British Airways London Eye
Towering 135m (444ft) into the heavens, right in the heart of London, the BA London Eye is literally an unmissable attraction. The initial engineering problems have long been forgotten and the world’s tallest observation wheel has emerged as one of the city’s most popular attractions. Its unparalleled views of the city, which are particularly impressive in the evening, reach as far away as 40km (25 miles). The experience is one revolution of the wheel, lasting approximately 30 minutes.

Jubilee Gardens, South Bank, SE1
Tel: (0870) 500 0600 (booking line).
Website: www.ba-londoneye.com
Transport: Underground Waterloo or Charing Cross.
Opening hours: Daily 0930-1800.
Admission: £9.50

Camden Markets
The huge Camden Markets could be the closest England gets to free-form chaos outside the terraces of football stadia. They stretch between Camden and Chalk Farm tube stations, incorporating Camden Lock on the Grand Union Canal, and get so crowded on weekends that you'll think you're in the Third World. The markets include the Camden Canal Market (bric-a-brac, furniture and designer clothes), Camden Market (leather goods and army surplus gear) and the Electric Market (records and 1960s clothing).

After Camden Market, the colourful Portobello Market is London's most famous (and crowded) weekend street market and is best seen on a Saturday morning before the gridlock sets in. It's full of antiques, jewellery, ethnic knick-knacks, second-hand clothes and fruit and veg stalls. Starting near the Sun in Splendour pub in Notting Hill, it wends its way northwards to just past the Westway flyover.

Covent Garden
Once a vegetable field attached to Westminster Abbey, Covent Garden became the low-life haunt of Pepys, Fielding and Boswell, then a major fruit and veg market, and is now a triumph of conservation and commerce. The car-free piazza is surrounded by designer gift and clothes shops, hip bars and restaurants. Stalls selling overpriced antiques and bric-a-brac share the arcaded piazza with street theatre, buskers and people-watchers.