Neigbhorhoods Surrounding Our London Apartment Rentals
The neighborhood surrounding our London vacation rental apartments is unbeatable, located in the heart of Kensington, Chelsea and Notting Hill. These areas are undoubtedly the most sought after areas to stay in when you visit London and are walking distance, a short bus or subway ride to London Landmarks, the Museums, and Sites. Each of our London vacation rental apartments is surrounded by restaurants, café’s, brasseries and markets so you can step outside and enjoy this vibrant City from a ringside seat. The superb, central location is the reason we only offer apartments in these neighborhoods. Sometimes, people ask us about apartments that are located outside of Central London (i.e. Barnes, Harrods Village across the river, the Docklands etc). From our own experience living here, we find the commute by train or long tube ride to and from Central London to be exhausting at the end of a long day of site seeing. You invest a lot to come here and you will also want to experience the joy of living in this historic ancient City.
Kensington & South Kensington Neighborhood
Kensington Gardens & Palace
Kensington Gardens and playgrounds are a short walk from the London apartment rental, wonderful for running, walking, picnicking, bicycling, roller-skating, etc. Kensington Palace is located here, where Princess Diana and Princess Margaret lived. There is an interesting museum which houses the Court Dress Collection, including some of Princess Diana's ball gowns.
Museum Row
The Kensington London short term vacation rentals are 10 minutes walk to the Natural History and Science Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum, The Royal Geographical Society from which famous Victorian explorers such as LIvington embarked to discover the source of the Nile, The Royal Albert Hall where many concerts are held and The Geological Museum. It doesn’t stop here: you are a short walk to The Royal College of Music where young hopefuls put on operas in the small theatre in the college, the Royal College of Art behind the Thanks very much for your note.+A and more.
All of these Museums have been recently remodeled thanks to the generous pool of funds from the British Lottery. The displays are excellent, always changing and are highly recommended for everyone, including children. The V+A, as the Victoria and Albert Museum is called, houses important fashion, decorative arts collections as well as Islamic art and an unbeatable dress collection of garments and fashion from the 1300's, the swinging 60's and today.
Shopping
Walk 20 minutes from our London vacation rental apartments in Kensington, along Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park to Harrods and Burberry's in Knightsbridge.
It is 5 minutes walk to the restaurants and shopping in High Street Kensington, where there is a large Marks and Spencers store and numerous trendy specialty stores. It is full of shoppers and most stores are up 7 days a week.
You are 10 minutes walk from our Kensington London apartment rentals to Christies South Kensington, the branch of Christie's which auctions more affordable antiques and collectables.
Eating & Drinking
The area surrounding our London vacation rental apartments is literally teeming with excellent restaurants, brasseries and cafes: English, French, Indian, Persian, Moroccan and Italian restaurants – that is why the neighborhood is so popular.
There is even a Starbucks nearby for those needing a nice armchair and a Grande Cappuccino. A very popular French patisserie, Delice de France, is located near several of our Kensington London vacation rentals, great for buying fresh-baked baguettes, croissants and cafe' au laits in the morning. The charming mews where the patisserie is located used to have the garages which kept the horses and carriages of the homeowners of Launceston Place and Cornwall Gardens in Victorian times. The old carriage houses have now been turned into beautiful little homes; some still have the original double doors which opened wide for the carriages to pass through. From time to time, you will see the Queen’s Household Guard Cavalry Regment taking their horses through the streets, offering a glimpse of live in the Olden Days.
There are two supermarkets near to the London vacation rentals:: Waitrose is located in the Gloucester Road tube arcade and carries excellent fresh foods and produce as well as delicious ready-to-eat meals. The larger supermarket, Sainsbury's is 10 minutes walk and is open 24 hours/day.
Transportation
The local tube stop is a few minutes walk from our London short term vacation rental apartments, either Gloucester Road Tube or South Kensington Tube.The Piccadilly line stops here: it's a direct line to the theatre district for easy access to London shows, Chinatown, Piccadilly Circus, Fortnum and Mason, Knightsbridge, etc. It is also direct to Heathrow Airport. Both the Circle and District lines stop here: great for Sloane Square and the trendy King's Road, the City of London, the Houses of Parliament at Westminster, the river cruises at Embankment, the Great Wheel and Aquarium at Westminster, even direct to Wimbledon.
Chelsea Neighbourhood & The Swinging King's Road
Chelsea is the place to go if you love to shop!
Chelsea is the heart of trendy shopping in London, a short distance from Kensington. The King’s Road was the ‘Center of the Universe’ for shopping in the 60’s and has kept its crown today. The other shopping ‘must’ is Sloane Street, where most of the designer boutiques are found. At the top of Sloane Street is Kensington Gardens, marked by Harvey Nichols (where Diana shopped frequently, after the store closed) and Harrod’s to the left. Enjoy strolling through hundreds of boutiques from hip to elegant, inexpensive to designer, from clothing to interior design.
Choose from dozens of restaurants, cafés and bistros
Chelsea is literally teeming with restaurants, café’s and bistros for every budget and taste. When you reserve, we send an information pack with loads of links for restaurant ideas plus information on supermarkets and transportation, so you can hit the ground running. Walk to the nearby Thames River and enjoy the majesty of the Albert Bridge and beautiful embankment.
Walk to Museum Row
You can walk to Museum Row or hop on the tube at Sloane Square to visit The Natural History Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Science Museum, Royal Geographical Society, The Geological Museum and Royal Albert Hall.
Transportation
King’s Road and Fulham Road are the main shopping streets in this neighborhood and there are dozens of red London buses which everyone hops on to get them anywhere in London. We provide a list of the buses near you along with destinations, so you can hop on and off as soon as you arrive.
You are a short distance from Sloane Square Tube, which can zip you to the Theatre District, St. Paul’s, the Museums and anywhere else you want to go in London.
Notting Hill Gate Neighbourhood
Wander the streets were 'Notting Hill' was filmed
Notting Hill was ‘discovered’ in the famous movie of the same name with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. It is just on the North side of Kensington Gardens, so accessible by foot or bus to Kensington Palace and Museum Row.
Charming bistros, cafés and restaurants to suit all budgets
You will find this charming area to be a delight for bistros, café’s and restaurants to fit every budget – just outside your door.
Be sure to visit the famous Portobello Antiques Market
The movie was filmed in and around Portobello Road, which has a wonderful open market every day of the week where you can buy flowers, fresh fruits and vegetables and more. Most famous, though is the Portobello Antiques market which is open on Saturday mornings and a must for browing for small antiques. Many of our prints and accessories come from there.
Transportation
There are numerous red buses which you can hop on and off outside the London vacation rentals and which will take you to most of your destinations in London. The nearest tube is Ladbroke Grove or Notting Hill – both convenient for getting around London.
We believe there are few better locations from which to explore London and savor all its wonderful sites and shopping.
When you book one of our London apartments, we send an information packet with lots of ideas on restaurants, transportations, tours including recommended drivers to pick you up from the airport.