Notting Hill

Where much of west London runs to red brick and quiet formality, Notting Hill breaks pattern with rows of pastel-painted townhouses, market stalls along Portobello Road, and a mix of grand communal gardens and narrow mews that feels more village than city. It has long attracted a bohemian, moneyed crowd, and that mix still shapes the area today - antique dealers and vintage shops sit close to some of the most talked-about restaurants in the country.

Accommodation here tends toward the boutique and personal rather than the large chain hotel, with options like Notting Hill by CAPITAL putting you within walking distance of the market and the area's leafy residential streets. Staying here means you're close enough to central London for anything you might need, but the pace on the ground is calmer, greener, and distinctly residential.

Portobello Road is the obvious draw, particularly for its market, but the appeal of Notting Hill goes beyond a Saturday browse. The area's garden squares and quiet crescents reward slow walking, and the mix of independent boutiques and long-established shops gives it a texture that's hard to find elsewhere in the city.

What sets Notting Hill apart most, though, is its restaurants. Few areas of comparable size anywhere in the UK pack in this concentration of serious dining - Core by Clare Smyth and The Ledbury sit at the very top of the country's culinary conversation, while The Latimer, 202, Acre Notting Hill and Akoya cover everything from relaxed all-day dining to more considered menus. Alley Cats, with sites in both Notting Hill and nearby Westbourne Grove, adds a more casual note to the mix.

It's this combination - handsome streets, a genuine sense of neighbourhood, and a restaurant scene that punches well above its size - that makes Notting Hill feel distinct from the rest of the city around it. You could easily spend a weekend here without needing to head anywhere else.