London Notting Hill Film Audio Walking Tour
Walk the real London of Notting Hill, from Tony's corner on Golborne Road past the blue door, the bookshops and Portobello Road to the Coronet.
- 7 stops and 17 minutes of stories, told as you reach each place
- The intro and stop 1 are free in the app: try before you buy
- Download before you go; the audio plays without signal (the street map needs a connection)
- Walking with friends? Pick 1 to 10 seats; everyone hears each stop on their own phone, at the same moment
30 seconds of the real narration
Plays in the free Walk With Me app on iPhone and Android.
A taste of the narration
You're at the corner of Golborne Road and Bevington Road, at the northern end of Notting Hill. It's a lively street, a world away from movie glamour, and that's exactly the point.Stop 1, Tony's restaurant corner
About this tour
Notting Hill is a film about a neighborhood, and the neighborhood is still here to walk. Its streets are flat, its corners are close together, and every few minutes there's another one you'll recognize: the colorful houses, the blue door, Portobello Road and the quiet crescents. On foot you feel what Curtis loved about it, a busy, friendly London village where a famous face could walk into a shop. If you'd like company along the way, open the Walk With Me live map to find other people out walking London right now.
The route
2.7 km in walking order from Tony's restaurant corner to The Coronet. Stop 1 is free in the app.
- 1Tony's restaurant cornerA lively corner of Golborne Road at the north end of Notting Hill, where the friends' restaurant stood and the turning point waits.Free in the app
- 2The blue doorA front door on Westbourne Park Road, chosen for the film by happy accident, and a door that keeps changing color.
- 3The Notting Hill BookshopA bookshop on Blenheim Crescent, a street of booksellers, and the real shop that gave the film its idea but none of its scenes.
- 4The Travel Book CompanyThe Portobello Road shopfront from the film, two scenes in the same doorway, and where a walk through the seasons was shot.
- 5Lansdowne Road & Rosmead GardensA street of grand private houses, the birthday dinner's front door, and the locked garden behind it with a racecourse in its past.
- 6St Peter's ChurchA church at the end of Stanley Gardens, seen from the film's own angle, and the friends who come through when it counts.
- 7The CoronetThe handsome Coronet on Notting Hill Gate, built as a theater in 1898, and William's loneliest night in the dark.
Where the story happens
Each stop, the moment of the story it belongs to, and what is there today.
| Stop | In the story | Today |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Tony's restaurant corner | Tony's, the friends' restaurant, where on its last night William sees the mistake he made. | A busy junction; guides disagree whether the door was number 105 or 106. |
| 2. The blue door | William's house, shared with Spike: Anna comes in to change, and later hides here from the press. | A private home; the film's door was auctioned for charity, and its replacement has changed color. |
| 3. The Notting Hill Bookshop | No scene here: the real Travel Bookshop on this street inspired William's shop. | The Notting Hill Bookshop, open to browse since the old shop closed in 2011. |
| 4. The Travel Book Company | William's shop: Anna walks in, and much later comes back with a question he answers wrongly. | A souvenir shop at number 142; the interior was a set at Shepperton Studios. |
| 5. Lansdowne Road & Rosmead Gardens | Honey's birthday dinner at Max and Bella's, then the climb into a locked garden after dark. | Private homes and a residents-only garden, seen from the sidewalk. |
| 6. St Peter's Church | Part of the friends' race across London to reach Anna's press conference. | A church on the corner of Stanley Gardens; the race ends at the Savoy, far from here. |
| 7. The Coronet | William sits alone watching Anna on screen in a science-fiction film. | A Grade II listed theater again since 2015; check what's on to see inside. |
Questions
How long does it really take?
38 min of walking plus 17 minutes of stories, so plan for about 55 min with stops.
Can I take photos at the blue door?
From the sidewalk, yes. It is a private home, so please don't pose on the doorstep, keep the sidewalk clear and keep your voices down.
Can I go into the garden from the film?
No. The garden behind Lansdowne Road is private, open only to residents with a key, so you see it from the street.
Nothing else to pay
Cheaper in a bundle
Photos: Matt Brown / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0; No Swan So Fine / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0; Edwardx / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.