This area of Kensington is centred around Queen’s Gate, a major road to Hyde Park that’s lined with gorgeous greenery, embassies, and hotels. It’s not all catered to visitors though. Turn a corner onto one of the many side streets and you’ll be blown away by the rows of pristinely maintained white Georgian terraced houses. Residents love the neighbourhood’s prime location and easy access to Hyde Park. For those looking for a smaller scale green space, there are even cosy gardens sprinkled throughout the neighbourhood, like local favourite Queens Gate Gardens. Beyond wealthy homeowners and tourists, a portion of Imperial College’s campus sits in the neighbourhood. Its busy students that dart through the streets add an extra ounce of energy to the area. With all that’s going on, it’s one neighbourhood that’s definitely worth a visit.

Queens Gate Road, which leads from Hyde Park to Old Brompton Road, was originally known as Albert’s Road. Which was the result of a land purchase deal as a part of the Great Exhibition in the 19th century. Since the event was so successful in highlighting the nation’s cultural and academic achievements, much of the land was later purchased and converted into permanent institutions like museums and embassies. Following these developments, the area continued to grow into a prestigious residential neighbourhood, housing some of London’s most elite residents.

Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965), former prime minister of the UK, both lived and died in a house in this neighbourhood. His home, located at 28 Hyde Park Gate, is actually just down the street from the former house of another famed Brit, Virginia Woolf (1882-1941).

Due to the high concentration of embassies, as well as visitors and students rushing through the area, it can at times feel a bit transient. However, the side streets are lined with beautiful Georgian terraced homes, in which residents have developed an active community through the Queens Gate residents’ association.

While there aren’t many major development projects going on in the area, Imperial College continues to lead major construction on its campus. The College’s vision is to create cutting-edge new research, teaching and gathering spaces with iconic art, architecture and landscaping to draw visitors, students and staff into the heart of the campus. A gift from the Dangoor family and The Exilarch Foundation is supporting the reinvigoration of outdoor space at the heart of Imperial’s South Kensington Campus. The gift will fund the development of a new plaza surrounding the Queen’s Lawn and the Queen’s Tower. The new Dangoor Plaza and Queen’s Lawn area will create over 250 square metres of extra green space. The College also began in January 2022 works relating to the essential restoration programme on the Queen’s Tower, which was built to mark Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887. New facilities are also expected to be developed, including a new cancer research centre, and many of the existing educational facilities are being modernised to suit contemporary digital teaching methods.