The City

Sure, some of the city is pretty grey: grey suits walk along grey pavements into grey buildings. However, beyond all that, there’s actually quite a lot of colour. In fact, thanks to areas like Liverpool Street, Farringdon and Barbican, The City isn’t just a Monday-Friday, 9-5 situation. It’s a destination in its own right and one where you’re guaranteed a good time.

There are parts that are a bit glitzy, but then, who doesn’t like donning a suit and pretending they’re James Bond for the night? Hawksmoor Canary Wharf for instance has the feel of a multi-billion pound super yacht, permanently moored in Wood Wharf. There’s a menu of exclusively Champagne-based cocktails which you can drink out on the terrace, watching the city lights make stars of the surrounding water, before tucking in to everything from charcoal oysters to a £70 chateaubriand steak.

However, it’s also jam-packed full of history. The Barbican that gives its name to the arts centre there now was built on the site nearly 2,000 years ago, whilst Farringdon and the iconic Smithfield Market (the largest meat market in the world) has been actively running for the past 1,000.

If you’re looking for a leafy respite, The Barbican Centre now quite literally offers a jungle, with its concrete conservatory full of over 1,500 species of tropical plants and trees. Otherwise there are some beautiful parks – Postman’s comes to mind, with a covered wall of 54 plaques dedicated to ‘ordinary people who did something extraordinary’.

The best food in The City can definitely be found in Farringdon (after all chefs have been flocking there for over a millennium), with Liverpool Street (thanks to its close proximity to Shoreditch) coming in a close second. Old school-Italian, modern European and Indian: it has it all, supported by an eclectic mix of everything from rooftop bars to subterranean speakeasies…

…Discount Suit Company, we’re looking at you.