Photo: MarkHillary

So, you need to impress a special someone with a big night out in London? I recommend you head to Soho – it’s central, it’s buzzing pretty much every night of the week, and there’s a vast range of places to go to suit whatever mood you’re trying to set for the evening – romantic, sexy, energetic. I have delicately selected my favourite spots  for a top night out with the object of your affections in Soho – for cocktails, dinner, theatre, and then two choices for an after-theatre drink. If this tour de romance doesn’t do the trick, you’re probably not meant for each other...

The English Tea Room at Brown's Hotel

Afternoon tea is one thing that London does better than anywhere else. Yes, it’s a bold claim, but I’m certain that it’s a correct one. What are the crucial ingredients? Tea that’s made with real leaves, not nasty bags; pastries made on-site; gorgeous surroundings where you’re encouraged to linger. And yes, a glass of champagne if you’re so inclined. Here are my five favourite places for tea in London – no trip to the city is complete without a stop at one.

Photo: Adam Tinworth

In many respects, London comes in to its own in the autumn: no one expects it to be warm anymore, but with plenty of layered dressing and a sturdy umbrella at the ready, there’s a lot to be said for the joys that the city has to offer during the crisper months. Below are three events in London that I won’t be missing this season; be sure to check them out if you’re in town.

Summer is up and cities across the globe have planted palm trees and trucked in tons of sand to urban riverfronts to create the feeling of a lazy day at the shore. Urban beaches are a hit and Momondo guides you to our favourites.

Beach Life in London

Photo: Mrlerone

This year marks my seventh summer in London; the seventh time that I have chosen to spend the hottest months in a place where it’s impossible to pack away your winter clothes for the season because it’s quite likely that you will find it necessary to wear a cashmere jumper at least a couple of times in August. Being a passionate lover of sunshine, at some point at the height of every summer I find myself shivering at a table at a sidewalk café, clutching a mug of tea for warmth and thinking, ‘What is wrong with this place?’ But the rest of the time I find that making the most of the limited sunshine on London’s beaches is enough to keep me here for another summer.

‘London’s beaches?’ you are thinking, ‘isn’t that illogical?’ And you are right: this is a land-locked city. But innovative Londoners laugh in the face of geography: just because nature hasn’t given us a beach, not exactly, doesn’t mean that we can’t approximate the seaside lifestyle. It just requires a bit of imagination. In the past, some witty entrepreneurs have dumped piles of sand in parking lots to create urban beaches, but with no signs thus far this year of these grown-up sand piles, Londoners are looking elsewhere for beach living in their neighbourhoods.

Photo: Richard Holden

Like all newcomers to London, I was astonished on the first sunny spring day when I arrived way back in 2004 to see that my local park (Clapham Common) had be overrun with people who were dressed as if they thought they were the beach. "What’s going on?" I said to my flatmates. "Don’t these people know that it is only 15 degrees? Where are their shirts?"

After five years of this, however, I understand: sunshine is at a premium even in the most summery months in this grey city, and thus at the first sight of a beam through the clouds Londoners will do whatever they can to soak it up. And this is particularly reflected in the city’s approach to al fresco dining: on days when any self-respecting continental (and Southern) European would be indoors, possibly by an open fire, Londoners will brave low temperature and even the occasional burst of raindrops in order to enjoy a drink or a meal in the fresh air.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in my part of East London, a place that was not designed with outdoor dining in mind but which, with gentrification, is now dotted with tables planted wherever possible.