Hidden London

There is so much more to London than its famous landmark sites. Visitors wanting to discover a real feel for the capital should visit Belgravia, a silent stone’s throw from Victoria, Knightsbridge and Park Lane. Here the classic regency squares, streets and crescents created by Thomas Cundy and Thomas Cubitt are now home to boutique hotels, bespoke specialist food and fashion retailers, galleries, restaurants and cafes.

The Grosvenor family has owned the 200 acres of Belgravia since 1677, when Sir Thomas Grosvenor married Mary Davies, heiress to part of the Manor of Ebury. The conversion of the nearby Buckingham House into a palace for George IV in 1826 was the catalyst for the development of Belgravia into one of the most fashionable and desirable residential areas of central London.

Famous names to have made their home in Belgravia include Matthew Arnold, Stanley Baldwin, Neville Chamberlain, Dame Edith Evans, Ian Fleming, Vivien Leigh and Alfred Lord Tennyson.

Elizabeth Street, in the heart of Belgravia, offers visitors a stylishly different shopping experience. Sophisticated, edgy and often extravagantly quirky in style, the bespoke specialist retailers invite visitors to put the hurly burly and sameness of the high street behind them and discover an eclectic mix of original and interesting shops offering an inspired choice of goods and gifts - oysters and champagne, exquisite chocolate truffles, couture fashion, jewellery and perfume boutiques.

Home of so many famous signature shops that highlight the pages of the fashion and lifestyle glossy magazines - Philip Treacy, Jenny Packham, Erickson Beamon, De Vroomen, Ben de Lisi, Les Senteurs, TomTom Cigars and designer pet shop Mungo & Maud. Visitors will be tempted by the coffee shops and delis including specialist French baker Poilâne, Jeroboams fine wines and The Chocolate Society, the source of British haute couture chocolate. The many bars and restaurants offer a welcome respite from the business of shopping. This is Elizabeth Street – a ‘must visit, want to stay’ kind of place.

A stroll away is Motcomb Street with its picturesque cobbled streets, mews and courtyards. This is a secret shoppers paradise; home to some of London’s best specialist fashion and accessory shops, health and beauty salons, art and antique galleries, specialist food shops, restaurants and cafes.

Visitors can browse the art and antique galleries and then go on to enjoy lunch or dinner at the Michelin-starred restaurants Zafferano, Nahm or award winning Amaya. Mosimmans and Motcombs Bar & Restaurant are local institutions; for more discrete dining book a room in Motcombs Private Town House. Specialist food shops include Rococo chocolate, delicatessens Zafferano Deli and Ottolenghi.

Shopping in Motcomb Street is an experience to be savoured.

Local hotels include Tophams, Lime House Hotel, B & B Belgravia and Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel. Prices range from £55 per night through to £500 per night.

For more information, log on to inbelgravia.com and motcombstreet.co.uk.