With many of the area’s highlights just a short walk away, your new student accommodation at iQ Aldgate puts you at the heart of the action. Spend your weekends browsing stalls selling everything from vintage fashion to avant-garde urban labels at Old Spitalfields Market. At Whitechapel Gallery, catch an exciting contemporary exhibition in a space that once premiered the works of modern masters like Picasso and Pollock. Sample one of Brick Lane’s famous curries, meet your friends for French cuisine at romantic bistro Chez Elles, and spend the rest of the evening drinking and dancing at chic nightspot at the Old Truman Brewery. At iQ Aldgate, you’re just three minutes on foot from Central House at the London Metropolitan University, and eight minutes’ walk from Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry. To reach the rest of the capital’s campuses, walk one minute to your closest bus stop, or five minutes to Aldgate East tube station. On weekdays, roll out of your double bed, grab your books from your bedroom desk, then stop at Exmouth Coffee Company for an artisan espresso on your way to class. At the end of the day, come home to your fully furnished studio. Stop for a chat with your friends on the reception’s comfy sofas, then head upstairs to get dressed for a session in the gym. Rinse off with a quick shower in your private ensuite, and wander through to the kitchenette for something to eat, before finishing your assignments in the dedicated study room. Use the 100MB Wi-Fi to research your sources, knowing that with all bills included you can spend as much time online as you like. With work out the way, meet your friends for a few rounds of pool in the games area, then invite them over for dinner. Check the property’s busy social calendar for film screenings in the cinema room, or for parties in the sky lounge on the 19th floor. When you need a change of scene, head out for the night instead – try gin connoisseur’s paradise The Oliver Conquest, or traditional East London pub The Pride of Spitalfields. No matter how late you get home, the contents insurance and 24-hour security will guarantee you a good night’s sleep.

• Whitechapel/Brick Lane