New York Habitat Blog

As the intellectual epicenter of nineteenth and twentieth century, London, and especially the Bloomsbury area, were home to some of the most celebrated authors and thinkers of the time. With the University of London, the British Museum, the British Library, the Pushkin House and the Dickens House all within walking distance, it’s no wonder that the area continues to attract academics, artists and literature lovers from the world over. Want to make sure the story of your visit to London has a happy ending? Book a stay in a nearby New York Habitat vacation accommodation!

London Accommodation: 2-bedroom rental in fitzrovia LN-269 photo

The history of Bloomsbury reads like the shelves of a library: Virginia Woolf lived at 51 Gordon Square and hosted the famed Bloomsbury Group there. Jeremy Bentham founded University College on Gower Street, where his remains can still be seen in the South Wing (for a sight you’ll never forget, skip Madame Toussaud’s and head here instead!). T.S. Eliot was dubbed “the Pope of Russell Square” and hid out from his first wife at 24 Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Mary Godwin is rumored to have first met Shelley in the St. Pancras Old Church, where she was visiting the grave of her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft.

Although blue plaques abound, the best part about Bloomsbury is that its history and culture can still be felt on its vibrant streets, in its varied bookstores, and in its myriad museums and galleries.

Take a break in charming Bedford Square to see one of London’s best-preserved eighteenth century public spaces. Stop in Sir John Soane’s Museum for its enormous and eclectic collection of sculptures and rarities…not to mention its eccentric layout. And browse the rare books or buy a gently used paperback in the reasonably priced shops along Charing Cross Road—a London institution struggling to compete with chain stores. Take your treasure to bed and read until you fall comfortably asleep in one of these suggested New York Habitat vacation rentals:

• A spacious and well laid out 2-bedroom vacation rental in Bloomsbury-Westminster (LN-640) in an apartment building with elevator. This accommodation has two bathrooms, a laundry/dryer, dining for six, and a double sofa bed in the living room, in addition to the two bedrooms, so it’s perfect for a family, a group of friends or an entire book club!

• A sunny and immaculate 2-bedroom rental accommodation in Bloomsbury-Westminster (LN-388) in a large apartment building with elevator and full-time doorman. The master bedroom has a king-sized bed, the second bedroom has twin beds and the sofa bed in the living room sleeps two. Client testimonials state: “I wish to tell you that the apartment greatly suited our requests and therefore I definitely recommend it”; “The three-room flat we were in was simple but quite pleasant”; “We…found the location and condition of the apartment to be very favorable.”

• A modern and lovely 2-bedroom vacation accommodation in Fitzrovia-Westminster (LN-269) conveniently located between Goodge Street and Tottenham Court Road. This second-floor apartment (in a building with elevator) has leather furnishings, wood floors, electric heating, a queen-sized bed in the master bedroom, two twins that can be zipped into a king in the second bedroom, and contemporary décor throughout.

Bloomsbury is where literary London comes to life! Let New York Habitat put you in the heart of this historical and cultural center.

Which London-based book is your favorite? Let us know with a comment below.

Most visitors to London have the British Museum near the top of their list of things to see—and it certainly is an afternoon well spent. But many overlook the wonderment contained in the nearby Sir John Soane’s Museum, a curio cabinet of a house that holds the architect’s earthly treasures. No need to sacrifice one for the other—a stay in a New York Habitat rental accommodation in Bloomsbury or Fitzrovia will put you in walking distance of both, with time to spare for tea.

London Accommodation 3-bedroom in Fitzrovia LN-328

The area around Bloomsbury is among the loveliest in London, with plenty of public squares and narrow sidestreets down which to wander, as well as an increasing Eastern European influence. But its crowning jewel is the British Museum—especially after renovations that gave it a glass-ceilinged courtyard—so don’t expect to have the galleries all to yourself, especially on those not infrequent rainy afternoons. 

The main floor of the museum is by far the most popular due to the Great Court, the Egyptian/Grecian wings (which house the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles) and, of course, the gift shop. But the upper floors are where you’ll find anything British in the British Museum, and the Library Galleries are a stunning and overwhelming collection of manuscripts and music, as well as being one of the few quiet spots in the building (Marx even did some of his writing here).      

When, as the song goes, the British Museum has lost its charm, it’s time to head a couple of blocks over to Sir John Soane’s Museum, where the typical townhouse exterior belies the magnitude of what’s inside. The architect used to live here himself, and fashioned a labyrinthine home with convex mirrors to distort space, cut-out courtyards, skylights and narrow walkways crammed with every imaginable kind of sculpture (including his mummified dog) and overlooking—what else?—a sarcophagus of Seti I on the lower level, for which Soane outbid the British Museum.

Visitors are usually as impressed by the layout of the place itself as they are by all of the Hogarth paintings and historical pieces displayed throughout it. The overall effect is something between a videogame setting (where you’re stuck in an abandoned mansion without a map but with plenty of marauding zombies—trust us on this!) and a mad scientist’s laboratory if he collected sculpture as his specimens. Let’s call the style “English eccentric” for short.

London Accommodation: studio in Westminister (LN-386)

For a truly unforgettable experience, go to the Soane Museum during one of the candle-lit evening tours in which you wind your way toward the basement and its centerpiece sarcophagus. But for a truly unforgettable place to stay—minus the mummy—we suggest one of these conveniently located New York Habitat vacation rentals:

• A first-floor 3-bedroom furnished apartment in Westminster-Fitzrovia on a quiet mews near Goodge Street station. This contemporary accommodation has a balcony looking out on communal gardens, floor-to-ceiling windows in the kitchen and living room, and its own parking space.

• A spacious 3-bedroom rental accommodation in Westminster-Fitzrovia (LN-328) on the fifth floor of a modern apartment building, with elevator, that borders pretty Fitzroy Square. 

• For something smaller, we have a furnished studio in Westminster-Bloomsbury (LN-386) on the second floor of an apartment building, near Euston station, that employs a part-time doorman.  

Each of these New York Habitat accommodations will put you in the heart of London, near two of its most eclectic spaces. But the surrounding area is really a work of art in itself. 

What’s your favorite piece in the enormous collections of the British Museum? Have you ever been to Sir John Soane’s Museum or had a run-in with the reputed ghost in the girls’ room? Please let us know by leaving your comments below.