Kensington & Chelsea
Kensington & Chelsea is London’s smallest borough by area. But it packs a big punch with tourist draws like Portobello Road and a number of museums, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Natural History Museum and Science Museum.
It includes some of London’s wealthiest neighbourhoods, such as Chelsea and Knightsbridge. But 2017’s catastrophic Grenfell Tower fire in North Kensington is a reminder of the borough’s high inequality.
Among the notable figures to have called Kensington & Chelsea home are poet and playwright Oscar Wilde and novelist Agatha Christie. Royals including Princess Margaret and Princess Diana have lived in Kensington Palace.
Up the road from there each August bank holiday, the streets come alive with Notting Hill Carnival. Beginning in 1966 as a celebration of the area’s Caribbean heritage and culture, it has evolved into one of the biggest street parties in Europe and draws millions of visitors each year.
Portobello Road in the Notting Hill area of Kensington & Chelsea
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Pleasure gardens: London’s first music venues
Handel at Vauxhall? Mozart at Ranelagh? For 18th-century music fans, these were the places to be
Lost rivers: The Westbourne
Until the 1800s, the Westbourne flowed through the countryside and could safely quench your thirst
Kensington Market led British alt fashion for 33 years
Where Freddie Mercury sold boots and punk thrived
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The House at Chelsea in the County of Middlesex (coloured engraving)
Knyff, Leonard, Kip, Johannes
1716-1725
