Ok, promised I would do this for the Dickster and his lovely lady who are visiting for the Troxy gig. Apologies in advance if I get a trifle evangelistic but this is my manor and I personally think that it is the best place in London to visit.
There are plenty of places to stay, Holiday Inns and Travelodges and the like, but if you want to try something a bit different, I have a few suggestions.
The Cable Street Inn is a beautiful hotel, as the name suggests it’s situated on historic Cable Street, scene of the famous battle in the 1930s. The rooms in this place are gorgeous and it is ideally placed to explore the mural on the side of St George’s Town Hall as well as the truly unique Wilton’s Music Hall,
http://wiltons.org.uk/. It is also a stone’s throw from St Katharine’s Dock, Tower Bridge and Wapping High Street, which give a glimpse of London’s industrial past.
The hotel is at
http://www.cablestreetinn.co.uk/Another gorgeous and quirky place is
http://www.40winks.org/, a Queen Anne house tucked away from the bustle of Mile End Road. They even read you a bedtime story.
Or you could try
https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/5939 or
https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/733785, one of which is further away in Bethnal Green but only a short cab ride away from the Troxy. But it is a stone’s throw away from Spitalfields, which for me is the best place to go out in London. And Spitalfields Market on a Sunday would be great for cpaws – just leave the wallet at home and you’ll be ok.
The other is a room or the whole of a Dutch Barge moored in the shadow of Canary Wharf. Very impressive views – a real stunner if you want to impress guests.
On the places to visit front, you can’t beat the Museum of London Docklands, housed in an old rum warehouse in West India Quay, it tells you all you need to know about London and destroys the myth about soft southerners.
http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Docklands/Other unique places include the aforementioned Wilton’s Music Hall and Denis Sever’s House, one most beautiful places in the whole of London, bar none
http://www.dennissevershouse.co.uk/ Should the weather be good enough, I would take the cable car from Excel to the O2 arena, two fairly soulless places but the view is unparalleled. Either that or catch the river bus from Canary Riverside to Bankside Pier (the Tate Modern is here). There is nothing like going under Tower Bridge on the river, twilight would be a good time as you see London in a totally different way.
The East End is home to 75 languages so there are hundreds of great places to eat. Near to the Troxy, I would recommend:
* The Grapes, fish, chips, beer and famous lovey actors.
http://www.thegrapes.co.uk/* The Narrow, if you like Gordon Ramsey (I hate the misogynist fuckwit so I would rather starve, but apparently his food is OK)
http://www.gordonramsay.com/thenarrow/* For amazing Thai food, sandwiched between the man on man sauna and a newsagent is
http://www.newthaigarden.com/ Gorgeous grub, great price.
* Afgan and Iranian food? The axis of evil does serve up some delightful scran
http://www.ariana-restaurant.co.uk/contactus.html It’s a walk away from the Troxy and the bread is great. BYO.
* As far as corporate tuck goes, you can’t beat Rum and Sugar at the bottom of the Museum of Docklands. Great cocktails.
* And, lastly, if you wash up in Spitalfields, eat at the best Chinese restaurant in London (but don’t tell anyone else about it cos it’s busy enough as it is).
www.oldplace.co.ukAs you can probably tell, I love this area and the people (despite the fact that I am not a Cockney, Craig, I have lived here for over 20 years and it is the soul of the city). I could go on for hours but I’ve probably said more than enough. Keep in touch and maybe we can all have a meet up for a beer before the boy. xxx