coffeeshops (there are plenty) leading to a night out at the bars in the area that I’m not cool or current enough to know about.

• Smoking Goat

Excellent Thai food in Shoreditch.

Honorable mentions:

• Fuckoffee: irreverent coffee shop in Bethnal Green I had the pleasure of stumbling on during a visit to London a few years ago.
• Sizzles: a hole-in-the-wall spot for cheap and delicious English breakfasts near Petticoat Lane Market.

That covered more than I was anticipating, but I love London so much I couldn’t help myself.