Finchley - 'U-turn if you want to'

Places of interest
London's Jewish Museum.

McDonald's British headquarters. Pictures of Margaret Thatcher in local Finchley Conservative Association windows. Some nice, suburban parks.

Shopping
Owen and Owen, one of suburban north London's finest department stores, has now closed.

Eating out
Cake shops. Rani's vegetarian curries. Finchley also boasted one of London's first Spud-ULikes. It has also closed.

Nightlife
Warner Village multiplex/Phoenix cinema. Live bands at the Torrington Arms.

Meetings of the Finchley Conservatives.

Matches at Barnet Football Club.

Famous faces
Emma Bunton, Spike Milligan, George Michael and Terry-Thomas were born in the area (Baby Spice can still be seen there on occasional weekends). Lady Thatcher was the most formidable political force to come out of Finchley. Madonna has eaten at the local fish and chip shop, The Two Brothers. So has Jamie Oliver.

Further reading
Heinz Konsalik's Die Grunen Augen von Finchley. Dickens's Oliver Twist (said to feature Barnet Workhouse). Also, have a gander at Hogarth's The March to Finchley.