Clerkenwell

Clerkenwell has been a centre of skilled trades for centuries — first printing and clockmaking, more recently a dense concentration of architecture and design studios. Exmouth Market's small square of independent restaurants gives it a village feel, while St John restaurant, credited with kick-starting Britain's nose-to-tail dining movement, is a genuine culinary landmark on St John Street. Remnants of its medieval past survive in St John's Gate and the Charterhouse, a former monastery. It sits conveniently between the City and the West End, making it an easy add-on rather than a destination in its own right.