todor

Years ago we've stayed around the Berkeley square area in Mayfair a couple times but this time we'd like to find another fun area to explore without using the tube at all. We prefer to take taxis or just stroll the pedestrian friendly areas.

avalon

Well if you can do buses, try South Kensington around Gloucester Road. We take the 49 bus to KIngs rd and pick up an 11 or 22 and it takes you everywhere you'd want to go. Or walk up to Cromwell Rd and take ..It's either the 47 or the 74 and that will take you in other directions. Get off around Sloane Sq and there is another bus stop with lots of lines on Lower Sloane St.

Lots of walking opportunities to, Harrod's V&A, Natural History, Kensington Gardens , Kensington Palace, Hyde Park, Cheyne Walk ..and on and on

jent103

I'd prefer Bloomsbury, near the British Museum. It's walkable to Oxford Street, Covent Garden, Leicester Square/West End, and Trafalgar Square (even Westminster if you're really into walking). Very easy bus rides to much more, and good Tube connections if you do want to go somewhere else without paying for a cab.

tom42

I am no London expert but when we went a few years ago, we stayed in Bloomsbury and I thought it was a great location. We walked everywhere.

avalon

ANd funnily enough I do not like Bloomsbury at all!I like lots of nearby services, like internet and laundry and cafes.

tom42

I wasn't looking for internet or laundry services so I can't comment on them but I think I recall that restaurants and cafes were abundant in that area (or a five to ten minute walk from there).

jent103

I'm with tom42 - I don't know about laundry, but I didn't think the area was lacking in restaurants/cafes. Especially not if you're willing to walk a few minutes. There used to be a big internet cafe near the Sainsbury's on Tottenham Court Road - not sure if it's still there, but our hotel (and the Radisson across the street) both had wifi.

todor

Thanks for your responses, I do have some vague but very good memories of both areas. As a teenager, I stayed at a fun youth hostel in Kensington and was very contented just exploring the area with newly found friends going to cheap pubs everyday. I went back the following year and stayed at the YMCA tower on Great Russell Street in Bloomsbury but again beer was my holy grail back then. I explored Mayfair and St James with wife and kids a decade later on a couple of trips, so now I’m looking for another good side of London to explore without kids preferably with good restaurants and scenery.

We plan to ride the London Eye and visit the Modern Tate, so Southwark came to mind as we've never been there but not sure if the area is worth a thorough exploration. We're open to any other suggestion.