The Culture Mile, City of London: A festive day out

I discovered this during an unconventionally festive trip to the 'Culture Mile' - a vibrant neighbourhood in the north west corner of the City of London dedicated to cultural creativity.

The mile, sitting between Farringdon and Moorgate, has its own Business Improvement District (BID) and often holds events, such as art workshops, history tours and markets.

Our afternoon started at London Wall Place, with the restored remains of the Roman city wall and medieval St Alphage church tower (Image: Charlotte Anderson)

As I found out, it also makes for a perfect Christmassy (or winter) day out - although not in the way you might first expect.

Despite the chilly air, my partner and I were transported to the warmth of the southern hemisphere at our first stop: hip Australian restaurant Barbie Green.

Situated in London Wall Place, Barbican, the restaurant - with its "outside in" feel, palm trees, and bright acrylic decorations - made me want to have an Aussie Christmas on the beach.

Food full of sunshine (Image: Charlotte Anderson)

The food was just as sunshine-y.

We opted for the "tea-total" bottomless brunch, which included two brunch dishes each, paired with more sparkling kombucha than I have ever drunk.

The attention to detail with the service meant that there was no FOMO (fear of missing out) from not drinking: the "dry dragon" fermented tea was served in an ice bucket and with a chilled glass.

I didn't feel I was missing out with the 'dry dragon' kombucha (Image: Charlotte Anderson)

My partner ordered Barbie Green's fancy bacon roll and their "award-winning" banana bread sandwich, while I went for the smoked salmon royale and the blueberry buttermilk pancakes.

It was all gorgeous, but the pancakes were the star of the show - sweet, indulgent, and perfectly melt in the mouth. 

Very full (and content), we ventured into the Culture Mile, stopping at bits of history and architecture you might normally miss. 

We weaved through to the Guildhall Art Gallery on a very cultured walk (Image: Charlotte Anderson)

Walking route website Footways was very useful here, with its digital map of the Culture Mile helping us find interesting spots like St Mary Aldermanbury Garden, The Barbican highwalks, and the Holborn Viaduct.

A big chunk of our afternoon was spent at Guildhall Art Gallery, home to the City of London Corporation's art collection of more than 4,500 works.

London's Roman amphitheatre was rediscovered by archaeologists working on the site of the new Guildhall Art Gallery building in the 1980s (Image: Charlotte Anderson)

This gem was free to visit, and brought together Victorian oil paintings, kaleidoscope prints and even a Roman amphitheatre.

My favourite part was the Anne Desmet: Kaleidoscope/London Exhibition, featuring 150 artworks - many offering a fresh, captivating perspective on the city.

Anne Desmet's Kaleidoscope/London exhibition offered a captivating perspective on the city (Image: Charlotte Anderson)

From here, we had just enough time to stop and take some photos underneath Christmas lights on the way to the Barbican Centre, to see the Royal Shakespeare Company's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Again (there's a theme here), we were whisked away to a warmer climate through a play imbued with mischief and magic.

A Midsummer Night's Dream was a performance full of mischief and magic (Image: Charlotte Anderson)

A stunning performance - and an unexpected festive treat - A Midsummer Night's Dream was the highlight of the day.

I chose to cosy up with a hot chocolate, but there was more than enough warmth provided from the laugh-a-minute play with its enchanting stage design.