Very often London throws up a little piece of secret magic that most people would never know about.

At the ME Hotel on the Strand, any passerby can step into the raucous and glittering era of real rock stars, such as the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Marianne Faithfull, Paul McCartney and Kate Bush.

“It Gets Loud” is a free exhibition of legendary photographer Gered Mankowitz who was in the right place at the right time as British rock exploded in the Sixties.

Wander around the lobby of the hotel to enjoy stunning album cover shoots or studio sessions including the Eurythmics, The Jam, The Yardbirds, Slade, Oasis and others.

It’s a real treat, especially seeing the brooding sensuality of Hendrix and the young Stones in Swinging London with their fancy new cars.

The works on show span decades of rock history, but it's the intimacy that lingers. His 1966 portrait of the Rolling Stones on Primrose Hill — all five of them, Mick, Keith, Charlie, Bill and Brian, preserved in a C-type print signed and numbered by Mankowitz himself — is the kind of photograph that feels both monumental and oddly casual, as if greatness hasn't quite registered yet. That quality runs through the whole collection: stars caught between poses, between moments, between the myth and the man.

I think I have two favourites: the divine Marianne Faithfull in the Salisbury pub in 1964 and Mick Jagger with an Aston Martin DB6 in 1966.

Allow an hour and go on a weekday morning when the lobby is quieter. This is photography that rewards unhurried looking.

Eat nearby: The Strand on a budget

The Strand isn't naturally cheap-eat territory, but the independents are there if you know where to look.

Crown Café, 136 Strand — A family-owned Portuguese café sitting where the Strand meets Aldwych, right by Waterloo Bridge. Sandwiches, paninis, hot meals and homely drinks, with a queue out the door at lunchtime — always a good sign. The pastel de nata is worth saving room for. £5–8.

Brunel The Sandwich Shop, The Strand — A small independent directly on the Strand, opposite the High Court, making sandwiches to order. The chicken escalope with salad is a favourite, and prices are honest for the location. Seating is limited to outdoors, so go prepared to walk and eat. £5–7

WatchHouse, Somerset House — If you'd rather sit properly, the WatchHouse café at Somerset House, just steps from the ME Hotel on the Strand, offers excellent coffee and a rotating selection of sandwiches and baked goods in one of London's finest courtyard settings. A step up in price, but the surroundings are free. £7–10.