36 Hours in East London

KNOWN for its cutting-edge bars, offbeat galleries and ethnic restaurants, East London is by far the city’s trendiest area (just ask Ralph Fiennes and Keira Knightley, who both live here), crowded with shoppers during the day and clubbers at night. Wear comfortable walking (and dancing) shoes to discover its neighborhoods east of the Tower of London, namely, Shoreditch, Bethnal Green, Hackney Wick and Dalston. You’ll find some of London’s best fashion, craft and design businesses, mostly in renovated historic buildings and warehouses off leafy squares and winding streets. Though the current crop of creative merchants echo the area’s 18th-century history as a center for silk weaving and furniture making, East London’s artists today hail from anywhere but the past.

Friday

5 p.m. 1. GALLERY AND GAZING

The striking brick-and-glass gallery White Cube (48 Hoxton Square; 44-20-7930-5373; whitecube.com) is filled with well-known works by established contemporary British artists from Tracey Emin to Damien Hirst and Sam Taylor-Wood. The owner, Jay Jopling, was an early convert to serious art selling in East London, opening here in 2000 (there are two other locations in the city), and has been credited — or by longtime residents, sometimes berated — for making this area frighteningly fashionable. If it is a balmy evening, join the young painters and posers on the square’s lawn in front of the gallery for memorable people watching.

6 p.m. 2. COCKTAILS WITH ART

The streets near Hoxton Square are chock-full of bars, clubs and galleries, but the Queen of Hoxton (1-5 Curtain Road, Shoreditch; 44-20-7422-0958; queenofhoxton.com) is all three in one, with live bands and D.J.’s, art installations, photographic exhibitions, fringe theater and even film screenings. Mellow out during happy hour over a cocktail in the games room, take a Hula Hooping lesson or listen to a ukulele group jam on the rooftop terrace while watching the sun set. Signature cocktails — with names like Screwface and Nicky’s Last Fling — are all ￡6.50 (about $10 at $1.56 to the pound). Later, if you feel like dancing off your dinner, return to the nightclub.

8 p.m. 3. BASEMENT FOIE GRAS

Terence Conran, the designer and groundbreaking London restaurateur of the 1980s and ’90s, moved east to Shoreditch in 2008 to convert a Victorian warehouse into a development called Boundary (2-4 Boundary Street; 44-20-7729-1051; theboundary.co.uk). On the ground floor is the British-themed Albion, which serves shepherd’s pie (￡9.5) and grilled mackerel (￡9.5) in its bright cafe and sells Lyle’s Golden Syrup in its food shop. There’s a hotel on the higher floors. But the main event is the Boundary Restaurant and Bar, which manages an air of elegant French dining in the high-ceilinged, brick-arched former basement. One week’s menu included suckling pig, breast of veal and haunch of venison. Dinner costs about ￡40 without wine.

Saturday

9 a.m. 4. ETHNIC BREAKFAST

Brick Lane, one of London’s most famous immigrant streets, is also one of its most fragrant. The lingering smells of cumin, cardamom and turmeric emanating from more than 50 Bangladeshi restaurants will no doubt wake you up, though the scent of baking bread and the sight of a long line will direct you to the Brick Lane Beigel Bake (159 Brick Lane; 44-20-7729-0616). This one-room shop is one of the last holdovers from the Jewish immigrant community that thrived here in the 1800s. Try the famous salt beef bagel sandwich with mustard and gherkins (￡3.5), and wash it down with a cup of sweet mint tea from a nearby North African cafe.

10 a.m. 5. SHOP TILL YOU DROP

Not far from the top of Brick Lane is Cheshire Street, charmingly filled with eclectic shops. Browse for vintage British clothing (schoolboy scarves, tweedy jackets and Barbour coats) at Levisons (1 Cheshire Street) and for globally sourced home and kitchen design products at Mar Mar Co. (16 Cheshire Street; 44-20-7729-1494; marmarco.com). If it’s a ’50s prom dress you’re looking for, head to Beyond Retro (110-112 Cheshire Street; 44-20-7613-3636; beyondretro.com), where you can pick through everything from military jackets to designer handbags.

Noon 6. FRENCH ACCENT

Be sure to make a reservation at the cheese and charcuterie bistro Brawn (49 Columbia Road; 44-20-7729-5692; www.brawn.co), a popular offshoot of a well-known London wine bar, Terroirs, and a hit with the neighborhood hipsters. The serious “pig” menu includes everything from brawn to prosciutto, terrine and rillettes. Completed with a slice of the Hackney wild sourdough and a glass of merlot, lunch pays tribute to French Huguenots who occupied this area in the 1700s. For vegetarians, there are dishes like Cheltenham beetroot and mache salad, but really, you’re here for the scene as much as the salami. Lunch is about ￡25 per person.

2 p.m. 7. YE OLDE HOUSE

Take some lessons in seriously retro home decorating at the Geffrye Museum (136 Kingsland Road; 44-20-7739-9893; geffrye-museum.org.uk, free). The building, a sprawling 18th-century almshouse, is an artifact itself. Inside, 11 period rooms are set up with authentic furniture and objects to show how middle-class Londoners — those with the funds to stay comfortable with a bit of style — lived from 1630 (no slouching in those chairs) to the present, represented by a sleek London loft. Part of the fun is in the details: real playing cards from the 18th century on a table in the 1790 room; overwrought Victoriana in 1890; a tiny-screened but mod-looking television set in 1965.

4 p.m. 8. WATER WALK

Head north on Shoreditch High Street until you hit Regent’s Canal, nearing its 200th anniversary and once used to transport goods around the city. On the lively pedestrian and cycling path, walk under arched low bridges and take in the varied architecture. You’ll see scenic locks, new residential buildings, abandoned warehouses and houseboats complete with floating gardens and outdoor fire pits. For a break, order a glass of wine at the bohemian Towpath Cafe, on Regent’s Canal by Whitmore Bridge (44-20-7254-7606).

8 p.m. 9. NATIONAL TASTES

Hoxton Furnace (1 Rufus Street; 44-20-7613-0598; hoxtonfurnace.com), opened in 1999, proudly describes itself as one of Hoxton’s oldest restaurants. The specialty is pizza, with toppings like mozzarella, basil, Gorgonzola, pear and radicchio (￡9.50). If you’d rather stick to a nationalist theme, take a table at Rivington Grill (28-30 Rivington Street; 44-20-7729-7053; rivingtonshoreditch.co.uk), where the menu lists dishes like rabbit tarragon pie, deviled lamb’s kidneys and nettle soup; dinner costs about ￡30. If you wish to hit the clubs, rest and then head out after midnight. Though the hottest East London club is always a moving target, you’re safe starting explorations at Hoxton Square.

Sunday

9 a.m. 10. GOOD MORNING, POLAND

Famous for its perfectly swirled lattes and cappuccinos, Leila’s Shop (17 Calvert Avenue; 44-20-7729-9789) in Shoreditch serves Polish fare and breakfast all day: eggs cooked in earthenware pots, pumpernickel toast, sausages; about ￡10. It’s also a store for foodies, with baskets of root vegetables and wheels of cheese, and cookbooks to peruse at communal tables.

11 a.m. 11. FLOWERS AND FUN

To catch the beauty of East London market day, head to the Columbia Road Flower Market (columbiaroad.info/flowermarket.html), a colorful spectacle of stalls with blooms and plants and even banana trees. Sixty shops line the street, including art galleries, pastry and antiques shops and gardening stores. Spitalfields (www.spitalfields.co.uk), London’s oldest market, is also out in force, with 110 stalls and plenty of adornments for budget-conscious fashionistas, as London’s young designers head here to showcase their often still-drying prints and T-shirts, sold next to vintage handbags and cheap dangly jewelry. (If you’re here on Saturday, check out Broadway Market, broadwaymarket.co.uk, in an area where traditional “pie, mash and eels” shops rub shoulders with trendy bistros and bars.) Make a last stop at the Dove Freehouse (24-28 Broadway Market; 44-20-7275-7617; dovepubs.com), the oldest drinking establishment in the market. It specializes in Belgian beers, with more than 100 to choose from.

IF YOU GO

The Boundary (2-4 Boundary Street; 44-207) 729-1051; theboundary.co.uk) has 12 rooms and 5 suites, each inspired by a different designer or design movement, like the Charles and Ray Eames and Bauhaus rooms, in Terence Conran’s Boundary development. A rooftop bar, grill and garden offer panoramic views. Summer rates from about ￡220, or $340.

Town Hall Hotel & Apartments (8 Patriot Square, Bethnal Green; 44-207) 871-0460; townhallhotel.com) offers individually decorated rooms with vintage furniture in a renovated Edwardian Town Hall with an Art Deco lobby and designer bathrooms and kitchens. Doubles from ￡148 this summer.