"While most Londoners are squeezing onto crowded tube trains for the morning commute, you don’t need to as you're already in the centre of town."

While central London isn’t primarily a residential area, I’ve lived in Soho and Marylebone so have enjoyed home, work and fun here. I found it surprisingly peaceful in the morning as while most Londoners are squeezing onto crowded tube trains for the morning commute, you don’t need to as you’re already in the centre of town.

I also found that living in zone 1 was the one time in my life I didn’t need to buy a Transport for London Travelcard as I could walk or cycle everywhere. Walking is my favourite though as you have time to look up and see something new on a street you already know well. It’s just as enjoyable to explore the crowded lanes of Soho as it is to walk along the grand Georgian streets of Mayfair, both of which you can do in the same day.

In Mayfair I like to pop in to Sotheby’s to view the artworks ready for auction. I’m always amazed to see big name pieces that will probably be locked away in private collector’s vaults soon afterwards.

I’m a tea-addict so when it’s time for tea, which is often, I head to Yumchaa Soho as the Regent’s Park tea truly reminds me of grass and flowers in springtime. Close by is Berwick Street where I like to pick up fruit and veg or a takeaway lunch at the market - if you visit after 2pm the lunches are often cheaper.

Walker’s Court at the end of the market if a good reminder of Soho’s seedy reputation - it was once the home of the famous strip club Raymond’s Revue Bar - but do walk through as Lina Stores is on Brewer Street. This Italian deli has been around since 1944 and their fresh pasta makes a fine treat.

Cross Piccadilly and you’re into St James where a stroll along Jermyn Street is like stepping back to a more genteel time. I can’t resist the cheese samples at Paxton & Whitfield and their Royal Warrant means the Queen likes their cheeses too.

St James’s Street is lined with old school British companies: JJ Fox has a basement Cigar Museum with the chair Winston Churchill would sit in while choosing what to buy and Lock & Co Hatters created the famous Bowler Hat.

If you’re planning a night in with friends, The King’s Ginger from Berry Bros. & Rudd is a wonderful liqueur that was created for Edward VII as a restorative, so you can feel safe in saying you’re only drinking it for medicinal purposes. Plus, just across the road from here you can see the Sentry Guards outside St James’s Palace and, unlike Buckingham Palace, there are no grand gates and you can walk right up to them.

When it’s time for a rest, I usually stop in St James’s Park to watch the pelicans and other birds who call this their home, before continuing to wander on to see Parliament Square with Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament.

Continue on to Trafalgar Square and you’ll get a magnificent view from the top of the portico steps of the National Gallery. My heart yearns for this if I haven’t been in central London for a few days and this vista tops up my London energy.

I used to be intimidated by the National Gallery as it is an imposing building with paintings that I thought only existed on greeting cards, but I now head to the Espresso Bar and use the ArtStart screens where you can print out a personalised map or a suggested route, which makes it less overwhelming. I don’t like tea in paper cups, which is what they serve in their café, so I usually go across the road to Cafe in the Crypt. I worked in Covent Garden and visited here every week, as well as nearby Cecil Court for browsing in the second-hand bookshops and wondering if the narrow passageways inspired Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter stories.

I am tea-obsessed, so for a proper sit down and to partake in my favourite meal of the day, afternoon tea, I’d recommend Paramount on level 32 of Centre Point, which has incredible views of the changing, afternoon light over London and some of the best tea in the city.