London rewards walkers, and a new guide from Hand Luggage Only rounds up eight routes that split neatly into two camps: big-hitter sightseeing trails through the centre, and quieter green escapes through the suburbs and along the water.

The most ambitious is the self-devised London Landmark Route, a mega-loop starting at Kensington Palace in the west and ending at the Tower of London. It strings together Hyde Park, the Royal Albert Hall, the Natural History Museum and V&A, Harrods, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, the British Museum, Covent Garden, Downing Street, Big Ben, the London Eye, Borough Market and more. Even the author admits it can't be done in a day — budget up to five days for the full thing, or just take a section. A free Google Maps list pins every stop.

The Central London Circular Walk covers similar ground in a loop with no fixed start, weaving in St Paul's, Leadenhall Market, the free Sky Garden viewpoint (book ahead), the Tower of London, Shakespeare's Globe, Tate Modern and Westminster Abbey — with a suggested afternoon tea stop at the Ritz near Piccadilly. The Regent's Canal Walk, by contrast, is a leafy day-long route from Granary Square at King's Cross to Little Venice, passing Camden Market, London Zoo and Regent's Park. Cafe Laville in Little Venice gets a shout-out as a coffee stop.

For riverside fans, the Thames Path runs a staggering 185 miles from the Cotswolds to Woolwich. The suggested stretch from Greenwich to Battersea Power Station takes about eight hours, taking in the Cutty Sark, the Painted Hall, the Mayflower Pub and the revamped Battersea shopping and dining district. In the same corner of east London, the Line Art Walk links public art installations between Stratford and North Greenwich — including a ride or slide down the ArcelorMittal Orbit — plus the free V&A East Storehouse, where you can watch conservators at work.

The final three go off the beaten track: the 78-mile Capital Ring (sectioned by Transport for London, passing Olympic Park, the Thames Barrier and Crystal Palace), the Green Link Walk from Epping Forest to Peckham, and the Jubilee Walkway. All are designed to be joined at whatever point suits your hotel or mood.

Who's this for? Anyone who'd rather experience London at street level than underground. The pick-and-mix structure makes the routes work whether you've got a weekend or a fortnight, and mixing one landmark walk with one canal or art route gives you the best of both cities — the postcard one and the local one.