Europe is known for its smaller cities that are quite easy to explore on foot. Yet London is a metropole, a slightly vaster place for European standards where it’s best to pick one neighborhood to explore. That is, if you’re only there for the day. Around Mayfair – a posher area – there’s constantly new places popping up by young chefs and creatives. Here’s our selection – with the stamp of approval from our London friends in the arts – of restaurants, galleries, and more you don’t want to miss.
Notting Hill is one lively place – and still immensely popular after that eponymous romcom – but there’s also more quiet streets like the one that houses The Lost Poet. This intimate guesthouse offers a home-away-from-home feel with your own private apartment. Designed by the acclaimed Cubic Studios, the look is eclectic and modern with bespoke furnishings, every wall washed in a different distinct color, but also Portobello Road antiques. Celebrating British brands throughout the interior, including Maison C, House of Hackney, Nelly Duff. There are only four rooms with king-size beds, including a two-floor apartment with a cute rooftop. Breakfast is delivered to your door in a canvas bag, including vegan options and pastries by none other than Chef Ottolenghi.
The Lost Poet, 6 Portobello Rd, London W11 3DG
Set in an iconic Brutalist building transformed into a cultural center, 180 The Strand is currently known to be the beating heart of London’s creative community. WeTransfer, WePresent, ShowStudio and Dazed & Confused have their office spaces and studios here. Other than that, there’s a specialty coffee shop, an art gallery, and a little boutique with the finest in British design.
180 Strand, Temple, London WC2R 1EA
Creative director Alex Eagle is known for her refined, offbeat aesthetic. She has her own sportswear line and she has designed and curated many spaces for creative hubs like Soho House. Her namesake store, Alex Eagle, can be found on London’s Lexington Street in a former townhouse. Here you will find furniture, objects and clothing displayed like personal belongings – from clothing by Christophe Lemaire and Marie Marot to vintage Cartier watches and vinyl records. Be sure to visit. And if we’re talking fashion of course you also want to put classics such as Dover Street Market, Liberty’s and Koibird on your list.
Alex Eagle Studio, 6-10 Lexington St, London W1F 0LB
Dover Street Market, 18-22 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4DG
Liberty London, Regent St., Carnaby, London W1B 5AH
Koibird, 62 Marylebone Ln, London W1U 2PB
An independent bookshop since 1957, John Sandoe Books (named after its founder) is one of London’s best-loved bookshops. A quintessentially English place with a wide literary offering. Another gem: Shreeji, a newsagent located on Chiltern Street in affluent Marylebone. Here you’ll find the best of design magazines and books. Not to mention, it’s recently been given an exciting makeover by Gabriel Chipperfield and his design studio Selected Work. The look and feel: an Alice in Wonderland type of experience with a warren of luxurious rooms behind the shop.
John Sandoe Books, 10 Blacklands Terrace, London SW3 2SR
Shreeji London, 6 Chiltern St, London W1U 7PT
Sessions Art Club is usually fully booked months ahead so make sure to make your reservation as soon as you can. Since this restaurant, in a romantic and elegant ruin of a studio in Clerkenwell, is absolutely worth the visit. The food, by skilled chef Florence Knight, is beautifully plated and also seriously good. The building, with its worn arches, faded gold cornice, and jade walls, is quite impressive. An urban sanctuary in buzzy London, reimagined by visionaries such as architect Russell Potter, restaurateur Jon Spiteri, artist Jonny Gent of Cabin Studios and the two brothers behind Sätila Studio.
Sessions Art Club, 24 Clerkenwell Grn, London EC1R 0NA
There are so many great museums to visit that we wouldn’t want to limit you to just one. At the Tate Modern there’s always something interesting going on: from a Hilma Af Klint and Piet Mondrian exhibition running until September to one on Contemporary African Photography running until early next year. Saatchi Gallery will soon host an exhibition with no less than 350 works by 150 internationally renowned photographers who give their very own take on our rapidly changing world. Then there’s The Barbican Centre, a performing arts centre that’s sure to surprise. Don’t forget the V&A Museum – if you’re a lover of fashion – and the Natural History Museum – breathtaking even when you’re not that into history – where you can easily spend the whole day.
Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG
Barbican Centre, Silk St, Barbican, London EC2Y 8DS
Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL
Natural History Museum, Cromwell Rd, South Kensington, London SW7 5BD
London has many beautiful parks. If the weather is nice – which, yes, can be a bit rare in this town – head out to the park for a stroll or a picnic. There’s the stately Regents Park, one of London’s eight royal parks, or Battersea Park by the banks of the River Thames with sub-tropical and wildflower gardens and a deer park. Or visit Kew Gardens, a wild botanic garden, with 500 acres of woodland and the world’s largest seed conversation project in southwest London.
The Regent’s Park, Chester Road Regent’s Park, London NW1 4NR
Battersea Park, London SW11 4NJ
Kew Gardens, Kew Gardens Rd, Richmond TW9 3AE
Discreetly tucked away in the Mayfair area, you will find this gem of a restaurant just above a revamped pub: Mount St. Restaurant & Rooms. What makes this place extra special are the art-clad walls; it’s like you’re dining in an art gallery. Though not at all cold and distant, rather warm and welcoming. With lots of red hues in the interior including an exuberant marble, mosaic floor. Curious and fun: these four themed rooms upstairs. The Swiss room, for instance, reflects the gallerists behind the restaurant, Hauser & Wirth. At Mount St. restaurant they serve classic British fair. If you fancy: the lobster pie is pricy, but nothing short of spectacular. Other restaurants we highly recommend: Evelyn’s Table, Kiln, Noble Rot and Manteca.
Mount St. Restaurant, First Floor, 41-43 Mount St, London W1K 2RX
Evelyn’s Table, 28 Rupert St, London W1D 6DJ
Kiln, 58 Brewer St, London W1F 9TL
Noble Rot, 51 Lamb’s Conduit St, London WC1N 3NB
Manteca, 49-51 Curtain Rd, London EC2A 3PT
A real classic in London is Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club. Around since 1959 in the depths of Soho, Ronnie Scott’s has been a haven for jazz lovers for ages. Musical legends like Jimmy Smith and Ella Fitzgerald have performed at this club. Still to this day, a night at Ronnie Scott’s will not disappoint. Wanna grab a swanky drink afterwards? Try The Painter’s Room at Claridge’s or – a bit more low-key and easygoing but with fantastic cocktails – Tayēr + Elementary.
Ronnie Scott’s, 47 Frith St, London W1D 4HT
The Painter’s Room, Claridge’s, Brook St, London W1K 4HR
Tayēr + Elementary, 152 Old St, London EC1V 9BW