MARYLEBONE

Marylebone is just a stone’s throw away from Oxford Street but once you’ve gone behind Selfridges you’d never know it – the area somehow manages to feel more village-y and less manic Central London-y despite its location. If you didn’t already know, a quick walk up and down the streets lined with Georgian architecture would tell you that it’s a very well-heeled neighbourhood. Aristocratic families owned much of the area in the 18th century and many of the period properties have survived and been converted; as well as some very nice flats, there’s Henry’s Townhouse, a boutique hotel in the building that Jane Austen’s brother Henry used to own, and the Wallace Collection is held inside Hertford House, a townhouse that belonged to the Seymour family.

In Marylebone the shops are stylish and the restaurants are smart. From Michelin-starred spots like Locanda Locatelli and Trishna’s to new kids on the block Kol and Taka, you’re not short of places to eat here (or places to drop a few quid on dinner either). If you prefer to splash your cash on your body, rather than what goes inside it, then you’ll find plenty of aesthetic clinics on Harley Street where you can undergo virtually every and any treatment under the sun. Marylebone can’t escape the tourists though, not when it’s home to Baker Street and certain famous fictional detective. You don’t need to be a super sleuth to uncover references to Sherlock Holmes as there’s even a museum dedicated to the man (at 221b Baker Street, naturally).