One Day in London — The Perfect Itinerary

8am — Borough Market and the South Bank

Borough Market opens at 8am on weekdays, 10am on weekends. The full breakfast: scallops from the fishmonger, a raclette toastie from the cheese counter, fresh bread from the bakery stalls. Walk north along the South Bank: the skate park below Blackfriars Bridge, the outdoor ping-pong tables at Gabriel's Wharf, the Southbank Centre book market on weekends.

10am — Tower Bridge and the Tower of London

Walk the Tower Bridge Exhibition (the glass floor walkways are 42 meters above the Thames) and then across to the Tower of London. The Crown Jewels are in the Wakefield Tower. The Yeoman Warder tours (every 30 minutes, free with entry) are genuinely excellent — they are not actors, they are serving soldiers. Book the Ceremony of the Keys (free, booking essential, 200-year-old locking ceremony, every night at 9:30pm).

1pm — The City, Leadenhall and Liverpool Street

The Leadenhall Building (the Cheese Grater): walk through the soaring glass atrium. St. Paul's Cathedral: the dome, the Whispering Gallery, the view from the stone gallery. Walk through the Mansion House area — this is the financial district, and it is more dramatic than you expect. Lunch at Spitalfields: the market, the brick-lined streets, the food halls.

3pm — The British Museum and Bloomsbury

The British Museum has 8 million objects; the formula is: one wing, one theme, 90 minutes. The Rosetta Stone (Room 4), the Parthenon sculptures (Room 18), the Egyptian mummies (Room 62). Free entry, always. Walk north through Bloomsbury to Russell Square and the Charles Dickens Museum (48 Doughty Street, where he wrote Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby).

6pm — Sunset at the Tate Modern or Sky Garden

Tate Modern (free entry): the turbine hall, the best free contemporary art collection in the world, and the 10th-floor terrace with views from Westminster to Canary Wharf. Alternatively: Sky Garden (free, booking required) — 155 meters up, the Walkie Talkie building, 360-degree views of the City. Book 2–3 weeks ahead or try for day-of tickets at 10am.

8pm — Dinner in Soho and the West End

For something exceptional: The Ninth (Fitzrovia, open late, one Michelin star, small plates). For something casual: Flat Iron (multiple locations, great steak for £10). End the evening with a West End show: book at TodayTix or the TKTS booth in Leicester Square for same-day half-price tickets.