Marylebone

Marylebone keeps a village atmosphere despite sitting minutes from Oxford Street's crowds, its Georgian streets laid out in an orderly grid that's easy to wander without a map. Marylebone High Street is the draw, lined with independent bookshops, delis, and boutiques rather than chains, and Daunt Books' Edwardian, galleried travel shop is one of London's loveliest bookstores. The fictional Sherlock Holmes supposedly lived at 221B Baker Street on the neighbourhood's western edge, now a small museum, and Regent's Park borders the area to the north. It's a relatively quiet, affluent pocket best suited to unhurried browsing rather than big sights.