London/West

West London's popularity with travellers and short-to-mid-term residents (backpackers, working holiday makers, etc.) can be explained by a number of factors, not least its proximity to Heathrow Airport, London's largest airport, and the area's multiple, easy transport connections with the West End and Central London.
West London was once part of the county of Middlesex, which no longer exists for administrative purposes; Middlesex, however, is sometimes still used as part of the postal address for these areas - don't let this confuse you!

Boroughs

West London consists of numerous suburbs, villages and satellite towns. Several areas are particularly popular with travellers and backpackers on account of their attractions, their facilities and their many accommodation options.
West London consists of the following boroughs:

• Ealing—the centrally-located Borough of Ealing includes the following areas:

• Acton, an area popular with visiting Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans. Popular with travellers on account of its entertainment options, relatively cheap accommodation (short stay and rental) and excellent transport links with the rest of London and further afield (Acton has the largest number of Tube and train stations that have 'Acton' in their name). Although part of the London Borough of Ealing, Acton very much retains its own identity.
• Ealing itself, popularly known as the "Queen of the Suburbs"
• Southall, also known as 'Little India', and a must-visit if you have the time to venture out of Central London. If you do only one thing when here, make sure you have a curry in one of the many authentic Asian restaurants. However beware, it is notorious for all the general street crime, especially pick pocketing, and may seem run down to an outsider.

Hounslow—the borough includes the following areas:

• Chiswick, a leafy, generally well-heeled district, known for its wide variety of quality shopping and food outlets.
• Brentford, situated on the main transport links from Heathrow airport to central London, this is a mainly commercial area. The riverside area on the north bank of the Thames has a number of new housing developments and hotels.
• Hounslow, a largely working class area with many of the residents employed at nearby Heathrow airport. Known for being the king of 99p shops in the whole of London, and a good place to find a deal in its large High Street. Has recently become home to a multitude of budget and mid-range hotel chains (Travel Lodge, Premier Inn and Best Western amongst others) trading on its proximity to Heathrow Airport and good transport links into Central London.

Hillingdon—this westernmost Borough of Greater London includes:

• Uxbridge, the administrative centre of Hillingdon Borough. A vibrant area on the edge of London, good shopping experience and good transport links to the West End.
• Hayes, industrial and housing areas with good access to the airport.
• Ruislip, a residential area with a lido and extensive woodlands, including a national nature reserve.

By tube

West London is well served by Tube connections from Central London:

• Piccadilly Line (solid blue) - runs through Chiswick, then divides at Acton Town with branches to Heathrow and Uxbridge
• District Line (solid green) - runs through Chiswick, then divides at Turnham Green with branches to Richmond and Ealing Broadway
• Central Line (solid red) - divides at North Acton with branches to Ealing Broadway and West Ruislip
• Metropolitan Line (solid purple) - runs through North London, then divides at Harrow on the Hill with one branch joining the Piccadilly Line to Uxbridge (where a station is served by both the Metropolitan and Piccadilly Lines, the Metropolitan Line is normally the faster route to Central London)

By train

The following routes are useful for areas of West London not well served by the Tube.

• Southwest Trains—from Waterloo and Clapham Junction to Chiswick and Hounslow (Chiswick mainline train station is located several hundred metres south of the Great West Road and Chiswick High Road)
• First Great Western—from Paddington to Ealing Broadway, Southall and Hayes
• Heathrow Connect—from Heathrow Airport to Hayes, Southall and Ealing Broadway

By bus

A number of key bus routes exist that can readily transport visitors to West London from the centre of town:

• Route 27—runs to and from Camden/Chalk Farm and Chiswick Business Park, via Baker Street, Paddington, Notting Hill, Olympia and Hammersmith (24 hour service)
• Route 94—runs to and from Piccadilly Circus and Acton Green, via Bayswater and Shepherd's Bush (24 hour service)

Night bus services to and from Central London are more restricted but incredibly useful once the Tube has closed for the night:
TfL Map of Night Services

• N11—runs to and from the City of London (Liverpool St station) and Ealing Broadway Tube station, via the West End, Victoria, Chelsea, Fulham and Hammersmith

The Oxford to London bus service runs every 15 minutes and stops at Hillingdon tube station on the Piccadilly/Metropolitan line.

By car

The main routes through West London are:

• the A4 and M4 Motorway linking London with the Lower Thames Valley, Bath, Bristol and South Wales
• the A40 and M40 Motorway linking London with Oxford, Birmingham and the West Midlands

By plane

Heathrow Airport is in West London, connecting from many international locations.

By taxi

There is a taxi stand. Uxbridge Taxi Services are the most popular services. Uber is not yet available in Uxbridge.

Although not nearly as concentrated as Central London, West London's attractions are many and varied:

Landmarks

• Chiswick House and Gardens

  phone: +44 20 8995-0508
  address: Burlington Lane, Chiswick,
  Maintained by English Heritage, Chiswick House is a famous and fine example of the 18 th century Palladian style of British architecture. The third Earl of Burlington (1694-1753), who designed this elegant Classical villa close to the Thames, drew inspiration from his grand tours of Italy, while William Kent was employed to create sumptuous interiors to contrast with the pure exterior. The Neo-Classical gardens, although much reduced from their original size, are the perfect complement to the house.

• Boston Manor House

  address: around a mile from the centre of Brentford along the Boston Manor Rd
  A Jacobean manor house (built in 1622), it is a pleasant and informative place to while away an hour or two, particularly during the summer when the extensive open parklands to the rear of the building make for a delightful stroll.

• Ealing StudiosThe oldest film studio in the world.

• Ealing Town Hall

  phone: +44 20 8579-2424
  address: 5 New Broadway, Ealing, W5 2BY
  Victorian Gothic building built in 1888 and still in use as town hall.

Parks

• Ealing Common

  address: Ealing

• Ealing Green

  address: Ealing

• Fassnidge Park

  address: Uxbridge

• Lammas Park

  address: Ealing

• Osterley Park and House

  phone: +44 20 8232-5050
  address: Jersey Road, Isleworth, TW7 4RB

• Ruislip Lido

  address: Ruislip
  An artificial lake surrounded by woodland, the Waters Edge Pub/Restaurant, a sandy beach (No swimming allowed), narrow gauge railway rides around the lake.

• Syon Park

  phone: +44 20 8560-0881
  address: Brentford
  The stately home of the Dukes of Northumberland for 400 years, Syon House and its 200-acre estate are located between Brentford and Isleworth. The main house was built to a design by the English architect Robert Adams, the grounds laid out by Capability Brown. The Great Conservatory, commissioned to be built in 1826, was featured in the Peter Cook and Dudley Moore film Bedazzled, and is a popular local wedding venue; Syon House itself has appeared in a vast number of period dramas. Well worth a visit.

• Walpole Park

  address: Ealing
  Relaxing experience. There is a small pond and an ice cream stall. There are also great playground facilities, and even a miniature zoo!

Museums

• Gunnersbury Park Museum

  phone: +44 20 8992-1612
  address: Gunnersbury Park, Popes Ln, W3 8LQ
  Local history museum for Ealing and Hounslow, housed in the former home of the Rothschild family.

• London Museum of Water and Steam

  phone: +44 20 8568-4757
  address: Green Dragon Ln, Brentford, TW8 0EN
  Formerly known as 'Kew Bridge Steam Museum', this museum of London's water supply is well worth a visit for anyone with an interest in the industrial revolution. Housed in the former Kew Bridge Pumping Station (a fascinating building in its own right), the Steam Museum possesses the finest collection of steam pumping engines in the world. Different engines are to be seen working on different days, so it is worth checking the website before visiting if a particular engine is of interest. Themed days are a feature of the Steam Museum's calendar, and purchase of an entry ticket permits limitless further visits throughout the following year.

• London Motorcycle Museum

  phone: +44 20 8575-6644
  address: Ravenor Farm, 29 Oldfield Lane South, Greenford, UB6 9LB

• The Musical Museum

  phone: +44 20 8560-8108
  address: 399 High St, Brentford, TW8 0DU
  Something of an undiscovered gem. The recently reopened museum houses a vast collection of working automatic musical instruments, from barrel organs to player pianos and beyond. Tours with knowledgeable and highly enthusiastic guides are highly recommended, as is the opportunity to listen to the Mighty Wurlitzer (which rises from the floor in the main auditorium). In addition to its function as a museum, the venue also hosts occasional cinema screenings of classic films (preceded by music from the Mighty Wurlitzer, or - in the case of silent film - accompanied by it) and houses a popular cafe with Thames views. Among the unusual (and hard-to-find) items usually available in the gift shop are clocks made from 78 rpm shellac discs, and original player piano rolls.

• PM Gallery & House

  phone: +44 20 8567-1227
  address: Walpole Park, Mattock Ln, Ealing, W5 5EQ
  Houses Pitzhanger Manor House and an art gallery.

• London Transport Museum Depot

  address: 118-20 Gunnersbury Lane, Acton, London W3 9BQ
  This is the main storage facility of the London Transport Museum, holding items that cannot be fit into the main building at Covent Garden in central London. The building holds a wide range of railway carriages, buses, trams and trolleybuses, mostly restored, and many other exhibits, including signalling equipment, track items, tunnel segments, signs, models, and hundreds of small items. On open days preserved buses operate on tours of the surrounding area.

Galleries

• For Arts Sake

  phone: +44 20 8579-6365
  address: 45 Bond St, Ealing, W5 5AS
  Modern British printmaking as well as ceramics and jewellery.

Other

• Hounslow Urban Farm

  phone: +44 20 8831-9658
  address: Faggs Road, Feltham, Middlesex TW14 OLZ

• Brentford DockFans of British TV may be interested to know that the riverside area to the south of Brentford High Street is frequently used for outdoor filming by popular series such as ITV's The Bill. The backdrop of the estate (sited on the former Brentford Dock, the terminus for GWR trains transferring goods to the Thames) appears frequently in shows requiring a 'gritty', urban atmosphere. The northern aspect of the Brentford Dock estate belies its extremely picturesque marina (filled with a variety of narrowboats, Dutch barges and pleasure craft) and waterside views, however. Indeed, for connoisseurs of post-war architecture, Brentford Dock is often cited as an example of a successful and aesthetically-pleasing social housing development from a period most commonly characterised by its failures.

Ealing

Many events take place in Ealing each year, including

• Ealing Jazz Festival

  address: Ealing

• Ealing Beer Festival

  address: Ealing

• Ealing Comedy Festival

  address: Ealing
  Ealing hosts an annual comedy festival in the summer. Speaking of comedy in Ealing, in the late 1940s and 1950s Ealing was famous for a series of comedy movies filmed there.

• Questors

  address: Mattock Ln, Ealing
  The cinema is under reconstruction, said to include over 10 screens!

Brentford

• Watermans Centre

  address: Brentford
  The Watermans Centre is one of West London's finest arts and cultural venues. Watermans is especially noted for its promotion of Asian arts, particularly in the fields of visual arts, theatre and comedy. It also houses a leading independent cinema, gallery spaces and a noted Indian restaurant.

• Brentford Football ClubKnown for being one of the more family-friendly London football clubs, with a loyal local following and deep roots in the community. Uniquely, there are (good) pubs on all 4 corners!

Markets

• Ealing Market

  address: Leeland Rd, Ealing
  Street market with farm products.

Shopping centres

• Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre

  phone: +44 20 8567 3453
  address: Ealing, W5 5JY

• Arcadia Centre

  address: Ealing

• Intu Uxbridge

  address: High Street, Uxbridge
  Includes Debenhams, H&M, HMV, Next, Toys R Us, Boots, Chiquito, Frankie & Benny's, Odeon Cinema

• The Pavilions

  address: Uxbridge
  Home to many high street names including Marks & Spencers and Argos.

• Treaty Centre

  address: Hounslow
  Home to the usual retailers you find on many High Streets up and down the country including JD and Debenhams.

Shops

• Hippy Heaven

  address: Ealing
  Sells nice trinkets, jewelry, incense, and stones. There is also a tattoo/piercing shop, with skilled artists.

• The square in Ealing Broadway

  address: Ealing
  Often eventful, with beautiful decorations at Christmas time and musicians performing in the Summer. Christmas and Easter markets also take place in the shopping centre square.

Clothing

• Roberto Revilla

  address: Roberto Revilla London, Tailors Workroom, Basement Shropshire House, 179 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 7NZ
  Bespoke tailoring services and luxury accessories.

Chiswick is an area of West London with a wide range of options. There are at least 30 restaurants in Chiswick. Chiswick High Road has the usual wide selection of fast food outlets and supermarket food. For the more discerning, an extensive range of restaurants and eateries exists for all tastes and budgets that makes Chiswick a definite destination for the gastronome.

Budget

• Coco's Noodle Bar

  phone: +44 20 8840-8525
  address: 70 The Mall, Ealing, W5 5LS
  Oriental restaurant serving delicious food from all over East and Southeast Asia.

• Edwards

  phone: +44 872 148 4921
  address: 28-30 New Broadway, Ealing, W5 2XA
  Breakfast and dinner-serving.

• The Green Cafe and Bar

  phone: +44 20 8579-7493
  address: 9 The Green, Ealing, W5 5DA
  Has an extensive burger menu.

• Haha's

  address: 5 Mattock Ln, Ealing, W5 5BG

• The Okawari

  phone: +44 20 8566-0466
  address: 13 Bond St, Ealing, W5 5AP
  Famous for its wonderful Japanese food, and with Takara plum wine on the menu it is worth a trip.

• Thai Tiara

  phone: +44 20 8898-3303
  address: 76 Whitton High St, Twickenham, TW2 7LS

Mid-range

• Caffè Uno

  address: Ealing
  Breakfast and dinner-serving.

• High Road Brasserie

  phone: +44 20 8742-7474
  address: 162-164 Chiswick High Rd, Chiswick
  A recent addition to the High Street restaurant scene, highly reviewed in the local and national press. Menu includes brasserie classics, seafood platters, and fancy sandwiches.

• Sam's Brasserie and Bar

  phone: +44 20 8987-0555
  address: Barley Mow Centre, 11 Barley Mow Passage, Chiswick
  Trendy, relaxed, foody eatery popular among locals.

• La Trompette

  phone: +44 20 8747-1836
  address: 5-7 Devonshire Rd, Chiswick
  Probably the best restaurant in West London, great value French cuisine, excellent wine list.

Splurge

• Henley's Restaurant and Bar

  phone: +44 20 8817-2607
  address: 140 Bath Rd, Hayes Middlesex, UB3 5AW

• Qs Waters Edge

  address: 4 Packet Boat Ln, Cowley, UB8 2

You will never be short of a pub in West London. Upmarket bars and clubs are also plentiful.

Acton

• The Aeronaut

  phone: +44 20 8993-4242
  address: 264 Acton High St., W3 9BH
  Styled as a 'Pub, Brewery and Circus', the Aeronaut has been turning the Acton pub experience upside down. It was rated "London's Best Pub" by Design My Night Awards in 2018. This theme pub is inspired by Acton-born turn-of-the-century pilot, George Lee Temple (the first Englishman to fly an aeroplane upside down). Features its own micro-brewery and a program of cabaret acrobats and circus performers.

Ealing

Pubs in the centre of Ealing tend to be lively and rather noisy.

• The DraytonHomely old fashioned pub.

• The Haven ArmsHomely old fashioned pub.

• North StarSlightly more upmarket and stocks a wide variety of draught beers.

Uxbridge

Uxbridge is home to a many fine eateries and public houses. Many pubs are located along historic Windsor Street.

Feltham

• The Moon on the Square

  phone: +44 20 8893 1293
  address: 30 The Centre, High St, TW13 4AU
  A Wetherspoon's chain pub.

Brentford

Historically (and perhaps unsurprisingly, given its roots as an industrial working-class area) Brentford has been known as a "drinker's town". Indeed, it was long reputed that in the Victorian terraces surrounding the football ground, there was "a pub on every corner". To an extent this is still true today, with a sizable number of small drinking establishments still eking out a living in the backstreets to the west of the Ealing Road. Most are perfectly friendly to outsiders, while maintaining a core clientele of local drinkers, primarily men.
For the visitor to Brentford seeking a more eclectic drinking culture, pubs such as the Magpie And Crown (on the High Street, opposite the Magistrates' Court) offers a fine selection of real ales and imported beer (including fruit beer on draught), while the Old Firestation (also on the High Street) appeals to a younger, more affluent crowd with its contemporary 'bar' vibe and award-winning cocktails. The Weir (on Market Place) offers waterside al fresco drinking in its attractive beer garden, while the Brewery Tap (to be found hidden at the end of Catherine Wheel Road - don't give up looking!) is a tiny two-room pub offering traditional food, live jazz and a highly quirky clientele to those with a desire to discover something of Brentford's true character.
Visitors might to note that pubs such as the Albany Arms and Beehive are most heavily patronised by locals who might be less welcoming to outsiders than in the pubs noted above.
Beer-lovers with a taste for sampling local brews should note that many of Brentford's pubs are 'tied houses' (owned by the brewery rather than the landlord) serving Fuller's ales. Fuller's are a local brewers based in Chiswick (although serving a country-wide market for beers such as London Pride), less than 2 miles along the Thames. Drinkers can thus be assured that their pint of Fuller's is, if nothing else, both local and fresh.

With its proximity to Heathrow Airport, Uxbridge has some good hotels. Many independent pubs offering accommodation in the local area.

Budget

• Caspian Hotel

  phone: +44 20 8997-3524
  address: 14 Haven Green, Ealing, W5 2UU
  On the slightly cheaper end of the scale.

• London Guest House

  phone: +44 20 8993-6699
  address: 167 Horn Ln, Ealing, W3 6PP

• Travelodge

  address: Feltham

Mid-range

• The Bridge Hotel

  phone: +44 20 8566-6246
  address: Western Ave, Greenford, UB6 8ST

• Best Western Chiswick Palace & Suites

  phone: +44 20 8994-1712
  address: 73 Chiswick High Rd, Chiswick

• Clayton Hotel Chiswick

  phone: +44 20 8996-5200
  address: 626 Chiswick High Rd, Chiswick
  116 designer rooms.

• Ramada Jarvis Hotel

  address: Uxbridge Rd, Ealing
  Upmarket hotel.

• St. Giles Heathrow Hotel

  phone: +44 20 8817 7000
  address: Hounslow Road, Feltham, Middlesex, TW14 9AD

• Premier Inn

  phone: +44 871 527 8508
  address: 15 Bath Road, Hounslow, Middlesex TW6 2 AB
  This hotel is just outside the northeast perimeter of Heathrow Airport. It is a very well maintained facility with excellent service. A free shuttle runs from the hotel to Heathrow's terminals on a routine schedule. This hotel has a full-service restaurant, and a Costa coffee shop. Basic WiFi is free and an upgrade can be purchased.