Less a bookshop than an experience, Shakespeare & Co has to be visited to be understood. A favourite of struggling authors ever since it opened more than 50 years ago, the list of novelists and poets who have grabbed a couple of nights sleep here is extraordinary. One of the most topsy-turvy and downright enjoyable browsing experiences there is.

37 rue de la Bûcherie; Nearest metro: Maubert Mutualité

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Richard Linklater's sequel to Before Sunrise is gentle, honest and quite unlike anything else from a mainstream American director at the moment. It's also a love letter to Paris, and the city manages to enchant you all over again as Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy wander its streets and talk, talk, talk.

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Tucked into a little pocket of peace in between Olympia, Hammersmith and Shepherd's Bush, Brook Green is one of the most peaceful and 'villagey' areas of central London. And in the midst of it's charming backstreets and friendly pubs lies the Havelock, a simple, busy pub serving simply excellent food.

57 Masbro Road, Brook Green, W14 0LS; 020 7603 5374

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