Originally Posted by teflon

Dennis Severs' House, up near Liverpool Street Station, is well worth a visit (and has to be pre-booked). It's not quite historically accurate, but gives you a really good idea of what it would have been like to live in the area through the years. It'll also be nicely decorated for Christmas.

And if your username is a hint to your age, you'll probably also enjoy a wander down from there through Old Spitalfields Market to Brick Lane, where you'll find trendy clothes shops, bars full of hipsters, and people selling tat from mats on the ground. And lots of curry places. I've often had a pint or two by the time I make it to any of them, so can't remember which is the best (other than it being the one with the picture of Princess Diana inside), but do watch out: the touts trying to entice you inside will always tell you their restaurant is the best, and will usually conveniently forget the 'free drinks' or '10% off' offer they mentioned at the door by the time you get the bill...