From Abbey Road to Westminster: the A-Z of iconic London streets

Let’s face it, few cities around the world can boast the plethora of famous streets that London can. And that’s not just because the original version of Monopoly is played all over the globe. Indeed, from Abbey Road to Westminster, the UK capital’s most renowned thoroughfares are the stuff of legend – so, which must you include on your London itinerary…? 

Abbey Road

Practically anybody who knows anything about The Beatles will have heard of Abbey Road. In fact, many a general music fan will have, too. That’s because it isn’t just the street after which the Fab Four named their classic final album (with its picture-perfect pedestrian crossing on the album cover), it’s also the location of the music studios where they recorded this and every one of their albums – and where many a famous and up-and-coming music artist has and continues to record music to this day.

In reality, the part of Abbey Road (to be found in the verdant St John’s Wood district) that’s world-famous is only a tiny bit of roadway – pretty much the few metres of it that runs alongside the music studios and the aforementioned pedestrian crossing. It’s well worth a visit, though, given it’s a site of iconic musical heritage. You’ll want to check out all the graffiti-like messages written by Beatles fans that litter the outer walls of the studio (they’re periodically washed off but always reappear, needing to be washed off all over again) and, naturally, get a selfie of yourself walking along the pedestrian crossing in Fab Four-style – just makes sure whoever’s taking the picture doesn’t get run over as they do so! 

Baker Street

Globally renowned for its role in super sleuth Sherlock Holmes’s address (221B Baker Street), this street’s another hugely popular one with visitors – especially those who’ve booked a stay at nearby accommodation Paddington London. For the most part, Baker Street is a busy Central London thoroughfare whose most notable aspects are its Tube station and proximity to Madame Tussauds, but millions of peeps flock to it each year for its association with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s creation. Beware, though, what would be at 221B Baker Street bears no resemblance to anything Holmes-related; yet, there is a museum dedicated to the deerstalker-wearer just a little way down the road.   

Bond Street and Regent Street

Two of the West End’s most distinguished shopping boulevards (there’s the legendarily long Oxford Street, too, of course), Bond Street and Regent Street are renowned for the refinement of their retail experiences, being home to a number of elite brands and designer boutiques. Dating all the way back to the West End’s 17th Century beginnings (which makes them both older than the entire United States – yes, really!), they together boast pretty much the highest density of haute couture stores on Planet Earth. 

Brick Lane

A great example of the sheer diversity on offer on a visit to London (as you enjoy the benefits of Paddington hotel special offers), an experience to be had on Brick Lane couldn’t be more different to that in Bond Street. Perhaps the most famous street in all of the East End, this Shoreditch-located thoroughfare originally gained notoriety in the 17th Century for its breweries, only to become famous in the 19th Century for its multitudes of market stalls. Nowadays, Brick Lane is identified with the colour and vibrancy of East London’s multiculturism; in particular, its curry houses are known as being some of the finest anywhere in the world. 

Camden High Street

There’s nowhere quite like Camden Town. This small district – and especially its high street – that lies effectively between Central and North London is a playground for the alternative culture crowd; its warrens of markets, rock and punk music bars and venues and brilliantly, uniquely colourful clothes boutiques are unlike anything you may have quite experienced anywhere else. Indeed, just walking around Camden – especially at the weekend – is worth the trip in itself, but it’s biggest draw is probably its nightlife. The density and diversity of nightspots in Camden rivals only those of the West End and the East’s hipster-ish Shoreditch/ Old Street. 

Carnaby Street

The stuff of legend, this short street just off the regal Regent Street that leads into the West End’s nightspot-rich Soho will be forever synonymous with the Swinging Sixties. Nowadays, it’s entirely pedestrianised and packed full of boutiquey-style outlets that evoke something of the style and spirit of the stores and venues that made it such an essential destination fifty-plus years ago. Naturally, it’s usually a must-visit for well-heeled bookers at the The Chilworth Paddington hotel. 

Downing Street and Whitehall

The heart of political power in the UK, Downing Street and Whitehall are the two streets that lie at the centre of the Westminster district, where you’ll find not just majestic attractions like the millennium-old Westminster Abbey but also the iconic Victorian Gothic masterpiece that’s the instantly recognisable Houses of Parliament (Big Ben included). Downing Street is, of course, the short little street of black-brick terraced buildings in which stands the world-famous 10 Downing Street, address and chief workplace of Britain’s Prime Minister.

Admittedly, due to necessary security protocols, members of the public can’t walk down Downing Street, but the legendary black door of Number 10 can be seen from the gates at the end of the street (so, unmissable if you’re taking advantage of London hotels deals special offers?). Meanwhile, Westminster is the thoroughfare of grand grey-brick Government buildings off which Horse Guards Parade and, yes, Downing Street are located, which itself runs from Westminster up to the tourist-trap that’s Trafalgar Square. 

King’s Road

Often referred to as *The* King’s Road, this boulevard runs from swanky Sloane Square, right through the heart of luxurious Chelsea and to the West London district of Fulham and, for many, is just as identified with the Swinging Sixties as Carnaby Street. One-time home to trendy boutiques like Biba and Granny Takes a Trip, it’s now a haven for so-called ‘Sloane Rangers’, the moneyed young-about-town who tend to live in nearby Kensington and whom love to frequent its upmarket clothes and homeware stores, art galleries, patisseries, ice cream parlours and hip bars and pubs.