Notting Hill — in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea — is one of London’s most expensive and fashionable neighbourhoods. It was not always so. In the 1950s and 1960s it was a deprived, overcrowded slum with a large Caribbean immigrant community, the site of race riots in 1958, and home to the notorious landlord Peter Rachman.
The Notting Hill Carnival
The Notting Hill Carnival began in 1966 as a small community event organised by Claudia Jones to celebrate Caribbean culture and defuse racial tension following the 1958 riots. Today it is Europe’s largest street festival: two million people over two days, 38 sound systems, steel bands, masquerade troupes, and jerk chicken on every corner.
Portobello Road
Portobello Road Market runs north from Notting Hill Gate through the neighbourhood. The antiques section on Saturday mornings remains one of London’s great spectacles. The street also has excellent food stalls, vintage clothing, and the Alice’s antique shop at number 86, which has been here since 1887.
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