London - Islington

Islington, one of North London’s most mixed and exciting boroughs, bustles both day and night with shoppers, diners and culture vultures. Its chief axis, Upper Street, runs for a mile north from the Angel to Highbury Corner, lined with restaurants and cafés ranging from stylish Ottolenghi to funky Gallipoli; pubs like the King’s Head; and smart shops, such as Abigail Ahern. It’s got more than its fair share of theatres and venues, too, from the upmarket indie Screen on the Green cinema to the Union Chapel (a wonderful Nonconformist church that now hosts an excellent programme of gigs) and performance spaces like the Almeida Theatre and the Little Angel Puppet Theatre. West of Upper Street, well-heeled green garden squares surrounded by elegant Georgian townhouses conform to Islington’s elite image, while to the east, along and around Essex Road, everything feels much more mixed; this is a great area for secondhand shops, ethnic restaurants and down-to-earth boozers. Islington’s largest green space, Highbury Fields, lies just beyond Upper Street’s northern end, en route to the Emirates Stadium, home to Arsenal Football Club.