New York Habitat Blog

With the weather warming up again, London parks prove to be absolutely irresistible. Of course, in the capital city, there is no shortage of green spaces in which to greet the springtime sun. The question is how to navigate them all. Over the next few weeks, in celebration of spring, we’ll be bringing you some of the best places in London to get outdoors—and, with our New York Habitat vacation rentals, some of the best places to come back home to!

Squirrel in Hyde Park, London photo

One of the most stunning, centrally located places in London is Hyde Park, and visitors can spend a full day without ever leaving its leafy confines. Heading in from Kensington Road, on the southwest, there’s Kensington Palace, which was once home to Princess Diana. Not far from there is the Orangery, serving afternoon tea in its sunroom. If you continue north through the park to Bayswater Road, you’ll find a free fresh air art fair on Sundays (all works are for sale).

To the southeast, Hyde Park boasts a bike and walking path surrounded by all sorts of colorful flora, low-hanging trees that seem to form an overhead bridge and some of the friendliest (and most domesticated) squirrels in town. There are plenty of benches from which to watch their antics as well as those of the tourists who seem trained to feed and photograph them. If you follow this path to the east, it will lead you to the small but well curated Serpentine Gallery of arts and the snaking Serpentine waterway. Stop at the waterside Lido café or The Dell restaurant for a glass of wine or a light snack to fortify yourself for the debates and didacticism of Speakers’ Corner, to the northeast, or for an afternoon of museum hopping on nearby Cromwell Road.

To enjoy all of the action and every drop of sunshine in Hyde Park, stay in a nearby, conveniently located New York Habitat vacation accommodation, such as:

• A uniquely laid out, spectacularly designed 1-bedroom duplex in North Kensington, Kensington-Chelsea (LN-485) on the ground and first floors of a converted house in a nice, residential neighborhood. This vacation rental has a garden and terrace, large picture window for plenty of sunlight, a café-style dining area, decorative gas fireplace, washer/dryer, queen-sized bed and an open bathroom with tub just off the bedroom, in addition to a downstairs shower. It’s an easy walk to Portobello Road and Notting Hill. Past clients have raved: “We had a great time in London and the owner of the apartment was very helpful.”

• A bright 3-bedroom vacation accommodation in South Kensington, Kensington-Chelsea (LN-583) with a clean, modern motif. This apartment is on the ground, first and second floors of a quiet mid-terrace mews house located off Old Brompton Road, just a three-minute walk from South Kensington station. With three bathrooms, a queen-sized bed and walk-in closet in the master bedroom, wooden floors, and a huge, arched picture window that takes up nearly one wall, this rental will easily become your preferred home away from home.

• A cheerfully decorated studio in Notting Hill, Kensington-Chelsea (LN-152) with colorful furnishings and a large, dramatic picture window for springtime views. This vacation rental on the fifth floor of a portered building with elevator and full-time doorman is only a two-minute walk to Notting Hill Gate station. The studio has plenty of space, with a double bed, a double sofa bed, a washer/dryer, a dining area for four and two bathrooms: one with a tub and the other with a shower. There are also French doors in the living room that open onto a small balcony with seating—a perfect place for morning coffee in the sun.

This spring, enjoy London outdoors—and let the sun shine in your New York Habitat vacation rental!

Have a favorite spot in Hyde Park? Tell us about it with a comment below.

New York Habitat’s prime vacation rentals in Pimlico are a few steps away from Causton Street, where the Clash practiced tracks for London Calling in the long-gone Vanilla Studios, and a scenic walk to Ebury Street, where Mozart wrote his very first symphony. But these two at-odds distinctions are not why Pimlico earned its place at Number Three on our list of Must-See Musical Sights in London—and it’s certainly not because “Pimlico” is in a famous song. (It doesn’t rhyme with anything. Go on, we dare you to try!)

London Vacation Rental: 1 bedroom rental in Pimlico (LN-482) picture

Pimlico made our list simply because of its excellent location exactly three short stops away on the Victoria Line from Brixton—so, in the words of Eddy Grant’s 1983 hit, you can “rock down to Electric Avenue” anytime you want. And staying in New York Habitat’s vacation rentals will certainly help you “take it higher.”

Brixton is, excuse the pun, one of the most electrifying areas of London. It has a huge marketplace that sells Trinidadian and Guyanese rotis (wraps with spiced fillings), among a million other things you shouldn’t live without. In fact, the avenue got its name from this famous, sprawling marketplace, which was the first shopping area in London to have electricity.

It is also worth forcing yourself out of your fabulous Pimlico rental accommodations and taking the Tube three stops to check out: Bookmongers, a secondhand bookstore whose wares reach up to the ceiling; Photofusion, one of the most cutting-edge art galleries in London—or any other city; the retro Ritzy cinema playing arthouse and independent films; the reggae and dub music stores abounding; and the Duke of Edinburgh pub that hosts a backyard barbecue on summer Sundays.

Although Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue” was a skating rink smash in ‘80s America, it was considered social commentary in London, where its reggae influences reflect Brixton’s vibrancy and diversity, as well as the population’s predominantly Caribbean, African and Indian roots.

New York Habitat’s rentals in nearby Pimlico not only make this don’t-miss area accessible, they also happen to reflect the absolute best in mod accommodations. The design factor in these flats is absolutely through the roof. Not only do you have to see it to believe it—but you’ve got to stay in one of our furnished vacation rentals to truly get a sense of what Swingin’ London was all about.

Check out this one-bedroom apartment rental apartment in Westminster (LN-223) on Willow Place between Vauxhall Bridge Road and Rochester Row. It puts the Design Museum to shame—and Terence Conran created that! In addition to its contemporary style, this vacation accommodation has a flat-screen TV, a gas fire—and comes with a warning: You may not ever want to leave. No worries! Nearby Tachbrook Street has a food market during the week so you can buy provisions to bring back to your pad.

London Apartment: 1 bedroom rental in Westminster (LN-223) photo

Another sleek, chic place to stay is this one-bedroom vacation rental accommodation in Pimlico - Westminster (LN-482) on tucked-away Aylesford St. It’s accented with shocks of red and artwork adorning the walls. If that isn’t enough aesthetics, the Tate Britain is only a ten-minute walk away with its foremost collection of British art and Late at Tate gatherings the first Friday of each month, featuring live music, film screenings and a cash bar. The testimonial from a recent client who stayed in this accommodation raved, “Everything was simply perfect.” It may be mod, but there’s nothing ‘modest’ about it.

New York Habitat also offers an accommodation on quiet, cobbled St. George’s Mews. Behind its calm exterior is a deluxe duplex with an absolutely swingin’ staircase. This one-bedroom vacation rental in Pimlico - Westminster (LN-499) is right by the banks of the beautiful Thames River and the trendy, mod-ish Millbank Lounge.

Pimlico’s proximity to Electric Avenue—just a Tube ride and the Thames away—makes it our Number Three Must-See Musical Sight in London. Pimlico’s super-stylish accommodations make it a must-stay.

If you have missed the previous top musical must sees in London look back at:

• #4 Belgravia, London
• #5 World’s End, London

Now, let us know how long it takes to get that Eddy Grant song out of your head leave your comments below…and remember to check back next week for #2 in the count down of top must see musical sights in London.