Notting Hill Walk: Self-Guided Route + Map

This 3.5-mile walk explores the iconic London neighbourhood of Notting Hill. It visits colourful houses, Portobello market, and landmarks from the film with a map and instructions to help you navigate this vibrant community.

Over the last hundred years, people from all around the world have flocked to live in Notting Hill. Leading the way were Caribbean immigrants in the 1950s and 1960s, who today live side by side with Moroccan, Spanish and Portuguese communities.

As a result, it’s a diverse and multicultural neighbourhood with lots of great attractions.

This excellent walk explores many of the best things to do in Notting Hill and is bookended by two excellent museums with a park visit in the middle.

The whole route would take around 90 minutes. However, if you explore the market, have brunch, stroll the shops, and go to the museums, you’ll need around half a day.

ABOUT THIS NOTTING HILL WALK

This Notting Hill Walk is split into two parts. The first covers the best Notting Hill attractions including Portobello Market, the colourful houses, and the Notting Hill film locations.

The second part heads into Holland Park and North Kensington. Exploring these two areas are one of the best things to do in London.

• Start – Ladbroke Grove Underground Station.
• Finish – High Street Kensington Underground Station.
• Distance – 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometres).
• How Long? – 2 to 3 hours.

If you don’t want to do the second half of the walk into Holland Park and Kensington, you can finish at Notting Hill tube station (see map below) which is halfway along the walk.

NOTTING HILL MAP

Use our map to navigate this Notting Hill Walk and to make sure you don’t miss any of the sights.

START | LADBROKE GROVE STATION

Start this Notting Hill walk at the Ladbroke Grove tube station.

MUSEUM OF BRANDS (OPTIONAL)

We recommend starting with a small detour to The Museum of Brands, just around the corner from Ladbroke Grove Station.

This nostalgic journey through 200 years of consumer culture is one of our favourite things to do in Notting Hill.

Packed with memorabilia from Victorian times through to the modern day, the museum is stuffed with cultural markers. Find vintage prints, household products, old magazines, toys and everything in between.

The building was once the world’s largest centre for people living with HIV. Princess Dianna regularly visited patients in the memorial garden which is now part of the cafe.

GOLBORNE ROAD

If you skip the museum, turn left out of the station, pass under the bridge, and then take the third right down Chesterton Road to reach Golborne Road (see walking map above).

Golborne Road is the heart of multi-cultural Notting Hill. It’s home to London’s Portuguese and Moroccan communities with stores selling bric-a-brac, furniture, and flowers. There some wonderful food stalls – try the Moroccan fish – and don’t miss the Golborne Deli. It’s best to visit on Fridays and Saturdays.

PORTOBELLO MARKET

After exploring Golborne Road turn left down Portobello Road. This road is the heart of Notting Hill and Portobello Market runs along its length. The market is split into 4 sections, each section has its own best day to visit.

• Vintage & Bric-a-brac Market: Friday, Saturday & Sunday
• Fashion Market: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
• Fruit & Veg Market: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
• Antiques market: Friday, Saturday

In our opinion, the most interesting are the Vintage and Antiques Markets, making Friday and Saturday excellent times to visit. However, they are also the busiest days.

Opening hours // In summer the stalls are usually open from 8.30 am to 6 pm and in winter from 9.30 am to 5 pm. Thursday is half day operating from 9 am to 1 pm. 

PORTOBELLO VINTAGE MARKET

As you walk south down Portobello Road the first part of the market you reach is the vintage market.

The stalls are set up on the edge of Portobello Green under the arches of the Westway Flyover. There’s a host of stalls selling vintage clothes (and some newer items), old second-hand books (bringing memories from your childhood), hand-made jewelry, and old vinyl records.

ACKLAM ROAD & VILLAGE

Just across from the market is Acklam Road. From Friday to Sunday stalls sell an eclectic mix of street food from around the world.

On Saturday (in the warmer months) Acklam Village opens its doors. This music venue has free live music on its stage under the arches. Grab a beer from the bar and settle in for some local entertainment.

Don’t miss the Banksy mural “The Painter” on the wall of The Grand Hotel on the corner of Portobello Road and Acklam Road. It’s one of the oldest intact Banksy’s in London, but it can only be seen when the street food market is not running, as the stalls block it.

To see more Banksy’s in London, read our Shoreditch street art guide.

PORTOBELLO FASHION MARKET

Walking under the bridge and continuing down Portobello Road you’ll find the Fashion Market. It sells everything from quirky hats to scarves, bags and designer items. There’s also a Spanish community here with a couple of tapas bars and a Spanish supermarket.

Don’t miss the Pepper Tree Vintage clothes store on the corner of Portobello Road and Lancaster Road and the numerous excellent charity stores.

LANCASTER ROAD

Turn left on Lancaster Road to find some of the most colourful houses in Notting Hill. An assortment of pastel facades line up side by side for a good photo opportunity. Don’t miss the house with the monkeys climbing up the facade.

Despite the number of tourists snapping photos, people live in these houses, so be conscious of their privacy.

Our Tip // Due to the proximity to Portobello Road, Lancaster Road can be very busy with tourists. But if you take the short detour over to Rosmead Gardens (see below), you can capture even better colourful houses without anyone else in your shot.

ALL SAINTS ROAD

Next turn right on All Saints Road to find two great music shops. Portobello Music sells all sorts of electric and acoustic guitars, while next door, People’s Sound Records is a treasure trove of dancehall and all things reggae. Jamaican colours, vinyl covers, and revival reggae music is a nod to Notting Hill’s Caribbean roots.

Turn right down pretty St Luke Mews and then a quick left, and then right to return to Portobello Road.

NOTTING HILL FILM LOCATIONS

You are now in Portobello’s Fruit and Veg market and dotted around its edges are several famous sights from the film Notting Hill starring Julia Roberts (Anna Scott) and Hugh Grant (William Thacker). The sights are marked on the map but here’s a quick rundown.

• Blue Door – The blue door to William’s flat is at 280 Westbourne Park Road. It’s easy to spot for the throng of people out front.
• Notting Hill Bookshop – The bookstore located at 13 Blenheim Crescent has been designed as a recreation of William Thackery’s bookshop from the movie, however, it’s not the one that was used in the film (despite the crowds out the front).
• 142 Portobello Road – The location of the actual shop used for filming the bookstore scenes. During filming it was an antique shop, it’s now a souvenir store with a sign saying “The Travel Book Store” as opposed to “The Travel Book Co” which is what appears in the film.
• Coronet Theatre – This arts venue used to be a cinema and it was used when William and Spike were watching a film.

BLENHEIM CRESCENT

There are a few other shops in this part of Notting Hill, around Blenheim Crescent, that are worth checking out.

Rough Trade West is the oldest and smallest of the Rough Trade stores, selling a collector’s array of vinyl. Buns from Home is right next door. It’s popular, but in our opinion, not worth the hype.

The Spice Shop is worth entering for the smell alone, and Books for Cooks has a huge selection for all types of chefs. Cable Co Coffee is on our list of the best cafes in Notting Hill.

ROSMEAD GARDENS (OPTIONAL DETOUR)

Dedicated fans of the Notting Hill film could take the detour down Elgin Crescent to Rosmead Gardens, where William and Anna climbed over the fence. The gardens are private so you can’t enter but you can sneak a peak through the fence.

Even if you’re not interested in the gardens, the walk along Elgin Crescent, down Rosmead Road, and back via Lansdowne Road will take you past some of the grandest properties in Notting Hill.

Each of these streets have beautiful houses with colourful facades that are more impressive than Lancaster Road.

PORTOBELLO ANTIQUES MARKET

Heading further along Portobello Road the Fruit & Veg market turns into the Antique Market. Here you’ll find silver plates and teapots, old matchbox cards, collectibles, telescopes, binoculars and much more.

Wander through the arcades that line the street where you’ll find furniture, paintings, and sculptures in a series of mazes.

Lining the road are an eclectic mix of map shops and Scottish clothing stores. Don’t miss Alice’s – a nostalgic and colourful antiques store.

HILLGATE

At the end of Portobello Road turn right down Pembridge Road, cross over Notting Hill Gate, and then take a quick right and then left onto Hillgate Street.

Hillgate is a charming little neighbourhood of narrow streets and pastel-coloured houses. In recent years it has become an excellent destination for food and coffee. Kuro has three locations: a bakery, café and brunch spot.  Eggbreak does all day brunch in a pretty Notting Hill House and Akub offers modern Palestinian cuisine using locally sourced ingredients.

Read about all our favourite breakfast spots in Notting Hill and our recommendation for a quality Notting Hill coffee to take a break on the walk.

Early Finish // You can finish the walk here by jumping on the tube at Notting Hill Gate station. Otherwise, continue on to explore Holland Park and Kensington High Street.

HOLLAND PARK

At the end of Hillgate Street, turn right onto Kensington Place (following the map above) and then right again on Camden Hill Road. Next turn left on Holland Park Avenue and the left on Holland Park. As the road bends right, a gate on your left allows you to enter Holland Park. This wonderful slice of green are the lungs of Notting Hill and Kensington. It’s a great place for a stroll, especially in spring when flowers are in bloom.

There are numerous paths to follow but we have chosen our favourite route (follow the Notting Hill walking map above). Don’t miss the Japanese Kyoto Garden and the walled gardens of the Belvedere and Orangery.

DESIGN MUSEUM

Exit Holland Park beside the Design Museum. This excellent small museum has a free permanent exhibition and only takes about an hour to explore. It is devoted to contemporary design in every form. Explore architecture, fashion, graphics, and industrial design.

We love this museum, largely because it feels like a shrine to our analogue and digital life. From cassettes to early CD players, Amstrad computers to iMacs; rotary phones to Samsung, it’s a walk down memory lane.

Exit the design museum, turn left on Kensington High Street to Kensington High Street tube station where this Notting Hill walk ends.

We hope you enjoyed it.

MORE GUIDES TO PLAN YOUR LONDON TRIP

• To get an idea of what you might like to do, read our guide to the best things to do in London.
• Our London Itinerary helps you plan 3 or 4 amazing days in the city.
• Find your perfect accommodation with our Where To Stay in London guide which includes a review of the best areas.
• A great neighbourhood to explore is Notting Hill – this guide covers the highlights.
• For a completely different area, take our Shoreditch Street Art walk.
• Our guide to accommodation in Soho includes our hotel recommendations and things to do.
• Get out and about with our top walks in London – each with a detailed map.