I’ve always liked the twisting back alleys of Clerkenwell and Holborn. They supposedly inspired the settings of Victorian novelist Charles Dickens’s books and, alongside the contrast of architecture in the borough, make it a great area to stroll around in.

I’m always surprised by how easy it is to walk to the big sights and yet how peaceful it is here in the evening. Clerkenwell was once known as Little Italy and there are a couple of great Italian delis here, with Gazzono’s on Farringdon Road and Terroni on Clerkenwell Road - both stocking more pasta varieties than I could get through in a lifetime of visits.

When the sun is shining in London one of my favourite places for lunch is along Exmouth Market as it’s lined with cafés and restaurants with outdoor seating. When I’m with my daughter we grab a takeaway lunch and head round the back to Spa Fields for the adventure playground, but if I’m out with friends it’s fun to have a long lunch that leads into the happy hour at Cafe Kick (4-7pm) as the bar staff often bring their table football out into the sunshine for customers during summer.

As the sun goes down I like to head round the corner to the Little Bay restaurant, which is decorated in a completely over-the-top, red and gold theatrical style but has great food and wine and live entertainment too. You can be sitting there thinking that you’re just enjoying dinner in a slightly quirky looking place when suddenly a deep tenor voice starts belting out operatic classics as well as Elvis and Tom Jones covers. It’s not meant to be serious, although the singers are all professionally trained, so if you catch their eye as they walk around the room you may well find yourself being serenaded.

When it’s one of those nights that feels like it shouldn’t come to an end, more cocktails are called for and I like the Cocktail Lounge at The Zetter Townhouse. It’s another one with some pretty over-the-top decor and looks like a museum where everything your wealthy and eccentric aunt and uncle have collected on their travels has been put on display.

The house gin cocktails are all worth trying and make sure you drop in to see Skippy, the boxing stuffed kangaroo, in the private dining room before you leave.

This area is worth returning to in the daytime as it has some stunning buildings, which is probably why so many architects have set up offices around here. Clerkenwell Green provided the setting for one of the chapters in Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, where the Artful Dodger tries to teach Oliver to pickpocket from wealthy gentleman, Mr Brownlow, but Oliver ends up getting caught. Right near the scene of last night’s excessive cocktail drinking - but a million miles away in terms of cultural pursuits - is the 16th century St John’s Gate, which was part of a priory but also has connections to Shakespeare, Dickens and William Hogarth. My daughter likes the free museum here, which has plenty of screens and buttons to press, plus lessons on how to fire a cannon and dressing-up clothes.

If I’m on my own in the area I’ll probably check out the Leather Lane market for incredibly cheap clothing and Hatton Garden for the wildly expensive jewellery before stopping for a drink at Ye Olde Mitre as I like the history of this little side alley pub, which dates back to Tudor times and, due to archaic laws, is still under Cambridgeshire jurisdiction.

Legend has it that Queen Elizabeth I danced the maypole around the cherry tree, which is now a preserved stump that’s kept in a corner of the pub. It has a limited menu (although it does include the British pub classic of pickled eggs) but I prefer to grab a burrito from Daddy Donkey on Leather Lane.

While most people will tell you to visit Sir John Soane’s Museum and Lincoln’s Inn Fields, I like the quieter Staple Inn Courtyard behind the half-timbered Elizabethan façade next to Chancery Lane tube station. Just go through the archway and there’s a paved courtyard with a fountain, flower beds, trees and shrubs: a true oasis in a busy city.