This is where London’s gentry live. Nannies push prams around Kensington Gardens, uniformed school children line up in Hans Crescent and the social “in-crowd” gossip in the Fifth-Floor Café at Harvey Nichols. Whatever time of year, nobody is without a tan. Harrods is the light beacon of the area; the solid rocks are the great museums established in South Kensington by Prince Albert, whose name is never far away. Kensington is the Royal Borough where Lady Diana roamed. She lived in Kensington Palace, the choicest of royal residences, and shopped in Beauchamp Place. Foreign royalty have homes here, too. Such mansions need the finest furnishings and some of London’s best antique shops are in Kensington Church Street and Portobello Road, the most fun place to be on Saturday mornings.
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This edifice to Queen Victoria’s beloved consort, Prince Albert, glowing from a recent restoration, is a fitting tribute to the man who played a large part in establishing the South Kensington museums. Located opposite the Royal Albert Hall, the memorial was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and completed in 1876. At its four corners are tableaux representing the Empire, which was at its height in Victoria’s reign.
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Amaya’s dishes take modern Indian cuisine to a new level. Open flash-grilled scallops, charcoal-grilled aubergine and tandoori duck are served up in a rosewood-panelled dining room.
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Creative café, popular with children, where you can decorate your own ceramic, glass, fabric or wooden items. They provide all the equipment as well as coffee, tea and snacks.
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Based in the 1930s building that once housed two of London’s major department stores are various fashion outlets including Monsoon, Jigsaw, Hobbs and Karen Millen.
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Famous for its wildly-gothic interior, this bar serves coffee and snacks during the day, and becomes a swanky cocktail lounge in the evenings. A good place to mingle with the fashionable Notting Hill crowd.
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The restaurant’s romantic setting in Holland Park is enhanced by its good French cooking. From the patio in summer, you may hear distant opera from the park’s open-air theatre.
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Set in a large Victorian house, and part of the luxurious Gore Hotel, this traditional bistro is open from 7am to midnight, serving modern Mediterranean cuisine.
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Burberry sells its famous trenchcoats as well as checked clothing and distinctive luggage.
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Visiting the salerooms here is like going to a small museum. Their experts will value items brought in by the public.
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Filled with intriguing bric-à-brac and Churchill memorabilia, this is a large, friendly Victorian pub. Inexpensive Thai food is served in the conservatory at lunchtime and for dinner until 9:30pm.
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Restaurant price categories
For a three course meal for one with half a bottle of wine (or equivalent meal), taxes, and extra charges.
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First ThursdaysOn the first Thursday of every month, more than 80 of East London's art galleries stay open until 9pm. Heavyweight galleries such as the White Cube and the Barbican participate alongside smaller... Read more
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Monkey: Journey to the WestDamon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett and Chen Shi-Zheng's spectacular opera Monkey: Journey to the West returns to London, in a specially built venue, Monkey's World at The O2, for a pre-Christmas... Read more
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Great Christmas Pudding RaceIn a classic example of English eccentricity, runners in fancy dress take part in this festive relay race around Covent Garden's West Piazza. Teams negotiate a challenging obstacle course while... Read more
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