London: Chelsea + Belgravia area: looking for practical advice.

Belgravia is across the wall from Buckingham Palace, if that helps give you an idea of what Emma is referring to above when she describes the area.

This summer, our family stayed for a week at a flat that was within walking distance of both Sloan Square and Victoria. Chelsea/Belgravia was a beautiful area, mostly residential (some boutique shops and restaurants surrounding the square) and very safe both day and night. Walking was very easy and very pleasant. For the tube, we preferred to use Sloan Square, but having access also to Victoria was helpful for a few of our excursions. From those two tube stops and all the wonderful buses, we found easy access to every section of the city we wished to visit. Victoria can be extremely busy and very crowded for blocks around. Sloan, aside from the worker's rush, was usually fairly quiet (relatively speaking--this is a big city, after all.) There are some stairs at Sloan, but nothing too challenging to handle with luggage, as long as you are not heavy packers. (We pack extremely light.) Have fun!

I have stayed in Belgravia twice at the Morgan House B&B which was in Rick's book (at least the 2013 edition). Last time though we stayed in Pimlico which is right in the same area (stayed on points at a major hotel chain). I am not quite clear where one neighborhood begins and the other ends, but in general the area around Victoria Station is a good choice. Very conveniently located, and the train station is always a good place to get a sandwich to eat if you are too tired to go out after a long day (not sure B&B owners like people eating in the room though). Recently Rick has been recommending the bus more in cities like London and Paris, and you can catch a great bus line in this area. You can see what's going on rather than being underground and sometimes the tube requires a lot of stairs. The area is pretty flat for walking, and one time i walked from the Belgravia to Harrod's and then to the Victoria and Albert at night and found it very enjoyable (V&A stays open late one night a week). If you are on the main streets there is traffic of course, but a street or two over and you will find it's pretty quiet from a traffic perspective considering it's a huge city. I used Sloane Square station, but often found myself using Victoria tube station as well. Can't recall how easy or hard those were for stairs, but I know what you mean about the variability with regard to stations being easy/hard. I think it's the fact that there are so many overlapping lines and some of them have to go under the river, too. My recollection is that the escalators are more reliable in London than in Paris where they always seemed to stopped, but maybe that's just my experience. We took the tube to the airport from Pimlico, getting on at Victoria. It was a bit of a hassle with the luggage but I don't recall it being too bad.

Chelsea and Belgravia are very posh areas. They are great areas to walk around and offer many amenities. Sloane Square has escalators going UP from the platforms and stairs going DOWN to the platforms. There are quite a bit of stairs. South Kensington station has NO escalator OR lift (elevator). Victoria station offers a bit of both depending on which line you are using. If I were to stay in Pimlico, I would stay closer to where it meets Chelsea.

We're going in September. FYI...eady we're finding that budget apartments (under $200 for 2 adults) are hard to get. Search www.home away.com.

Hi Jean-Paul,
Vikki from Virginia again. My 2 friends and I have booked a flat in the Notting Hill neighborhood of London. We will be in the city for 8 days. I used airbnb https://www.airbnb.com/ to find a place. This company was recommended by a family member of one of the friends going on the trip with me. They have used airbnb before and have never been disappointed. I hope this information helps you in your search for lodging. Vikki in Virginia.