Notting Hill’s legendary gatherings and offbeat boutiques will coax you from your lie-in. The district is coloured in brighter strokes than the eponymous Richard Curtis film; grand dame townhouses have a lick of carnival-coloured paint, and petite gardens and characterful old-school pubs punctuate meandering streets. Westbourne Grove and Ledbury Road are lined with petite cafés and high-street wonders such as Anya Hindmarch, Smythson and famed designer-label den Matches, interspersed with independent institutions. It’s touristy and trashy in parts, but Portobello Market’s stalls are still worth rummaging through for antique doohickeys, hand-made wearables, toys and trinkets; and you can weave in and out of designer boutiques, vintage shops and one-off pop-ups. With corsetry from What Katy Did, Sixties-inspired mens’ tailoring at Adam of London and cute-as-a-button kids’ wear from Sasti: the Portobello Green Arcade peddles serious designer wares. The Electric Cinema has super-comfortable leather armchairs, and theatre company the Print Room has taken over historic cinema the Coronet. William and Kate’s gaff, Kensington Palace, is a 10-minute walk away, flanked by pretty gardens – stop for afternoon tea in the Orangery, then roam through Kensington High Street. On August bank holiday each year, the streets become a flurry of feathers and sequins as the Notting Hill Carnival’s parades kick off street parties till late.