From a Spanish roof garden to Spanish art and the best Spanish eateries, Spain in London blogger Jon Yeomans guides us through the perfect Spanish day out in London for our World in London series.

The last census recorded around 22,000 Spanish people living in London – around 40% of the entire Spanish population of the UK.

London has long been in thrall to Spanish customs and tastes – from the rash of tapas bars in the West End to the Iberian brand names colonising the high street. Zara, Mango and Bershka are among the Spanish stores making an impact on British wardrobes and wallets.

There are few better places to start a day in “Spanish” London than on the west side of town, where generations of Spanish people have settled.

Portobello Road on a Saturday seethes with Spanish tourists. It is also home to R Garcia & Sons, a Spanish deli selling everything from olives, chorizo and paella pans to Fillipino brand chocolate and papery turron sweets. Head to the café next door for great coffee and slow service, or stop by Galicia restaurant further up the street for an authentically grungy tapas experience.

Heading into town, step out of the shopping and eating whirlpool of Kensington and into a slice of Granada. The Kensington Roof Gardens sit atop an old department store and feature a Moorish-influenced garden based on the Alhambra palace. Visitors are advised to phone ahead to check opening times.

Continue the trail of Spanish traces in London with a visit to the National Gallery, home to a fistful of fine Spanish art. Goya, El Greco and Zurbarán are all well represented, while Velázquez’s The Rokeby Venus is one of the highlights of the museum’s collection.

Round off the day with tapas in one of the West End’s plethora of Spanish restaurants. Barrica in Fitzrovia won the Time Out award for Best Spanish Eating and Drinking 2010 for dishes such as pork and oxtail meatballs, and chicory leaves with picos cheese.

Barrafina in Frith Street is a popular and authentic take on a Barcelona tapas bar. (Hispanophile owners Sam and Eddie Hart based it on Barcelona’s legendary Cal Pep) while Tierra Brindisa on Broadwick Street is the Soho outpost of the acclaimed Borough Market deli, which specialises in cured hams.

Or for a more informal atmosphere, try Pix in Covent Garden. This pintxo bar offers snacks at £2.50 a bite along with great wine – a fine way to end the day.

See more of Jon’s recommendations at www.spaininlondonblog.wordpress.com. We reckon this is a pretty comprehensive list, but if you’ve got more tips for enjoying Spanish culture in London, share your knowledge in the comments below.

This morning, Visit London was lucky enough to get a sneak preview of the British Museum’s latest blockbuster, Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler.

As curator Colin McEwan explained to a large assembled crowd of press (Charlotte Higgins from the Guardian was there; so was Newsnight Review’s Natalie Haynes) it’s the latest (fourth, and last) show in the British Museum’s ruler series. (You’ll remember the hype over the First Emperor from 2007 and Hadrian from last year.) With Moctezuma, the museum has moved westwards and forwards from Shah ‘Abbas, taking a look at one of the principle protagonists in the history of the Americas.

If, like us, you know little about the history of Mexico from the 1500s, we’re sure you’ll find it a fascinating exhibition. Moctezuma was a contemporary of our own Henry VIII; but you’ll find little in the early stages of this exhibition to suggest any comparison with the English king whose 500th anniversary attracted so much attention earlier this year.

Inside the British Museum’s stunning Reading Room, evoking, Colin McEwan tells us, the basin of New Mexico, are several spaces dedicated to a balanced biography of this famous leader.

Moctezuma was the 9th elected ruler of the Aztec people. The British Museum has decided against using the term Aztec, favouring instead the term Mexica, beautifully pronounced “Mesheeka” by the lovely softly Spanish-accented guy on the audio guide. Part deity, full-on warrior, commissioner of public sculpture and buildings, orator, husband, father (he had 19 kids), Moctezuma’s world steadily comes to light in the early part of the exhibition.

Many of the objects on display - intricately carved stone vessels for putting the hearts of your human sacrifices into, stone skulls to adorn a temple with – appear to be from a much older period. Inside the central room dedicated to warfare (directly below the apex of the Reading Room’s beautiful ceiling) stands a stone pyramid that looks more like something from Roman times than just last century.

The masks that dominate the Moctezuma publicity materials are also on show, in a space covering details of the many Mexica gods. Yes, you might’ve been thinking that the blue-faced, big-toothed guy on the posters was Mr Moctezuma himself: in fact, it’s the mosaic mask of the god Tezcatlipoca.

Our favourite pieces include a gorgeous deep terracotta coloured Pulque jug laced with swirling linear designs, said to evoke liquid; to us, it looks more like an extremely modernist doodle. We liked the details about Moctezuma’s diva-ish eating habits: he ate alone, behind a screen, served on new plates that were smashed once he was done. And we loved the bright turquoise double-headed serpent, especially the idea that it was probably worn as a necklace.

Then suddenly, we round another corner of the exhibition and are plunged into 16th century Europe; more specifically Spain. It’s like stepping out of the British Museum and into the Thyssen Bornemisza. And so the tragedy of Moctezuma unfolds. When he saw the Spanish strangers arriving on the Gulf Coast in 1519, he offered them presents and hosted them in his palace… Moctezuma died soon after. Whether he was killed by the Spanish, or stoned to death by his own people ashamed of his “surrender” remains unclear.

The British Museum’s new exhibition allows you to make up your own mind.