Brunswick

What is it?

Love it or loathe it, you can’t miss it. The Brunswick is Bloomsbury’s great concrete ziggurat, a stepped block of flats stacked above a long, open-air street of shops, cafés and restaurants, a couple of minutes from Russell Square station. It went up between 1967 and 1972 to designs by architect Patrick Hodgkinson and was Grade II listed in 2000. A big refurbishment finished in 2006, and finally gave it the cream paintwork Hodgkinson had wanted all along, a nod to the Georgian terraces around it.

These days it’s less about clothes shopping and much more about eating. There’s Greek food at Nostimo, plus Riding House Bloomsbury and Dage Noodles. Pho arrived this year, as did Rise and Fold, a bakery doing Asian-inspired pastries like Japanese salt bread and kimchi focaccia. For something sweet, there’s Gail’s, Amorino gelato and Patisserie Mille, and bubble tea fans are spoilt with Truedan and T4. It’s handy for errands too, with Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Boots all here, plus Tian Tian Market for Asian groceries.

Why go?

For a cheap(ish) bite before a film, a browse in one of London’s best second-hand bookshops, or just to gawp at one of the city’s most striking bits of 1960s architecture.

Don’t miss

Curzon Bloomsbury, the arthouse cinema that’s been part of the Brunswick since it was first designed. It was known as the Renoir for years, and one of its screens still carries the name. There are six screens in total, one of which is home to Bertha DocHouse, the UK’s first cinema dedicated just to documentaries. Expect filmmaker Q&As and a programme you won’t find at your local multiplex.

When to visit

A summer evening, when the outdoor tables fill up and the whole strip feels a bit continental. Weekday afternoons are calmer if you want to take your time in the bookshops.

Time Out tip

Book lovers, head down to Skoob Books in the basement. It’s one of London’s great second-hand bookshops, with more than 70,000 titles crammed onto its shelves. It's especially strong on academic books, philosophy and literature, so you can easily lose an afternoon in there.