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Notting Hill - A Guide

A guide to exploring Notting Hill, one of London’s trendiest and most popular neighbourhoods. It’s well-known for the street market that takes place every Saturday in Portobello Road, the iconic road made famous in the film Notting Hill. You’ll find loads of vintage goods and antique stalls as well as food stands, cafes and restaurants.

Getting there:

We’ll start this guide to Notting Hill at Westbourne Park underground station which runs on the Circle and Hammersmith and City lines. Take a left out of the station, a further left on Elkstone Road and then left onto Golborne Road.

golborne road:

On Saturday’s you’ll find a second-hand market along Golborne Road, with lots of stalls selling clothes, junk goods and food. There are also some more upscale shops on either side of the road and it’s a nice place to have a stroll on your way to Portobello Road Market.

Portobello Road Market:

Take a left at the Spanish Institute and you’ll arrive at Portobello Road Market.

This street is the heart of any Notting Hill guide and is famous for its second hand markets that take place every Saturday. The market is open from 9am to 7pm on Saturday’s. (During the rest of the week there’s a much-reduced market, and different opening times.) It’s a long street, with over 1,000 stalls, and is roughly divided into 3 sections.

Section 1 – Flea Market:

The first part of Portobello Road is the flea market, with loads of stalls selling every imaginable kind of bargain priced goods. You’ll also come across a covered area with food stalls selling take away meals from all over the world…

Section 2 – Vintage and Fashion

The second section of Portobello Road is dedicated more to vintage and fashion goods along with newer products. There are loads of cafes and restaurants on each side of the street, the perfect places to grab a bite to eat. A couple of household names include Gail’s bakery, Electric Diner and Honest Burgers.

Section 3 – Antiques:

This is the probably the section of Portobello Road Market that is most famous in Notting Hill. Lots of antique stores selling anything from old pottery and china to jewellery, vintage cameras, watches and more. It’s a great place to have a walk around and perhaps buy something to remember your visit to Notting Hill!

From the antique section of Portobello Road you could choose to head directly to Notting Hill Gate station and discover another neighbourhood of London, or make a detour, and walk around the residential part of the Notting Hill Neighbourhood

Notting Hill Neighbourhood Walk:

This Notting Hill Neighbourhood Walk takes you around some of the typical streets in the area with their multi-coloured houses (see picture above).

Start by taking a right off of Portobello Road and onto Kensington Park Gardens. Tall Georgian houses line either side of this impressive street, and you’ll see the large St John’s Church at the end of the road. From here, head through some of the smaller streets like Lansdowne Crescent, Walmer Road and Princedale Road.

At the end of Princedale Road, take a left onto Holland Park Avenue. This upscale high street has lots of expensive shops and cafes and is a good way to end a day exploring the Notting Hill neighbourhood. Holland Park and Notting Hill Gate underground stations are both situated along this street.

notting hill carnival:

Every year at the end of August for 2 days, the Notting Hill Carnival comes to town, one of the largest street festivals in the world. It’s known for its incredible entertainment with magnificent costumes, dancing, music and more. If you are visiting London at the end of August, make sure not to miss it!