Luxury holidays in Mayfair
Mayfair’s rarefied environs make a laid-back base for exploring London’s West End. Hyde Park stretches out to its left, Soho’s lively labyrinthine streets to its right, and the area’s lower corners brush up against Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square. Named after the debauched May Fair held annually in the 17th century (then moved east, due to its lewdness), Mayfair’s now rather tony: stellar labels and luxury-yacht brokers line Old and New Bond Street, and Savile Row outfits London’s gents to the millimetre. Fine-art galleries attract high rollers to private views, and the Royal Academy of Arts has an exciting roster of exhibitions. Le Gavroche, Galvin at Windows, and eateries helmed by Ducasse and Darroze ensure the wealthy denizens who can afford to live here dine very well indeed. A jolly good show for a neighbourhood that grew from a swamp…
When to go
Score a future masterpiece at the Royal Academy of Arts' renowned summer exhibition from June to August. Otherwise Mayfair has year-round appeal.