Anonymous wrote:Op here- thanks all! To clarify, by shopping I mean independent boutiques (dresss, jewelry, etc) (no H&M, etc) and independent coffee shops (not Starbucks)! It looks like I may have points through Marriott which Means I may stay in st Pancras. Is that a cool area or close to what we want? Or should we spend the extra money and stay in one of the areas you mentioned above?

20 min walk to Clerkenwell, so sounds good to me!

Anonymous wrote:Op here- thanks all! To clarify, by shopping I mean independent boutiques (dresss, jewelry, etc) (no H&M, etc) and independent coffee shops (not Starbucks)! It looks like I may have points through Marriott which Means I may stay in st Pancras. Is that a cool area or close to what we want? Or should we spend the extra money and stay in one of the areas you mentioned above?

St Pancras is just a couple stops on teh Northern Line from Camden, so you could stay at St Pancras, but still explore Camden and head further out to Hampstead, both of which have what you are looking for.

Op here- thanks all! To clarify, by shopping I mean independent boutiques (dresss, jewelry, etc) (no H&M, etc) and independent coffee shops (not Starbucks)! It looks like I may have points through Marriott which Means I may stay in st Pancras. Is that a cool area or close to what we want? Or should we spend the extra money and stay in one of the areas you mentioned above?

Clerkenwell original suggestor (that's not a word is it?) and I feel so validated with two actual Londoners (and obviously cool ones at that) agreeing.

OP, you gotta do Clerkenwell and tell us how it was. I lived on a tiny street called Middle Street, in the *middle* of everything but also totally quiet. If you can find a good AirBnB there, you'd be golden. Don't miss Exmouth Market and check out what's on at Sadler Wells.

To the current Londoners, some restaurant recs would be much appreciated. I left in 2013 and used to hang out at the Three Kings pub, Jerusalem Tavern, The Modern Pantry (started going down in quality as I was leaving) and Moro offshoot Morito. But the London scene changes fast so these may be out of date by now...

Londoner here! I vote Barbican/Clerkenwell. Very well connected to the west end, 20 minute walk to Angel/Islington/Upper St and 20 minute walk out to Shoreditch. Can also walk to St. Paul's, South Bank etc. Best and most underrated neighborhood in London!

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Londoner here. To be honest, there are so many neighbourhoods in London like this - the distinct neighbourhoods are what makes London very different to most US cities. Shoreditch-Hoxton-Islington is one, a totally different one would be Hampstead-Primrose Hill-Camden (I'm linking them like this because they're close and you should try to experience all those different parts), Notting Hill-Westbourne Grove-Kensington.. I'll try to think of more but all of these (all easily accessible by tube) are good places to start

How many US cities have you been to? Most major US cities have very distinct neighborhoods, including:

NYC
Chicago
SF
LA
DC

etc. ...

I knew as I wrote that that someone would haul me over the coals for it! Yes, each of those cities have distinct neighbourhoods but it's different to London, because of the way London grew and developed as a city. Each of the neighbourhoods in London is like its own small town/village, with a high street full of shops, restaurants, etc. There are some neighbourhoods in some US cities that are a bit like that, but I haven't found that to be the case everywhere.

I spent years living in both NYC and London, and I agree with the Londoner. Yes, there are distinct neighborhoods in NYC, but they are not places most visitors bother going. I know the Lower East side and Upper West Side are very different to New Yorkers, but they aren't individual villages like, say Hampstead and Putney.

I'm confused by your statement. I agree there are fewer of these villages in NYC than London, but literally Greenwich Village used to be a village that was separate from NYC.

Moreover, what do you mean by "there are distinct neighborhoods ... but they aren't places most visitors bother going"? Greenwich Village is VERY different from the upper east side, for example. Both places get visitors all the time.

Have you spent any significant time in London? Because, while this is a silly side conversation in any event, it is a pointless side conversation if you aren't very familiar with London.

Yes I have, and while I agree this is a more widespread phenomenon in London, to say it's essentially non-existent in NYC is just wrong.

That's really my only point.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Londoner here. To be honest, there are so many neighbourhoods in London like this - the distinct neighbourhoods are what makes London very different to most US cities. Shoreditch-Hoxton-Islington is one, a totally different one would be Hampstead-Primrose Hill-Camden (I'm linking them like this because they're close and you should try to experience all those different parts), Notting Hill-Westbourne Grove-Kensington.. I'll try to think of more but all of these (all easily accessible by tube) are good places to start

How many US cities have you been to? Most major US cities have very distinct neighborhoods, including:

NYC
Chicago
SF
LA
DC

etc. ...

I knew as I wrote that that someone would haul me over the coals for it! Yes, each of those cities have distinct neighbourhoods but it's different to London, because of the way London grew and developed as a city. Each of the neighbourhoods in London is like its own small town/village, with a high street full of shops, restaurants, etc. There are some neighbourhoods in some US cities that are a bit like that, but I haven't found that to be the case everywhere.

I spent years living in both NYC and London, and I agree with the Londoner. Yes, there are distinct neighborhoods in NYC, but they are not places most visitors bother going. I know the Lower East side and Upper West Side are very different to New Yorkers, but they aren't individual villages like, say Hampstead and Putney.

I'm confused by your statement. I agree there are fewer of these villages in NYC than London, but literally Greenwich Village used to be a village that was separate from NYC.

Moreover, what do you mean by "there are distinct neighborhoods ... but they aren't places most visitors bother going"? Greenwich Village is VERY different from the upper east side, for example. Both places get visitors all the time.

Have you spent any significant time in London? Because, while this is a silly side conversation in any event, it is a pointless side conversation if you aren't very familiar with London.

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are going to London and would like to stay in an area that’s metro accessible and walkable to lots of places, and is most similar to 14th street in dc or the west village in NYC. Meaning, lots of shopping and great food, but not the most touristy spot. Any ideas?

We stayed in south kensington, near kensington palace which was great.

From Wikipedia: New York City is often referred to collectively as the five boroughs, and in turn, there are hundreds of distinct neighborhoods throughout the boroughs, many with a definable history and character to call their own.

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Anonymous wrote:Londoner here. To be honest, there are so many neighbourhoods in London like this - the distinct neighbourhoods are what makes London very different to most US cities. Shoreditch-Hoxton-Islington is one, a totally different one would be Hampstead-Primrose Hill-Camden (I'm linking them like this because they're close and you should try to experience all those different parts), Notting Hill-Westbourne Grove-Kensington.. I'll try to think of more but all of these (all easily accessible by tube) are good places to start

How many US cities have you been to? Most major US cities have very distinct neighborhoods, including:

NYC
Chicago
SF
LA
DC

etc. ...

I knew as I wrote that that someone would haul me over the coals for it! Yes, each of those cities have distinct neighbourhoods but it's different to London, because of the way London grew and developed as a city. Each of the neighbourhoods in London is like its own small town/village, with a high street full of shops, restaurants, etc. There are some neighbourhoods in some US cities that are a bit like that, but I haven't found that to be the case everywhere.

I spent years living in both NYC and London, and I agree with the Londoner. Yes, there are distinct neighborhoods in NYC, but they are not places most visitors bother going. I know the Lower East side and Upper West Side are very different to New Yorkers, but they aren't individual villages like, say Hampstead and Putney.

I'm confused by your statement. I agree there are fewer of these villages in NYC than London, but literally Greenwich Village used to be a village that was separate from NYC.

Moreover, what do you mean by "there are distinct neighborhoods ... but they aren't places most visitors bother going"? Greenwich Village is VERY different from the upper east side, for example. Both places get visitors all the time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Londoner here. To be honest, there are so many neighbourhoods in London like this - the distinct neighbourhoods are what makes London very different to most US cities. Shoreditch-Hoxton-Islington is one, a totally different one would be Hampstead-Primrose Hill-Camden (I'm linking them like this because they're close and you should try to experience all those different parts), Notting Hill-Westbourne Grove-Kensington.. I'll try to think of more but all of these (all easily accessible by tube) are good places to start

How many US cities have you been to? Most major US cities have very distinct neighborhoods, including:

NYC
Chicago
SF
LA
DC

etc. ...

I knew as I wrote that that someone would haul me over the coals for it! Yes, each of those cities have distinct neighbourhoods but it's different to London, because of the way London grew and developed as a city. Each of the neighbourhoods in London is like its own small town/village, with a high street full of shops, restaurants, etc. There are some neighbourhoods in some US cities that are a bit like that, but I haven't found that to be the case everywhere.

I spent years living in both NYC and London, and I agree with the Londoner. Yes, there are distinct neighborhoods in NYC, but they are not places most visitors bother going. I know the Lower East side and Upper West Side are very different to New Yorkers, but they aren't individual villages like, say Hampstead and Putney.

Anonymous wrote:In what decade? I live here now and there are always hordes of tourists reliving their satc days with stupid tours. There may be a few tiny corners that are less crowded but mostly it’s a tourist trap full of overly precious and expensive restaurants and shops they mostly ignore.

You sound like you dislike it.. why not move? What street are you on?

I used to live in London and still spend a lot of time there and agree with the Londoner - the different areas are unique in a way you don't see in the US cities. It's somewhat silly to be arguing over this because it's so obvious. London's urban history is quite different from most American cities. There are many things I can complain about London these days but this is not one of them.

To OP, most of central London fits your criteria to some extent, with some variation from area to area. I second the Clerkenwell suggestion. It's both within walking distance of the British Museum and Kings Cross but separate enough to have its own identity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Londoner here. To be honest, there are so many neighbourhoods in London like this - the distinct neighbourhoods are what makes London very different to most US cities. Shoreditch-Hoxton-Islington is one, a totally different one would be Hampstead-Primrose Hill-Camden (I'm linking them like this because they're close and you should try to experience all those different parts), Notting Hill-Westbourne Grove-Kensington.. I'll try to think of more but all of these (all easily accessible by tube) are good places to start

How many US cities have you been to? Most major US cities have very distinct neighborhoods, including:

NYC
Chicago
SF
LA
DC

etc. ...

I knew as I wrote that that someone would haul me over the coals for it! Yes, each of those cities have distinct neighbourhoods but it's different to London, because of the way London grew and developed as a city. Each of the neighbourhoods in London is like its own small town/village, with a high street full of shops, restaurants, etc. There are some neighbourhoods in some US cities that are a bit like that, but I haven't found that to be the case everywhere.

Of course it's not the case everywhere, but in older US cities it is. NYC absolutely used to have villages (aka Greenwich Village ). The large homes you see now in the upper east/west side used to be mansions for wealthy people that were surrounded by undeveloped land.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Londoner here. To be honest, there are so many neighbourhoods in London like this - the distinct neighbourhoods are what makes London very different to most US cities. Shoreditch-Hoxton-Islington is one, a totally different one would be Hampstead-Primrose Hill-Camden (I'm linking them like this because they're close and you should try to experience all those different parts), Notting Hill-Westbourne Grove-Kensington.. I'll try to think of more but all of these (all easily accessible by tube) are good places to start

How many US cities have you been to? Most major US cities have very distinct neighborhoods, including:

NYC
Chicago
SF
LA
DC

etc. ...

I knew as I wrote that that someone would haul me over the coals for it! Yes, each of those cities have distinct neighbourhoods but it's different to London, because of the way London grew and developed as a city. Each of the neighbourhoods in London is like its own small town/village, with a high street full of shops, restaurants, etc. There are some neighbourhoods in some US cities that are a bit like that, but I haven't found that to be the case everywhere.