After moving locations in 2016—from a much-loved but rather out-of-the-way former banana ripening factory in Shad Thames to the majestic former Commonwealth Institute—the Design Museum has grown in both size and stature. Its serene, cathedral-like interior is sensitively designed by John Pawson, his first UK public build, while permanent exhibitions track the key designs that have shaped the modern world.

Located among the greenery of Kensington Gardens in London’s Hyde Park, the Serpentine Gallery and its nearby Sackler Gallery—with an extension by Zaha Hadid—have held some of the most exciting exhibitions in the city in recent years. There is also the much-anticipated annual Serpentine Gallery pavilion commission, which since its inception in 2000 has showcased the work of architects like Zaha Hadid, Frank Gehry, Bjarke Ingels, and Francis Kéré. Last year, a black pavilion by Mexican architect Frida Escobedo was on view from June to October.

Although East London’s vibrant markets and independent shops have stolen much of the spotlight in recent years, the atmosphere at West London’s Portobello Market remains unrivaled. Besides the market selling antiques, vintage clothing, and all manner of curiosities, this winding stretch of Victorian-era street also boasts a cinema, numerous bakeries and brunch spots, as well as noteworthy street art, including a Joe Strummer tribute to the late lead singer of The Clash.

No design nerd’s visit to London would be complete without a trip to the V&A Museum. You could potentially spend a week roaming its 145 galleries and still not see everything; the permanent collection alone includes over 2.3 million objects spanning some 5,000 years. Those visiting in the month of September are in for an additional treat, as the museum becomes a hub for the London Design Festival and plays host to installations by both established and emerging designers.

Sitting at the center of a block of three unassuming 1930s terraced houses on a quaint street in Hampstead, 2 Willow Road is one of only two modernist houses owned by the UK’s conservation organization, the National Trust. Completed in 1939, the terrace was designed by architect Ernő Goldfinger, the mastermind behind 1960s marvels Balfron Tower and Trellick Tower, who lived there until his death in 1987. The house, which contains Goldfinger’s collection of modern art and his own bespoke furniture, is treasure trove for fans of modernism.

Known as the destination for luxury interior design, art, antiques, and fine furniture, Pimlico Road is great for window shopping—or, of course, real shopping, if you have serious cash to burn. The area, sandwiched between Chelsea, Belgravia, and Pimlico, has a village-like feel with a close-knit community of shopkeepers including furniture artisans Pinch, Soane, Linley, Promemoria, and Howe. Brompton Road—another design hotspot—is just a ten-minute bus ride away.

Arguably the most beautiful department store in the world, Liberty is housed in a fairytale Grade II-listed Tudor revival building built in 1924, seven years after founder Arthur Lasenby Liberty died. A maze of cave-like rooms is laid out around three central atriums, stacked high with merchandise and artistic displays. The store’s fabric department—where visitors can admire Liberty’s world-famous patterned, print, and floral fabrics—is a must-see.

At a remarkable pace, London’s Kings Cross has gone from an underused industrial wasteland into the city’s most bustling creative quarter in the past decade. And with a Thomas Heatherwick-designed shopping mall in the works, the transformation shows no sign of slowing. Among the new arrivals is British designer Tom Dixon, who has relocated his HQ to a former Victorian coal yard building there. The building hosts the brand’s flagship store and showroom within seven old railway arches on the ground floor, as well as offices and a gallery. An onsite restaurant and cafe opened in September 2018.

Claiming the title of “London’s only floating bookstore,” Word on the Water operates out of a 50-foot-long barge berthed on the Regent’s Canal, just around the corner from the British Library. Beloved among London’s literati, the store was saved from closure in recent years by a tweet from science-fiction author Cory Doctorow, who came out in support of the store when the canal trust threatened to have it removed from the water.

While Caruso St John—architects of the recent Tate Britain Milbank site expansion—created Damien Hirst’s 37,000-square-foot Newport Street Gallery, when it came to designing the gallery’s restaurant, Hirst took full artistic control. Opened in 2015, and functioning like an immersive artwork, Pharmacy 2 is a drug store-themed restaurant featuring etched-glass windows depicting DNA strands, marble inlaid flooring, and a number of site-specific Hirst artworks, like his Medicine Cabinets and butterfly Kaleidoscope paintings.

Its theater, gallery, and iconic concrete architecture are what draw most people to the Brutalist Barbican Centre, but its lesser-known botanical garden is also well worth a visit. Surprisingly, the conservatory garden is the second-largest in London and contains over 2,000 species of tropical plants and trees. Escape London’s gray skies and stop by for tea on a Sunday afternoon.

The view from Rafael Viñoly’s Sky Garden, also known as the Walkie-Talkie building, is unlike any other in the city. From here you can survey London’s ever-growing sprawl with the city stretching up to the north, Tower Bridge and the Shard to the south, and Canary Wharf to the east. It’s free to explore the tower’s three stories of landscaped public gardens, but make sure to book in advance. In addition to observation decks, there are various bars and restaurants that climb in price the higher you go, with an exclusive private dining room at the building’s summit.

Tucked between railway arches and an architectural salvage lumberyard, Bermondsey’s Maltby Street Market is a hub for those who take their food seriously. Maltby sells everything from organic vegetables to the most decadent egg waffles, and also serves as the perfect pit stop during a day out in the area—the Textile Museum and White Cube Bermondsey are within a six-minute walk.

In the hustle and bustle of Shoreditch—a hub for independent shops, creative studios, and many attention-seeking bars and restaurants—the Rochelle Canteen offers an alternative experience. Accessed via a hard-to-find door in the wall, the semi-secret restaurant was set up in 2006 in the old bike shed of a former Victorian school. Although originally intended to serve the artists and designers working in the studio’s covered school, it wasn’t long before the canteen’s short seasonal menus attracted discerning diners from far and wide.

London has a wealth of renowned markets, but perhaps the most beautiful is the weekly Columbia Road Flower Market. Every Sunday, this road of Victorian shops is taken over by market stalls selling seasonal blooms and houseplants. For the best bargains, visit around 3 p.m. in the afternoon when the crowds begin to subside and prices are slashed.

Those looking to explore a little further afield should head to Bexleyheath, a leafy London suburb where you’ll find the Arts & Crafts home of William and Janey Morris. Called Red House—on account of its fiery-red brick stock—the idyllic house was built by architect Philip Webb in 1859 and is now open to the public through the National Trust. Surrounded by peaceful gardens, the house gives a glimpse into Morris’s forward-thinking design concepts, like merging outdoors and in, and its embrace of communal living.