Notting Hill

What makes it special

On the residential streets off Portobello Road, almost every turning shows a pastel front or a brighter one, and the colour reads as a whole street rather than a single house.

The house most first-timers look for has a blue front door. It was used as the outside of William Thacker's home in the 1999 film Notting Hill.

This small corner of west London is also where British Caribbean culture, old markets and a busy food and bar scene overlap. Every August bank holiday these streets host Notting Hill Carnival, which began as a children's street fair in the mid-1960s. Today it is a parade of costumes, steel bands and sound systems celebrating Caribbean culture and migration.

Visiting

From Portobello Road, turn off into the quiet residential streets around it. The brightest terraces are on Westbourne Park Road, Lancaster Road and Colville Terrace, with St Luke's Mews close by, and the blue door is among them.

Once you have seen those, follow whichever street looks prettiest. For a change of scene, the backstreets lead on to the green spaces of Holland Park.

A cinema nearby lets you watch the film from beds at the front of the screen.

Guided or on your own

Walking it on your own works well, since the streets are the sight and need no explaining. If you want the background, Blue Badge guides, holding the highest tourist guiding qualification in the UK, lead Notting Hill walks. These are private tours, not public ones you join on the day.

Tips

The blue door is a private home, so take your photo from the pavement.

At Carnival, wear closed-toe shoes you can stand in all day, and carry some cash for the food stalls, since card machines slow down when a stall is swamped.

Agree a meeting point before you set out, because phone signal drops in the densest crowds. Portable toilet blocks are dotted around the site but are not easy to spot.

Monday brings the main adults' parade and the largest crowds, so Sunday is the easier day. Plan your route home before you arrive, since the Night Tube does not run on Carnival nights, and avoid the unlicensed minicabs that tout near the site. To stay nearby, book outside the W10 and W11 postcodes and travel in.