Abbey Road

In 1969 The Beatles released one of their most famous albums, 'Abbey Road'. Why the name? Because it was recorded at the studios of the same name, that just happen to be located at 3 Abbey Road in the St. John's Wood area of London! The cover art for the album is, of course, the classic photo of the band walking single file on the zebra crossing (pedestrian walkway) across Abbey Road.
For true Beatles fans it's a must-do thing to visit Abbey Road and literally walk in the footsteps John, Ringo, Paul and George on that very same zebra crossing.
Abbey Road Studios, which opened in 1931, has had an illustrious history. The part of the building that fronts onto the road is in fact a Georgian townhouse built in the 1830's - it's an English Heritage Grade 2 listed building - and doesn't exactly conform to one's minds-eye-picture of a major music recording studio.  Numerous world-renown artists have recorded at Abbey Road including Michael Jackson, Hank Williams, Placido Domingo, Burt Bacharach, Alicia Keys, Green Day and Adele. The movie scores for 'The Empire Strikes Back', 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', 'Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince', 'Iron Man 2' and 'Prometheus' were also recorded there. The studio is still in full operation today.
I have only visited Abbey Road once. It was a weekday in May and I arrived at about 11.00am in the morning. It was quite a scene when I got there, with Beatles fans of all ages from around the world 'staging' by zebra crossing, waiting for an appropriate break in the traffic to walk out onto the road, turn for the mandatory photo-op and proceed to the other side. I noticed a group of  Japanese tourists crossed bare-footed - I later learned that that is what the true aficionados do! I suspect that whatever time of day, month or year one visits Abbey Road the scene would always be the same - a good number of folk hanging around paying homage to the fab four.
Whether one's a die-hard Beatles fan or not it's an enjoyable thing to visit this famed London Street. It's quick and easy to get to. The closest underground station is St. John's Wood on the Jubilee line - it's just a few stops north from central London. Upon exiting the tube station stroll along Grove End Road for about 5 minutes and then you'll be there. Also, St. John's Wood happens to be a very pleasant, affluent, leafy residential neighborhood - it's a nice place to check-out.
For my money, excepting The Beatles album, the  most famous LP to be produced at Abbey Road Studios is Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon'. Any arguments? - no, I didn't think so.

A Little Off the Beaten Path

If you like the idea of eating in a river-side restaurant owned by a world-renowned chef, walking three miles or so along a less traveled path besides the Thames and taking in some fascinating history en-route then this may be of interest to you.
England is a small island nation with a big history of maritime trading, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries. As far as London is concerned the docklands that served this industry were located to the east of the City of London (let's say to the immediate east of Tower Bridge by the Tower of London). These docklands - that largely fell into disuse in the first part of the 20th century - were located in places such as Wapping, Limehouse and Canning Town in East London. I think it's fair to say that it would not have been advisable for visitors to wander into these rundown, blighted neighborhoods until, perhaps, 25 years ago.
One of the biggest forces that turned this decay around was the truly massive office & residential development known as Canary Wharf. Canary Wharf is located about four miles to the east of Tower Bridge on the north bank of the Thames. From afar it looks like a city within a city. The developers built there because of the acute lack of office space for the financial services industry within the traditional City of London and the availability of extremely large tracts of cheap industrial wasteland close to the hub. With the advent of Canary Wharf large numbers of affluent office workers became a feature of these former dockland areas, and soon the penny dropped that the vast number of abandoned wharehouses that line the river up to the City should undergo 'adaptive re-use' and be renovated as residential lofts.
Lovable chef Gordon Ramsay opened 'The Narrow', a river-side pub located  in Limehouse, several years ago. It's a really fun place check out - the bar is great and the restaurant features typical, high-quality pub grub. Having eaten there I can say that I believe it shares the three characteristic hallmarks of a Ramsay restaurant: the ingredients are first class, the food is cooked to perfection and the price is not too unreasonable (The Narrow is undoubtedly Ramsay's least expensive restaurant and the prices are just a bit above those of a descent London pub). http://www.gordonramsay.com/thenarrow/
Assuming the weather is co-operating, a good way to walk off the carbs after a lunch or dinner is to head back to Tower Bridge on foot. Pick up the signposted 'Thames Path' right outside the pub, head west (away from Canary Wharf) and you can't go wrong. Some of the Path is directly above the riverbank, other parts jog in one block and follow the street behind the wharehouses that front on the river (then quickly it jogs back to the water). The street part is just as interesting as the river as it's sided by former brick-built industrial buildings that are now high-end residential lofts. Their facades, however, haven't changed and the ambiance, particularly at night, is super cool.
About half way back when in Wapping Wall you'll come across another pub, The Prospect of Whitby. I'd say this is a must-visit pub and perfect for a night cap. The Prospect of Whitby is the oldest riverside pub in London and dates back to 1520. It has had many illustrious patrons including Charles Dickens, Samuel Pepys (the famous diarist), and Hanging Judge Jeffreys - there's still a noose hanging out over the Thames. Again the ambiance of the pub does not disappoint. http://www.taylor-walker.co.uk/pub/prospect-of-whitby-wapping/c8166/
Okay, let's talk about the logistics of this excursion. The closest tube station to The Narrow is Limehouse which is on the Docklands Light Rail line (DLR) - this can be accessed from Tower Bridge tube station which is on the District and Circle lines. The pub is about a five minute walk south from the station. I should mention that the area is not particularly gentrified right outside the station but that all changes when one gets about two to three blocks from the river. (If this happens to be a concern to you then perhaps take a taxi from the Tower of London or Tower Bridge). If you keep walking west along the Thames Path after leaving  The Narrow and The Prospect of Whitby you'll end up at Tower Bridge, and therefore Tower Bridge tube station.