About the Area for SilverDoor Serviced Apartments in London - South Kensington

London is the capital of England and of the United Kingdom. On 6th February 1952, Elizabeth Windsor became Queen Elizabeth II upon the death of her father King George VI and Buckingham Palace in Westminster remains her principal home. London is also home to approximately 7.5 million people and until the early 20’s was the most populous city in the world.

London was established as a civilian town by the Romans about seven years after the invasion of AD43, however there is evidence of prehistoric settlement in London dating from at least a thousand years before that. The name Londinium is thought to be pre-Celtic in origin and although there has been no academic consensus, it probably means "the flowing river".

During London’s 2,000 years of recorded history, it has experienced plague, devastating fire, civil war and two world wars; yet, it has still grown to become one of the most important business, financial and cultural capitals in the world.

The city is a major tourist destination, with four world heritage sites and numerous iconic landmarks such as the Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey and the London Eye amongst its many attractions, along with famous institutions such as the British Museum and the National Gallery.

London is made up of 32 boroughs, plus the City of London borough, and about 22 per cent of London's population were born outside of the UK, which is what makes it such an ethnically-mixed and culturally-diverse city.

Travel around London on public transport is easy and frequent. The London Underground (more commonly known as “The Tube”) serves 275 stations and there are hundreds of bus routes serving the city and suburban areas. London has five main train stations:-Waterloo, Victoria, St. Pancras, Paddington and Euston, with trains running to all of Britain’s major cities. Waterloo station is also the terminus for the Eurostar train to Paris.

With a large port and five international airports, London is a major international transport hub. Its main airport at Heathrow carries more international passengers than any other airport in the world.

South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles (3.9 km) west south-west of Charing Cross.

The Victoria and Albert Museum the Natural History Museum, Science Museum, Baden-Powell House, Royal Albert Hall, Imperial College London, Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Royal College of Music, are local and although this part is officially part of the small area known as Knightsbridge, it has an identity of its own.

Sandwiched between the extremely affluent centres of Knightsbridge and Chelsea, South Kensington is harder to characterise. Although a wealthy area overall, it also caters for large tourist and student populations; the former is reflected by the type of shops and eateries around South Kensington station, whilst the latter is evident by both the halls of residence for Imperial College London and the large number of language schools in the area, which attract a sizeable number of foreign students.

Tube Stations are Gloucester Road and South Kensington which have direct links to Charing Cross, Canon Street, King’s Cross, Euston, Paddington and Liverpool St main line stations. There is also a direct link to London Heathrow airport. Culture, centres of learning, transportation links and close proximity to the other vital areas of London make this a prime spot as indicated by the high property prices.