Mayfair W1
Mayfair has historically suffered highs and lows in terms of its perception as a prime residential location. It has, over the last 20 years, enjoyed a renaissance since the end of the temporary office permissions granted after the war expired in 1990. Mayfair now boasts some of the world’s most well-known retailers, luxurious hotels and sophisticated restaurants, as well as grand houses and exquisite purpose-built apartment buildings. Prices vary widely from £1500 to £10,000 per square foot depending on the location.
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St James's SW1
Possibly the most quintessentially British of all the London neighbourhood’s, the area is resolutely masculine and boasts many long-established shops. Jermyn Street is famed for its handmade shirts while Geo. Trumper’s still offers a traditional wet shave. Fortnum & Mason, London’s oldest department store, has recently been refurbished but still boasts its magnificent food hall. Exclusive private members’ clubs are interspersed with generously sized flats and a handful of houses.
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Belgravia SW1
Arguably the grandest location in London, Belgravia is home to embassies, diplomatic residences and elegant stucco fronted terraced houses with views over luxuriant garden squares. Belgravia is the quintessential London location for those looking for elegant living. The largest freeholder in the area is the Duke Of Westminster and his Grosvenor Estate has actively managed the area. Eaton Square, in the heart of Belgravia, is an internationally renowned address.
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Knightsbridge SW1
Considered the jet set address of London. With a host of international restaurants, world class shopping and home to One Hyde Park, once the most expensive residential building in the world, Knightsbridge is an outstanding global residential location. With Harrods department store at its epicentre and the Cadogan Estate its largest landowner, Knightsbridge can boast some of the most expensive real estate in the world.
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South Kensington SW7
The large elegant terraces of South Kensington are exemplified by addresses such as Onslow Square, Queens Gate Gardens, and Cranley Gardens which offer large lateral flats similar to those in Belgravia but in a less formal atmosphere. Much sought after by French buyers whose children attend the Lycée School, South Kensington still retains the individual shops that make it such a vibrant and desirable location.
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Chelsea SW3
With a history rich in the arts and the bohemian King’s Road, made famous in the 60s, at its heart, Chelsea retains all of its charm and a somewhat idiosyncratic character. With a good cross section of small artisan cottages, a number of mid-sized family houses and some exceptional Georgian riverside mansions, Chelsea offers great family houses plus some of London’s most sought after private schools.
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West Chelsea SW10
This area has always been popular with the young, especially the ‘beach’ part of the Fulham Road with its excellent Fulham Road Cinema, Italian delicatessen and fine local stores. This is a popular and relatively affordable place to live. However, it is a long way from the Underground and investors have often found their properties difficult to let because of this. Amongst its many fine streets are The Boltons, Gilston Road and Tregunter Road which offer wide, spacious family houses often with superb gardens.
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Kensington W8
Kensington boasts a large number of spacious family houses and with its proximity to both Kensington Gardens and Holland Park, the area is popular with families. The Phillimore estate is considered to be the ‘jewel in Kensington’s crown’ with many large detached houses with generous gardens. Kensington also boasts some fine purpose-built blocks and smaller conversions that appeal to those seeking a pied-a-terre or an investment flat. It has good transport facilities and easy access to Heathrow and the west of England.
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Bayswater W2
Probably the area in central London to watch. It is sandwiched between Notting Hill to the west and Marylebone to the east but has been overlooked historically. It has a number of white stuccoed terraces and garden squares similar to those found in pricier Notting Hill but does not yet boast the cache of its more famous neighbour. Things are improving; a number of the cheaper hotels have gone and been replaced by high class residential developments which continue to enhance the area. There are significant plans in place to redevelop Queensway which will lift the area further. Bayswater has easy access to Heathrow airport, providing easy access to Europe and the world.
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Notting Hill W11
An area that is perpetually popular with families, Notting Hill has vastly increased in value largely because it is one of the rare locations in central London where a large number of the houses have direct access to communal gardens and the houses are wide enough to house a growing family. Notting Hill boasts good quality and diverse facilities while Westbourne Grove has emerged as the social hub of this vibrant area.
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Holland Park W11/W14
The gracious Italianate mansions of Holland Park are quintessentially part of this world- famous area. With many notable residents, Holland Park boasts large houses with vast gardens. The local shopping of Holland Park Avenue is superb and with the Central Line providing quick access to the West End and the City, it’s a popular area with bankers and their families.
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Maida Vale / Little Venice W9
Little Venice is one of the most romantic areas in central London. Made up of white stucco Victorian houses that are much favoured by people working in the media, many of these houses enjoy views over The Regent’s Canal, hence the area’s name. Well-kept communal gardens also pepper this neighbourhood. The best houses are to be found on Blomfield Road, Maida Avenue and Warwick Avenue. Maida Vale is predominantly an area of converted flats or Victorian mansion blocks, while the fringe areas of Queens Park and Kensal Rise are quickly emerging as West London’s cool young family area.
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Marylebone W1H
Marylebone is one of London’s greatest success stories. Until about 15 years ago, the high street was an ignored collection of charity shops and newsagents. Thanks to careful management by the Howard
de Walden Estate, the high street is now a vibrant mix of high end retailers and popular restaurants. Large houses dominate streets such as Devonshire Place, with some homes measuring nearly 10,000 square feet. Gardens tend to be quite small, though, and residential homes are often interspersed with offices and doctor’s surgeries. The area continues to improve and has the potential to rival some of London’s more established neighbourhoods within a few short years.
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St John's Wood NW8
A great family area with housing stock that is very similar to Kensington. It is situated close to Regents Park with Primrose Hill and Little Venice close by. The American School is a great draw for many buyers but it is largely the wide range of substantial family houses in Hamilton Terrace, Cavendish Avenue and the many attractive surrounding streets that make St John’s Wood worthy of consideration. It is served by the Jubilee Line ensuring quick access to Canary Wharf, the financial centre of London.
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Primrose Hill NW3
Primrose Hill is one of London’s villages and is enviably located close to both Parliament Hill and Regents Park. The high street has the feel of a country village with a multitude of cafes, restaurants and local artisan shops that give the area a really charming and neighbourly feel. The home of many actors, writers and creative types the area is highly sought after and boasts both a selection of attractive garden squares, grand terraces as well as large stucco fronted family houses as well as smaller conversion flats.
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Hampstead NW3
Hampstead is a world renowned area to the North of Central London famed for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, London’s largest and most ancient park. The ‘Heath’ has three large ponds where one can enjoy open air swimming. Close by is Kenwood House which has open air concerts along with book and poetry readings. The area boasts large, low built detached houses, artistic houses of the Arts and Crafts period, handsome Georgian houses as well as smaller cottages surrounding the Village. Hampstead is regarded as one of the prettiest and most sought after locations in London.
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Belsize Park NW3
Located just to the south of Hampstead village and benefitting from it’s own underground station (northern line) the name Belsize Park is derived from the french ‘bel assis’ meaning well situated the actual name came from ‘Belsize Park’ a 17th century manor house built by Daniel O’Neil for his wife the Countess Of Chesterfield, whose gardens were opened to the public so they could escape the grime of London. The area became a Victorian country suburb and mimicked the fashionable styles of Kensington and Bayswater. After world war I the construction of blocks of flats occurred giving the area a rich balance of large stucco fronted houses, conversions flats as well as purpose built blocks close to Hampstead Heath.
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