Mr & Mrs Smith

On Sundays, make sure you wander down to Columbia Road for some bartering with East End traders at the flower market. Shoppers will love Spitalfields, which opens on Thursdays for antiques and vintage, Fridays for fashion and art, and Sundays for everything. Combine a curry with searching for second-hand clothing on a trip to Brick Lane. If you’ve brought children along, take them to Hackney City Farm (www.hackneycityfarm.co.uk) to spy on the array of donkeys, turkeys and pigs.

Fine steaks are flame-grilled at Hawksmoor (+44 (0)20 7247 7392; www.thehawksmoor.co.uk) on Commerical Street and at Buen Ayre (+44 (0)20 7275 9900; www.buenayre.co.uk) on Broadway Market. The restaurant at The Boundary hotel (+44 (0)20 7729 1051; www.theboundary.co.uk) serves up charcuterie, oysters and rotisserie-cooked fare. It would be hard to find better smoked salmon in London than that served at Forman’s (+44 (0)208 5252 365; www.formans.co.uk) at Stour Road, Fish Island. The views of the Olympic Stadium are also unbeatable, and service is top notch. For dinner-time entertainment provided by lip-synching 'ladies' (of the transvestite variety), head to Bistrotheque (+44 (0)20 8983 7900; www.bistrotheque.com) in Bethnal Green. Sample top-notch Scotch eggs and gargantuan beef Wellington at the Hunter S. (+44(0)20 7249 7191), a fear- and loathing-free boozer in De Beauvoir Town, a short bus/taxi ride away. Expect to share the dining room with a herd of stuffed animals gracing the walls and ceilings.

Call in to Callooh Callay (+44 (0)20 7739 4781; www.calloohcallaybar.com) on Rivington Street for some finely mixed cocktails, including punch served in a gramophone. Loungelover is a cocktail bar spilling out from quirky restaurant Les Trois Garcons (www.lestroisgarcons.com); drink in eccentric baroque and art deco surroundings. Other cosy pubs in the area include The Florist (+44 (0)20 8981 1100) and The Camel (+44 (0)20 8983 9888) on Globe Road, and The Lauriston on Victoria Park Road (+44 (0)20 8985 5404).