"The City still maintains plenty of its oldest traditions, ensuring their importance alongside the more modern additions."

I was brought up just outside of London but we regularly made the journey into The City for family trips to the East End markets at the weekend. Once I was old enough to travel on my own I started with the areas I already knew and then discovered The City close by, which felt like a well-kept secret as it was so quiet.

The City of London, also known as the Square Mile, made up the whole of London back in Roman times and became established as the capital because of its strategic position along The River Thames, which leads out to sea. Of course, Greater London is much bigger now and keeps on growing, but The City still maintains plenty of its oldest traditions, ensuring their importance alongside the more modern additions.

Even today, The City almost completely shuts down at the weekend as it’s still mainly a Monday to Friday business district. During the week the streets around Bank and St Paul’s are packed full of dark-suited men and woman striding around with a fierce sense of purpose, especially at lunchtime when their time out of the office is limited. But at the weekend you’re more likely to see a family strolling around and taking in the iconic sights or a photographer capturing the stunning buildings at interesting angles.

For all the history here, The City is a relatively small area, which means that walking is the best way to explore. I love the fact that it’s not built on a grid and each turn offers up surprising alleyways or short cuts that can make you feel quite disorientated, but always in a good way as you’re never more than 10 minutes’ walk from a tube station. I’m always happiest in The City when I’ve given into the freedom of not worrying about the best way to go and am simply enjoying whichever route my feet take me on that day as you really can’t get lost for long and you never know what you might find along the way.

From the cobbled walkways of the lovingly restored Victorian Leadenhall Market and the Roman wall remains, which can be spotted by walking along the Square Mile from Tower Hill tube station to Blackfriars, the streets really are lined with history. The City hasn’t stopped evolving though as there’s construction going on all around you and although new metal and glass skyscrapers are climbing towards the sky every day, you can still find patches of green space in one of the many parks and gardens.

My favourite is Postman’s Park, named after the many post office workers who used to have their lunch here. There’s a small pond with large goldfish, plenty of benches and lots of flower beds. There’s also the Watts Memorial: a wall of hand-painted tiles describing the heroic efforts of ordinary men and women who lost their lives while saving others. I find it impossible to read them without crying, so make sure you have a tissue with you and blame the pollen in the air when your eyes start to stream.

Thankfully, this lovely park is next to my favourite museum: The Museum of London. I’ve been visiting here for years, long before I moved to the capital. When I first wandered into The City I think I must have stumbled on the museum accidently, only to discover that I had found a sanctuary where I could investigate all of London’s history at my own pace. I now get to bring my daughter here regularly and we love the modern galleries on the lower floor.

It could seem surprising that I ever found the Museum of London at all as it doesn’t have a ground floor entrance and you need to navigate the walkways of the Barbican complex to find a way in. It took me longer to get to grips with all that the Barbican Centre has to offer, which includes cinemas, theatres, shops, cafés and art exhibitions, but it’s worth persevering with as the little-known but truly massive Barbican Conservatory is a real hidden gem. Only open on Sundays, it’s a tropical wilderness with birds and fish and different levels to see it all from.