Spitalfields

Spitalfields combines the old East End of Jack the Ripper, curryhouses, cool-cats of East End, tourists of Brick Lane and some of the sky-scrapers of City. It's one of those places where there is a lot to see and experience in a relatively small area. There's a wide range of architectural styles from 18th century Hugenot houses to modern sky-scrapers and suburb-like rows of houses. In the weekends the place gets really crowded from tourists.

Sights:

• Brick Lane and the neighborhood around it is full of impressive street art. Just walking around these streets is an attraction in itself. Paintings and sculptures on the rooftops and walls change all the time so it's worth visiting every once in a while.
• Near the Spitalfields Market you can find various sculptures by different artists on the streets below the sky-scrapers. Some of those are really good.

Markets:

• Every Sunday Brick Lane Market offers vintage clothing, street food, records, antiques and more. This market used to be full of hipsters, but now there are also a lot of tourists. Definitely worth visiting even if you don't want to buy anything, but beware the large crowds.
• Old Spitalfields market is an inside market hall with stalls selling, for example, hand crafts, clothes and jewellery. Bit too touristy and expensive for my taste.

Shopping:

• Obviously the markets offer much to shop, but there are few good shops as well. Brick Lane Bookshop sells books related to London, whether it's travel guides, history or hidden walks you're looking for.
• Rough Trade East is a legendary record store that may have slightly higher prices than some of the other places in town, but the selection is phenomenal. This is a good place to get to know what is in right now. There are loads of listening posts to explore new releases. They also have a café, books, live gigs and talks with artists.

Eating:

• When it comes to Spitalfields it's hard to list any individual restaurants. Good street food from all over the world is served on the street during the market, but there are some stalls usually in nearby warehouses and old factory buildings as well. 
• Brick Lane Beigel Bake offers really good and cheap beigels. The place doesn't look that nice, but there is always a line, which just suggest that the product is worth queing.
• South end of Brick Lane is full of curry houses. Everyone tries to get you into their restaurant and the competition of customers is fierce. You can get really good deals if your up for some haggling.

Drinking:

• Funnily named pub Dirty Dicks is a nice old pub with brick arches and great beers on tap right next to Liverpool Street Station. This pub gives you a feel of the old East End. There has certainly been a pub in this spot for centuries. 
• Under Dirty Dicks, there is a nice cellar cocktail bar WM Barker and Co.
• Commercial Tavern looks really great from out and inside. The only problem is that it can get really crowded on a weekend night. If you're out on weekdays, it's a great place to hang out sipping beers.

Cafés:

• Right at the centre of hustle and bustle of Brick lane market, there is a fantastic coffee place, Nude, where you can buy tasty espresso drinks and everything related. They have fresh coffee beans that they roast themselves and the personnel is really knowledgeable.

 Areas around Spitalfields: Shoreditch, City, Whitechapel, Bethnal Green