Marylebone

Marylebone sits just north of Oxford Street and Hyde Park, but it feels like its own quiet corner of London rather than an extension of the West End. The streets are Georgian and largely low-rise, the squares are leafy, and Marylebone High Street runs through the middle of it with the unhurried pace of a village shopping street, not a tourist thoroughfare. It is a residential, moneyed part of town that happens to be a short walk from Regent's Park, Baker Street and the Wallace Collection's neighbourhood.

With only one hotel listed here, Dorset Square Hotel, the pattern of the area shows through clearly: this is a place with relatively little large-scale visitor accommodation, and what exists tends towards the townhouse rather than the tower block. Dorset Square Hotel occupies exactly that register, set on one of Marylebone's Regency squares, close to Baker Street and an easy stroll from the park. Staying here means basing yourself among residents rather than in a hotel district, with everything else in the area reached on foot.

What Marylebone is known for is close by. The Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street draws on the area's most famous fictional resident, while Monopoly Lifesized and The Regent's Park Mystery Treasure Trail give a more playful, family-friendly angle to an afternoon here. Big Bus Tours can be picked up nearby too, useful for anyone using Marylebone as a base to see the rest of London rather than staying local. Regent's Park itself, with its boating lake, gardens and open grass, is the obvious place to spend unstructured time.

Where Marylebone properly excels is at the table. With 154 restaurants listed, the choice is remarkable for an area this size, running from Ottolenghi Marylebone's all-day café cooking to the polish of Nobu London Portman Square Bar. James Street and the High Street carry much of the everyday trade, with Patty & Bun James Street for burgers and Pho Baker Street for pho, while Phoenix Palace and OHISAMA Sushi extend the range further afield across Asian cooking. Newer arrivals like Nina and Noreen sit alongside these longer-standing names, and the density of good options makes Marylebone one of the more reliable parts of London simply to wander and pick somewhere on the spot.

Taken together, Marylebone suits people who want a residential, well-heeled base with excellent food on the doorstep rather than a hotel strip. It works well as a quieter alternative to staying right in the West End, close enough to walk to Oxford Street or Regent's Park, but returning each evening to streets that empty out and settle down.