Would appreciate feedback on where and how to find these kinds of streets - maybe some like Bow Lane near St Mary-le-Bow church, Cornhill near Bank station and Cheney Walk in Chelsea.

Don't know what kind of streets you are looking for Degas. Cheney Walk has some very smart houses, nothing else. One of my favorite bits of London is Chelsea Green and Elystan Street; very much a local neighbourhood street with small shops, pub (it used to be my neighbourhood). If I win the lottery, I would like to live in St Leonard's Terrace, overlooking Burton's Court (just south of Kings Road).

Enticing you to what, I wonder? I hesitate to suggest Shepherd Market. But I think you might mean somewhere like Meard St in Soho or Wilkes St in Spitalfields. Another possibility might be Strand on the Green in Chiswick.

On http://victorianresearch.org/haineswalks.html, under Blackfriars to Brick Lane, I take readers through streets of the medieval City even smaller than Cornhill and Bow Lane. Higher on the same web site, days two and three of the week?s walks are through pleasant, narrow streets.

What a good thing Christopher Wren did not have his way and make a London of boulevards and perspectives. The Mall is truly boring. Welcome to London

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how about carnaby street. it's a bit austin powersish but kind of fun.

In response to Patrick's reply, I would also suggest Shepherd Market. Isn't that the area where all the high-price "escorts" live? It's definitely not a seedy area and has quite a few funky bistros and is kind of tucked away from everything.

I also worked on Strand on the Green in Chiswick. It's a nice street on the banks of the Thames, but the surrounding Chiswick area isn't that picturesque, so I'd only go there for a quick wander and some lunch maybe. But if you have to travel there from the West End or the City, it's not really worth it.

I like wandering around Hampstead myself.

How about Chesterfield Street in Mayfair - a virtually intact Georgian street. And then Charles Street that leads down to Berkley Square?

Do you always attempt to answer your own questions, Degas - or only when you forget to switch to one of the numerous other screen names you use here?