London’s Most Instagrammable Street
In paid collaboration with Eccleston Yards
Location, Location, Location. With Instagram we’re all here to find the prettiest backgrounds for outfit shots, the best wall art for stunning images, flower displays, cafe scenes, and the most delicious mouth-watering cakes with the cutest hot chocolates. .
I get asked all the time about my locations for my London images – so I wanted to share with you why Belgravia is one of my favourite parts of London for taking Instagram photos (trust me – there are so many Instagram hotspots on one street alone!) – ALL WITHIN TOUCHING DISTANCE OF EACH OTHER.
You can literally arrive in the morning – bring a few changes of outfits (if you wanted to be as extra as me) and get a month’s worth of beautiful content!! You just have to wander down Elizabeth Street, head into Eccleston Yards, and ta da – you are surrounded by some of the most beautiful, flower drenched, unique locations in London.
This Thursday (15TH NOVEMBER 2018) would be the perfect time to experience this gem of a location for yourself as Elizabeth Street Christmas Lights will be switched on by Philip Treacy and Jo Malone at 6:30pm.
So let’s start with one of the most famous Instagram location of them all:
1. Peggy Porschen
Peggy is literally number 1 for that perfect pink, cake extravaganza, flowery, scrummy Instagram image. It is always decorated to reflect the seasons (the Christmas display will be up this week – and THAT is Instagram heaven). The food is delicious, check out their Cosy Christmas collection including cashmere wrapped Christmas cakes and you can sit inside or outside depending on what ‘shot’ you want!
Top tip – get there EARLY if you don’t want to queue for a table / want a photo outside (those tables disappear so quickly if it isn’t raining!). Also the earlier you get there – the less people there are standing and smiling outside it – so you can drink your DIVINE hot chocolate in peace.
The cakes are a true delight and definitely one for the Instagram bucket list!
It opens at 8am – so SEE YOU THERE.
2. Dominique Ansel
This bakery is such a treat, another one to tick off the bucket list. Filled with the most delicate pastries, special ‘cronuts’ and the most beautiful ‘Cookie Shot’ cake. With the most incredible floral display outside (it is always updated for the seasons – so you can go back again and again and get a different photo with each changing flower display). Also, the flower wall display at the back of the cafe is the best location for a colourful coffee and cake photo! PLUS it is inside – so you can be warm and snug all year round.
In the summer, the flower wall is covered in a rainbow arrangement! But now we have crept into the Autumn/ Winter periodthe wall has transformed into a glowing autumnal display filled with bright orange flowers!
Top tip – come in the morning as they close the flower wall section off for Afternoon Tea around 12:30pm. Unless of course – you want Afternoon tea then book book book!
The pastries are INSANELY AMAZING and so delicately made, with new creations each time I go in so you will want to sit and enjoy them, and soak up the flower wall for the price you have paid. This is a place for pleasure not rushing!
3. Frida Kahlo Wall Mural
Now this is an Instagram backdrop if ever I saw one. The colours – the boldness – the woman.
It is just amazing and definitely one to pull in those likes. Plus, it hasn’t been massively over done at all so get there first! It is the first thing you notice when you pop into Eccleston Yards and is such a great space to get a photo! Eccleston Yards is located between Eccleston Place and Ebury Street, and isquiet with plenty of room for a good twirl.
4. Moyses Stevens
I mean – it is a FLORAL ARCH with FLOWERS EVERYWHERE AROUND – what more could you possibly want!?
5. Les Senteurs
Another Instagram hotspot – perfect all year round with different flower displays. This perfume shop is the perfect back drop for an outfit pic or it stands strong on its own!
All the Insta worthy options along that road:
So when you have ticked off all the hot spots – head for the most Instagrammable rest and relaxation at Eccleston Yards. Eccleston Yards is a little hub of tranquillity in Belgravia hidden from the busy bustling London streets and is an area for wellness and foodies alike to dwell! Perfect for an escape from the draining city life!
With wellbeing at the very core of Eccleston Yards philosophy it is filled with the most amazing brands that I am just so excited to share with you. With everything from beauty to mediation to fitness, food and fashion – PLUS working space for any self-employed peeps like me at Central Working.
So what is in Eccleston Yards and why should I go there?
Honestly, stepping off the busy roads of London and into this little haven is one of my favourite things to do and places to go when it all gets a bit much. I also pop down here as it is SO close to my flat (but so easy to get to as it is a 4mins walk from Victoria) and it is so chilled. There is a beauty salon, a bootcamp, a meditation studio, and the best place for brunch so why would you not want to visit!
Here are my favourite places to visit:
1.SMUK
If you follow me on Instagram – you will have seen that I popped into SMUK for a blow dry a couple of weeks ago. The blow dry treatment was fab (I went for a nice loose waves and a hair treatment) but that wasn’t what stole my heart – it was the salon experience that sold me. The salon is SO beautiful and so calming. I find that sometimes I walk into salons and they make me stressed – it’s full of people running around with hairdryers and fluorescent lighting – whereas SMUK (which means beautiful in Danish!) is the complete opposite of that!
It just feels like walking into someone’s dream living room. It has such a friendly, calming atmosphere – and the space reflects Scandinavian simplicity and hygge.
They offer a huge range of treatments (head to their website – smuklondon.co.uk) from facials to nails to hair treatments. They are hugely pro natural beauty – which I love – selling organic and natural products. It is such a lovely place just to come and be pampered and I think it’s my new favourite place for beauty.
It also is SO INSTAGRAMMABLE I MEAN LOOK AT IT!
2. Jones Family Kitchen
Looking for a great place for a Sunday brunch or a Monday evening cocktail? I have the place for you! Owned by the team behind The Jones Family Project in Shoreditch, with meats sourced from the Ginger Pig butcher, it has an ‘everyday special’ dining experience along with a carefully curated cocktail and wine list. I have tested 3 different cocktails there and they were allllllll heaven. It is number 1 on my boyfriend & I’s list for our next weekend brunch trip! And if the snacks and nibbles that I tasted when I went for cocktails are anything to go by – we will immensely enjoy ourselves. The interior is very cool and there is also the most gorgeous terrace outside – again tucked neatly away from traffic or hustle and bustle!
3. Barry’s Bootcamp
I have been too scared to try this – as I am horrendously unfit at the moment. But I have been around the area so many times at the beginning and end of sessions and those people seem to REALLY enjoy it! Plus there are smoothies…..
I have heard such incredible things about Barry’s (with many of my friends going) and with successful studios all over the world. Apparently the one in NYC is a killer! AND they DO have beginners classes so I need to just toughen up and go – who is coming with me?!
4. Re:Mind
London’s first drop-in meditation studio and eco-lifestyle store that follows a holistic path of wellbeing. With drop in sessions at £10 per session, or a zen space for regular meditations to use for their own practice. I am desperate to go here as I know how much it will help with my stress and anxiety. I have never meditated before and can’t wait to get into it as part of my life!
Other things in Eccleston Yards – Central Working space – which is perfect for people like me who work independently. I hate hate hate sitting in a flat all day and not leaving, but also don’t like working in coffee shops all day as I feel like an inconvenience, but I love a change of scenery which is why Central Working is perfect for me. You rent out a desk space and can feel like you are actually heading to work. And hey – what a great life you can lead – do a Barry’s bootcamp in the morning, work at Central Working all day, meditate on your lunch break, and then get a lovely manicure and blow-dry after your day in the ‘office’!
Also in Eccleston Yards is 50m – which is a fashion concept by Something & Son which provides a world-first affordable retail space – that young / new designers can rent by the meter / day / month to show off their collections. I just think that is the most amazing idea. They also have ‘Tailor Made London’ which is affordable high-quality and bespoke tailors offering cutting edge 3D body scanning technology so your clothes fit you perfectly – ermmmm hello Christmas present for Alex?!
For more information please visit EcclestonYards.com.
This place is honestly my favourite little hidden gem in London. What more could you possible want? It has everything and more! Plus your Instagram will never have looked better!!
Where are your favourite places to take photos in London? Have you guys been down to Elizabeth Street and Eccleston Yards at all?
Let me know below!
xxxx
This blog post was written in collab with Eccleston Yards but all photos, Instagram ideas and options are my own 🙂
