Luxury holidays in Chelsea, London

Chelsea’s charming to explore: see next-big-things at the Saatchi Gallery in the Duke of York’s HQ, keep your eyes peeled for Chelsea Pensioners’ scarlet coats, fuel up at Tom’s Kitchen, Dinings or Bluebird, trip through Sloane Square, Duke of York Square and down the King’s Road, frittering spending money as you go, then recover with a pint in the Cross Keys, Chelsea’s oldest pub. Come May, shopfronts bloom for the Chelsea Flower Show; the Chelsea Physic Garden is green year-round and football fanatics can worship at Chelsea FC’s home ground. Don’t forget to detour down side streets with rainbow-hued houses and picturesque cobbled mews, too.

Recommended offers

See our boutique hotel deals

When to go

Chelsea is lovely in all weathers, with plentiful shops, bars and brunch spots to shelter in if the heavens open. The decoration effort for the RHS Flower Show is truly impressive; but, for a glittering Dickensian scene, come at Christmas.

Getting there

  • Planes

    From London Heathrow, the drive is around 40 minutes, or you can take the express train to Paddington Station and jump on the Circle Line to Sloane Square (roughly a 45-minute journey), or simply ride the Piccadilly Line to South Kensington and walk to Chelsea (an hour’s journey in total). From Gatwick (a 90-minute drive away), get the express train to Victoria, then hop on for one stop on the District or Circle Line to Sloane Square.

  • Automobiles

    Chelsea’s Tube stations are set fairly far apart (a bus is the quickest way to get from Sloane Square to Fulham Broadway at the other end of the King’s Road), but the Underground is still the easiest and most efficient way of exploring the city. The neighbourhood doesn’t fall inside the Congestion Charge zone, but you will have to deal with parking woes, traffic jams and other road rages.