Hammersmith
Hammersmith is one of West London’s busiest, most dynamic melting pots. It’s true intersection of culture, ethnicity and dynamism. It’s also at the crossroads of four major tube lines and packed full of award-winning restaurants and bars. Right next to the river, it’s also a great place to watch the annual Boat Race, making itself one of London’s best value areas when making a home.
It is also home to the epic Eventim Apollo, ensuring all your favourite touring bands are just a short walk away. With all that’s going on here, why not book cheap flights to London to see exactly how much bang for your buck you can find.
Getting there
There’s no shortage of transport links to Hammersmith - probably why it’s so packed full of life! The City, Circle, District and Piccadilly lines all stop here - making it the perfect place to commute from into central London.
There are also a whopping 23 different bus routes available, ensuring you’ve always got the means in front of you to get where you need to go - no matter what time of the day or night.
And if you’re a little sick of the city, the area is just a short drive away from the A4 motorway which leads you promptly to Heathrow and onto a little min break!
What to do
You’ll never be out of options here. Pay a visit to Lyric, one of the UK’s most celebrated theatres that was originally built as a music hall in 1888, but which now hosts cutting edge fringe theatre productions. Plus, they have a fab roof garden that’s just the ticket on a summer’s day.
The Eventim Apollo needs no introduction. Proudly serving London as one of its premier gig venues you’ll be able to see everyone from Robbie Williams, Kate Bush and Primal Scream. Not bad for a Friday night.
The Comedy Tree is also one of London’s best comedy clubs to go and check out new talent and has also played host to some of the country’s most well-loved comedians at the start of their careers.
What to eat
Mes Amis is a Lebanese restaurant that’s a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds. Packed full of fun memorabilia, old school decorations as well as print-clashing furniture. If you love baba ganoush, falafel, baklava and more then this is one place which should sit high on your list.
The Michelin-starred River Cafe is a decadent delight if you fancy treating yourself and the one you love. Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall have both worked here and its fine Italian cuisine, tender steaks and fresh seafood are to die for.
W6 also has more than its fair share of vegan and vegetarian restaurants to keep all those who lead a plant based life happy. The Gate is definitely worth visiting - especially got their vegan and vegetarian Sunday lunches. They’re so good that even confirmed carnivores could be swayed.
To sample Hammersmith’s mass of cultural offerings, head to Shilpa. Keralan king prawns in coconut sauce, and banana leaf sea bass are two dishes that are guaranteed to blow you away. There’s even a great tapas restaurant nearby. At Toro Gordo, you can share sumptuous Spanish plates and choose form six different kinds of sangria.
What to drink
The Dove, which sits hidden behind a big oak door down a little alleyway next to the river is one of the area’s best kept secrets. It may look like any old English pub with an open fire and cask ale from the brewery down the road, but it comes into its own during the Boat Race, where you can sit on its riverside terrace for the perfect perch from which to watch it.
The Old Ship has been recently renovated and now boasts an airy, light interior and a menu of English classics that’s perfect for a Sunday afternoon. If it’s a wide selection of beer you’re after, then head straight to The Draft House, which certainly will not disappoint.
But we all know that some of us are confirmed cocktail lovers. Hidden away under Brook Green Hotel is Smith’s Cocktail Bar, which serves hand crafted cocktails that run right across the flavour spectrum. Plus, with a happy hour between 5-7pm from Wednesday - Friday, you can drink any one of their seven classics for just £7!
Notting Hill
Yes, there was a blockbuster movie about it and no, Hugh Grant doesn’t actually live here ‘in real life.’ Let’s face it, he’d be mobbed if he did…
Notting Hill was already well thought of before the movie came along in the late Noughties, say our travel experts. Regarded as a wealthy bohemian enclave, it attracts many an actor, fashion designer, author and TV celeb. There is also a large ethnic crowd, hence the annual, fabulous Notting Hill carnival where British and Caribbean communities unite and parade down the area’s streets in a colourful, noisy manner.
Activities in Notting Hill
If you do nothing else while living in Notting Hill, it is to head for Portobello Market. Why? Well, let’s just say it’s 940 metres long and there are more than 1000 dealers every weekend. From genuine antiques, to amazing street food and amazing vintage finds, it’s a treasure trove of fabulousness.
Check out The Electric Cinema. One of the UK’s oldest picture houses, it has leather armchairs and cashmere blankets to wrap yourself in for extra cosiness. And, as if that wasn’t wonderful enough, there is table service direct to your er, seat. Lovers of cult and indie films will regularly find themselves in the Grade II-listed The Gate.
Also, say London travel guides, The Tabernacle Arts Centre is well worth a visit if comedy, burlesque, dance exhibitions and pantomime is your thing.
Travel from Notting Hill
Take the tube into Paddington in just three minutes, or Liverpool Station in just 20 minutes. From Paddington you can also get on the Heathrow Express. And what’s more, that journey to the airport takes a mere 15 minutes.
Notting Hill sits on the District, Circle and Central lines so there’s easy access to as much of London as you like.
Buses are easy to pick up too, thanks to seven routes running through the area.
Where to eat in Notting Hill
Actually, Notting Hill is pretty famous for its eating places, and none more so than the iconic Art Deco designed Kensington Place. Their fish, fresh from the adjoining market, is famous.
For Thai food head to the Churchill Arms (and where you’ll find loads of stuff about the former British PM inside). Greek lovers will love Mazi and for Turkish fayre there is none better in the area than Fez Mangal in Ladbroke Grove.
Fancy trying a something a bit different – and vegan healthy? Then stop at the Farmacy, say the team here. There you will find sprouted buckwheat granola as well as spirulina powder juice in a syringe. Told you it was different…
For posh nosh in Notting Hill steer yourself and guest to 108 Garage. It’s different - and expensive. It’s also popular with many travel gurus we know who live here.
Where to drink in Notting Hill
If you happen to be a lover of gin then you are definitely in the right place. The Distillery, belonging to Portobello Road Dry Gin has four storeys, two bars and a gin-making academy. The modern pub, Portobello Star has been gin-washed since the eighteenth century.
For cocktails, Trailer Happiness – a retro Tiki-themed bar – is the top spot in Notting Hill. Just don’t get too carried away here (or you will be – carried away home by a taxi, that is).
Shepherd's Bush
The busy, buzzy area of Shepherd’s Bush is home to some of London’s most iconic music venues. It’s also currently experiencing a second wind thanks to plenty of new bars in the areas as well as links to Westfield shopping centre. This has made it extremely popular with flat sharers over the last few years.
Getting there
Shepherd’s Bush may well already be cemented as a shopper’s paradise, but it’s also an area with a huge amount of travel links. Located on the Central line there’s also plenty of connections to nearby Shepherd’s Bush market via the Hammersmith and City line as well as Goldhawk Road, White City and Wood Lane.
Plus, it also boasts an overground station with solid links to Clapham Junction and Willesden Junction, putting areas like Shoreditch and Canada Water easily on your travel map. You’ll also be pleased to know that it has not one but 18 bus routes serving the area, meaning you’ll never be caught out in the cold again.
Things to do
We all know how established Shepherd’s Bush is for shopping. But it also offers many cultural opportunities like Bush Theatre, where you can take in everything from established playwrights to fringe theatre at extremely generous prices.
Bush Hall is an opulent venue in which to catch your favourite bands, comedy and spoken word gigs. This stunning Edwardian hall also played host to a young Amy Winehouse before she broke the big time, just so you know what type of talents to expect there.
If it’s bigger acts you crave, then it’s the O2 Empire, which has as 2,000 standing capacity and regularly updates its scheduled acts through its website.
If you don’t really fancy amplifiers and mosh pits, head to the Old Laundry Yard which sits on the site of a disused laundry and now holds 72 different street food, workshop and creative spaces in shipping containers.
Things to eat
There’s plenty of fabulous Middle Eastern food in the area, like Ayam Zaman on Uxbridge Road. It won’t cost you a fortune in the slightest and the dishes are to die for. Ochi offers Caribbean food to take away, which is amazingly popular with locals as well as a few celebrities!
Kerbisher & Malt is where to go if you love fish and chips. It does get quite busy here, but as soon as you reach the front of the queue and taste their moist fish in crisp, zingy batter, you’ll find out exactly why.
Shepherd’s Bush also plays host to a massive Ethiopian and Eritrean community. This is a godsend for who are vegan as many regular dishes are completely plant-based. Flamingo Restaurant on Goldhawk Road is the place to go for East African spices and mountains of injera bread.
For diversity all under one roof, head to the old BBC Television Centre. Development works are currently underway there but the epic Homeslice pizza already has a branch open, as does Bluebird Café from Made in Chelsea with several other outlets due to open soon.
Things to drink
Shepherd’s Bush is stocked full of local pubs with a relaxed atmosphere and well priced drinks. Make an evening of it between The Defector’s Weld, Brewdog, The Queen Adelaide, and The Sindercombe Social and then hop on a quick bus home without even breaking a sweat.
