Top Tips for Visiting Kensington

Nov 24
09:04

2015

Lisa Jeeves

Lisa Jeeves

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So, you’re planning to explore some of Kensington’s attractions? Here are a few tips you might find useful when visiting Kensington and its surrounds.

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Got a trip to London planned? Most visitors to the capital plan on visiting Kensington while there and,Top Tips for Visiting Kensington Articles as one of the city's most in-demand areas there's a lot to see. While you may have a guidebook and know all the 'iconic' attractions, here are a few tips that could come in handy that you might not see in the typical official guides.

Lunch in the Big Museums

Kensington is often referred to as 'Museum Land', owing to several major institutions based there. They’re all fantastic to visit (in fact, they're on the 'must-see' list) but be warned that at weekends (or almost any day of the week between June-September) they can get exceptionally busy. That means it can be difficult - bordering impossible - to get into their in-house restaurants and cafés (which are also expensive). The best idea is to take a packed lunch, although be ready for a few difficulties in finding somewhere to eat it too! But be patient and you'll be able to enjoy a far more relaxed break than by pushing and shoving in the museum café.

Hotels in Kensington

Many people seem to believe that hotels in this area will be beyond their reach in financial terms. Don’t assume that’ll be the case. There are some good deals on offer in some of the best hotels and nothing will make visiting Kensington easier than if you’re actually staying there.

Use Your Feet

Getting around the area is easy thanks to London’s Underground and the related bus services. However, particularly at peak times, the tubes and buses can be very busy – sometimes uncomfortably so. If you look at a map however, you’ll see many of the prime tourist attractions are located within relatively easy walking distance of each other. So while your natural instinct might be to go for the train or a bus, try walking instead - it’ll most likely be faster!

Don’t Focus Exclusively on Big-name Sites

Your guidebook will probably be full of information on the Royal Albert Hall and Science Museum, as well as many other nationally important attractions in the local area. That’s fair enough, but don’t let it obscure the fact that Kensington has been a favoured residential area over the centuries. Many famous people have made their homes here and some of those are open to the public - Thomas Carlyle’s house is just one site of interest.

There are also dozens of lesser-known attractions to see here as well. Do some research before visiting Kensington and look out for some of the quirkier sights. The results will give you a very different perspective on the borough.

Crime

Tourism-related crime is low in London compared to many other capital cities around the world, but even so, where tourists gather in numbers, crooks will try and take advantage.
This usually involves pickpockets operating around queues and in busy public places, but some scamming involving people pretending to be what they’re not is also involved at times. Stay alert.

Eating out

There are some excellent restaurants in the area offering almost every kind of cuisine imaginable. However, they’re also located in a major tourist area so their prices will, typically, reflect that.

By contrast, just slightly north of Kensington is the trendy but less touristy Notting Hill, and to the southwest is Hammersmith. Just a short bus or tube ride away you’ll find equally great restaurants in these locations, but they offer far lower prices.

Most people put visiting Kensington at the very top of their list of must-see places in London – and it's not hard to see why.

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