London’s prettiest neighbourhoods?

[Plantyplantyplant]

My friend and I were talking about this as we have another who wants to come back to London, but says she needs to live somewhere “pretty” and London doesn’t have enough of that unless you’re an oligarch and can afford Hampstead.

But I think London has a lot of pretty places to live!

What do you think London’s prettiest neighbourhoods are?

I really like Blackheath

Victoria Park
Jesus Green/Columbia Road
Parts of Docklands
Greenwich
Richmond
Barnes
Highgate Village
Alexandra Palace
Parts of Pimlico are adorable - quiet terraces a few minutes' walk from St James's Park.

Well I used to live in very pretty Barnsbury. The ‘deprived’ estates in the next road (often on the same road), did nothing to lower the £5m+ houses there!!

Don’t get me wrong I love London and love living there, but I think your friend has a point! There are lots of small enclaves of prettiness, or good streets with a small nice parade of shops but nothing to rival a really pretty village where 90% of the houses and streets are pretty, with nice views, big trees, lovely approaches etc. I often visit friends outside London and am astonished by how pretty even fairly normal villages are in places like Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire are- then it really hits me when I get back to London how grim quite a bit of it is in comparison! The only ones I’d agree with are Blackheath, Richmond, Dulwich village, Victoria park and Hampstead and I’d also add Wimbledon. These to me have the feel of the whole place being beautiful rather than a few good streets before you hit an A road of betting shops and traffic. That’s not to say that the other areas aren’t great in many respects but I wouldn’t call most of them pretty as a whole.

Wimbledon Village/Southfields.
Kew Village.

Dulwich is right by the South Circular!

That's not really the nicest bit and it's a part of the south circular that isn't that bad.
But Dulwich Village - which definitely isn't just a high street as someone said - has some lovely roads. And also over to Herne Hill.

One that hasn't been mentioned is the Conservation Area to the east of Brockley around Break spears Road. Lovely streets and houses.

Brockley and Telegraph Hill are v nice and still reasonably affordable (less so brockley as the houses (that haven’t been turned into flats) are very large).

Clapham Old Town and around Abbeville Village are lovely as well. There are various specific roads in South London that are lovely, like those north of Brockwell Park and all around Dulwich.

Putney, Barnes, Richmond. I also think Marylebone is very pretty.

Muswell Hill. Some properly gorgeous views over the city and wonderful housing stock.

Chelsea
Chiswick
Barnes
Richmond

To live in the prettiest parts, particularly near the river, you're talking £3m minimum.

Ham

Teddington and Ham.
I don’t particularly like Richmond because of the planes.

My DH friend came to Richmond to meet him for drinks. He is from Lancashire, and he said he thinks Richmond must be what living in England in the 1950s was like 😂

Barnes
west dulwich
Herne hill
sydenham
kew
richmond
highgate
hampstead
muswell hill
maida vale
st johns wood

I love Soho

Little Venice
Notting Hill
Dartmouth Park
Primrose Hill
Albert Street surrounds in Camden Town
Obvs Hampstead & Highgate
Crouch End

Can you tell I'm a north Londoner at heart?!

Choumert Square is the nicest bit in London according to moi.

Blackheath is laaavly - as is Clapham Old Town - Georgian houses and squares with huge windows and sweet little front gardens, all ringed with parks.

Only £32 million for a family house. Going for a walk and a coffee there is free, however, and fun. I remember when no one wanted Clapham in the 70s cos some houses are quite big; my dad’s mate had a nightmare getting £5000 for his mum’s cos it had a ballroom.

I vote for Wandsworth Common

Chiswick and Barnes along the Thames. Kew.

It depends whether by pretty she means green and leafy or quaint/georgian houses. Green and leafy tends to be further out eg Barnes, Putney, wimbledon etc. Quaint/georgian is easier to afford provided she accepts that she will need to live alongside not so pretty. Pimlico/Clapham COmmon is lovely but not that cheap, Kennington and Stockwell are cheaper, also Greenwich, Blackheath and Peckham.

The Brookmill Rd Conservation Area in St John's is lovely. Choumert square also.

Richmond and Primrose Hill. X

Nightingale Square, Balham.