Notting Hill
About 3 miles west of Piccadilly and London's 'West End' Notting Hill Gate marked the entrance to the London metropolitan area on the main road from the important University City of Oxford. Notting Hill developed mainly in the middle of the 19th. century and the area is known for its characteristic Victorian architecture of fine terraced stucco-fronted houses separated by tree-lined streets and squares. (Link) More recently it has become better known for its antique and silver market Portobello Road and annual festival of Caribbean culture, the Notting Hill Carnival, not to mention the setting for the film of that name starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. Now at the beginning of the 21st. century it has become a vibrant cosmopolitan area popular with young people and celebrities alike and offering a fascinating variety of restaurants, cafes, delicatessens and shops specializing in organic and whole foods, couture, antiques, music and arts. Apart from the weekly market in the Portobello Road on Fridays and Saturdays there are organic markets on Thursdays and Saturdays, a choice of 3 cinemas, a theatre, 2 libraries and several health and sports clubs Last, but not least, are the comprehensive transport facilities which include 3 Underground lines, numerous bus routes and express coach services to London Airport and Oxford.

Transport
Notting Hill Gate station (zone 2) has the Circle, Central and District underground lines and in the - north of Notting Hill the Hammersmith and City line runs through Ladbroke Grove and Westbourne Park stations (both zone 2). 2 stops from Westbourne Park is Paddington mainline station with the Heathrow Express (15 mins to London Airport) and high speed trains to the west, north west and south west of England and south Wales.

Buses
Numerous bus routes run through the district of which the principal ones are:
7 -from Westbourne Park Road to Paddington station, Edgware Road, Marble Arch, Oxford Circus, Tottenham Court Road, British Museum and Russell Square
12 - from Notting Hill Gate to Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus’ Parliament Square, Westminster Bridge, Walworth, Camberwell and Peckham.
23 -from Westbourne Grove, Paddington station, Marble Arch, Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Strand, Mansion House, Bank and Liverpool Street station.
27 -from Westbourne Grove and Notting Hill Gate to Hammersmith and Chiswick to the west and to Paddington station, Baker Street and Camden Town to the east.
28 -from Westbourne Grove and Notting Hill Gate to Kensington High Street, Olympia, West Kensington, Fulham Broadway and Wandsworth.
31 -from Westbourne Grove and Westbourne Park Road to Maida Vale, Kilburn High Road, Swiss Cottage, Chalk Farm and Camden Town
52 -from Ladbroke Grove, Westbourne Grove and Notting Hill Gate to Kensington High Street, Knightsbridge, Hyde Park Corner and Victoria station.
70 -from Westbourne Park Road to Bayswater, High Street Kensington and South Kensington.
328 -from Westbourne Grove and Notting Hill Gate to Kensington High Street, Earl's Court and Chelsea.