The smart, definitive guide to Notting Hill, London

About Notting Hill

Notting Hill, located in west London, has become particularly famous in recent years due to its role in the movie of the same name.  As it was portrayed in the film, Notting Hill is a very affluent and fashionable area with a number of high class restaurants, shops and residential areas.  Despite Notthing Hill’s fairly high-brow reputation, it is still home to a vast array of varied entertainment, including some particularly famous repeating events such as the Notting Hill Carnival and the Portobello Road Market.  The annual Notting Hill Carnival, which takes place over the course of a weekend each August, is a community celebration with a focus on Caribbean culture.  The Portobello Road Market, which is popular with locals and tourists alike, features antiques, fruits, vegetables, clothing and various other knick-knacks and stretches over half a mile along Portobello Road.  The pedestrian traffic to the market makes the area incredibly busy on the weekends, particularly in the morning.

What's on in Notting Hill

Although the Notting Hill area has a reputation of uppercut society, that doesn’t mean there aren’t numerous entertainment offerings.  The Notting Hill Arts Club offers live music throughout the week and venues throughout the area provide top notch comedy.  Of course there are a number of art galleries to fit with the posh veneer of the area and cosy local pubs round out the entertainment scene of this area that offers something for everyone.

Notting Hill Venues

• Notting Hill Arts Club
  Best for: an eclectic underground club that is a trend leader in the club scene of London.
• Mau Mau Bar
  Best for: a DJ bar on the Portobello Road that gets a fair amount of tourist trade but maintains the atmosphere of a local thanks to the eccentricities of the staff and regulars.
• Gate Theatre
  Best for: one of the best fringe theatres in London.
• Inn on the Green
  Best for: a shed-load of activities and entertainment to go with the consumption of alcohol, including mini plays, table football tournaments, comedy nights and regular live music.
• Beverley Knowles Fine Arts
  Best for: the only art gallery in the country that specialises in contemporary British female artists.

Notting Hill Facts

Tubes: Notting Hill Gate, Ladbroke Grove, Westbourne Park
Borough: Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea