Islington

NI is the postcode famous for being the home of Prime Minister Tony Blair, the birth of New Labour. Islington was heavily bombed during the war it is a patchwork of modern council estates. In the past 10 - 15 years it has undergone a huge process of gentrification and is now one of the most exclusive and sought after London addresses.

The area is deceptively central; it's just northeast of King's Cross, and only a pleasant half hour's walk to get to Convent Garden and the West End. In fact, this makes a beautiful walk on crisp winter's day, taking in the Tate Modern and second hand bookstalls and street theatre along the South Bank.

Upper Street is the main Islington drag, running for about a mile from Angel tube station on Pentonville Road, it is lined with cafes, bars, pubs and designer boutiques, a great place to shop. The new Angel Centre has a multi-screen cinema and the plenty of chain shops. For more down to earth shopping, Chapel Market is a traditional daily London market.

The area abounds in good pubs, The Hemingford, Draper's Arms and Albion in Barnsbury are excellent choices, as is The Crown in Cloudsley and the award winning, organic, Duke of Cambridge to the east of Upper Street down towards the canal.