My London: Tilda Swinton

Which London hotels do you stay at?
No 11 Cadogan Gardens, Chelsea. I love it because it's a house and you can pretend you're at home.

What advice would you give to a tourist?
Head to the Thames.

What are your favourite products?
I love Diptyque candles. The ones I always have in my home are Baies and Feu de Bois.

What do you miss when you're out of London?
I miss my friends, but they often come to stay at our house, sometimes for weeks, which I love.

What are your favourite home comforts?
An open fire whenever there is any excuse, a kitchen garden where we eat all our meals, and my children.

What would you do if you were Mayor for a day?
Subsidise all cinemas in the capital so that everyone could get in for next to nothing.

What is your life philosophy?
Always ask, 'What's the alternative?'

What are your extravagances?
I love having fresh flowers (purple and white hydrangeas or ranunculus). I would prioritise buying them over paying a gas bill any day of the week.

What was the last album you bought?
Brian Eno's Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. I think he's a visionary.

Do you have a favourite view of London?
Looking down Kensington Gardens. My brother and I used to skateboard and rollerskate there.

What is your current project?
Julia, a film by Erick Zonca. We shot it in Mexico, which was fantastic. I play an alcoholic woman who kidnaps a child and goes on the run.

Which is your favourite London shopping street?
Marylebone High Street. There's something about the light that makes it feel very cheerful.

What is your earliest London memory?
Spending time in Kensington Gardens and not being allowed to have a Mister Whippy ice cream by my nanny.

What are your favourite late-night hangouts?
The top of a windy hill, the beach, or my bed.

What is your favourite item in your wardrobe
My kilt. It's incredibly comfortable.

What are your favourite London discoveries?
Sir John Soane's Museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields, Dennis Severs' House in Spitalfields, and the rays you can stroke at the London Aquarium.