Belgravia

Steps away from the roaring traffic of Hyde Park Corner, lying just to the east of Kensington and Chelsea, is quiet, fashionable Belgravia, one of the most impressive set pieces of 19th-century urban planning. Street after street is lined with grand, cream-color stucco terraces, once aristocrats’ town houses and most still part of the Grosvenor estate owned by the Duke of Westminster. Many buildings are leased to embassies or organizations, but a remarkable number around Lowndes Square, Eaton Place, and Eaton Square remain in the hands of private owners, whether old money or new oligarchs who put their security guards in the attached mews houses. Some people consider the area near Elizabeth Street to be southern Belgravia; others call it Pimlico-Victoria. Whatever its name, here small, unique stores specialize in baked goods, wine, gifts, and stationery.