Anyone who knows me well knows that London is my favorite city in the world. Some 60 visits have led me to try to unlock all of its secrets. Around visit 50, I finally accepted this cannot be done.
If you also love London, but are done with watching the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace and gawking at the crown jewels in the Tower of London, here’s an idea. Pick your main interest (literary immersion, theater, museum-hopping, history), then pick your neighborhood and, finally, your accommodation.
Marylebone
For those who love a village atmosphere in the cityIn this leafy village, sandwiched between bustling Oxford Street and Regent’s Park, the traditional and the trendy go hand-in-hand.
Literary lovers Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning married in the village church; Sherlock Holmes solved crimes from his fictional residence at 221-B Baker Street, and London’s most notorious criminals met their fate at Tyburn where public hangings were once held.
Today’s experiences are decidedly more pleasant than an encounter with Professor Moriarty or a date with the hangman’s noose.
Book a room at The Marylebone Hotel, a member of the Doyle Collection, and enjoy a curated stay in this charming “village.”
Take the hotel’s Friday afternoon walking tour where a Blue Badge guide leads you through hidden gardens and off-the-beaten path public art to specialty shops such as La Fromagerie (the window display of cheeses is eye-popping) and Daunt Book Store whose Edwardian décor is the perfect backdrop for its collection of tomes.
The Marylebone Hotel can arrange tickets to a concert at Wigmore Hall, an intimate venue specializing in chamber music concerts, or a visit to the Wallace Collection, an exquisite small art museum located in Hertford House, once the home of English aristocracy.
Kensington
For museum lovers and royalty followersThe borough of Kensington is synonymous with royals (a tour of Kensington Palace and its beautiful gardens should be on any royalist’s list), but it’s also home to the city’s museum row where the Victoria & Albert and Natural History museums sit side by side in all their architectural splendor.
Check into the 5-star boutique Kensington, another Doyle Collection property. Enjoy lunch in the elegant restaurant, but don’t linger too long over that post-meal cognac if you want to check out the V&A, the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design.
You will have just missed the Cartier Exhibit, but not to worry—another blockbuster special exhibition is always on the horizon. In the meantime, console yourself with the permanent exhibits of nearly three million objects. With 145 galleries, the museum has everything from Islamic art to the largest collection of Italian Renaissance sculpture outside of Italy.
Just next to the V&A, the Natural History Museum is spectacular, from the stunning facade to the blue whale skeleton suspended from the main hall ceiling to animatronic dinosaurs. It’s no wonder there’s nearly always a queue to get in.
Both museums are free and a short walk from the Kensington Hotel.
Bloomsbury
For the literature buffAnyone choosing the Bloomsbury neighborhood as a London base will give thanks to Virginia Woolf and the rest of the Bloomsbury Group who made this charming enclave famous in the early part of the 20th century.
Anchored by the massive British Museum, affectionately known as the world’s attic (the Egyptian Gallery is a must-see), the area reeks of culture and intellect.
A wander through Bloomsbury’s 16 squares and gardens will evoke the ghosts of Woolf and her circle: her sister, artist Vanessa Bell; novelist E.M. Forster; writer and critic Lytton Strachey, and economist John Maynard Keynes.
No hotel suits its neighborhood more than another Doyle Collection property. Fittingly called The Bloomsbury, this Georgian-style hotel is unapologetic in its appreciation for the literary cachet of the neighborhood.
So much so that Irish poet Seamus Heaney, who was a regular guest, was on hand in 2011 to open his library in one of the hotel’s public spaces.
Likewise, the lush, flower-filled restaurant, Dalloway’s Terrace, honors one of Woolf’s most famous characters and is a great place to enjoy afternoon tea.
Guests have their choice of postprandial cocktail stops—lounging on a velvet shell couch in the pink and gold Coral Room or seeking out a discreet table in the Bloomsbury Club Bar.
If they’re lucky, the concierge might even direct them to the nearby Lamb Pub where they can enjoy a pint just as poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes did in their happier days.
Covent Garden
For those who love the bright lights of the West EndCovent Garden is one of London’s most beloved neighborhoods, from the market stalls and piazza that anchor it to outlying areas such as Neal’s Yard and Seven Dials.
It has a fascinating and romantic history—learn about Nell Gwynne who went from selling oranges here to becoming a famous actress and mistress of Charles II—and it’s home to London opera, theaters, and a bevy of talented street performers.
In keeping with the glamorous, festive atmosphere of Covent Garden, make your hotel base Hotel l’Oscar. This architectural gem served as the first Baptist church in London, but there is nothing dour or drab about it.
The 39 rooms are decorated in jewel tones of gold, ruby, and emerald, and you can get lost in the numerous nooks and crannies. The welcoming lobby is a great place to enjoy a cup of tea while awaiting your room, and the Baroque-style restaurant was inspired by the Café Florian in Venice.
You’ll be spoiled for choice here in the heart of Theaterland, but see if the concierge can score tickets to a performance at the Royal Opera House or a night of theater at the Donmar Warehouse near Seven Dials.
Unlike the large, ornate West End theaters, the Donmar is no-frills intimate theater-in-the-round where you’re never more than four seats away from the actors, noted thespians such as Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellan, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, and Adrian Brody.
Staff can book you into some of the neighborhood’s venerable restaurants, such as The Ivy (I once sat at a table near Ralph Fiennes, busily engrossed in his newspaper), or Rules in Maiden Lane.
London’s oldest restaurant, dating to 1798, Rules is a bastion of Britishness. From the curated cocktail experience, “Upstairs at Rules,” to the plush banquettes and tuxedoed waiters downstairs, you won’t find anything like this at your hometown eatery.
It was a favorite celluloid dining establishment for James Bond, who presumably liked the way they shook their martinis, and Downton Abbey’s Grantham family, who perhaps were partial to the Jersey Rock oysters, Dorset crab salad and steak, and kidney pie.
If you love London, but find yourself overwhelmed by the overload of sights to see, start small. Pick an area of interest and a hotel, and become acquainted with the city one neighborhood at a time.
