Fork, Spoon & Flat White

Drop your bags at your hotel and take a moment to orient yourself. The south bank is your home for the day, so somewhere around Waterloo or Southwark puts you perfectly in range of everything ahead.

Start the trip with some depth. The Imperial War Museum's permanent galleries cover both World Wars and beyond with remarkable archival material — quiet, affecting, and free to enter. A grounding way to spend a south London morning before the food rush begins.

A short walk from the museum, Franco Manca in Waterloo is where slow-proved sourdough pizza meets unpretentious surroundings. The dough ferments for days, the tomatoes are Neapolitan, and the queue moves fast. Order something simple and let the crust do the talking.

Cross Lambeth Bridge into Millbank for a long afternoon in Tate Britain's rooms. The collection spans five centuries of British art, from Tudor portraits to Hockney and Bacon, displayed in generous natural light. Let yourself get unhurried and lost in a single wing.

Tucked inside a deconsecrated church beside Lambeth Palace, the Garden Museum holds a quietly captivating collection of horticultural history — antique tools, botanical art, and the tomb of the Tradescants. It's a genuinely surprising detour before the evening begins.

End day one with a proper occasion dinner. The Cinnamon Club occupies a grand Victorian library in Westminster, and its modern Indian cooking — spiced lamb, river fish, elegant rice dishes — is as considered as the architecture around it. Book ahead and dress the part.

Head to Borough Market first thing, before the midday crowds. Traders are still setting up, the coffee is strong and the sample culture is generous — Monmouth Coffee is the institution here, but wander freely. Pick up a pastry, a wedge of aged cheese, or a scotch egg for breakfast. This is London's most serious food market and it rewards unhurried browsing.

Cross the river to Westminster and join a guided tour of the Palace of Westminster. The Gothic interiors — the Lords' chamber, the Central Lobby, the ancient Westminster Hall — are more theatrical in person than any photograph suggests. Tours run most days and must be booked in advance.

Steps from Parliament, Westminster Abbey has been the setting for every coronation since 1066. The nave is extraordinary — soaring, stone-cold, and layered with monuments to poets, scientists and monarchs. Poets' Corner alone justifies the entrance fee.

Take the tube to Mayfair for lunch at Sketch — the Parlour or the Gallery depending on your mood and wallet. The cooking is technically precise, the interiors are extravagant (the egg-pod bathrooms are famous for a reason), and the afternoon tea or à la carte lunch is a genuine event. Treat yourself.

The V&A is one of the world's great decorative arts museums, and an afternoon here barely scratches the surface. Fashion galleries, Islamic art, European sculpture, cast courts — pick two departments and go deep. The building itself, with its tiled refreshment rooms, is worth seeing as an object.

Wind down the day at El Vino on New Bridge Street, one of the City of London's most storied wine bars. It has been pouring for journalists and lawyers since the 19th century. Order a glass of something serious from their list, find a corner, and let the day settle.

Start the final day with Banksy Limitless London — an immersive survey of the artist's work that pulls together stencils, installations and street art documentation in a way that makes the politics feel as fresh as the wit. A punchy, visually loud way to wake up.

Before the curry houses take over, make time for London's original working-class comfort food. A traditional pie and mash shop — the kind with tiled walls, wooden benches and green parsley liquor poured over everything — is an East End institution. Find one in the surrounding streets and order the lot: pie, mash, liquor, and possibly jellied eels if you're feeling brave.

Studio Voltaire is an artist-led space in Clapham that supports emerging and mid-career artists with ambitious, often experimental commissions. The programme changes regularly and the work tends to be genuinely challenging — a good counterpoint to the market spectacle of the morning.

Brick Lane is as much a sensory experience as a street. Walk the full length — past the Beigel Bake, the vintage shops, the mural walls — and stop for a serious flat white at one of the indie coffee roasters that have taken root here in the last decade. The east end of the street has some of the best independent espresso bars in the city.

A short detour north brings you to the Clockmakers' Museum — a compact but deeply satisfying collection of timepieces spanning five centuries. Marine chronometers, pocket watches, lantern clocks: the craftsmanship on display is extraordinary and the scale keeps it from being overwhelming.

Return to Brick Lane for the trip's most celebratory meal. The street's Bangladeshi curry houses have fed Londoners for generations — pick one that's full and fragrant, order a balti or a karahi, tear into the naan, and order more than you think you need. It's the right way to close out an eating trip.

For a final drink, make your way to Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on Fleet Street — a warren of low-ceilinged rooms rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666. It's been a haunt of writers and journalists ever since. Order a real ale or a port, find a booth and raise a glass to three days very well eaten.