Notting Hill
Carnival, Portobello Road and a much-loved film have made Notting Hill one of London’s most recognisable neighbourhoods. Behind the fame sit stucco terraces, private garden squares and streets of independent shops that give the area its enduring character.
Carnival, market and film.
Think of Notting Hill and three things tend to come to mind: the annual Carnival, Portobello Road market and Richard Curtis’s 1999 film Notting Hill, which reminded London that here lay one of its most covetable places to live.
Carnival celebrates Caribbean culture and is regarded as the largest street festival in Europe. Its roots lie in Claudia Jones’s indoor Caribbean Carnival of 1959, staged after the 1958 race riots, and in the outdoor neighbourhood festival organised in 1966 by local resident and community activist Rhaune Laslett. Source
Portobello Road market is just as intriguing. It began in the mid-1800s selling food and everyday essentials to the households of the new streets rising around it, and from the 1940s began to trade in the antiques for which it is still known.
The film has become part of the area’s history too. The blue door still draws visitors, as does the bookshop that inspired the story: the former Travel Bookshop at 13 Blenheim Crescent, which closed in 2011 and is now the Notting Hill Bookshop. Source
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Stucco, garden squares and period conversions.
In the quarter-century after the film’s release, Notting Hill became one of the most sought-after property markets in the world. Savills reported in May 2024 that prime values had risen by around 264% over that period, from an average of £1.2 million in 1999 to £4.3 million. Savills, May 2024
The archetypal Notting Hill home is a large stucco-fronted house with access to one of the private communal gardens for which the area is famous. Savills cited garden-square houses at upwards of £8 million in 2024, and our earlier guide noted that the finest can reach around £10 million. Around Portobello Road there are also plenty of smaller flats, popular with younger buyers looking for an upmarket neighbourhood that still retains a little edge.
“The archetypal Notting Hill home is a large stucco-fronted house with access to one of the private communal gardens for which the area is famed.”Back to contents ↑
Streets to wander, parks and culture.
This is a neighbourhood made for an unhurried stroll, and you will happen upon gems as you go. Golborne Road is a must if you like shops offering rustic and unusual furniture alongside clothes and bric-a-brac. Ledbury Road has upmarket boutiques scattered between candy-coloured houses, while Westbourne Grove runs like an artery through the heart of Notting Hill, connecting its higgledy-piggledy streets.
You would be remiss not to head into Hyde Park. The Kensington Gardens side offers beautiful winding walks and is where J. M. Barrie set Peter Pan, and Kensington Palace is worth a visit for its magnificent staircase alone.
Notting Hill is well supplied with art and performance spaces. The Tabernacle, a community arts centre, regularly showcases artists of many disciplines. For an elevated night at the cinema, the Electric on Portobello Road, now part of Soho House’s Electric House, offers comfortable sofas, cocktails and bar service to your seat. Source
Recommendations carried forward from our earlier guide and rechecked in October 2026 where public sources allowed. Opening details change, so please confirm before visiting.
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Westbourne Grove and independent bookshops.
You would be hard pressed not to find plenty to buy on Westbourne Grove. It is a destination for beauty lovers, with Space NK (home to a Margaret Dabbs clinic, known for excellent pedicures), Diptyque and Kama Ayurveda, which opened its first UK store here in 2023 and offers Ayurvedic head massages in its lower-ground treatment rooms. Source Source
Fashion is well represented too: Rails for casual but luxe shirts, Sézane for effortless French style, and a very good Oxfam Boutique stocked with clothes that once belonged to the area’s many well-known residents. Source
Independent bookshops are a particular pleasure. From the Notting Hill Bookshop on Blenheim Crescent to Lutyens & Rubinstein and Books for Cooks, you won’t struggle to find something to read under a tree in the park.
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Treatments, studios and members’ clubs.
Beyond Margaret Dabbs and Kama Ayurveda, Strip is the local favourite for waxing, while Cloud Twelve, a family members’ club, combines massage and treatments with nutrition advice and a gym. Time Out, April 2025
For a workout in beautiful surroundings, our earlier guide recommended Bodyism, known for its smoothie bar, and Body Works West. Barrecore’s Notting Hill studio, also recommended previously, closed in September 2026 when its operator shut its London studios. IBTimes, 24 September 2026
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Brunch, neighbourhood restaurants and pubs.
Notting Hill is a food lover’s neighbourhood, with brunch spots, coffee shops and serious restaurants all within a short walk. Breakfast at Granger & Co, take tea while people-watching at one of the cafés on Westbourne Grove, then go on to dinner.
Gold on Portobello Road, Strakers on Golborne Road (opened in 2022) and Wild on Westbourne Grove (opened in 2023) are all well regarded. Gold Strakers Wild
Pubs are not in short supply either. The most celebrated include The Cow and the weathered but much-loved Cock & Bottle.
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Our home in Notting Hill.
Sources and dates.
This guide is adapted from our ‘Spotlight on Notting Hill’ guide, previously published at kensingtonhouse.com/london/notting-hill. It was revised and fact-checked on 6 October 2026.
Market figures carry the period they measure and the source they come from. Figures from our earlier guide are historical context, not current values, and nothing on this page is a forecast, investment advice or a promise of future returns. Venue details were rechecked where public sources allowed; please confirm opening details before visiting.