London (Fodor's 2012) - Fodor's [29]
Fine Shopping: Balance your boutique stores (Stella McCartney and Burberry) with food emporium Fortnum & Mason and the designers on sale at gigantic Selfridges before relaxing at Waterstone’s 5th View with a book and glass of wine at this mega–bookstore café.
Royal Academy of Arts: Visit the Summer Exhibition, usually between June and August, a breathtaking affair showcasing some of the best sculpture and painting in the art world.
St. George’s Gardens: Escape from the congestion of central London in this hidden patch of green tucked behind chic Mount Street.
MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR TIME
Reserve at least a day to see the sights in St. James’s and Mayfair, but choose carefully, as this is one of London’s most densely packed, and visited, districts.
The only areas to avoid are the Tube stations at rush hour, and Oxford Street if you don’t like crowds.
At all costs, stay away from Oxford Circus around 5 pm, when the commuter rush can, at times, resemble an East African wildebeest migration.
GETTING THERE
There are three Tube stops on the Central Line that will leave you smack in the center of these neighborhoods: Marble Arch, Bond Street (also Jubilee Line), and Oxford Circus (also Victoria and Bakerloo lines).
You can also take the Piccadilly or Bakerloo line to the Piccadilly Circus Tube station, the Piccadilly to the Hyde Park Corner station, or the Piccadilly, Victoria, or Jubilee line to the Green Park station.
The best buses are the 8, which takes in Green Park, Berkeley Square, and New Bond Street, and the 9, one of the few routes that still use the traditional Routemaster model, which runs along Piccadilly.
FEELING PECKISH?
Eating healthfully can be a challenge in London, but Crussh (1 Curzon St., Mayfair | W1J 5HD | 020/7629–2554) on Curzon Street serves excellent juices, smoothies, and soups as well as sandwiches, salads, and wraps to bring across to nearby Green Park.
Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s(55 Brook St., Mayfair | W1K 4HR | 020/7499–0099) takes fine dining to exquisite heights of elegance; it’s the perfect marriage of Art Deco beauty and culinary genius from one of England’s most celebrated chefs.
Since 1909, Richoux (172 Piccadilly, Mayfair | W1Y 9DD | 020/7493–2204) is an affordable refuge from busy Piccadilly. Simple but well-executed French bistro food is served all day; save room for the excellent pastries.
A BRIEF HISTORY
The name Mayfair derives from the 15-day May fair that was once held in the web of small streets known as Shepherd Market.
This, however, was brought to an end by the upper classes who lived there and felt it was drawing undesirables to their polished part of town.
The area was mostly fields and farms belonging to families whose names are commemorated in the surrounding streets—Grosvenor, Burlington, and Berkeley—until it was developed in the early 18th century.
The beautiful St. James’s Park, meanwhile, stands as an idyllic emblem of this elite past.
It’s the oldest royal park in London and all that remains of the royal hunting grounds that once traversed the city to Islington, Marylebone, and Hampstead.
Henry VIII acquired the land in 1532 for a deer park.
Top of Chapter | London Maps Contents
TOP ATTRACTIONS
Fodor’s Choice | Apsley House (Wellington Museum).
Once popularly known as No. 1, London, because it was the first and grandest house at the old tollgate from Knightsbridge village, this was long celebrated as the best address in town. Built by Robert Adam and later refaced and extended, it housed the Duke of Wellington from 1817 until his death in 1852, forming one of the many tributes gifted to the “Iron Duke” in thanks for his victory over Napoléon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The years of war against the French made the duke—born in Ireland as Arthur Wellesley—the greatest soldier and statesman in the land, so much so that the house’s location at Hyde Park Corner was soon nicknamed “hero’s corner” (even in the subway, beneath the turmoil of traffic,