Special treat: The Charlotte Street Hotel in Fitzrovia is a convivial boutique hotel with spacious rooms, a lively bar and restaurant, and is perfectly placed for the West End. Doubles from £250.
Nid range: In a prime location in the heart of Soho, the Z Hotel (2) is a series of interconnected town houses with friendly staff. Doubles from £149.
Budget: Dean Street Townhouse in Soho feels like a luxury hotel, but sometimes has excellent prices if booked at the right time. Doubles from £95.
Have a celebration drink at Paramount(103 New Oxford Street, WC1; 020 7420 2900; paramount.uk.net), which has 360-degree views of the West End and beyond. Booking is essential, dress smart-casual.
Begin with the venerable discount theatre ticket booth, TKTS, in Leicester Square (tkts.co.uk): try to arrive well before opening time (9am) to get the best choice of shows for the evening.
Walk back to Trafalgar Square and join the free 60-minute taster tour at the National Gallery (nationalgallery.org.uk), which houses the superb collection of 600 years of Western European art.
Take an early supper at Hawksmoor Seven Dials (11 Langley Street, WC2H 9JG; 020 7420 9390; thehawksmoor.com), which has a midweek express menu (two courses £22, three courses £25) from 5pm to 6pm.
Cross over the Golden Jubilee pedestrian bridges. Walk along the South Bank and back over Waterloo Bridge.
Turning down the ramp on the Embankment side to the terrace of Somerset House (www.somersethouse.org.uk).
