With the opening of their new Medieval & Renaissance gallery, the Victoria & Albert Museum threw a massive renaissance ball on the last Friday of January. We were there to enjoy the new gallery, but the ball itself was a quasi-exhibition in itself with lots of fancy costumes and masks on display!

Galvin at Windows is the latest restaurant in London to gain a sought after Michelin Star, after many close attempts in the past few years by head chef Andre Garrett. The London Insider was lucky enough to hear the leaked news before the official publication of the Michelin 2010 guide, so we went last weekend to check out the award winning food!

The first Vincent van Gogh exhibition in London in more than 40 years proves he wasn’t just a painter who had brushes with insanity and creative genius. The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters, on show now until 18 April at the Royal Academy of Arts, pairs 65 paintings and 35 of his letters to suggest he was just as apt with a pen as a paintbrush.

An investigation by the London Evening Standard has revealed that many London boroughs and councils are raking in lots of money, to the tune of millions of pounds, from parking fines issued on their streets. Drivers and businesses are seething in what they see are unfair and unjust restrictions.

The 2009 Veolia Environnment Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition offers the rare chance to see where the wild things of this world are and what they’re doing when we’re not looking.

This famous Chinatown dining establishment has seen better days when there were queues snaking out onto the street during busy times. However, the interior offers a glimpse of a time when a bowl of noodles was only £1. While the wallpaper certainly looks faded, this place still serves up great food in big portions, but at small prices.

Originally a market where chickens and vegetable roots were sold, Spitalfields have survived through the centuries and at the moment is reliving its glory, with the market packed on the weekends and full of interesting stalls selling anything from vintage clothing to hand-carved furniture. With its easily accessible location on the edge of the City, there isn’t a more perfect place in London to visit this winter!

Camden is known for a lot of things — the lock market, a canal, heavy music, leather and people who like black. In a matter of months it has also become known for what goes on inside a tall black and washed stone building at Camden High Street’s center: blues music and soul food. So popular has its stage become that on a recent Sunday jam night the host band looked at its sign-up list and couldn’t find the end. The menu, filled with staples of the American south, has been getting pretty good reviews too.