Borough Market & South Bank

The Borough Market under the Victorian railway arches at London Bridge is London's oldest and most famous food market — trading has taken place here for over 1,000 years. Today, it is a gourmet paradise: over 100 stalls with handmade cheese, fresh bread, oysters, chorizo rolls, Ethiopian coffee, raclette, paella, and British pies.

The stars of the market: Kappacasein (Grilled Cheese Sandwich to die for, queue unavoidable), Bread Ahead (doughnuts that are a religious experience), Monmouth Coffee (the best coffee in London), Brindisa (Spanish chorizo straight from the grill). Eat your way through — it's the best way to experience London's culinary scene.

From Borough Market, it's a perfect walk along the South Bank: along the Thames, past the Tate Modern (free!, former Bankside Power Station, now one of the best modern art museums in the world), Shakespeare's Globe (reconstruction of the Elizabethan theater, tours and performances May–October), the London Eye (£32, 30 min. Ferris wheel ride with panoramic views) to the Southbank Centre with its skaters, street performers, and book stalls under the Waterloo Bridge.