Kensington, as opposed to South Kensington which is the area south of the Cromwell Road, or West Kensington which is west of Olympia, is one of the most popular residential areas in London. Families particularly like it as the houses tend to be bigger than those in Chelsea and the proximity of the parks of Kensington Gardens and Holland Park make it ideal for children and dogs.

The biggest and most expensive houses are on the Phillimore Estate which runs up the hill to the east of Holland Park. These are, for the most part, large stuccoed houses with big gardens. In the same area there are some large mansion blocks and developments with parking, such as Campden Hill Court and Observatory Gardens. The whole block between Kensington Church Street and Holland Park is quiet and tree-lined with family-size houses now selling for more than £3 million.

Lining Kensington Gardens is Kensington Palace Gardens which is a private street of very large ambassadorial-sized houses including Kensington Palace itself where most of the minor royal family have flats and, of course, where Princess Diana lived.

Kensington High Street is functional but hardly beautiful. It has most of the major retail names and is usually extremely busy. This contrasts with Kensington Church Street which is much more village-like, with antique shops, cafes and restaurants.

The area to the south of Kensington High Street is a mixture of very high value houses such as in Cottesmore Gardens, Victoria Road and Hyde Park Gate; large blocks of handsome red-brick mansion blocks such as Iverna Gardens and Kensington Court; as well as medium-sized family houses in pleasant streets such as Scarsdale Villas or Abingdon Road. These houses now sell for around £2 million.

A perk of living in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is that your parking permit is not zoned – enabling you to park across the whole width of one of the best residential areas in London

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